Earlier this month, an unidentified underwater drone found in the Selayar Waters of South Sulawesi captured the attention of Indonesian media. The occasion was the third occurrence that a foreign drone, also known as a ‘sea glider,’ was found in the nation’s waters. Needless to say, the discovery triggered a country-wide public furious and strong backlash from the Indonesian parliament members – especially upon heightened suspicion of the drone’s origin.
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2020 might be one of the most challenging years in decades. As the world was not only struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the rising bigotry, hate speech, and extremism. From suicide bombing in Quetta, Pakistan, the burning of Qur’an by far-right activists in Sweden, the Islamist terrorist stabbings in Nice, France to the recent mass shooting in Vienna, Austria, and another mass killing in the village of Koshebe, Nigeria, we have not seen any progress in the fight against hate speech, bigotry, terrorism, and extremism. In spite of that, international collective efforts have also been conducted by various actors and institutions in hope for a better future of inter-religious harmony. This year, another chance at improving what we have left last year will proceed.
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It is not only students and the youth that are struggling to adjust to work-from-home or online classes and practically everything-virtual. World leaders, too, have to work remotely. Gone are the days of hand-shaking and shoulder pads, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended what are conventionally known practices of diplomacy: bilateral meetings, international summits, in-person negotiations — all of these things are now held online in accordance with public health safety guidelines.
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In collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) has the pleasure to once again conduct the #FPCIAmbassadorialLecture series with H.E. Vincent Piket throughout 2021. Ambassadorial Lecture Series aims to discuss various aspects of the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the European Union, especially during the unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The recent controversy over the visit of a German Embassy staffer to the headquarters of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) shows what happens when a diplomatic event has a brush with domestic politics. Here is what we know. On Dec. 17, 2020, an employee of the German Embassy visited the FPI headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta. Her entry into the compound and the car she arrived in, which bore a diplomatic license plate, was photographed, most likely by an intelligence officer assigned to watch the goings-on at the compound. Two days later, FPI secretary-general Munarman confirmed her visit to the media and the incident went viral. Reports began to surface that the woman in question was a member of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND).
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The year 2020 marked an all-time low for the so-called leader of the free world. Extenuating domestic situation due to poor management of the pandemic coupled with social unrest has earned America the title of “the sick man of democracies,” so lamented by American professor John Delury.
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