Maret 2007
NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN ACEH, NEW GOVERNOR SAYS
Banda Aceh - Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) Governor Irwandi Yusus has said there was no discrimination against women in the development of the province.
"There is no discrimination against women in Aceh, because they are strong and reliable," Irwandi said here on Sunday (18/2/2007). He pointed out that during the armed conflict in Aceh, many women also fell victim. Women whose husbands were killed during the conflict became the backbones of their families.
The governor said top priority should be given to women's health affairs, especially their reproduction potential. And the women in the province should also be given wider opportunities to take an active part in the political field.
"We are giving wider opportunities to women here to assume important political positions," the governor said, adding that there would be no difference between the empowerment of men and women.
After being installed as the new Aceh governor by the Home Affairs Minister Moh Ma'ruf Irwandi on February 10, 2007, he said he needed constructive criticism and suggestions from various circles in the development of the province toward a prosperous life for the people.
"For us, constructive criticism and suggestions are important in our job to bring a better future for the Aceh province," Irwandi said in the company of Mustafa Abubakar, who had been the acting Aceh governor for more than a year.
On the occasion, Irwandi also expressed appreciation to Mustafa Abubakar for his contribution to the peaceful and democratic election in Aceh.
"We will run the administration which happens to be under the leadership of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders," he added. And Irwandi said the mandate given to him and Muhammad Nazar, his deputy, by the people of Aceh to lead the province would be implemented with a true sense of responsibility.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Jakarta, in an official statement, said that the inauguration of Irwandi Yusuf as governor and Muhammad Nazar as deputy governor of Aceh was a positive step in the course of democracy in Indonesia, and in the Aceh peace process.
"We welcome the fact that all sides have taken a constructive stand in the election and made a commitment to working together in the development of the province and promoting the peace process," the statement said (Antara, 19/2/2007
Embassy of the Republic Indonesia in Canberra