President Joko Widodo (right) gives a promotion mark to TNI General Agus Subiyanto after being appointed Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) at the State Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday.
Jakarta : President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) appointed TNI General Agus Subiyanto as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army (KSAD), replacing TNI General Dudung Abdurachman.
The inauguration of the TNI Army Chief of Staff was carried out simultaneously with the inauguration of the Minister of Agriculture and the Indonesian Ambassador to Argentina at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Guided by President Jokowi, General Agus took his oath of office to always be loyal to the 1945 Constitution and carry out all laws and regulations strictly for the sake of the dharma of service to the nation and state.
"In carrying out my duties, I will uphold office ethics, work to the best of my ability with a full sense of responsibility. "That I will uphold the soldier's oath," said Agus.
Agus is a 1991 graduate of the Military Academy (Akmil) who pursued his career as a first officer in the Red Beret Corps (Kopassus).
He once served as Head of Operations Section (Kasi) for Sector A Group 3/Pusdikpassus (Special Forces Education Center) in Timor-Timor, then Commander of Battalion (Danyon) 22/Manggala Yudha Group 2 Kopassus/Sandi Yudha based in Kartasura, Central Java , and Head of Information (Kapen) of the Special Forces Command (Kopassus).
Over a period of approximately 18 years, Agus began filling strategic positions, including Commander of Kodim (Dandim) 0735/Surakarta (2009–2011). During that time, President Jokowi still served as Mayor of Surakarta.
Then he served as Deputy Assistant for Operations (Waasops) to the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Infantry Division/TNI AD Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) in 2011–2014, Assistant for Operations to the Chief of Staff of Kodam (Kasdam) I/Bukit Barisan (2014–2015), Associate Lecturer at the Staff College and TNI AD Command (Seskoad) in 2015, middle officer of the TNI AD Headquarters Detachment (2015–2016), Commander of the Main Regiment of Kodam (Danrindam) II/Sriwijaya (2016–2017).
Agus began to break out of stardom and attained the status of a high-ranking one-star officer when he served as Commander of Korem (Danrem) 132/Tadulako (2017–2018).
Then, he served as Deputy Commander of the Infantry Weapons Center of the Indonesian Army's Doctrine, Education and Training Command (Wadanpussenif Kodiklatad) in 2019–2020, continuing as Danrem 061/Surya Kencana in 2020. Agus's military career continued to prosper, especially when he became Commander of the Security
Forces President (Danpaspampres) in 2020–2021, whose rank will automatically increase one level to major general.
Agus was also one of the TNI officers who was in Jokowi's close circle from when he was Mayor of Surakarta until finally President of the Republic of Indonesia.
He then continued to carry out his duties as Regional Military Commander (Pangdam) III/Siliwangi (2021–2022), then Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army accompanying General Dudung from 2022 to 25 October 2023.
U.S. lawmaker: North Koreans are forced to work and Chinese seafood products are distributed in the U.S.
The U.S. Congress emphasized that the sale of processed seafood products produced through forced labor by North Korean workers dispatched to China in the U.S. is a violation of sanctions and a violation of human rights, and that the government and related companies must make efforts to eradicate this practice . Reporter Kim So-young reports .
On the 24th , the U.S. Congress and Executive Committee on China (CECC) held a hearing on the distribution of seafood in the United States produced through forced labor by foreign workers, including North Korean residents, in China .
Congressman Chris Smith, co-chair of the day, pointed out that according to a recent report published by the non-profit media outlet ' The Outlaw Ocean Project ', seafood made with forced labor from North Koreans is being imported into the United States .
Rep. Smith : This investigation shows that Chinese companies have been exploiting the forced labor of Uyghurs and North Koreans to process significant amounts of seafood entering the U.S. market .
Rep. Smith said that various types of seafood, such as fish, crabs, and clams, made by North Koreans at Chinese seafood processing companies , are being distributed freely in U.S. military bases, schools , and large grocery stores .
Greg Scalatu, Secretary-General of the Human Rights Commission of North Korea (HRNK), who attended as a witness on this day, said that the dispatch of North Korean workers to Chinese seafood processing companies is not only a violation of UN Security Council sanctions, but also a violation of the United States' current law, the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. It was criticized as a violation of the Act .
Secretary-General Scarlatu testified that among the thousands of North Korean workers who remained in China before they were repatriated from last August, three years after the coronavirus outbreak, the majority suffered from forced labor in seafood processing companies and textile factories .
Secretary-General Scarlatu added that he had confirmed through internal sources that North Korean workers worked at three seafood processing companies located in Dandong, China .
There are also reports of cases where some North Korean seafood was delivered overland to a Chinese factory, dried or frozen, and then sold to the United States, Europe , Japan, etc.
Secretary-General Scarlatu pointed out that North Korean workers had to work in extremely harsh conditions in freezers for about 10 hours every day , up to 12 hours if they did not meet their quotas , and that their labor and human rights were not properly guaranteed .
Secretary-General Scarlatu : North Korean workers working at seafood processing companies are treated harshly for long hours without sufficient rest , and work under inhumane working conditions without the minimum safety measures that are dangerous to their physical and mental health .
Meanwhile, the ' Bipartisan Group of Parliamentarians on North Korea Issues (APPG-NK)' within the British Parliament held a discussion on North Korean human rights on the 24th together with the Korea Institute for National Unification .
On this day, officials from the Transitional Justice Working Group, a South Korean human rights group, attended in person and gave a presentation on the issue of North Korean human rights violations in China and the efforts of the Korean government and the United Nations to improve human rights in North Korea.
The joint statement adopted at the end of the meeting confirmed our commitment to work with the UK Parliament , the Government of the Republic of Korea and the international community to prevent the repatriation of North Korean refugees, especially children , women and pregnant women, by Chinese authorities .