How Indonesians celebrate Independence Day

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Climbers raised the national flag at the edge of Mount Rinjani’s Segara Anak crater. (Mount Rinjani National Park Agency)
Updated 17 August 2019
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How Indonesians celebrate Independence Day

  • Thrill-seekers flock to the mountains to raise the flag on high
  • It’s a unique tradition a nation with 500 mountains, including active volcanoes

JAKARTA: Indonesians always find new ideas for celebrating the Aug. 17 Independence Day. While the most common celebration is a simple raising of the national flag, it has become a tradition for people to do it in extreme places, such as the top of a mountain.  In a vast archipelago that stretches 5,245 kilometers along the equator, Indonesian thrill-seekers who want to raise the flag on high are spoilt with options. With 500 mountains, of which 127 are active volcanoes and 22 are showing increased signs of activity.
Miena Muzdalifah, a mountain climber from Bandung, West Java, had her first high-altitude flag-raising moment in 2018 on Mount Hawu, a limestone mountain in Padalarang, west of Bandung. It was part of a simultaneous flag-hoisting ceremony in four compass directions that surround Bandung that her group, the Bandung Mountain Climbers Community, held last year.  
“There was a special sense of pride to be able to raise the red-and-white (flag) at a high altitude. We had to undergo a certain process to read the limestone cliff’s summit,” Miena told Arab News.  “It was a great feeling and it boosted my sense of nationalism and patriotism,” she added.  
Miena said the group plans to celebrate Indonesia’s 74th Independence Day by having a flag-hoisting ceremony at a 2,088-meter elevation on the Soleh Peak of Mount Jampang in Garut district, south of Bandung.

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Karst mountains

The karst mountains, made of limestone, can be worn away from the top or dissolved from a weak point inside the rock, featuring caves, underground streams and sinkholes. Steep rocky cliffs are visible where erosion has worn away the land above ground.

The high enthusiasm to celebrate Independence Day by climbing a mountain, especially the most popular ones and those located in national parks, has resulted in such an excess of climbers that park managements have to impose quotas. The limit fills up so quickly that climbers have to book online far ahead of their trip.
Mount Rinjani in Lombok Island, a 3,726-meter-high active volcano and the second-highest mountain in Indonesia, imposed a quota of 500 climbers per day. The restriction took effect after all four trails on the mountain were reopened for climbers on June 14. They had been closed following the 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the island in July 2018.
“We’re not giving out more places for climbers, even though enthusiasm is high during the Independence Day holiday,” Sudiyono, head of Mount Rinjani National Park, told Arab News.
The mountain is also popular with foreign hikers, who have made up 80 percent of its climbers since the reopening, Sudiyono said.

NUMBERS

5,245km - The length of the Indonesian archipelago that straddles the equator.

500 - Mountains in Indonesia.

127 - Active volcanoes that dot the archipelago from Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east.

4,884m - The 7 highest summits in Indonesia that start from the 2,278-meter Mount Bukit Raya in Kalimantan to the 4,884-meter Mount Jayawijaya in Papua.

12 - The youngest age of an Indonesian climber to climb the seven summits.

2,088m - Height of one of this year’s Independence Day ceremonies.

Last year, rescuers had to evacuate 1,226 climbers, including 696 foreigners, who were stranded in various spots on the mountain, including its iconic crater lake, Segara Anak, due to landslides triggered by the powerful quake.
“It was always very crowded with climbers celebrating independence each year. After the earthquake, we have been improving our climbing procedures. We want to maintain manageable numbers for safety and for conservation purposes,” Sudiyono said.
Rahman Mukhlis, secretary-general of the Indonesia Mountain Guide Association, has had the chance to celebrate Independence Day on two of Indonesia’s seven highest summits, Mount Rinjani and Mount Latimojong, a 3,478-meter-high non-volcanic mountain in South Sulawesi.
“When we climb mountains, we get to know more about our country. We gain a better understanding of our sociocultural environment through interacting with the locals and seeing first-hand our country’s beautiful nature. We see a different view from above,” Rahman told Arab News.
Dody Permana, a long-time mountain climber, had his Independence Day moment years ago on Java’s highest mountain, Mount Semeru, which sits 3,676 meters above sea level in East Java province and is one of Indonesia’s seven highest summits.
“The Independence Day holiday is always a good opportunity to climb together with a group of friends. It feels heroic when have a flag-raising ceremony in an unusual place, such as the top of a mountain,” Dody said.
“Almost all the most popular ones would be overcrowded with climbers during the holiday, except some that have imposed a quota for climbers,” he added.
Mount Semeru used to host thousands of climbers for Independence Day celebrations. But since May, the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park has imposed a quota of 600 climbers per day after months of closure following intense rainfall at the height of the rainy season in January.
Lanjar Sayekti, who works at the national park office, told Arab News that quotas for climbers in Semeru on the Independence Day weekend are full up.
“Mount climbing is a good way to gain a deeper feeling of nationalism and boost patriotism, especially on Independence Day,” Rahman said.


