FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Former Chief Executive Officer of Oil Services Company Pleads Guilty to Foreign Bribery Charges
The former chief executive officer of PetroTiger Ltd., a British Virgin Islands oil and gas company with operations in Colombia and offices in New Jersey, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials and to defraud PetroTiger.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey and Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford of the FBI’s Newark Division made the announcement.
Knut Hammarskjold, 42, of Greenville, S.C., the former co-CEO of PetroTiger, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Josephy E. Irenas in Camden, N.J., to an information charging one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to commit wire fraud and is scheduled for sentencing on May 16, 2014. Gregory Weisman, 42, of Moorestown, N.J., the former general counsel of PetroTiger, pleaded guilty to the same charges on Nov. 8, 2013. Charges remain pending against Joseph Sigelman, 42, of Miami and the Philippines, the other former co-CEO of PetroTiger, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the FCPA, conspiracy to launder money and substantive violations of the FCPA.
According to the charges, the defendants allegedly paid bribes to an official in Colombia in exchange for the official’s assistance in securing approval for an oil services contract worth roughly $39 million. To conceal the bribes, the defendants allegedly first attempted to make the payments to a bank account in the name of the foreign official’s wife, for purported consulting services she did not perform. The charges allege that Sigelman and Hammarskjold provided Weisman invoices including her bank account information. The defendants made the payments directly to the official’s bank account when attempts to transfer the money to his wife’s account failed.
In addition, court documents allege that the defendants attempted to secure kickback payments at the expense of several of PetroTiger’s board members. According to the criminal charges, the defendants were negotiating an acquisition of another company on behalf of PetroTiger, including on behalf of several members of PetroTiger’s board of directors who were helping to fund the acquisition. In exchange for negotiating a higher purchase price for the acquisition, two of the owners of the target company agreed to kick back to the defendants a portion of the increased purchase price. According to the charges, to conceal the kickback payments, the defendants had the payments deposited into Sigelman’s bank account in the Philippines, created a “side letter” to falsely justify the payments, and used the code name “Manila Split” to refer to the payments amongst themselves.
Sigelman and Hammarskjold were charged by sealed complaints filed in the District of New Jersey on Nov. 8, 2013. Hammarskjold was arrested on Nov. 20, 2013, at Newark Liberty International Airport. Sigelman was arrested on Jan. 3, 2014, in the Philippines. The charges against Sigelman, Hammarskjold and Weisman were unsealed on Jan. 6, 2014.
The conspiracy to commit violations of the FCPA count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost. The conspiracy to commit wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost.
As to the charges in the complaint pending against Sigelman, they are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The department has worked closely with and has received significant assistance from its law enforcement counterparts in the Republic of Colombia and greatly appreciates their assistance in this matter. The department also thanks the Republic of the Philippines, including the Bureau of Immigration, and the Republic of Panama for their assistance in this matter. Significant assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Newark Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Daniel S. Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Mendelsohn of the District of New Jersey.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS AT SAFEWAY DISTRIBUTION CENTER
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Remarks by the President on Fuel Efficiency Standards of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Safeway Distribution Center
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
11:30 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Well, good morning, everybody. (Applause.) It is good to be here. And I want to thank Jack Jacobs and all the folks at Safeway for having us here today, at this busy distribution center where delivery trucks get everything from Doritos to diapers where they need to go. And by the way, I have a little soft spot for Safeway in my heart because some of you know I went to high school in Hawaii and I was living with my grandparents, and our main grocery store was Safeway. It was right down the way. (Applause.) And so my grandmother would send me out to go shopping at Safeway, and everybody there always treated me very well. So I very much appreciate the good work you guys do.
And I want to thank all the workers and businesspeople and labor leaders and environmental leaders who are here today as we take another big step to grow our economy and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
In my State of the Union address, I said that this would be a year of action, and I meant it. So over the past three weeks, I’ve acted to require federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour, because we believe in a higher minimum wage. (Applause.) I’ve ordered an across-the-board reform of job training programs so we can train workers with the skills that employers actually need and match them to the good jobs that are out there right now needing to be filled. I directed the Treasury Secretary to create something we're calling “myRA” -- it's a new way to help working Americans start saving for retirement. And we've brought together business leaders who’ve committed to helping more unemployed Americans find work, no matter how long they’ve been looking.
So the point is I’m eager to work with Congress wherever I can -- but whenever I can act on my own to expand opportunity for more Americans and help build our middle class, I'm going to do that.
And all of you I think understand that although the economy has been doing better, we've spent the past five years fighting our way back from the worst recession of our lifetimes. Now, the economy is growing. Our businesses have created over 8.5 million new jobs over the past four years. The unemployment rate is actually the lowest it’s been in over five years. But the trends, the long-term trends that have hurt middle-class families for decades have continued -- folks at the top doing better than ever before; average wages and incomes have barely budged. Too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up.
So our job is to not only get the economy growing but also to reverse these trends and make sure that everybody can succeed. We’ve got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just the fortunate few. Opportunity for all -- that's the essence of America. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter how you start out, if you're willing to work hard and take responsibility, you can succeed.
So I’ve laid out an opportunity agenda to help us do that. Part one is create more new jobs that pay good wages -- jobs in manufacturing, energy, exports, innovation. Part two, we've got to train folks with the skills they need to fill those jobs. Part three, we've got to guarantee every child access to a world-class education. Part four is making sure that the economy rewards hard work with equal pay for equal work and wages you can live on, savings you can retire on, health insurance you can count on that's there when you need it.
Now, there are very few factors that are helping grow our economy more, bringing more good jobs back to America than our commitment to American manufacturing and American energy. And that’s why we’re here today.
Five years ago, we set out to break our dependence on foreign oil. And today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades. For the first time in nearly 20 years, America produces more oil here at home than we buy from other countries. Our levels of dangerous carbon pollution that contributes to climate change has actually gone down even as our production has gone up. And one of the reasons why is because we dedicated ourselves to manufacturing new cars and new trucks that go farther on a gallon of gas -- and that saves families money, it cuts down harmful pollution, and it creates new advances in American technology.
So for decades, the fuel efficiency standards of our cars and trucks was stuck in neutral even as other kinds of technology leapt forward. And that left families and businesses and our economy vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices. Every time oil prices shot up the economy got hurt. Our automakers were in danger of being left in the dust by foreign automakers. Carbon pollution was going unchecked, which was having severe impacts on our weather.
And that’s why, after taking office, my administration worked with automakers, autoworkers, environmental advocates, and states across the country, and we set in motion the first-ever national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks sold in the United States. And as our automakers retooled and prepared to start making the world’s best cars again, we aimed to raise fuel economy standards to 35.5 miles per gallon for a new vehicle by 2016.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Wow!
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, wow. (Laughter and applause.)
That was an increase of more than eight miles per gallon over what cars had averaged at the time. And what we were clear about was if you set a rule, if you set a clear goal, we would give our companies the certainty that they needed to innovate and out-build the rest of the world. They could figure it out if they had a goal that they were trying to reach. And thanks to their ingenuity and hard work, we’re going to meet that goal.
Two years later, we’ve already seen enormous progress, and we’re building on that progress by setting an even more ambitious target: We’re going to double the distance our cars and light trucks can go on a gallon of gas by 2025. We’re going to double it. And that means -- (applause) -- that’s big news. Because what it means is you’ve got to fill up every two weeks instead of every week, and that saves the typical family more than $8,000 at the pump over time. I’m assuming you can use $8,000 -- (laughter and applause) -- that you’re not paying at the gas station. And, in the process, it cuts American oil consumption by 12 billion barrels.
So we let the automakers decide how they were going to do it. We set the goal and we said, go figure it out. And they invested in innovative and cost-effective technologies. And some are already making cars that beat the target of nearly 55 miles per gallon. They’ve got plug-in hybrids. They’ve got electric vehicles. They’re taking advantage of the investments that the Recovery Act made in American advances in battery technology. So cars are getting better and they’re getting more fuel-efficient all the time.
And for anybody who said this couldn’t be done or that it would hurt the American auto industry, the American auto industry sold more cars last year than any time since 2007. (Applause.) And since we stepped in to help the automakers retool, the American auto industry has created almost 425,000 new jobs.
So we raised fuel efficiency, helped consumers, helped improve air quality, and we’re making better cars than ever and the automakers are hiring more folks again for good jobs all across the country. (Applause.) More plants are running at full capacity -- some are even running three shifts, 24 hours a day -- churning out some of the most high-tech, fuel-efficient, high-performance cars in the world.
And that’s a story of American ingenuity, American grit, and everybody has a right to be proud of it. But today we’re taking the next step.
Heavy-duty trucks account for just 4 percent of all the vehicles on the highway. I know when you’re driving sometimes it feels like it’s more -- (laughter) -- but they’re only 4 percent of all the vehicles. But they’re responsible for about 20 percent of carbon pollution in the transportation sector. So trucks like these are responsible for about 20 percent of our on-road fuel consumption. And because they haul about 70 percent of all domestic freight -- 70 percent of the stuff we use, everything from flat-screen TVs to diapers to produce to you name it -- every mile that we gain in fuel efficiency is worth thousands of dollars of savings every year.
So that’s why we’re investing in research to get more fuel economy gains. And thanks to a partnership between industry and my administration, the truck behind me was able to achieve a 75 percent improvement in fuel economy over the last year -- 75 percent. That’s why we call this “SuperTruck.” (Laughter.) It’s impressive, this one right here, as well. I mean, these are -- first of all, they’re really big. (Laughter.) But you can see how they’ve redesigned the truck in order for us to save fuel economy.
And improving gas mileage for these trucks are going to drive down our oil imports even further. That reduces carbon pollution even more, cuts down on businesses’ fuel costs, which should pay off in lower prices for consumers. So it’s not just a win-win, it’s a win-win-win. You’ve got three wins.
AUDIENCE: Right!
THE PRESIDENT: In 2011, we set new standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that take effect this year and last until 2018. Three weeks ago, in my State of the Union address, I said we’d build on that success. Today, I’m directing the Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, who is right here -- former mayor of Charlotte -- (applause) -- and Gina McCarthy, the Administrator of EPA -- (applause) -- two outstanding public servants -- their charge, their goal is to develop fuel economy standards for heavy-duty trucks that will take us well into the next decade, just like our cars. And they’re going to partner with manufacturers and autoworkers and states and other stakeholders, truckers, to come up with a proposal by March of next year, and they’ll complete the rule a year after that.
And businesses that buy these types of trucks have sent a clear message to the nearly 30,000 workers who build them: We want trucks that use less oil, save more money, cut pollution. So far, 23 companies have joined our National Clean Fleets Partnership to reduce their oil consumption or replace their old fleets of trucks with more fuel-efficient models. And, collectively, they operate about 1 million commercial vehicles nationwide.
So this is a lot of companies, and some of them are competitors. And if rivals like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, or UPS and FedEx, or AT&T and Verizon -- if they can join together on this, then maybe Democrats and Republicans can do the same. (Applause.) Maybe Democrats and Republicans can get together. (Applause.)
So when you see these companies’ new electric or natural gas-powered delivery or garbage trucks, it’s due to this partnership. And the reason we’re here is because Safeway was an early leader on this issue. By improving the aerodynamics of its trucks, investing in larger trailers, more efficient tires, Safeway has improved its own fuel efficiency. And the results are so solid that Safeway now encourages all the companies it hires to ship its products to do the same.
So to help our businesses and manufacturers meet this new goal, we’re offering new tax credits -- both for companies that manufacture heavy-duty alternative-fuel vehicles and those that build fuel infrastructure so that trucks running on biodiesel or natural gas or hybrid electric technology, they’ll have more places to fill up.
