Australia banned export of Live Cattle to Indonesia

On May 30 2011, Australian ABC television broadcast footage from Indonesian slaughterhouses that showed live cattle being whipped and left to die after their throats were cut.

This has sparked very strong protests from animal lovers in Australia who demand that their government stop the export of live cattle to Indonesia.

In order to calm down the protests, on 31 May the Australian government banned 12 abattoirs in Indonesia from slaughtering Australian live cattle.

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But the protests never stop, so the Australian government on Tuesday totally banned export of US$ 330 Million/a year worth of live cattle to Indonesia.

Live Australian cattle account for up to 40 percent of Indonesia's beef consumption, while Indonesia buys 60% of Australia's live cattle export worth US$ 330 Million per year.

About 770 slaughterhouses operate in Indonesia and only five use the stun-gun method, according to the animal welfare group Animals Australia, which filmed the footage.

I believe that Australia's ban on live cattle export is some sort of a blessing in disguise, in the sense that it could make us consume local cattle meat, and/or eat more chicken and/or goat and/or fishes/sea food.

No Ban on Cigarette Ads

Cigarettes manufacturers seemed to have very strong influence on the government that efforts to impose a total ban on cigarette advertisements and sponsorship will surely fail.

The Jakarta Globe reported that the Health Ministry has announced on Friday that clauses regarding total ban on cigarette advertisement and sponsorship have to be deleted from the draft of implementation regulation of the Health Law of 2009.

The head of the Ministry's Legal Bureau i.e. Budi Sampurno, was quoted as saying that after considering the importance of many sectors, the Ministry have decided not to ban cigarette ads and sponsorship, but would only control it.

Budi said the planned ban was hampered by two existing laws i.e the Press Law and the Broadcasting Law which allowed advertising as long as cigarettes or their packaging were not shown on television. 

I am not surprised about this report, how about you ?

No more Book Ban

Yesterday, the Constitutional Court passed a historical verdict which canceled a law that provides authority to the Attorney General to ban books and other printed materials.

According to the said Court, the Law No 4/PNPS/1963 regarding "Securing Printed Materials whose content might Disrupt Public Order" is contradictory to the Constitution of 1945.

It also ruled that the banning of printed materials should only be done through a Court's verdict.

Please find below a news article that I quoted from The Jakarta Globe.

This is really a Great News that provide great opportunity for Indonesian writers to make great writings.

Indonesian Attorney General Loses Power to Ban Books
Camelia Pasandaran, Heru Andriyanto & Ismira Lutfia | October 14, 2010

Jakarta. In a landmark verdict, the Constitutional Court on Wednesday struck out a law that gave the Attorney General’s Office the power to ban books, saying such power should rest with a judicial court. 

“The 1963 Law on Securing Printed Materials whose content could disrupt public order is against the Constitution,” court chief Mahfud MD said. “The law is no longer legally binding.” 

Justice Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi gave a dissenting opinion but his argument was not immediately clear. 

Muhammad Alim, another justice, said that in a state governed by law, confiscating or banning publications and books should be done through the process of law.   
Read more .....................

U.S Kretek Cigarette Ban

On September 2009, the United States of America issued the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that prohibits the sales of all kinds of flavored cigarettes including Indonesia's Kretek cigarettes in the U.S, except menthol cigarettes.

Indonesia thought that this law violated regulations of theWorld Trade Organization (WTO), because it excemps menthol cigarettes which is actually flavored cigarettes like Kretek. Therefore Indonesia has brought this matter to WTO's dispute settlement body.

Please find some details below that I have quoted from an article in Kompas.

I hope that the WTO would make a fair decision on this matter.

Indonesia Urged US to Scrap Its "Kretek" Cigarette Ban

Jumat, 2 Juli 2010 | 10:08 WIB

 

AP/Steve Helber.

In this photo made May 18, 2009, flavored cigarettes are on display at a tobacco store in Richmond, Va. Kretek International Inc. , the nations top distributor of clove cigarettes, is offering fans a new way to get their fix after the spice-flavored cigarettes are banned later this year cigars. 

 

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia has urged the United States to lift its ban on aromatic cigarette imports that would cause Jakarta to cut its ’kretek’ (clove-flavored) cigarette exports to that country and reduce its foreign exchange earning.

"Indonesia’s foreign exchange income from kretek cigarette exports is expected to drop significantly this year due to the imposition of the ban," Frans Rupang, director for prosecution and prevention of the Directorate General of Customs, said.
   
The United States has imposed the ban since September 2009 based on its law that prohibits the entry into the country of aromatic tobacco, yet both nations are still negotiating the matter. According to US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R Hume, Indonesia and the US are still negotiating the US ban on Indonesia’s kretek cigarette exports to the United States.