Putin envoy says diplomatic solution possible but differences remain after US talks

Updated 5 sec ago
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Putin envoy says diplomatic solution possible but differences remain after US talks

WASHINGTON: A senior Russian envoy on Thursday said differences remain between the US and Russia but a diplomatic solution to bring an end to the war in Ukraine is possible.
“I think (with) the Trump administration, we are now in realm of thinking about what is possible, what can really work, and how we can find a long term solution,” Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, told CNN following talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington.


US Senate Republican pushes for congressional approval of president’s tariffs

Updated 26 min 52 sec ago
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US Senate Republican pushes for congressional approval of president’s tariffs

  • The Republican critics in Congress of Trump’s tariff moves remained a distinct minority

WASHINGTON: Republican US Senator Chuck Grassley introduced a bill on Thursday that would require congressional approval for new tariffs, the day after President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new taxes on a vast array of imported goods.
Grassley, whose home state of Iowa relies heavily on the global agricultural trade, joined Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington for the “Trade Review Act of 2025” which would require Congress to sign off on new tariffs within 60 days of their imposition or automatically block their enforcement. The move, made the day after four other Senate Republicans voted for a measure that would lift Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, was the latest sign of dissent among Republicans as Trump’s aggressive moves fanned recessionary fears and sparked Wall Street’s worst day since 2022.
Neither Grassley’s bill nor the measure that passed the Senate on Wednesday were seen as likely to become law while Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, where many of their members are voicing support for Trump’s moves.
Trump, who has long advocated for tariffs, said that the highest US trade barriers in more than a century would both raise federal revenue and drive manufacturing back to the US Economists have voiced deep skepticism about both possibilities.
Grassley, the longest-serving member of the US Senate, did not directly criticize Trump in introducing his bill. He noted that he had proposed a similar trade approach during Trump’s first administration, citing the US Constitution establishing congressional authority over trade issues, but that over time the legislature has ceded this power to the executive branch.
But some Republicans have indicated unease with parts of Trump’s tariff plans.
“I would have expected more targeted tariffs to meet the needs of where countries are taking advantage of us, and perhaps a more modest approach in the amounts,” Republican Senator Jerry Moran told reporters. He also expressed concerns that tariffs placed on US allies in Southeast Asia were similar to those placed on China, which he called a “damaging” economy to the US
Republican Senator James Lankford said he was surprised by the 17 percent tariff on Israel and hoped the US Trade Representative could explain why the tariff level on Israel was different from other countries. Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell — the chamber’s former Republican leader — provided the votes on Wednesday to pass Democratic Senator Tim Kaine’s disapproval resolution on the Trump trade approach toward Canada.
“Tariffs drive up the cost of goods and services. They are a tax on everyday working Americans,” McConnell said in a statement on Thursday.
About half of Americans, and one in five Republicans, believe that increasing tariffs on imports will do more harm than good, a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Wednesday found. The Republican critics in Congress of Trump’s tariff moves remained a distinct minority. Indeed, the House earlier this month passed a measure meant to strip Congress’ power to challenge new tariffs imposed by the president.
“The president has been talking about unfair trade against the United States for 40 years, so he’s been very consistent on this,” said Senator John Barrasso, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican. “Long-term, I think this is very important for the country, bringing jobs and manufacturing back to America, focusing on our economy.”
Grassley’s Democratic co-sponsor, Cantwell, said that Trump’s tariffs risked long-term damage to the US economy.
“We can’t afford a trade war that lasts for two or three years, leaving our product off the shelves,” Cantwell said. “We cannot have arbitrary policies that create chaos and uncertainty.”


Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris

Updated 36 min 41 sec ago
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Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris

  • Bouffard said the damage to the known sites as well as treasures potentially hidden in unexplored Palestinian land “depends on the bomb tonnage and their impact on the surface and underground”

PARIS: A new exhibition opening in Paris on Friday showcases archaeological artifacts from Gaza, once a major commercial crossroads between Asia and Africa, whose heritage has been ravaged by Israel’s ongoing onslaught.
Around a hundred artifacts, including a 4,000-year-old bowl, a sixth-century mosaic from a Byzantine church and a Greek-inspired statue of Aphrodite, are on display at the Institut du Monde Arabe.
The rich and mixed collection speaks to Gaza’s past as a cultural melting pot, but the show’s creators also wanted to highlight the contemporary destruction caused by the war, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
“The priority is obviously human lives, not heritage,” said Elodie Bouffard, curator of the exhibition, which is titled “Saved Treasures of Gaza: 5,000 Years of History.”
“But we also wanted to show that, for millennia, Gaza was the endpoint of caravan routes, a port that minted its own currency, and a city that thrived at the meeting point of water and sand,” she told AFP.
One section of the exhibition documents the extent of recent destruction.
Using satellite image, the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO has already identified damage to 94 heritage sites in Gaza, including the 13th-century Pasha’s Palace.
Bouffard said the damage to the known sites as well as treasures potentially hidden in unexplored Palestinian land “depends on the bomb tonnage and their impact on the surface and underground.”
“For now, it’s impossible to assess.”
The attacks by Hamas militants on Israel in 2023 left 1,218 dead. In retaliation, Israeli operations have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated the densely populated territory.