Let me say this. The goal we’re setting is ambitious, but these are areas where ambition has worked out really well for us so far. Don’t make small plans, make big plans. And anybody who had dire predictions for the auto industry, said we couldn’t do it, manufacturers couldn’t bring jobs back to America -- every time they say that they’re proven wrong. Every time somebody says you can’t grow the economy while bringing down pollution, it’s turned out they’ve been wrong. (Applause.) Anybody who says we can’t compete when it comes to clean energy technologies like solar and wind, they’ve had to eat those words. You can’t bet against American workers or American industry. You can’t bet against America. Otherwise you’re going to lose money every time, because we know how to do this when we set broad, ambitious goals for ourselves. (Applause.)
So from day one, we’ve known we had to rebuild our economy and transition to a clean-energy future, and we knew it wouldn’t be easy or quick, and we’ve got a lot of work to do on both counts. But the economy is growing. We’re creating jobs. We’re generating more clean energy. We’re cutting our dependence on foreign oil. We’re pumping out less dangerous carbon pollution. If we keep going down this road, then we’re going to have a future full of good-paying jobs.
We’ve got assembly lines that are humming with the components of a clean energy age. We got more of the best trucks and cars in the world designed and engineered and made in America.
If we keep on going, we’re going to leave a better future for our children. And I’m proud of Safeway and all its workers for helping to show us the way. If it can be done here, it can be done all across the country.
So congratulations to all of you. Thank you and God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)
END
Remarks by the President on Fuel Efficiency Standards of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Safeway Distribution Center
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
11:30 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Well, good morning, everybody. (Applause.) It is good to be here. And I want to thank Jack Jacobs and all the folks at Safeway for having us here today, at this busy distribution center where delivery trucks get everything from Doritos to diapers where they need to go. And by the way, I have a little soft spot for Safeway in my heart because some of you know I went to high school in Hawaii and I was living with my grandparents, and our main grocery store was Safeway. It was right down the way. (Applause.) And so my grandmother would send me out to go shopping at Safeway, and everybody there always treated me very well. So I very much appreciate the good work you guys do.
And I want to thank all the workers and businesspeople and labor leaders and environmental leaders who are here today as we take another big step to grow our economy and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
In my State of the Union address, I said that this would be a year of action, and I meant it. So over the past three weeks, I’ve acted to require federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour, because we believe in a higher minimum wage. (Applause.) I’ve ordered an across-the-board reform of job training programs so we can train workers with the skills that employers actually need and match them to the good jobs that are out there right now needing to be filled. I directed the Treasury Secretary to create something we're calling “myRA” -- it's a new way to help working Americans start saving for retirement. And we've brought together business leaders who’ve committed to helping more unemployed Americans find work, no matter how long they’ve been looking.
So the point is I’m eager to work with Congress wherever I can -- but whenever I can act on my own to expand opportunity for more Americans and help build our middle class, I'm going to do that.
And all of you I think understand that although the economy has been doing better, we've spent the past five years fighting our way back from the worst recession of our lifetimes. Now, the economy is growing. Our businesses have created over 8.5 million new jobs over the past four years. The unemployment rate is actually the lowest it’s been in over five years. But the trends, the long-term trends that have hurt middle-class families for decades have continued -- folks at the top doing better than ever before; average wages and incomes have barely budged. Too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up.
So our job is to not only get the economy growing but also to reverse these trends and make sure that everybody can succeed. We’ve got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just the fortunate few. Opportunity for all -- that's the essence of America. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter how you start out, if you're willing to work hard and take responsibility, you can succeed.
So I’ve laid out an opportunity agenda to help us do that. Part one is create more new jobs that pay good wages -- jobs in manufacturing, energy, exports, innovation. Part two, we've got to train folks with the skills they need to fill those jobs. Part three, we've got to guarantee every child access to a world-class education. Part four is making sure that the economy rewards hard work with equal pay for equal work and wages you can live on, savings you can retire on, health insurance you can count on that's there when you need it.
Now, there are very few factors that are helping grow our economy more, bringing more good jobs back to America than our commitment to American manufacturing and American energy. And that’s why we’re here today.
Five years ago, we set out to break our dependence on foreign oil. And today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades. For the first time in nearly 20 years, America produces more oil here at home than we buy from other countries. Our levels of dangerous carbon pollution that contributes to climate change has actually gone down even as our production has gone up. And one of the reasons why is because we dedicated ourselves to manufacturing new cars and new trucks that go farther on a gallon of gas -- and that saves families money, it cuts down harmful pollution, and it creates new advances in American technology.
So for decades, the fuel efficiency standards of our cars and trucks was stuck in neutral even as other kinds of technology leapt forward. And that left families and businesses and our economy vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices. Every time oil prices shot up the economy got hurt. Our automakers were in danger of being left in the dust by foreign automakers. Carbon pollution was going unchecked, which was having severe impacts on our weather.
And that’s why, after taking office, my administration worked with automakers, autoworkers, environmental advocates, and states across the country, and we set in motion the first-ever national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks sold in the United States. And as our automakers retooled and prepared to start making the world’s best cars again, we aimed to raise fuel economy standards to 35.5 miles per gallon for a new vehicle by 2016.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Wow!
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, wow. (Laughter and applause.)
That was an increase of more than eight miles per gallon over what cars had averaged at the time. And what we were clear about was if you set a rule, if you set a clear goal, we would give our companies the certainty that they needed to innovate and out-build the rest of the world. They could figure it out if they had a goal that they were trying to reach. And thanks to their ingenuity and hard work, we’re going to meet that goal.
Two years later, we’ve already seen enormous progress, and we’re building on that progress by setting an even more ambitious target: We’re going to double the distance our cars and light trucks can go on a gallon of gas by 2025. We’re going to double it. And that means -- (applause) -- that’s big news. Because what it means is you’ve got to fill up every two weeks instead of every week, and that saves the typical family more than $8,000 at the pump over time. I’m assuming you can use $8,000 -- (laughter and applause) -- that you’re not paying at the gas station. And, in the process, it cuts American oil consumption by 12 billion barrels.
So we let the automakers decide how they were going to do it. We set the goal and we said, go figure it out. And they invested in innovative and cost-effective technologies. And some are already making cars that beat the target of nearly 55 miles per gallon. They’ve got plug-in hybrids. They’ve got electric vehicles. They’re taking advantage of the investments that the Recovery Act made in American advances in battery technology. So cars are getting better and they’re getting more fuel-efficient all the time.
And for anybody who said this couldn’t be done or that it would hurt the American auto industry, the American auto industry sold more cars last year than any time since 2007. (Applause.) And since we stepped in to help the automakers retool, the American auto industry has created almost 425,000 new jobs.
So we raised fuel efficiency, helped consumers, helped improve air quality, and we’re making better cars than ever and the automakers are hiring more folks again for good jobs all across the country. (Applause.) More plants are running at full capacity -- some are even running three shifts, 24 hours a day -- churning out some of the most high-tech, fuel-efficient, high-performance cars in the world.
And that’s a story of American ingenuity, American grit, and everybody has a right to be proud of it. But today we’re taking the next step.
Heavy-duty trucks account for just 4 percent of all the vehicles on the highway. I know when you’re driving sometimes it feels like it’s more -- (laughter) -- but they’re only 4 percent of all the vehicles. But they’re responsible for about 20 percent of carbon pollution in the transportation sector. So trucks like these are responsible for about 20 percent of our on-road fuel consumption. And because they haul about 70 percent of all domestic freight -- 70 percent of the stuff we use, everything from flat-screen TVs to diapers to produce to you name it -- every mile that we gain in fuel efficiency is worth thousands of dollars of savings every year.
So that’s why we’re investing in research to get more fuel economy gains. And thanks to a partnership between industry and my administration, the truck behind me was able to achieve a 75 percent improvement in fuel economy over the last year -- 75 percent. That’s why we call this “SuperTruck.” (Laughter.) It’s impressive, this one right here, as well. I mean, these are -- first of all, they’re really big. (Laughter.) But you can see how they’ve redesigned the truck in order for us to save fuel economy.
And improving gas mileage for these trucks are going to drive down our oil imports even further. That reduces carbon pollution even more, cuts down on businesses’ fuel costs, which should pay off in lower prices for consumers. So it’s not just a win-win, it’s a win-win-win. You’ve got three wins.
AUDIENCE: Right!
THE PRESIDENT: In 2011, we set new standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that take effect this year and last until 2018. Three weeks ago, in my State of the Union address, I said we’d build on that success. Today, I’m directing the Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, who is right here -- former mayor of Charlotte -- (applause) -- and Gina McCarthy, the Administrator of EPA -- (applause) -- two outstanding public servants -- their charge, their goal is to develop fuel economy standards for heavy-duty trucks that will take us well into the next decade, just like our cars. And they’re going to partner with manufacturers and autoworkers and states and other stakeholders, truckers, to come up with a proposal by March of next year, and they’ll complete the rule a year after that.
And businesses that buy these types of trucks have sent a clear message to the nearly 30,000 workers who build them: We want trucks that use less oil, save more money, cut pollution. So far, 23 companies have joined our National Clean Fleets Partnership to reduce their oil consumption or replace their old fleets of trucks with more fuel-efficient models. And, collectively, they operate about 1 million commercial vehicles nationwide.
So this is a lot of companies, and some of them are competitors. And if rivals like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, or UPS and FedEx, or AT&T and Verizon -- if they can join together on this, then maybe Democrats and Republicans can do the same. (Applause.) Maybe Democrats and Republicans can get together. (Applause.)
So when you see these companies’ new electric or natural gas-powered delivery or garbage trucks, it’s due to this partnership. And the reason we’re here is because Safeway was an early leader on this issue. By improving the aerodynamics of its trucks, investing in larger trailers, more efficient tires, Safeway has improved its own fuel efficiency. And the results are so solid that Safeway now encourages all the companies it hires to ship its products to do the same.
So to help our businesses and manufacturers meet this new goal, we’re offering new tax credits -- both for companies that manufacture heavy-duty alternative-fuel vehicles and those that build fuel infrastructure so that trucks running on biodiesel or natural gas or hybrid electric technology, they’ll have more places to fill up.
Let me say this. The goal we’re setting is ambitious, but these are areas where ambition has worked out really well for us so far. Don’t make small plans, make big plans. And anybody who had dire predictions for the auto industry, said we couldn’t do it, manufacturers couldn’t bring jobs back to America -- every time they say that they’re proven wrong. Every time somebody says you can’t grow the economy while bringing down pollution, it’s turned out they’ve been wrong. (Applause.) Anybody who says we can’t compete when it comes to clean energy technologies like solar and wind, they’ve had to eat those words. You can’t bet against American workers or American industry. You can’t bet against America. Otherwise you’re going to lose money every time, because we know how to do this when we set broad, ambitious goals for ourselves. (Applause.)
So from day one, we’ve known we had to rebuild our economy and transition to a clean-energy future, and we knew it wouldn’t be easy or quick, and we’ve got a lot of work to do on both counts. But the economy is growing. We’re creating jobs. We’re generating more clean energy. We’re cutting our dependence on foreign oil. We’re pumping out less dangerous carbon pollution. If we keep going down this road, then we’re going to have a future full of good-paying jobs.
We’ve got assembly lines that are humming with the components of a clean energy age. We got more of the best trucks and cars in the world designed and engineered and made in America.
If we keep on going, we’re going to leave a better future for our children. And I’m proud of Safeway and all its workers for helping to show us the way. If it can be done here, it can be done all across the country.
So congratulations to all of you. Thank you and God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)
END
NEW MALWARE PROGRAM HOLDS FILES FOR RANSOM
FROM: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC, FBI Warn Consumers About ‘Cryptolocker,’ A New Breed of Computer Malware
How much is everything on your computer worth to you? About $300? The criminals behind a new malware program are betting on it.
The Federal Trade Commission, the FBI and other federal agencies are warning consumers and businesses about “Cryptolocker,” a malware program that holds the files on your computer for ransom, and doesn’t allow you to access them until you pay up. Even then, there’s no guarantee. It’s essentially extortion, with all your personal documents, photos, and files at risk.
