Eruption welcomes President Yudhoyono at Mt. Merapi

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (left) meets refugees of the erupted Mt. Merapi at a shelter in Purwobinangun, Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday. Yudhoyono asked the refugees to be patient and sensitive with Merapi activities. Antara/Regina Safri

November 03, 2010 (KATAKAMI / THE JAKARTA POST) --- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was welcomed by another eruption at Mount Merapi on Wednesday morning when he was about to visit a shelter site for refugees in Pakem, Sleman, Yogyakarta.

An officer at the Mt. Merapi observation post, Agus, said that the eruption occurred at around 8:20 a.m.
“It was a single eruption but quite big. The mountain spewed hot clouds which moved about five kilometers to west,” he added as quoted by Kompas.com.

Mt. Merapi, where an eruption on last Tuesday has killed 39 people so far, is still on top alert status as it still continues to erupt and spew hot clouds of ashes.


(MS)

Photostream : Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard meets Indonesian President Yudhoyono

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard inspects a guard of honour at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during her official visit to Indonesia November 2, 2010. REUTERS/Supri (INDONESIA)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, left, walks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prior to their meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday. (AP/Dita Alangkara/Jakarta Post)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, left, walks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prior to their meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (L) walks with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during her state visit to Indonesia November 2, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni )

Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (L) is invited to inspect the guard of honour by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during her state visit to Indonesia November 2, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Supri )

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, left, shakes hands with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prior to their meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to Indonesia

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev

October 28, 2010 (KATAKAMI / KREMLIN.RU) --- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to Indonesian President Susilo Yudohoyono following the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia.

The message reads, in part :

“I was profoundly saddened to learn of the great loss of life and the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia.

I express my sincere sympathy and share the Indonesian people’s pain and grief. Please pass on my condolences to the victims’ families and my wishes for a speedy recovery to all who were injured.
If necessary, we are ready to help your country overcome this disaster.”

President Yudhoyono to visit Mentawai on Thursday

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

October 27, 2010 (KATAKAMI / THE JAKARTA POST) --- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will visit Mentawai at 9 a.m. on Thursday to meet with tsunami victims.

Yudhoyono is now in Padang, West Sumatra.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Wednesday Yudhoyono will not go to Yogyakarta, but he asked Vice President Boediono to do so.

"President would return to Hanoi to attend the ASEAN chairman handover ceremony as Indonesia will take over the leadership from Vietnam," he said as quoted by kompas.com

Monday's tsunami has killed 311 people in Mentawai.

Gubernur Sumbar : KorbanTsunami Mentawai Yang Meninggal Dunia 311 Orang

President Yudhoyono cuts short his Vietnam visit

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

October 27, 2010 Hanoi, Vietnam (KATAKAMI / ANTARA) - Visiting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to cut short his working trip and return to Jakarta on Wednesday.

The president made the decision to return to Indonesia following a volcanic eruption in Central Java on Tuesday and earthquake-triggered tsunami in West Sumatra on Monday.

The president was forced to immediately return to Jakarta to monitor for himself the direct impact of the two separate natural disasters on the local people.

"President Yudhoyono has made up his mind to return to Indonesia on Wednesday," Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi told the newsmen in Hanoi, Vietnam, earlier in the day.

Sudi said the president was scheduled to directly head to Mentawai, West Sumatra, to obtain the first hand information about Monday`s powerful earthquake which was followed by a deadly tsunami.

President Yudhoyono and his entourage arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday evening for a state visit to attend the 17th Asean Summit.

The president`s party included the Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, the Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi and the Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.
Yudhoyono would start his activities in Vietnam on Tuesday by paying a state visit, which was at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyen Ming Triet.

The president made the state visit in connection with the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Vietnam, which fall on December 30, 2010.

According to the presidential spokesman for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah, the visit would focus on increasing the cooperation in the fields of politics, law, security, economy, development, social and tourism.

But at about 7.55 on Wednesday morning, the members of the presidential entourage were asked to pack their belongings and get ready to leave the hotel.

Consequently the Indonesian head of state had to cancel a number of his agenda in the visit to Hanoi, Vietnam.(*)

President Yudhoyono to return early

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (C) and his wife Kristiani Herawati (R) attend a wreath laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi October 27, 2010. Yudhoyono is in Vietnam for the 17th ASEAN Summit that will take place from October 28 to 30. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Luong Thai Linh/Pool )

October 27, 2010 HANOI (KATAKAMI / THE STRAITS TIMES)  - INDONESIAN President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in Hanoi for an Asean summit, will return home early on Wednesday because of deadly natural disasters at home, an Asean source said.

'It's true. At midday' he will leave, the source told AFP.

Dr Yudhoyono arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday for an official visit with Vietnamese leaders before the summit of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) on Thursday, and the follow-up East Asia Summit Saturday with six regional partner nations.

A 7.7-magnitude quake that struck late on Monday near the Mentawai Islands off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that has killed at least 112 people and left hundreds more missing.

Another 25 people have died on Java island after the Mount Merapi volcano erupted. --


AFP

Indonesian President says political differences must not sacrifice national unity

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (R) and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono watch the celebrations of the country's 65th Independence Day at the presidential palace in Jakarta on August 17, 2010. (Photo : ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

October 17, 2010 (KATAKAMI/ THE JAKARTA POST) — President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Sunday that any differences among political parties must not sacrifice national unity.

“Each of us can have a different political stance, but for the people, we must live in unity,” he said during the celebration of the ninth anniversary of Democratic Party.

Yudhoyono called on his party members to work hard for the next three years.

“I ask you to always work and not to blame one another,” he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com
Political party chairmen and leaders such as Aburizal Bakrie, Hatta Rajasa, Suryadharma Ali, Muhaimin Iskandar, Tifatul Sembiring, Suhardi, and Sutiyoso attended the Democratic Party anniversary celebration.