Speaking on the sidelines of the US Independence Day anniversary which falls on July 4, in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday evening, Cameron R Hume said that Indonesia was of the view that the ban violated the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s regulations. Therefore, the United States and Indonesia were discussing the matter but the envoy said he could predict what would come out of the negotiation process.

"Let’s wait," he said.

However, if the United States remains to impose the ban, Indonesia’s cigarette exports and income from this sector would decline significantly. Frans Rupang said that in 2009 cigarette exports contributed 6.451 million dollars to the state.  Indonesia’s kretek cigarette exports to the United States in 2008 totaled 298.932 million pieces worth US$6.662 million and in 2009 they stood at 267.308 million pieces worth US$6.451 million.

Since the imposition of the ban,  there was practically no Indonesia’s kretek exports to the United States this year.  Rupang said that the contribution to the state of the country’s kretek cigarette exports to the United States was the biggest one compared to that exported to other countries. Therefore, the ban reduced Indonesia’s income from kretek exports significantly, he said.

According to the Ministry of Trade, exports of various kinds of cigarettes to the US in 2007 reached US$11,165,432 and dropped to US$9,703,991 in 2008 and US$8,338,419 in 2009.  The realization of exports of the product from January to March 2010 reached US$2,531,317 higher than in the same period last year that was recorded at US$2,531,989.

During the period however no exports of cigarette tobacco that include clove cigarettes were done. This happened following the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as of September 2009. The law prohibits sale of all kinds of flavored cigarettes including clove cigarettes in the US except menthol cigarettes.

The Indonesian government has asked the WTO to solve its dispute over the ban of its kretek exports to the United States. Washington has banned the commodity’s imports based on its health law which also prohibited the importation of other aromatic cigarettes in an effort to prevent youths from being addicted.
   
Indonesia has previously taken the ban to Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO with regard to the imposition of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. The Indonesian government considers the law running against the WTO regulation because it exempts menthol cigarettes while menthol and clove cigarettes are like products according to Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade or TBT Agreement.

Around 99 percent of clove cigarettes sold in the US are imported from Indonesia while all menthol cigarettes are produced in the US and because of that, according to the Indonesian government, the US implicitly bans imports of clove cigarettes.
The government considers the ban discriminative. As a member of the WTO,  the US must have carried out its international obligation as mentioned in the TBT Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade or GATT of 1994.

The director general of international trade cooperation of the ministry of trade, Gusmardi Bustami, said the move to take the matter to the WTO dispute settlement body was the last resort. He said the government has already expressed its opposition to the regulation while it was still being discussed at the US Congress.
   
Indonesia, he said, has also conveyed its complaint in various bilateral forums at senior official and ministerial levels for more than four years but it had come to no avail.
   
"This is about principles. There has been discrimination," Gusmardi said.
   
In the DSB WTO meeting on June 22, 2010 in Geneva, the Indonesian delegation conveyed reasons and legal basis for the need to form a panel to deal with the problem.

He said Indonesia had asked the panel to investigate the violation by the US against Article III of the GATT of 1994 and the use of Article XX of GATT 1994 without providing scientific evidence and meeting the provisions in a number of articles in the TBT and Sanitary and Phythosanitary Act (SPS).

In the meeting the US delegation expressed disappointment over the Indonesian move.  The US has asked Indonesia to reconsider its request for the establishment of a panel to investigate the case.
   
Gusmardi said the rejection by the US was common, had often happened in a DSB meeting because the US as a disputed party has a right to block the move on the first occasion in line with the WTO’s provision on Dispute Settlement Understanding.

U.S Kretek Ban

Last September, the United States Food and Drugs Administration banned Cigarettes with Clover, Fruit or Confectionery flavors, saying that they were particularly attractive to children.

As a consequence, the Kretek Cigarette i.e. Clover flavored Cigarettes that dominates the market in Indonesia can no longer be exported to the United States.

According to The Jakarta Globe, based on World Trade Organization rules, Indonesia and the U.S has 60 days to settle their differences, otherwise Indonesia can request the organization to help settle this matter. And right now the Indonesian government is preparing to take this step.

April 13, 2010

Jonathan Lynn

Indonesia Takes US Kretek Ban to World Trade Body

Geneva. Indonesia is launching a formal dispute at the World Trade Organization against the United States over its ban on clove-flavored kretek cigarettes, an official at Indonesia’s WTO mission said on Monday.

Like many trade disputes, this one involves health standards and whether they are being abused for protectionist purposes. It centers on the kretek clove and tobacco blends that dominate the market in Indonesia but are little smoked abroad.

The US Food and Drug Administration banned cigarettes with fruit, confectionery or clove flavors last September, arguing they were particularly attractive to children. But the US ban does not include menthol-flavored cigarettes widely produced in the US and smoked by about 19 million Americans. Indonesia argues this discriminates against foreign producers of flavored tobacco to help US manufacturers.