Cryptolocker is spread mostly through email and “drive-by” downloads. The email might look like a routine message from a legitimate company, like a tracking notice from a shipping company. If you click on the hyperlink in the email, Cryptolocker encrypts everything on your hard drive and in your shared folders. When the job is done, you get a “ransom note” demanding payment via Bitcoin or some other anonymous payment method. The criminals behind this malware say they’ll give you the encryption key if you pay, but they’re hardly trustworthy. And there’s no other way to unlock your files. For tips about how to protect your business from Cryptolocker, read Lock, stock, and peril.
Computer security experts say the best way to minimize the damage Cryptolocker can do is to back up your computer files often.
FTC, FBI Warn Consumers About ‘Cryptolocker,’ A New Breed of Computer Malware
How much is everything on your computer worth to you? About $300? The criminals behind a new malware program are betting on it.
The Federal Trade Commission, the FBI and other federal agencies are warning consumers and businesses about “Cryptolocker,” a malware program that holds the files on your computer for ransom, and doesn’t allow you to access them until you pay up. Even then, there’s no guarantee. It’s essentially extortion, with all your personal documents, photos, and files at risk.
Cryptolocker is spread mostly through email and “drive-by” downloads. The email might look like a routine message from a legitimate company, like a tracking notice from a shipping company. If you click on the hyperlink in the email, Cryptolocker encrypts everything on your hard drive and in your shared folders. When the job is done, you get a “ransom note” demanding payment via Bitcoin or some other anonymous payment method. The criminals behind this malware say they’ll give you the encryption key if you pay, but they’re hardly trustworthy. And there’s no other way to unlock your files. For tips about how to protect your business from Cryptolocker, read Lock, stock, and peril.
Computer security experts say the best way to minimize the damage Cryptolocker can do is to back up your computer files often.
SUBCONTRACTOR PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBING 2 MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND OFFICIALS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Former Virginia Subcontractor Pleads Guilty to Bribery
Dwayne Allen Hardman, 44, of Charleston, W.V., pleaded guilty today to paying bribes to public officials.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Mid-Atlantic Field Office (DCIS), Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Atlantic Operations and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Hardman was charged by criminal information on Feb. 12, 2014, with paying a bribe to public officials. Hardman faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 6, 2014.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in November 2004, Hardman and another businessman established a government contracting corporation in Chesapeake, Va., to provide support to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) on various telecommunications projects. Shortly thereafter, in early 2005, Hardman and his business partner agreed to pay cash bribes to two MSC officials in exchange for official action to steer government contracts to Hardman’s corporation. From March 2005 and until 2007, Hardman, his business partner and others paid the MSC officials approximately $3,000 each month in cash bribes. During this time, Hardman and his business partner withdrew approximately $144,000 in cash, which was then provided to the two MSC officials in exchange for their assistance in securing MSC contracting and subcontracting business for Hardman’s company.
According to court documents, in February 2009, Hardman left his former business and formed another government contracting company in Chesapeake with another businessman. The two MSC officials again agreed to steer contracting work to Hardman’s new company in exchange for receiving bribes from Hardman and his new business partner. In May 2009, Hardman and his new business partner paid each of the two MSC officials $25,000 in cash bribes.
On Feb. 12, 2014, one of the MSC officials, Kenny Toy, who was the Afloat Programs Manager for MSC’s N6 Command, Control, Communication and Computer Systems Directorate, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in conjunction with this scheme.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie are prosecuting the case.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Former Virginia Subcontractor Pleads Guilty to Bribery
Dwayne Allen Hardman, 44, of Charleston, W.V., pleaded guilty today to paying bribes to public officials.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Mid-Atlantic Field Office (DCIS), Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Atlantic Operations and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Hardman was charged by criminal information on Feb. 12, 2014, with paying a bribe to public officials. Hardman faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 6, 2014.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in November 2004, Hardman and another businessman established a government contracting corporation in Chesapeake, Va., to provide support to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) on various telecommunications projects. Shortly thereafter, in early 2005, Hardman and his business partner agreed to pay cash bribes to two MSC officials in exchange for official action to steer government contracts to Hardman’s corporation. From March 2005 and until 2007, Hardman, his business partner and others paid the MSC officials approximately $3,000 each month in cash bribes. During this time, Hardman and his business partner withdrew approximately $144,000 in cash, which was then provided to the two MSC officials in exchange for their assistance in securing MSC contracting and subcontracting business for Hardman’s company.
According to court documents, in February 2009, Hardman left his former business and formed another government contracting company in Chesapeake with another businessman. The two MSC officials again agreed to steer contracting work to Hardman’s new company in exchange for receiving bribes from Hardman and his new business partner. In May 2009, Hardman and his new business partner paid each of the two MSC officials $25,000 in cash bribes.
On Feb. 12, 2014, one of the MSC officials, Kenny Toy, who was the Afloat Programs Manager for MSC’s N6 Command, Control, Communication and Computer Systems Directorate, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in conjunction with this scheme.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie are prosecuting the case.
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT U.S. EMBASSY IN TUNIS, TUNISIA
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at a Solo Press Availability
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
U.S. Embassy Tunis
Tunis, Tunisia
February 18, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: I’m very pleased to be here in Tunis at what is obviously a very important time for the country. On behalf of the United States of America and President Obama, I want to extend our congratulations to Prime Minister Jomaa and to the country, to the citizens who have all invested in the future of this country. And we congratulate them on the very difficult transition but vital transition to democratic rule.
The transition that has taken place here and, in fact, the series of uprisings that became known as the Arab Spring began, as many of you know better than me even, 200 miles – less than 200 miles from here with an act of courage and an act of desperation by a Tunisian man who refused to live one day longer in a country that was plagued by corruption and absent opportunity. Three years later, the Tunisian people have ratified a new constitution, a constitution that is rooted in democratic principles – equality, freedom, security, economic opportunity, and the rule of law. It is a constitution that underscores Tunisia’s long tradition of respect for the rights of women and minorities. It is a constitution that will allow the people of Tunisia to realize the aspirations of Mohamed Bouazizi and millions of others. And it is a constitution that can serve as a model for others in the region and around the world.
Getting to this moment has not been easy. There have been countless debates, discussions, and disagreements. But these things are exactly what is central to democracy. That is true of a democracy that is young or old. The fact is that the road to a full democracy is long and difficult, and it is a road that in many ways never really ends, as we see even in old democracies like ours: we’re always working and we’re always working to perfect it.
As I told the president and the prime minister in our meetings earlier today, President Obama and the United States will continue to stand beside Tunisia throughout its democratic transition. And we intend to do everything that is possible to help in the electoral process to make certain that Tunisians have an opportunity to be able to exercise the rights they had fought for hard and be able to vote for their future government soon. Our support is not just words. Since the revolution began, the United States has committed more than 400 million in foreign assistance for the transition. That includes more than 24 million for equipment and training for Tunisia’s ministry of interior security forces. It includes 100 million in direct budget support and debt relief. It includes more than 20 million in a USAID competitiveness program to create jobs in the information technology sector, and a $30 million loan guarantee supporting $485 million in new financing for the Tunisian Government. In the time ahead, we will continue to support Tunisia’s security, stability, economic growth, and political reform as we strengthen our bilateral engagement. And I will be going back to Washington with additional ideas about ways in which the United States may able to help. President Obama has invited Prime Minister Jomaa to Washington, and we look forward to fixing the date for that visit soon.
Today, Prime Minister Jomaa and I agreed that during his visit to our capital, we will hold the inaugural meeting, the first meeting of the U.S.-Tunisia Strategic Dialogue, and this dialogue is aimed at strengthening our bilateral relations. The joint strategic dialogue will focus on cooperation in security matters and on promoting closer economic ties between our two nations.
And let me emphasize that I also look forward soon to meeting nearby in Algeria and Morocco for our important strategic dialogue discussions as well, and that will happen in the coming months.
I’m pleased to say that the United States and Tunisia are also taking steps to strengthen our people-to-people programs. Educational exchanges are a very important way of promoting understanding and friendship between the peoples of different nations, and we’ve seen that work effectively all around the globe. That’s why I’m pleased to announce today to confirm that pending congressional approval, the United States plans to provide an additional $10 million to the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship program. This program gives Tunisian students the opportunity to spend a year studying at a college or university in the United States. There are currently 65 Tunisian Jefferson Scholars who are studying on our campuses, and we really hope to welcome many more in the years to come.
I’m also pleased to announce another indicator of our commitment to Tunisia’s future. Tomorrow, as part of our joint security cooperation – and there are many other things we are doing besides this – but tomorrow United States will turn over the keys to both a state-of-the-art mobile command post vehicle for conducting terrorism investigations and a mobile crime lab for use by forensic police in order to gather evidence effectively for prosecution.
Both the President and the prime minister emphasized to me the importance of security at this moment in time. No democracy can survive or prosper in the absence of security, and we hope with this new equipment, but also with other initiatives that we are prepared to engage in, that Tunisians will be better prepared to address the violence and terrorism that threatens everybody in many parts of the world.
Let me just say that I know this is a quick visit, and I wish it was longer. But I thought it was important, even though it was brief, to come here in order to make clear to the people of Tunisia that there are many, many countries and many people in the world who admire what people have been engaged in here, and I wanted to come here on behalf of President Obama to express our support for this courageous path that Tunisia is on.
The work of building democracy is hard work. The work of making sure people have rule of law and security and protections for everybody – all minorities, all religions, all walks of life – this is vital to the definition of any modern country.
I know that Tunisia is an educated, thoughtful country that respects rule of law and respects the rights of others, and I know this is a path that Tunisia wants to go down and wants to be successful at. So I wanted to come here today to confirm on behalf of the American people and President Obama our commitment to stand with Tunisia, with the people of Tunisia, and to help move down this road to democracy with hopes that this constitution that you have achieved will become a model for other countries in other places.
We look forward to working with you in this critical year ahead as you come to elections and hopefully to the goal that you want to achieve.
Shukran.
MS. PSAKI: The first question – I’ll be calling on the questions. I wish we had more time, but we just have limited time. The first question is going to be from Adam Entous of The Wall Street Journal.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary --
QUESTION: (In French.)
QUESTION: Yeah, sure.
MS. PSAKI: Go ahead, Adam.
QUESTION: Yeah, sure. You mentioned that you would be returning to Washington to explore ideas to help Tunisia in its counterterrorism efforts. Do you think the government today is up to this challenge? What specific steps do you envisage down the road in terms of maybe training and equipment? And separately, what lessons do you think General Sisi in Egypt should take away from Tunisia’s approach?
SECRETARY KERRY: Most of the requests were focused on equipment, although there is some thought about training and assistance in other ways. But that has to be discussed thoroughly in Washington and elsewhere.
But, as you know, I announced today the beginning of our strategic dialogue, and we will be holding that strategic dialogue very soon to follow up on a broader strategy for success. And with respect to the question of our – of can the government manage this, I believe yes, absolutely. And the evidence of that is the very significant arrests that were made and breakup of Ansar al-Sharia’s several cells recently, in the last weeks, which was well carried out, well planned and executed. And I think it’s an indicator that with more capacity, they have a great ability to do what is necessary.
And on the second question, I’m not going to – I’m not going to advise General al-Sisi or President Mansour or Foreign Minister Fahmy or others at a press conference. I’m going to talk to them personally and be engaged, as we have been, and I think that’s the appropriate way to deal with lessons or differences between how countries may approach a particular issue. My hope is to be able to meet with General al-Sisi somewhere in the next days or weeks to be able to talk about Egypt, as I have in the past. I’ve met with him. I’ve met with President Mansour and others. That’s a continuing dialogue and I look forward to continuing that dialogue.
MS. PSAKI: The next question – oh. The next question is from Tayib Busidi (ph) from Al Wataniya TV.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MS. PSAKI: Wataniya.
QUESTION: He never asked --
QUESTION: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: Okay. Al Wataniya is not here? Okay.
QUESTION: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: All right. I’ll call on you right there. Go ahead.