The story behind “Gaza’s Treasures” is inseparable from the ongoing wars in the Middle East.
At the end of 2024, the Institut du Monde Arabe was finalizing an exhibition on artifacts from the archaeological site of Byblos in Lebanon, but Israeli bombings on Beirut made the project impossible.
“It came to a sudden halt, but we couldn’t allow ourselves to be discouraged,” said Bouffard.
The idea of an exhibition on Gaza’s heritage emerged.
“We had just four and a half months to put it together. That had never been done before,” she explained.
Given the impossibility of transporting artifacts out of Gaza, the Institut turned to 529 pieces stored in crates in a specialized Geneva art warehouse since 2006. The works belong to the Palestinian Authority, which administers the West Bank.

The Oslo Accords of 1993, signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, helped secure some of Gaza’s treasures.
In 1995, Gaza’s Department of Antiquities was established, which oversaw the first archaeological digs in collaboration with the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF).
Over the years, excavations uncovered the remains of the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, the ancient Greek port of Anthedon, and a Roman necropolis — traces of civilizations spanning from the Bronze Age to Ottoman influences in the late 19th century.
“Between Egypt, Mesopotamian powers, and the Hasmoneans, Gaza has been a constant target of conquest and destruction throughout history,” Bouffard noted.
In the 4th century BC, Greek leader Alexander the Great besieged the city for two months, leaving behind massacres and devastation.
Excavations in Gaza came to a standstill when Hamas took power in 2007 and Israel imposed a blockade.
Land pressure and rampant building in one of the world’s most densely populated areas has also complicated archaeological work.
And after a year and a half of war, resuming excavations seems like an ever-more distant prospect.
The exhibition runs until November 2, 2025.
 

 


Uganda’s president arrives in S.Sudan as crisis deepens

Updated 03 April 2025
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Uganda’s president arrives in S.Sudan as crisis deepens

  • The Ugandan leader, whose military was invited into South Sudan last month to help secure the capital, did not refer directly to the crisis in public remarks at the airport in Juba

NAIROBI: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni arrived in neighboring South Sudan on Thursday, in the highest level mission there since clashes and the detention of the vice president triggered regional fears of a return to civil war.
Museveni was met at the airport by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, whose administration has accused First Vice President Riek Machar of stoking rebellion and put him under house arrest.
The Ugandan leader, whose military was invited into South Sudan last month to help secure the capital, did not refer directly to the crisis in public remarks at the airport in Juba.
The visit follows mediation missions by the African Union and an East African regional body this week to de-escalate the crisis.
Museveni told reporters he would hold talks “aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation between our two nations.”
Kiir said the two leaders would discuss “current political developments in the country.”
The standoff between Kiir and Machar, who led opposing forces in a 2013-2018 civil war that killed hundreds of thousands, has prompted the UN to warn that the world’s young nation could be on the brink of all-out conflict along ethnic lines.
Uganda backed Kiir’s forces during the civil war.
It sent troops last month amid fighting between South Sudan’s military and an ethnic Nuer militia in Upper Nile state in the northeast.
Machar’s predominantly Nuer forces were allied with the White Army militia during the civil war, but his party denies government accusations of ongoing links.
Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, also Museveni’s son, said on Tuesday he had ordered Ugandan forces to stop attacking the White Army so long as it ceases offensives against Ugandan troops.
Machar’s party says the Ugandan intervention violates South Sudan’s arms embargo.
Analysts say Kiir, 73, appears to be attempting to shore up his position amid discontent within his political camp and speculation about his succession plan.

 


Italy plans $22 million for migrant repatriations

Updated 03 April 2025
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Italy plans $22 million for migrant repatriations

  • The ministry said the plan would benefit “around 3,300 of the most vulnerable migrants, carrying out their repatriation to their countries of origin sustainably and effectively”

ROME: Italy plans to invest 20 million euros ($22 million) in a new project to help Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia send irregular migrants from their territories back to the migrants’ countries of origin.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to cut irregular migration to Italy’s shores from North Africa — the majority of whom depart from Libya and Tunisia.
However, many migrants who depart hail from other countries, especially sub-Saharan African countries.
Italy’s new plan “focuses on strengthening the institutional and administrative-managerial capacities of the partner countries,” with the involvement of 400 officials, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Irregular migration would be better addressed “through the improvement and development of assisted voluntary repatriations from Algeria, Libya and Tunisia to the countries of origin,” it said.
It said the project would collaborate with the International Organization for Migration to ensure migrants’ rights.
The ministry said the plan would benefit “around 3,300 of the most vulnerable migrants, carrying out their repatriation to their countries of origin sustainably and effectively.”
It said Italy’s Agency for Development Cooperation, which helps carry out development activities, would provide technical support.
The agency has also been charged with another plan targeted at the “socio-economic reintegration of returning migrants,” tapping Italian companies and civil society groups, it said.
Most migrants arriving in Italy via the Mediterranean depart from Libya and Tunisia.
Italy has agreements with both countries to provide funding in exchange for help stemming departures.
On Wednesday, Libyan authorities said they would suspend the work of 10 international humanitarian groups, including Doctors Without Borders, accusing them of a plan to “settle migrants” from other parts of Africa in the country.