“They have to prove menthol doesn’t have a bad impact,” the official said.

US tobacco companies told the FDA on March 31 that adding menthol did not make cigarettes more harmful or addictive.

Under WTO rules, the two countries now have 60 days to resolve their differences, or Indonesia can ask the WTO to create a panel of experts to rule on the issue.

The case is only the fifth brought by Indonesia, the world’s 21st biggest exporter, at the WTO.

Indonesia is the world’s fifth-biggest tobacco market, and kretek cigarettes still account for most of the market. Exports of cigarettes and cigars totaled $358 million in 2008, the last year for which data is available. Only a relatively small number of kretek cigarettes is exported, and they are coveted by some young people in the US who see them as an alternative to more conventional brands.

Foreign tobacco producers, keen to gain a bigger share of expanding markets for cigarettes in emerging economies, have been buying up Indonesian manufacturers to acquire kretek brands and expertise and build on the potential for sales.

In June last year the world’s No. 2 cigarette maker, British American Tobacco, bought an 85 percent stake in Indonesia’s fourth-largest cigarette maker by volume, PT Bentoel Internasional Investama.

Philip Morris International acquired the majority of PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna in 2005. Other Indonesian manufacturers include PT Gudang Garam and unlisted conglomerate Djarum.

Supervising the consultations with Indonesia will be one of the first tasks of the new US ambassador to the WTO, Michael Punke, whose Senate confirmation was held up for six months by a Republican senator from the tobacco-growing state of Kentucky.

Surabaya banned Gays and Lesbians Conference

The municipality of Surabaya, East Java, has banned an international Gays and Lesbians conference which    is scheduled to be held on 26-28 March 2010. Please find below an article in Kompas for reference.

I hope that the decision has bee informed to the conference organizer much earlier so that they can find alternative place for the event.

Int'l Gays and Lesbians Banned from Flocking to Surabaya

Rabu, 24 Maret 2010 | 14:00 WIB

SURABAYA, KOMPAS.com — Surabaya deputy mayor Arif Affandi has banned the international  gay-lesbian conference from being held in Surabaya on March 26-28, 2010. The committee of the conference will have to find a new city for its venue.

Arif stated that the rejection can't be categorized as antidemocratic or against human rights. Democracy and human rights must also mind socio-cultural conditions.

"I don't think Surabaya is suitable for such an international seminar or conference," he said in Surabaya, Wednesday. But the Surabaya government can't declare an official statement on the issue. The permit is entirely up to the police.

"Because it has an international scale, so the permit must come from the police HQ by recommendation of the regional and district police. But I heard that the Surabaya chief police has also denied the permit with the reason that it has a potential to disturb law and order."

The gay-lesbian conference was scheduled for this weekend in Surabaya, and to be attended by 200 people from various countries. (RAZ/C17-09)

EU's ban on our Airlines

Many aircrafts accidents have happened in our country, killing lots of its crews and passengers.

The latest accident was on 6 April when the Air Force’s Fokker F-27 crash-landed & hit a hangar at the airport in Bandung, West Java, killing all of its 24 crews & passengers.
In an interview with Tempointeraktif, the Air Force’s PR vice Marshal Sagoem said that the plane’s black box is still being investigated and the main cause of accident can only be known three months after the tragedy.

Meanwhile, The Jakarta Globe reported that our inability to stop aircraft accidents has caused the European Union (EU) to extend the 21 months old ban on our aircraft entering their air space, saying that our aviation sector must meet seven more requirements. The ban was imposed in July 2007 after two Indonesian commercial aircrafts crashed, one in Jogyakarta, the other in South Sulawesi, killing a total of 123 passengers, based on the recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organization which issued 69 requirements which should be met.
Our government has made very serious efforts to meet those requirements, including amendment of the National Aviation Law last January, that the Minister of Transport Syafii Djamal said that EU has no more reason to extend their ban.
Unfortunately, a series of embarrassing aircraft accidents occurred last February, while aviation experts from the EU were visiting Indonesia to assess its progress before the March meeting. As a result, the EU extended the ban last March, pending completion of seven remaining requirements. EU’s ambassador to Indonesia i.e. Julian Wilson said that “The EU will be reviewing them at the next meeting in June ” Wilson said, adding that they were technical issues. “They are mostly related to inspections by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation at the Transportation Ministry.”

According to flag carrier Garuda’s President Emirsyah Satar, EU’s ban has costs Garuda around US$ 9 Million annually.

Considering the above, I hope that our government would strictly reconsider the licenses that have been granted to airlines in Indonesia, and always make sure that they obey all the aviation rules and regulations in our country as well in other countries of the world.