QUESTION: So first, I’ll ask in English and then translate. You come in critical time here in Tunisia. We fight terrorism. When you talk about 25 millions, there are (inaudible) of (inaudible). Do you – include – will be include weapons? So will help us with weapons? And my second part, when you talk about your tour, which will be in Algeria and Morocco, why don’t mention Libya? And what is your position what happened – about what happened there right now? Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: On the issue of – okay.
QUESTION: I don’t understand you have released the – please.
MS. PSAKI: They’re going to translate.
QUESTION: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: They’re going to translate it.
QUESTION: (In French.)
SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: Can you translate?
SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.)
QUESTION: (In French.)
QUESTION: (In Arabic.)
SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.) So, and your question regarding the terrorism assistance --
QUESTION: Yes.
SECRETARY KERRY: -- is specifically what?
QUESTION: Yes. Should they include weapons? Your help.
SECRETARY KERRY: Again, no decision has been made with respect to what they will be. I think you need to ask the government officials what it is that they’ve asked for. It’s not for me to be announcing that here. I will tell you they’ve given us a list, and we need to go back and evaluate it, and we will evaluate it thoroughly with respect to effectiveness and capacity and appropriateness. So those decisions will be made in the way they ought to be made – not the day that it’s asked for, but over the course of the next weeks.
QUESTION: Okay. And as far as Libya, please?
SECRETARY KERRY: Libya – yeah. With respect to Libya, we are deeply concerned about Libya and deeply involved in helping Libya in its transition. I have talked with Prime Minister Zeidan several times, many times. I’ve met with him personally. And we are frequently engaged not only in conversations with him and his government, but with our Embassy and our personnel and other countries about how we can do more to help Libya.
We are also very well aware that there are a large number of Libyans living in Tunisia, and we are very aware that what happens in Libya has a profound impact on Tunisia. And I think it’s fair to say that we have been, we are increasing our efforts in Libya and we’ll continue to do so over the course of these next months.
MS. PSAKI: Thank you, everyone. Unfortunately, we need to --
SECRETARY KERRY: No, no, no, I’m going to take – I want to --
QUESTION: We’ve been waiting for more than an hour, so we deserve more time, please.
SECRETARY KERRY: Guys, let’s not use the time complaining. Let’s ask a question, s’il vous plait. Go ahead.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) So, thank you very much, Secretary Kerry. (Inaudible) so the first question is concerning the Rand --
QUESTION: Corporation.
QUESTION: -- Corporation, which made a study 10 years ago, a report 10 years ago, speaking about a political Islam, which should go back to the eastern countries and must be eradicated from those same countries. And this is the case for Egypt and Tunisia. So my question is: What’s the second phase of this plan or strategy? And what do you want exactly from the region – this means Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt? And what do you expect – and Syria – and what do you expect from these countries?
And also the second part of my first question is about the military bases which is located in the southern part of Spain. So what can you say about this military bases? An explanation – and its relationship with Spain?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, yeah, look – in fairness, folks, if everybody asks two questions, we’re not going to have a very fair afternoon here. And I’m being informed I have to leave shortly because I have to get to other meetings in yet another country, and I apologize for that. But I want to try to be fair in this process.
I haven’t read the Rand Corporation study. I don’t know what it says, and I can guarantee you it doesn’t – it’s not a policy of the United States of America.
So with respect to the countries in the region, what do we want? We want something that radical extreme Islam – not Islam as a whole, but radical extreme Islam – doesn’t tolerate. And it’s called tolerance. It’s called acceptance, pluralism, of all people, not just one form of thinking which people get killed for or punished for if they don’t adhere to it. We want a democratic process by which people’s rights are protected – human rights, the rights of worship, the rights of assembly, the rights of speech, and we believe that the right to petition your government without going to prison. There are a whole host of rights, and that’s what the United States wants, and we admire those countries like Tunisia that are trying to embrace those rights.
I have time for one more and then I have to go. So I’m going to leave it up to translation. Let the translation finish.
All right, this has to be the last question.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY KERRY: I’m sorry. It has to be the last question.
QUESTION: Thank you. I’d like to mention that we have been waiting more than an hour now, so we deserve (inaudible). My question is that you did not mention anything about your meetings with (inaudible) this country. What’s behind this visit that comes after (inaudible) in Tunisia? What message do you bring to the Tunisian people, to (inaudible), and to this government? The last one is: Do you consider that the failure of the --
SECRETARY KERRY: No, no, no.
QUESTION: (In French.)
QUESTION: Do you think that the failure of the Geneva talks are considered a failure for the U.S. policy?
SECRETARY KERRY: I don’t know if I understood your first question. I think you asked me what was my message?
QUESTION: Yes, your message. Will you continue meeting with the civil society to support them?
SECRETARY KERRY: Yes, let me – all right. I understand. As I explained to you, I had an opening in my schedule between my meetings, and we thought it was important to come to this country which is struggling with this transition, in order to lend our support – the support of President Obama and the American people to the people of Tunisia. And I think that’s valuable. I would rather come here and share that we are bringing an invitation for your prime minister to come to Washington to help build this cooperation. We are providing additional assistance, and we are engaging in a strategic dialogue, and those are important announcements. And we thought it was important to come and make those and to congratulate the people of Tunisia for this constitution that has been created.
QUESTION: Secretary --
SECRETARY KERRY: And finally, let me just end – and I apologize. I really do have to go because I have to still fly and get somewhere. But let me just say on Geneva talks – this is very important: The Geneva talks are an ongoing process. Nobody expected in two meetings or three meetings that this was going to be resolved. What we’re doing is sharpening what the differences are. And in the recess that is now being taken, it is important for people to come to a resolution of what strategy they can pursue to come back to the table in order to be more effective.
I talked this morning to Foreign Minister Lavrov. We talked about the ways that we can try to move the process. We talked about the UN where we are currently negotiating a resolution, and my hope is that we will try to find common ground still as to how we can bring this tragedy to a close.
And let me emphasize, there is no military solution. We all agree on that. So you have to continue to pursue a political path if you’re going to find a way to solve the problem. We’re going to continue to do that, tough as it is.
I’m sure I will be back. I apologize. Thank you very, very much.
Remarks at a Solo Press Availability
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
U.S. Embassy Tunis
Tunis, Tunisia
February 18, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: I’m very pleased to be here in Tunis at what is obviously a very important time for the country. On behalf of the United States of America and President Obama, I want to extend our congratulations to Prime Minister Jomaa and to the country, to the citizens who have all invested in the future of this country. And we congratulate them on the very difficult transition but vital transition to democratic rule.
The transition that has taken place here and, in fact, the series of uprisings that became known as the Arab Spring began, as many of you know better than me even, 200 miles – less than 200 miles from here with an act of courage and an act of desperation by a Tunisian man who refused to live one day longer in a country that was plagued by corruption and absent opportunity. Three years later, the Tunisian people have ratified a new constitution, a constitution that is rooted in democratic principles – equality, freedom, security, economic opportunity, and the rule of law. It is a constitution that underscores Tunisia’s long tradition of respect for the rights of women and minorities. It is a constitution that will allow the people of Tunisia to realize the aspirations of Mohamed Bouazizi and millions of others. And it is a constitution that can serve as a model for others in the region and around the world.
Getting to this moment has not been easy. There have been countless debates, discussions, and disagreements. But these things are exactly what is central to democracy. That is true of a democracy that is young or old. The fact is that the road to a full democracy is long and difficult, and it is a road that in many ways never really ends, as we see even in old democracies like ours: we’re always working and we’re always working to perfect it.
As I told the president and the prime minister in our meetings earlier today, President Obama and the United States will continue to stand beside Tunisia throughout its democratic transition. And we intend to do everything that is possible to help in the electoral process to make certain that Tunisians have an opportunity to be able to exercise the rights they had fought for hard and be able to vote for their future government soon. Our support is not just words. Since the revolution began, the United States has committed more than 400 million in foreign assistance for the transition. That includes more than 24 million for equipment and training for Tunisia’s ministry of interior security forces. It includes 100 million in direct budget support and debt relief. It includes more than 20 million in a USAID competitiveness program to create jobs in the information technology sector, and a $30 million loan guarantee supporting $485 million in new financing for the Tunisian Government. In the time ahead, we will continue to support Tunisia’s security, stability, economic growth, and political reform as we strengthen our bilateral engagement. And I will be going back to Washington with additional ideas about ways in which the United States may able to help. President Obama has invited Prime Minister Jomaa to Washington, and we look forward to fixing the date for that visit soon.
Today, Prime Minister Jomaa and I agreed that during his visit to our capital, we will hold the inaugural meeting, the first meeting of the U.S.-Tunisia Strategic Dialogue, and this dialogue is aimed at strengthening our bilateral relations. The joint strategic dialogue will focus on cooperation in security matters and on promoting closer economic ties between our two nations.
And let me emphasize that I also look forward soon to meeting nearby in Algeria and Morocco for our important strategic dialogue discussions as well, and that will happen in the coming months.
I’m pleased to say that the United States and Tunisia are also taking steps to strengthen our people-to-people programs. Educational exchanges are a very important way of promoting understanding and friendship between the peoples of different nations, and we’ve seen that work effectively all around the globe. That’s why I’m pleased to announce today to confirm that pending congressional approval, the United States plans to provide an additional $10 million to the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship program. This program gives Tunisian students the opportunity to spend a year studying at a college or university in the United States. There are currently 65 Tunisian Jefferson Scholars who are studying on our campuses, and we really hope to welcome many more in the years to come.
I’m also pleased to announce another indicator of our commitment to Tunisia’s future. Tomorrow, as part of our joint security cooperation – and there are many other things we are doing besides this – but tomorrow United States will turn over the keys to both a state-of-the-art mobile command post vehicle for conducting terrorism investigations and a mobile crime lab for use by forensic police in order to gather evidence effectively for prosecution.
Both the President and the prime minister emphasized to me the importance of security at this moment in time. No democracy can survive or prosper in the absence of security, and we hope with this new equipment, but also with other initiatives that we are prepared to engage in, that Tunisians will be better prepared to address the violence and terrorism that threatens everybody in many parts of the world.
Let me just say that I know this is a quick visit, and I wish it was longer. But I thought it was important, even though it was brief, to come here in order to make clear to the people of Tunisia that there are many, many countries and many people in the world who admire what people have been engaged in here, and I wanted to come here on behalf of President Obama to express our support for this courageous path that Tunisia is on.
The work of building democracy is hard work. The work of making sure people have rule of law and security and protections for everybody – all minorities, all religions, all walks of life – this is vital to the definition of any modern country.
I know that Tunisia is an educated, thoughtful country that respects rule of law and respects the rights of others, and I know this is a path that Tunisia wants to go down and wants to be successful at. So I wanted to come here today to confirm on behalf of the American people and President Obama our commitment to stand with Tunisia, with the people of Tunisia, and to help move down this road to democracy with hopes that this constitution that you have achieved will become a model for other countries in other places.
We look forward to working with you in this critical year ahead as you come to elections and hopefully to the goal that you want to achieve.
Shukran.
MS. PSAKI: The first question – I’ll be calling on the questions. I wish we had more time, but we just have limited time. The first question is going to be from Adam Entous of The Wall Street Journal.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary --
QUESTION: (In French.)
QUESTION: Yeah, sure.
MS. PSAKI: Go ahead, Adam.
QUESTION: Yeah, sure. You mentioned that you would be returning to Washington to explore ideas to help Tunisia in its counterterrorism efforts. Do you think the government today is up to this challenge? What specific steps do you envisage down the road in terms of maybe training and equipment? And separately, what lessons do you think General Sisi in Egypt should take away from Tunisia’s approach?
SECRETARY KERRY: Most of the requests were focused on equipment, although there is some thought about training and assistance in other ways. But that has to be discussed thoroughly in Washington and elsewhere.
But, as you know, I announced today the beginning of our strategic dialogue, and we will be holding that strategic dialogue very soon to follow up on a broader strategy for success. And with respect to the question of our – of can the government manage this, I believe yes, absolutely. And the evidence of that is the very significant arrests that were made and breakup of Ansar al-Sharia’s several cells recently, in the last weeks, which was well carried out, well planned and executed. And I think it’s an indicator that with more capacity, they have a great ability to do what is necessary.
And on the second question, I’m not going to – I’m not going to advise General al-Sisi or President Mansour or Foreign Minister Fahmy or others at a press conference. I’m going to talk to them personally and be engaged, as we have been, and I think that’s the appropriate way to deal with lessons or differences between how countries may approach a particular issue. My hope is to be able to meet with General al-Sisi somewhere in the next days or weeks to be able to talk about Egypt, as I have in the past. I’ve met with him. I’ve met with President Mansour and others. That’s a continuing dialogue and I look forward to continuing that dialogue.
MS. PSAKI: The next question – oh. The next question is from Tayib Busidi (ph) from Al Wataniya TV.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MS. PSAKI: Wataniya.
QUESTION: He never asked --
QUESTION: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: Okay. Al Wataniya is not here? Okay.
QUESTION: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: All right. I’ll call on you right there. Go ahead.
QUESTION: So first, I’ll ask in English and then translate. You come in critical time here in Tunisia. We fight terrorism. When you talk about 25 millions, there are (inaudible) of (inaudible). Do you – include – will be include weapons? So will help us with weapons? And my second part, when you talk about your tour, which will be in Algeria and Morocco, why don’t mention Libya? And what is your position what happened – about what happened there right now? Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: On the issue of – okay.
QUESTION: I don’t understand you have released the – please.
MS. PSAKI: They’re going to translate.
QUESTION: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: They’re going to translate it.
QUESTION: (In French.)
SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.)
MS. PSAKI: Can you translate?
SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.)
QUESTION: (In French.)
QUESTION: (In Arabic.)
SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.) So, and your question regarding the terrorism assistance --
QUESTION: Yes.
SECRETARY KERRY: -- is specifically what?
QUESTION: Yes. Should they include weapons? Your help.
SECRETARY KERRY: Again, no decision has been made with respect to what they will be. I think you need to ask the government officials what it is that they’ve asked for. It’s not for me to be announcing that here. I will tell you they’ve given us a list, and we need to go back and evaluate it, and we will evaluate it thoroughly with respect to effectiveness and capacity and appropriateness. So those decisions will be made in the way they ought to be made – not the day that it’s asked for, but over the course of the next weeks.
QUESTION: Okay. And as far as Libya, please?
SECRETARY KERRY: Libya – yeah. With respect to Libya, we are deeply concerned about Libya and deeply involved in helping Libya in its transition. I have talked with Prime Minister Zeidan several times, many times. I’ve met with him personally. And we are frequently engaged not only in conversations with him and his government, but with our Embassy and our personnel and other countries about how we can do more to help Libya.
We are also very well aware that there are a large number of Libyans living in Tunisia, and we are very aware that what happens in Libya has a profound impact on Tunisia. And I think it’s fair to say that we have been, we are increasing our efforts in Libya and we’ll continue to do so over the course of these next months.
MS. PSAKI: Thank you, everyone. Unfortunately, we need to --
SECRETARY KERRY: No, no, no, I’m going to take – I want to --
QUESTION: We’ve been waiting for more than an hour, so we deserve more time, please.
SECRETARY KERRY: Guys, let’s not use the time complaining. Let’s ask a question, s’il vous plait. Go ahead.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) So, thank you very much, Secretary Kerry. (Inaudible) so the first question is concerning the Rand --
QUESTION: Corporation.
QUESTION: -- Corporation, which made a study 10 years ago, a report 10 years ago, speaking about a political Islam, which should go back to the eastern countries and must be eradicated from those same countries. And this is the case for Egypt and Tunisia. So my question is: What’s the second phase of this plan or strategy? And what do you want exactly from the region – this means Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt? And what do you expect – and Syria – and what do you expect from these countries?
And also the second part of my first question is about the military bases which is located in the southern part of Spain. So what can you say about this military bases? An explanation – and its relationship with Spain?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, yeah, look – in fairness, folks, if everybody asks two questions, we’re not going to have a very fair afternoon here. And I’m being informed I have to leave shortly because I have to get to other meetings in yet another country, and I apologize for that. But I want to try to be fair in this process.
I haven’t read the Rand Corporation study. I don’t know what it says, and I can guarantee you it doesn’t – it’s not a policy of the United States of America.
So with respect to the countries in the region, what do we want? We want something that radical extreme Islam – not Islam as a whole, but radical extreme Islam – doesn’t tolerate. And it’s called tolerance. It’s called acceptance, pluralism, of all people, not just one form of thinking which people get killed for or punished for if they don’t adhere to it. We want a democratic process by which people’s rights are protected – human rights, the rights of worship, the rights of assembly, the rights of speech, and we believe that the right to petition your government without going to prison. There are a whole host of rights, and that’s what the United States wants, and we admire those countries like Tunisia that are trying to embrace those rights.
I have time for one more and then I have to go. So I’m going to leave it up to translation. Let the translation finish.
All right, this has to be the last question.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY KERRY: I’m sorry. It has to be the last question.
QUESTION: Thank you. I’d like to mention that we have been waiting more than an hour now, so we deserve (inaudible). My question is that you did not mention anything about your meetings with (inaudible) this country. What’s behind this visit that comes after (inaudible) in Tunisia? What message do you bring to the Tunisian people, to (inaudible), and to this government? The last one is: Do you consider that the failure of the --
SECRETARY KERRY: No, no, no.
QUESTION: (In French.)
QUESTION: Do you think that the failure of the Geneva talks are considered a failure for the U.S. policy?
SECRETARY KERRY: I don’t know if I understood your first question. I think you asked me what was my message?
QUESTION: Yes, your message. Will you continue meeting with the civil society to support them?
SECRETARY KERRY: Yes, let me – all right. I understand. As I explained to you, I had an opening in my schedule between my meetings, and we thought it was important to come to this country which is struggling with this transition, in order to lend our support – the support of President Obama and the American people to the people of Tunisia. And I think that’s valuable. I would rather come here and share that we are bringing an invitation for your prime minister to come to Washington to help build this cooperation. We are providing additional assistance, and we are engaging in a strategic dialogue, and those are important announcements. And we thought it was important to come and make those and to congratulate the people of Tunisia for this constitution that has been created.
QUESTION: Secretary --
SECRETARY KERRY: And finally, let me just end – and I apologize. I really do have to go because I have to still fly and get somewhere. But let me just say on Geneva talks – this is very important: The Geneva talks are an ongoing process. Nobody expected in two meetings or three meetings that this was going to be resolved. What we’re doing is sharpening what the differences are. And in the recess that is now being taken, it is important for people to come to a resolution of what strategy they can pursue to come back to the table in order to be more effective.
I talked this morning to Foreign Minister Lavrov. We talked about the ways that we can try to move the process. We talked about the UN where we are currently negotiating a resolution, and my hope is that we will try to find common ground still as to how we can bring this tragedy to a close.
And let me emphasize, there is no military solution. We all agree on that. So you have to continue to pursue a political path if you’re going to find a way to solve the problem. We’re going to continue to do that, tough as it is.
I’m sure I will be back. I apologize. Thank you very, very much.
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR FEBRUARY 18, 2014
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS
ARMY
EADS-NA, Herndon, Va., was awarded a $22,856,085 modification (P00766) to contract W58RGZ-06-C-0194 to acquire four UH-72A Lakota helicopters with engine inlet barrier filters and ARC-231 radios. Fiscal 2014 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $22,856,085 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is March 31, 2015. Work will be performed in Columbia, Miss. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Jacobs/Stantec, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $9,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architectural and engineering services for Army, Air Force, and other military and civil works projects primarily within the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division boundaries. Funding and performance location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Feb. 17, 2019. One bid was solicited with one received. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-14-D-0005).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Combat Medical Systems LLC*, Fayetteville, N.C., has been awarded a maximum $36,396,530 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for various medical and surgical surge, re-supply, and sustainment materials. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and four offers were received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option year periods. Location of performance is North Carolina with a Feb. 17, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 war-stopper funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPE2D0-14-D-0001).
Eye Safety Systems Inc., Ketchum, Idaho, has been awarded a maximum $9,804,328 modification (P00004) exercising the third option year on a one-year base contract (SPM2DE-11-D-7549) with four one-year option periods for prescription lens carriers. This is a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Idaho with a March 2, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
CORRECTION: The contract announced Feb 12, 2014 to Honeywell International, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., had an incorrect contract number. The correct contract number is SPM4A1-11-G-0010 W5A0
*Small Business
CONTRACTS
ARMY
EADS-NA, Herndon, Va., was awarded a $22,856,085 modification (P00766) to contract W58RGZ-06-C-0194 to acquire four UH-72A Lakota helicopters with engine inlet barrier filters and ARC-231 radios. Fiscal 2014 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $22,856,085 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is March 31, 2015. Work will be performed in Columbia, Miss. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Jacobs/Stantec, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $9,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architectural and engineering services for Army, Air Force, and other military and civil works projects primarily within the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division boundaries. Funding and performance location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Feb. 17, 2019. One bid was solicited with one received. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-14-D-0005).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Combat Medical Systems LLC*, Fayetteville, N.C., has been awarded a maximum $36,396,530 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for various medical and surgical surge, re-supply, and sustainment materials. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and four offers were received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option year periods. Location of performance is North Carolina with a Feb. 17, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 war-stopper funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPE2D0-14-D-0001).
Eye Safety Systems Inc., Ketchum, Idaho, has been awarded a maximum $9,804,328 modification (P00004) exercising the third option year on a one-year base contract (SPM2DE-11-D-7549) with four one-year option periods for prescription lens carriers. This is a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Idaho with a March 2, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
CORRECTION: The contract announced Feb 12, 2014 to Honeywell International, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., had an incorrect contract number. The correct contract number is SPM4A1-11-G-0010 W5A0
*Small Business
AG HOLDER'S REMARKS AT HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN GREATER NEW YORK GALA
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Human Rights Campaign Greater New York Gala
~ Monday, February 10, 2014
Thank you, Chad [Griffin], for those kind words; for your visionary leadership of this organization; and for the indelible – and truly historic – role that you and your colleagues have played in advancing the fight for civil rights and LGBT equality – in our courts, on our city streets, and in the halls of Congress.
It’s a privilege to share the stage with you today. It’s a pleasure – as always – to be back home in New York City. And it’s a tremendous honor to be among so many dedicated leaders, passionate advocates, strong allies, and committed public servants – including state legislators, city officials, and members of New York’s outstanding Congressional delegation.
Since the founding of the Human Rights Campaign more than three decades ago, this organization has brought people together to make a profound, positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans. Especially in recent years, your committed efforts – and the hard work of countless allies across this country – have helped to bring about remarkable, once-unimaginable progress. Thanks to leaders and activists in, and far beyond, this room, our nation has made great strides on the road to LGBT equality – a cause that, I believe, is a defining civil rights challenge of our time.
You’ve stepped to the forefront of our national discourse, helping to mobilize millions to raise awareness about issues of concern to the LGBT community. You’ve spoken out for the rights and opportunities that have too often been denied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. You’re calling for policies that stabilize families and expand individual liberty. And you’re doing it all in a manner that is enduring; that is predicated on an understanding of our common humanity; and that is founded on the singular ideal that has defined this country since its earliest days: the notion that all are created equal – and that all are entitled to opportunity and equal justice under law.
For President Obama, for me, and for our colleagues at every level of the Administration, this work is a top priority. And I’m pleased to note that – together – we have brought about historic, meaningful, lasting change.
We can all be proud that, today, those who courageously serve their country in uniform – those who sacrifice so that we can all enjoy the freedoms we cherish – need no longer hide their sexual orientation. With the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law in 2010 – an achievement that the Human Rights Campaign helped make possible – we celebrated the beginning of a new era for many brave servicemen and women. And we ensured that, here at home and around the world, lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans can serve proudly, honestly, and openly – without fear of being fired for who they are.
We also can be encouraged that the newly-reauthorized Violence Against Women Act includes robust new provisions that ensure LGBT survivors of domestic abuse can access the same services as other survivors of partner violence. This will empower them to seek the help that they desperately need. And it will enable more and more Americans to find hope and healing in moments of great difficulty.
And we can be invigorated by the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce critical civil rights protections – including the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act – which the Human Rights Campaign helped to pass, and which President Obama signed in 2009. Under this important law, we are strengthening the Department’s ability to achieve justice on behalf of those who are victimized simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Today, we are more prepared – and better equipped – than ever before to pursue allegations of federal hate crimes wherever they arise; to bring charges whenever they are warranted; and to support our state and local law enforcement partners in enforcing their own hate crimes laws. And I pledge to you tonight that we will never stop working to ensure that equality under the law is protected by the law.
After all, this is the principle that drove the President and me to decide – in early 2011 – that Justice Department attorneys would no longer defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. We shared a strong belief that all measures that distinguish among people based on their sexual orientation must be subjected to a higher standard of scrutiny – and therefore that this measure was unconstitutional discrimination. And as a result, last summer – on an extraordinary day that was made possible by so many of this organization’s members – the Supreme Court issued a historic decision striking down the federal government’s ban on recognizing gay and lesbian couples who are legally married.
This marked a critical step forward. And it constituted a resounding victory for committed and loving couples throughout the country who fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents had been denied the recognition that they deserved; and for millions of family, friends, and supporters who wanted to see their loved ones treated fairly, and who worked tirelessly to make that a reality.
Thanks to the opinions handed down on that day – and the efforts of this organization and many others – there’s no question that this country stands at a new frontier in the fight for civil rights. And I am pleased to report that the dedicated men and women of the Justice Department – under the outstanding leadership of Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Stuart Delery, who is here with us tonight – are leading national efforts to implement, and make real, the full promise of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Windsor case.
Already, my colleagues and I have announced the extension of significant benefits to Americans in same-sex marriages – including health insurance and other key benefits for federal employees and their families; a uniform policy ensuring that all same-sex married couples are recognized for federal tax purposes; and a policy dictating that – for purposes of immigration law – same-sex and opposite-sex marriages are treated exactly the same.
We also worked with the Department of Defense to determine that members of the military who are in same-sex marriages will receive the same benefits available to opposite-sex married couples. Just last month, the Justice Department affirmed that – for purposes of federal law – same-sex marriages performed in the State of Utah will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits. These marriages were valid when they were celebrated, and the federal government will acknowledge them as such. And we will continue to coordinate with others across the government to ensure that those in lawful same-sex marriages across the country will receive every benefit to which they are entitled.
These initial changes will positively impact the lives of so many throughout the nation. All of these steps forward are worth celebrating. But I also want to make one thing very clear: for my colleagues, for me – and I know for all of you – they are only the beginning.
This is no time to rest on our laurels. This is no time to back down, to give up, or to give in to the unjust and unequal status quo. Neither tradition nor fear of change can absolve us of the obligation we share to combat discrimination in all its forms. And, despite everything that’s been achieved, each of us has much more work to do.
We come together this evening at an exciting moment in history – one that is defined by challenge as well as opportunity. As President Obama has said, “The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: that when all Americans are treated as equal…we are all more free.”
Tonight, I am proud to announce that the Justice Department is taking additional steps to further advance this “fundamental truth” – and to give real meaning to the Windsor decision. On Monday, I will issue a new policy memorandum that will – for the first time in history – formally instruct all Justice Department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law.
This means that, in every courthouse, in every proceeding, and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States – they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law. And this policy has important, real-world implications for same-sex married couples that interact with the criminal justice system. For instance, as a result of this policy:
• The Department will recognize that same-sex spouses of individuals involved in civil and criminal cases should have the same legal rights as all other married couples – including the right to decline to give testimony that might violate the marital privilege. Under this policy, even in states where same-sex marriages are not recognized, the federal government will not use state views as a basis to object to someone in a same-sex marriage invoking this right.
• In bankruptcy cases, the United States Trustee Program will take the position that same-sex married couples should be treated in the same manner as opposite-sex married couples. This means that, among other things, same-sex married couples should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly, that certain debts to same-sex spouses or former spouses should be excepted from discharge, and that domestic support obligations should include debts, such as alimony, owed to a former same-sex spouse.
• Federal inmates in same-sex marriages will also be entitled to the same rights and privileges as inmates in opposite-sex marriages. This includes visitation by a spouse, inmate furloughs to be present during a crisis involving a spouse, escorted trips to attend a spouse’s funeral, correspondence with a spouse, and compassionate release or reduction in sentence based on the incapacitation of an inmate’s spouse.
Beyond this, the Department will equally recognize same-sex couples for the purposes of a number of key benefits programs it administers, such as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
Another key program is the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program. It provides death benefits and educational benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, who suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries in the line-of-duty. This program is one way that we, as a country, stand by the families of those who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe, and we must never do so selectively. When any law enforcement officer falls in the line of duty or is gravely injured, the federal government should stand by that hero’s spouse – no matter whether that spouse is straight or gay. Our policy memo on Monday will reflect this principle.
After all, this nation was built – and it continues to be improved – by patriotic men and women with abiding faith in the bedrock principle of equality. From the suffragettes to the Freedom Riders – from Birmingham to Stonewall – America’s course has been determined, and our future defined, by those who act on the recognition that all are created equal. By those who understand that this country’s diversity has always been one of its greatest strengths. And by those who prove every day that we – as a people – are made greater, and wiser, and stronger when we value the contributions of every citizen – gay and straight, bisexual and transgender. Black and white. Young and old – whether they live in Washington or Wyoming; Massachusetts or Missouri. Whether they work in schools or restaurants – on Wall Street or Main Street. And whether they contribute to our nation as doctors or service members; as businesspeople or public servants; as scientists or as Olympic athletes.
In this great country, we move faster, we reach farther, and we climb higher whenever we stand together as one. That’s why this Administration, this Department of Justice – and this Attorney General – will never stop fighting to ensure equal protection. We will never rest in our efforts to safeguard the civil rights to which everyone in this country is entitled. And we will never waver in our determination to build on the progress we’ve seen – and bring about the changes our citizens deserve. But you must be our partners in this effort. Everyone in this room, and everyone in the LGBT community, must be committed to ending all discrimination – discrimination based not only on sexual orientation, but also on race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin. You must be active in those areas of the struggle as well.
We are, right now, in the middle of marking a number of 50-year anniversaries of key milestones in the Civil Rights Movement – from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, in 1963, to this summer’s anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The gains made during that period continue to be a source of great pride – not just for our country, but also for the building where I work. At critical points along the way, the Justice Department played a leadership role in advancing that historic movement. This was never more evident than when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sent his top deputy, Nick Katzenbach – whose portrait hangs in my personal office – to literally stare down racial discrimination in the schoolhouse door in order to enforce the integration of the University of Alabama. It was my late sister-in-law, Vivian Malone, who walked through that University’s doors that day. Without the bravery shown by her – and so many others like her – during the Civil Rights movement, I would not be standing before you today as the nation’s first African-American Attorney General.
And yet, as all-important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and remains today, know this: my commitment to confronting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep. Just as was true during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the stakes involved in this generation’s struggle for LGBT equality could not be higher. Then, as now, nothing less than our country’s founding commitment to the notion of equal protection under the law was at stake. And so the Justice Department’s role in confronting discrimination must be as aggressive today as it was in Robert Kennedy’s time. As Attorney General, I will never let this Department be simply a bystander during this important moment in history. We will act.
As we keep moving forward together, we will continue to rely on the passion, the expertise, and the steadfast commitment of groups like this one – and dedicated advocates like all of you. Important, life-changing work remains before us, and we know from our history that the road ahead will be anything but easy. Always remember that progress is not inevitable and that positive change occurs only through commitment and through struggle.
But as I look around this crowd tonight – at so many leaders who are helping to build, and taking part in, a movement that is truly historic – I cannot help but feel confident in our ability to keep moving forward together. And I am profoundly optimistic about the country – and the world – that we will imagine; that we will plan for; and that each of us will surely help to create. I welcome the opportunity to work with you in this endeavor.
Thank you.
Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Human Rights Campaign Greater New York Gala
~ Monday, February 10, 2014
Thank you, Chad [Griffin], for those kind words; for your visionary leadership of this organization; and for the indelible – and truly historic – role that you and your colleagues have played in advancing the fight for civil rights and LGBT equality – in our courts, on our city streets, and in the halls of Congress.
It’s a privilege to share the stage with you today. It’s a pleasure – as always – to be back home in New York City. And it’s a tremendous honor to be among so many dedicated leaders, passionate advocates, strong allies, and committed public servants – including state legislators, city officials, and members of New York’s outstanding Congressional delegation.
Since the founding of the Human Rights Campaign more than three decades ago, this organization has brought people together to make a profound, positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans. Especially in recent years, your committed efforts – and the hard work of countless allies across this country – have helped to bring about remarkable, once-unimaginable progress. Thanks to leaders and activists in, and far beyond, this room, our nation has made great strides on the road to LGBT equality – a cause that, I believe, is a defining civil rights challenge of our time.
You’ve stepped to the forefront of our national discourse, helping to mobilize millions to raise awareness about issues of concern to the LGBT community. You’ve spoken out for the rights and opportunities that have too often been denied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. You’re calling for policies that stabilize families and expand individual liberty. And you’re doing it all in a manner that is enduring; that is predicated on an understanding of our common humanity; and that is founded on the singular ideal that has defined this country since its earliest days: the notion that all are created equal – and that all are entitled to opportunity and equal justice under law.
For President Obama, for me, and for our colleagues at every level of the Administration, this work is a top priority. And I’m pleased to note that – together – we have brought about historic, meaningful, lasting change.
We can all be proud that, today, those who courageously serve their country in uniform – those who sacrifice so that we can all enjoy the freedoms we cherish – need no longer hide their sexual orientation. With the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law in 2010 – an achievement that the Human Rights Campaign helped make possible – we celebrated the beginning of a new era for many brave servicemen and women. And we ensured that, here at home and around the world, lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans can serve proudly, honestly, and openly – without fear of being fired for who they are.
We also can be encouraged that the newly-reauthorized Violence Against Women Act includes robust new provisions that ensure LGBT survivors of domestic abuse can access the same services as other survivors of partner violence. This will empower them to seek the help that they desperately need. And it will enable more and more Americans to find hope and healing in moments of great difficulty.
And we can be invigorated by the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce critical civil rights protections – including the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act – which the Human Rights Campaign helped to pass, and which President Obama signed in 2009. Under this important law, we are strengthening the Department’s ability to achieve justice on behalf of those who are victimized simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Today, we are more prepared – and better equipped – than ever before to pursue allegations of federal hate crimes wherever they arise; to bring charges whenever they are warranted; and to support our state and local law enforcement partners in enforcing their own hate crimes laws. And I pledge to you tonight that we will never stop working to ensure that equality under the law is protected by the law.
After all, this is the principle that drove the President and me to decide – in early 2011 – that Justice Department attorneys would no longer defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. We shared a strong belief that all measures that distinguish among people based on their sexual orientation must be subjected to a higher standard of scrutiny – and therefore that this measure was unconstitutional discrimination. And as a result, last summer – on an extraordinary day that was made possible by so many of this organization’s members – the Supreme Court issued a historic decision striking down the federal government’s ban on recognizing gay and lesbian couples who are legally married.
This marked a critical step forward. And it constituted a resounding victory for committed and loving couples throughout the country who fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents had been denied the recognition that they deserved; and for millions of family, friends, and supporters who wanted to see their loved ones treated fairly, and who worked tirelessly to make that a reality.
Thanks to the opinions handed down on that day – and the efforts of this organization and many others – there’s no question that this country stands at a new frontier in the fight for civil rights. And I am pleased to report that the dedicated men and women of the Justice Department – under the outstanding leadership of Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Stuart Delery, who is here with us tonight – are leading national efforts to implement, and make real, the full promise of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Windsor case.
Already, my colleagues and I have announced the extension of significant benefits to Americans in same-sex marriages – including health insurance and other key benefits for federal employees and their families; a uniform policy ensuring that all same-sex married couples are recognized for federal tax purposes; and a policy dictating that – for purposes of immigration law – same-sex and opposite-sex marriages are treated exactly the same.
We also worked with the Department of Defense to determine that members of the military who are in same-sex marriages will receive the same benefits available to opposite-sex married couples. Just last month, the Justice Department affirmed that – for purposes of federal law – same-sex marriages performed in the State of Utah will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits. These marriages were valid when they were celebrated, and the federal government will acknowledge them as such. And we will continue to coordinate with others across the government to ensure that those in lawful same-sex marriages across the country will receive every benefit to which they are entitled.
These initial changes will positively impact the lives of so many throughout the nation. All of these steps forward are worth celebrating. But I also want to make one thing very clear: for my colleagues, for me – and I know for all of you – they are only the beginning.
This is no time to rest on our laurels. This is no time to back down, to give up, or to give in to the unjust and unequal status quo. Neither tradition nor fear of change can absolve us of the obligation we share to combat discrimination in all its forms. And, despite everything that’s been achieved, each of us has much more work to do.
We come together this evening at an exciting moment in history – one that is defined by challenge as well as opportunity. As President Obama has said, “The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: that when all Americans are treated as equal…we are all more free.”
Tonight, I am proud to announce that the Justice Department is taking additional steps to further advance this “fundamental truth” – and to give real meaning to the Windsor decision. On Monday, I will issue a new policy memorandum that will – for the first time in history – formally instruct all Justice Department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law.
This means that, in every courthouse, in every proceeding, and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States – they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law. And this policy has important, real-world implications for same-sex married couples that interact with the criminal justice system. For instance, as a result of this policy:
• The Department will recognize that same-sex spouses of individuals involved in civil and criminal cases should have the same legal rights as all other married couples – including the right to decline to give testimony that might violate the marital privilege. Under this policy, even in states where same-sex marriages are not recognized, the federal government will not use state views as a basis to object to someone in a same-sex marriage invoking this right.
• In bankruptcy cases, the United States Trustee Program will take the position that same-sex married couples should be treated in the same manner as opposite-sex married couples. This means that, among other things, same-sex married couples should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly, that certain debts to same-sex spouses or former spouses should be excepted from discharge, and that domestic support obligations should include debts, such as alimony, owed to a former same-sex spouse.
• Federal inmates in same-sex marriages will also be entitled to the same rights and privileges as inmates in opposite-sex marriages. This includes visitation by a spouse, inmate furloughs to be present during a crisis involving a spouse, escorted trips to attend a spouse’s funeral, correspondence with a spouse, and compassionate release or reduction in sentence based on the incapacitation of an inmate’s spouse.
Beyond this, the Department will equally recognize same-sex couples for the purposes of a number of key benefits programs it administers, such as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
Another key program is the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program. It provides death benefits and educational benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, who suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries in the line-of-duty. This program is one way that we, as a country, stand by the families of those who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe, and we must never do so selectively. When any law enforcement officer falls in the line of duty or is gravely injured, the federal government should stand by that hero’s spouse – no matter whether that spouse is straight or gay. Our policy memo on Monday will reflect this principle.
After all, this nation was built – and it continues to be improved – by patriotic men and women with abiding faith in the bedrock principle of equality. From the suffragettes to the Freedom Riders – from Birmingham to Stonewall – America’s course has been determined, and our future defined, by those who act on the recognition that all are created equal. By those who understand that this country’s diversity has always been one of its greatest strengths. And by those who prove every day that we – as a people – are made greater, and wiser, and stronger when we value the contributions of every citizen – gay and straight, bisexual and transgender. Black and white. Young and old – whether they live in Washington or Wyoming; Massachusetts or Missouri. Whether they work in schools or restaurants – on Wall Street or Main Street. And whether they contribute to our nation as doctors or service members; as businesspeople or public servants; as scientists or as Olympic athletes.
In this great country, we move faster, we reach farther, and we climb higher whenever we stand together as one. That’s why this Administration, this Department of Justice – and this Attorney General – will never stop fighting to ensure equal protection. We will never rest in our efforts to safeguard the civil rights to which everyone in this country is entitled. And we will never waver in our determination to build on the progress we’ve seen – and bring about the changes our citizens deserve. But you must be our partners in this effort. Everyone in this room, and everyone in the LGBT community, must be committed to ending all discrimination – discrimination based not only on sexual orientation, but also on race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin. You must be active in those areas of the struggle as well.
We are, right now, in the middle of marking a number of 50-year anniversaries of key milestones in the Civil Rights Movement – from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, in 1963, to this summer’s anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The gains made during that period continue to be a source of great pride – not just for our country, but also for the building where I work. At critical points along the way, the Justice Department played a leadership role in advancing that historic movement. This was never more evident than when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sent his top deputy, Nick Katzenbach – whose portrait hangs in my personal office – to literally stare down racial discrimination in the schoolhouse door in order to enforce the integration of the University of Alabama. It was my late sister-in-law, Vivian Malone, who walked through that University’s doors that day. Without the bravery shown by her – and so many others like her – during the Civil Rights movement, I would not be standing before you today as the nation’s first African-American Attorney General.
And yet, as all-important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and remains today, know this: my commitment to confronting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep. Just as was true during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the stakes involved in this generation’s struggle for LGBT equality could not be higher. Then, as now, nothing less than our country’s founding commitment to the notion of equal protection under the law was at stake. And so the Justice Department’s role in confronting discrimination must be as aggressive today as it was in Robert Kennedy’s time. As Attorney General, I will never let this Department be simply a bystander during this important moment in history. We will act.
As we keep moving forward together, we will continue to rely on the passion, the expertise, and the steadfast commitment of groups like this one – and dedicated advocates like all of you. Important, life-changing work remains before us, and we know from our history that the road ahead will be anything but easy. Always remember that progress is not inevitable and that positive change occurs only through commitment and through struggle.
But as I look around this crowd tonight – at so many leaders who are helping to build, and taking part in, a movement that is truly historic – I cannot help but feel confident in our ability to keep moving forward together. And I am profoundly optimistic about the country – and the world – that we will imagine; that we will plan for; and that each of us will surely help to create. I welcome the opportunity to work with you in this endeavor.
Thank you.
MILITARY CONTRACTED MAP CO. PAYS $2.1 MILLION TO RESOLVE FALSE CLAIM ACT ALLEGATIONS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, February 7, 2014
Sanborn Map Co. Pays $2.1 Million to Resolve Allegations of False Claims for Map Work Related to United States Military Convoy Routes in Iraq and Marine Corps Bases in United States
Sanborn Map Company Inc. has agreed to pay $2.1 million to the U.S. government to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with U. S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts, the Justice Department announced today. Sanborn, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., provides photogrammetric mapping and geographic information system services.
“We are committed to defending the integrity of our public contracting process,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “ The Department of Justice will not hesitate to pursue companies that knowingly fail to comply with their contractual obligations, particularly obligations involving the protection of our national security interests.”
From 2005 to 2011, Sanborn contracted with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to produce maps for U.S. convoy routes in Iraq, Marine Corps bases in the U. S. and other military and civilian projects. Allegedly, in an effort to save money, Sanborn used unapproved foreign subcontractors on three projects, which violated contractual obligations and caused delays on these projects. Sanborn also allegedly used unapproved domestic subcontractors when Sanborn was required to complete all map work in-house and charged unrelated work to the government contracts.
"We applaud the hard work and dedication of our agents and partners at the Department of Justice and other fellow law enforcement agencies," said Director Frank Robey of the U. S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. "Our specially trained agents will doggedly pursue all who would undermine the needs and resources of the military.”
The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by a former Sanborn employee, James Peterson, in a federal court in St. Louis, Mo., under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private individuals known as “relators” to sue on behalf of the government and to share in the proceeds of any settlement or judgment. Peterson’s share of today’s settlement has not been determined.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice; the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command – Major Procurement Fraud Unit; the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and Defense Contract Audit Agency assisted in the investigation.
The case is United States ex rel. James Peterson v. Sanborn Map Company Inc., 4:11CV000902 AGF (E.D. Mo.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Sanborn Map Co. Pays $2.1 Million to Resolve Allegations of False Claims for Map Work Related to United States Military Convoy Routes in Iraq and Marine Corps Bases in United States
Sanborn Map Company Inc. has agreed to pay $2.1 million to the U.S. government to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with U. S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts, the Justice Department announced today. Sanborn, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., provides photogrammetric mapping and geographic information system services.
“We are committed to defending the integrity of our public contracting process,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “ The Department of Justice will not hesitate to pursue companies that knowingly fail to comply with their contractual obligations, particularly obligations involving the protection of our national security interests.”
From 2005 to 2011, Sanborn contracted with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to produce maps for U.S. convoy routes in Iraq, Marine Corps bases in the U. S. and other military and civilian projects. Allegedly, in an effort to save money, Sanborn used unapproved foreign subcontractors on three projects, which violated contractual obligations and caused delays on these projects. Sanborn also allegedly used unapproved domestic subcontractors when Sanborn was required to complete all map work in-house and charged unrelated work to the government contracts.
"We applaud the hard work and dedication of our agents and partners at the Department of Justice and other fellow law enforcement agencies," said Director Frank Robey of the U. S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. "Our specially trained agents will doggedly pursue all who would undermine the needs and resources of the military.”
The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by a former Sanborn employee, James Peterson, in a federal court in St. Louis, Mo., under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private individuals known as “relators” to sue on behalf of the government and to share in the proceeds of any settlement or judgment. Peterson’s share of today’s settlement has not been determined.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice; the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command – Major Procurement Fraud Unit; the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and Defense Contract Audit Agency assisted in the investigation.
The case is United States ex rel. James Peterson v. Sanborn Map Company Inc., 4:11CV000902 AGF (E.D. Mo.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
COMMITTEE EXAMINES PLIGHT OF AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Federal Advisory Committee Examines Juvenile Courts and Justice System Programs for American Indian Children Exposed to Violence
More than 30 tribal leaders, juvenile court judges, child advocates, juvenile justice system experts and community members from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community testified today in the second public hearing of the Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence. The hearing focused on how juvenile courts and other programs within tribal juvenile justice systems address the impact of children’s exposure to violence.
“Too many native children encounter violence in their homes and communities that can disrupt a path to living healthy adult lives, and we must do all that we can to protect these young people,” said Associate Attorney General Tony West. “By intervening early, we can help these children avoid a fate involving courts and the corrections system.”
During the hearing, experts explained how children entering tribal, state or federal justice systems are screened and treated for trauma from previous exposure to violence. They also discussed a variety of issues facing Native children in juvenile justice systems, including the availability of legal representation, tribal court transfer of juvenile cases to adult courts, culturally sensitive programs and services that divert youth from entering the juvenile justice system.
“The long-term impact of a child’s exposure to violence depends heavily on how law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defenders, judges, and corrections professionals handle that child’s case,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs Karol V. Mason. “Through the work of the task force, we hope to find ways to make the justice system a force for positive change in a young person’s life.”
The Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children exposed to violence is comprised of a federal working group that includes U.S. Attorneys and officials from the Departments of the Interior and Justice and an advisory committee of experts on American Indian studies, child health and trauma, victim services and child welfare and law.
The 13-member advisory committee is co-chaired by former U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan and Iroquois composer and singer Joanne Shenandoah. The advisory committee will draw upon research and information gathered through public hearings to draft a final report of policy recommendations that it will present to Attorney General Eric Holder by late 2014.
Attorney General Holder created the task force in April 2013 as part of his Defending Childhood initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence as victims and witnesses. The task force is also a component of the Justice Department’s ongoing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.
The advisory committee held its first public hearing Dec. 9, 2013, in Bismarck, N.D. and will hold additional public hearings, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Anchorage, Alaska.
For more information about the advisory committee and public hearings, please visit www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Federal Advisory Committee Examines Juvenile Courts and Justice System Programs for American Indian Children Exposed to Violence
More than 30 tribal leaders, juvenile court judges, child advocates, juvenile justice system experts and community members from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community testified today in the second public hearing of the Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence. The hearing focused on how juvenile courts and other programs within tribal juvenile justice systems address the impact of children’s exposure to violence.
“Too many native children encounter violence in their homes and communities that can disrupt a path to living healthy adult lives, and we must do all that we can to protect these young people,” said Associate Attorney General Tony West. “By intervening early, we can help these children avoid a fate involving courts and the corrections system.”
During the hearing, experts explained how children entering tribal, state or federal justice systems are screened and treated for trauma from previous exposure to violence. They also discussed a variety of issues facing Native children in juvenile justice systems, including the availability of legal representation, tribal court transfer of juvenile cases to adult courts, culturally sensitive programs and services that divert youth from entering the juvenile justice system.
“The long-term impact of a child’s exposure to violence depends heavily on how law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defenders, judges, and corrections professionals handle that child’s case,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs Karol V. Mason. “Through the work of the task force, we hope to find ways to make the justice system a force for positive change in a young person’s life.”
The Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children exposed to violence is comprised of a federal working group that includes U.S. Attorneys and officials from the Departments of the Interior and Justice and an advisory committee of experts on American Indian studies, child health and trauma, victim services and child welfare and law.
The 13-member advisory committee is co-chaired by former U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan and Iroquois composer and singer Joanne Shenandoah. The advisory committee will draw upon research and information gathered through public hearings to draft a final report of policy recommendations that it will present to Attorney General Eric Holder by late 2014.
Attorney General Holder created the task force in April 2013 as part of his Defending Childhood initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence as victims and witnesses. The task force is also a component of the Justice Department’s ongoing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.
The advisory committee held its first public hearing Dec. 9, 2013, in Bismarck, N.D. and will hold additional public hearings, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Anchorage, Alaska.
For more information about the advisory committee and public hearings, please visit www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood.
MACROSYSTEMS BIOLOGY DATA REQUIREMENTS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Data-intensive ecology needed to understand what makes the biosphere tick
Journal special issue reports new findings on macrosystems biology: biological sciences writ large.
Have you looked closely at a local pond, meadow or forest--or at nature in your suburb or city--and observed changes in it over time? That's exactly what scientists are trying to do on a larger, regional to continental scale--a macrosystems biology scale.
Macrosystems biology might be called "biological sciences writ large."
Scientists funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) MacroSystems Biology Program are working to better detect, understand and predict the effects of climate and land-use change on organisms and ecosystems at regional to continental scales.
The researchers have published new results in this month's special issue of the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, published by the Ecological Society of America.
The ecologists are asking questions such as: How are regional-scale processes in plant and animal invasions, and in disease transmission, shaped by continent-wide environmental and land-use patterns? How can continent-wide data lead to better forecasts of disease outbreaks? How do invasive species and infectious diseases arrive at new locations, sometimes across great distances?
"Scientists conducting macrosystems biology research are working to find answers to these complex questions," says John Wingfield, NSF assistant director for Biological Sciences.
"Current knowledge of the biosphere is largely based on research in small plots of land and on satellite-scale remote sensing," says Wingfield. "But the insights needed to answer critically important questions about the biosphere's future can't always be extrapolated from such studies. They require new approaches."
Now macrosystems biologists are entering a new realm: that of big data.
"Ecologists can no longer sample and study just one or even a handful of ecosystems," says Patricia Soranno, a scientist at Michigan State University and co-editor of the special issue with David Schimel of the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Lab.
"We also need to study lots of ecosystems and use lots of data to tackle many environmental problems--such as climate change, land-use change and invasive species--because such problems exist at larger scales than other problems we have faced in the past."
Soranno and Schimel worked with many researchers, all funded by NSF's MacroSystems Biology Program, to produce the special issue.
"Data-intensive science is being touted as a new way to do science of any kind, and we think it has a lot to offer ecology," says Soranno.
"Traditionally, ecologists are trained to study and take samples from the field in places like forests, grasslands or wetlands, and measure things in the lab.
"In the future, many ecologists will also need to be trained in advanced computational methods that will allow them to study complex systems using big datasets."
Researchers have accumulated decades and decades of data. The sources include small, individual projects by university biologists; government agency scientists monitoring natural resources; terabytes of data from new or existing field sensors and observation networks; and millions of high-definition satellite images.
Easier access to supercomputers is paired with a near-endless deluge of data. Analyses that once took months or years can now be conducted in hours or days. Scientists also have access to the latest statistical modeling and geographic information system tools, says Soranno.
"Ten years ago, it would have been much harder to take this approach," she says. "We didn't have the intersection we have today of great tools, volumes of data, sufficient computing power and a growing understanding of natural systems at broad scales."
The makeup of macrosystems biology research teams should reflect the demands of data-intensive ecology, these researchers believe. Groups should include database managers, data-mining experts, GIS professionals and others, they say.
"An important question we're facing is how ecologists can best solve many of today's top environmental problems, challenges that need a broad-scale approach," Soranno says.
"From the research that has already been conducted by macrosystems biologists, evidenced by the papers in this special issue, we think we're on the right path."
It's where science needs to go, say these papers' authors, to understand what makes Earth's biosphere tick.
The research papers in the special issue can be accessed online at the Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment website.
-NSF-
Data-intensive ecology needed to understand what makes the biosphere tick
Journal special issue reports new findings on macrosystems biology: biological sciences writ large.
Have you looked closely at a local pond, meadow or forest--or at nature in your suburb or city--and observed changes in it over time? That's exactly what scientists are trying to do on a larger, regional to continental scale--a macrosystems biology scale.
Macrosystems biology might be called "biological sciences writ large."
Scientists funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) MacroSystems Biology Program are working to better detect, understand and predict the effects of climate and land-use change on organisms and ecosystems at regional to continental scales.
The researchers have published new results in this month's special issue of the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, published by the Ecological Society of America.
The ecologists are asking questions such as: How are regional-scale processes in plant and animal invasions, and in disease transmission, shaped by continent-wide environmental and land-use patterns? How can continent-wide data lead to better forecasts of disease outbreaks? How do invasive species and infectious diseases arrive at new locations, sometimes across great distances?
"Scientists conducting macrosystems biology research are working to find answers to these complex questions," says John Wingfield, NSF assistant director for Biological Sciences.
"Current knowledge of the biosphere is largely based on research in small plots of land and on satellite-scale remote sensing," says Wingfield. "But the insights needed to answer critically important questions about the biosphere's future can't always be extrapolated from such studies. They require new approaches."
Now macrosystems biologists are entering a new realm: that of big data.
"Ecologists can no longer sample and study just one or even a handful of ecosystems," says Patricia Soranno, a scientist at Michigan State University and co-editor of the special issue with David Schimel of the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Lab.
"We also need to study lots of ecosystems and use lots of data to tackle many environmental problems--such as climate change, land-use change and invasive species--because such problems exist at larger scales than other problems we have faced in the past."
Soranno and Schimel worked with many researchers, all funded by NSF's MacroSystems Biology Program, to produce the special issue.
"Data-intensive science is being touted as a new way to do science of any kind, and we think it has a lot to offer ecology," says Soranno.
"Traditionally, ecologists are trained to study and take samples from the field in places like forests, grasslands or wetlands, and measure things in the lab.
"In the future, many ecologists will also need to be trained in advanced computational methods that will allow them to study complex systems using big datasets."
Researchers have accumulated decades and decades of data. The sources include small, individual projects by university biologists; government agency scientists monitoring natural resources; terabytes of data from new or existing field sensors and observation networks; and millions of high-definition satellite images.
Easier access to supercomputers is paired with a near-endless deluge of data. Analyses that once took months or years can now be conducted in hours or days. Scientists also have access to the latest statistical modeling and geographic information system tools, says Soranno.
"Ten years ago, it would have been much harder to take this approach," she says. "We didn't have the intersection we have today of great tools, volumes of data, sufficient computing power and a growing understanding of natural systems at broad scales."
The makeup of macrosystems biology research teams should reflect the demands of data-intensive ecology, these researchers believe. Groups should include database managers, data-mining experts, GIS professionals and others, they say.
"An important question we're facing is how ecologists can best solve many of today's top environmental problems, challenges that need a broad-scale approach," Soranno says.
"From the research that has already been conducted by macrosystems biologists, evidenced by the papers in this special issue, we think we're on the right path."
It's where science needs to go, say these papers' authors, to understand what makes Earth's biosphere tick.
The research papers in the special issue can be accessed online at the Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment website.
-NSF-
Monday, February 17, 2014
U.S. SENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF GAMBIA ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
On the Occasion of the Republic of The Gambia's National Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 17, 2014
On behalf of the American people, I send best wishes to the government and people of The Gambia as they celebrate 49 years of independence on February 18.
We celebrate with you on this joyous occasion, and look forward to working with you to build a better future for all Gambians.
The United States wishes the government and people of The Gambia a festive celebration and prosperous year.
On the Occasion of the Republic of The Gambia's National Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 17, 2014
On behalf of the American people, I send best wishes to the government and people of The Gambia as they celebrate 49 years of independence on February 18.
We celebrate with you on this joyous occasion, and look forward to working with you to build a better future for all Gambians.
The United States wishes the government and people of The Gambia a festive celebration and prosperous year.
ARYAN BROTHERHOOD OF TEXAS GANG MEMBER PLEADS GUILTY TO RACKETEERING CHARGES
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, February 14, 2014
Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges
A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges related to his membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.
Ronald Lee Prince, aka “Big Show,” 44, of Dallas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.
According to court documents, Prince and other ABT gang members and associates agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking on behalf of the ABT gang. Prince and numerous ABT gang members met on a regular basis at various locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members, among other activities.
By pleading guilty to racketeering charges, Prince admitted to being a member of the ABT criminal enterprise.
According to the superseding indictment, the ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. The gang modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s. According to the superseding indictment, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy. Over time, the ABT expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.
Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”
According to the superseding indictment, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another gang member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 9, 2014, Prince faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Prince is one of 36 defendants charged with, among other things, conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise. To date, 19 defendants have pleaded guilty, including the recent plea of Stephen Tobin Mullen, aka “Scuba Steve,” 44, of Dallas, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity on Dec. 19, 2013.
This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Atascosa County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Orange County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Waller County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Alvin, Texas, Police Department; Carrollton, Texas, Police Department; Mesquite, Texas, Police Department; Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office; and the Atascosa County District Attorney’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges
A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges related to his membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.
Ronald Lee Prince, aka “Big Show,” 44, of Dallas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.
According to court documents, Prince and other ABT gang members and associates agreed to commit multiple acts of murder, robbery, arson, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking on behalf of the ABT gang. Prince and numerous ABT gang members met on a regular basis at various locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members, among other activities.
By pleading guilty to racketeering charges, Prince admitted to being a member of the ABT criminal enterprise.
According to the superseding indictment, the ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. The gang modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s. According to the superseding indictment, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy. Over time, the ABT expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.
Court documents allege that the ABT enforced its rules and promoted discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”
According to the superseding indictment, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another gang member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 9, 2014, Prince faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Prince is one of 36 defendants charged with, among other things, conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise. To date, 19 defendants have pleaded guilty, including the recent plea of Stephen Tobin Mullen, aka “Scuba Steve,” 44, of Dallas, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity on Dec. 19, 2013.
This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Atascosa County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Orange County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Waller County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Alvin, Texas, Police Department; Carrollton, Texas, Police Department; Mesquite, Texas, Police Department; Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office; and the Atascosa County District Attorney’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
COMMODITY POOL FRAUDSTER GETS $10 MILLION IN SANCTIONS
FROM: COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Federal Court in Nebraska Imposes More than $10 Million in Sanctions against Michael B. Kratville, Jonathan W. Arrington, Elite Management Holdings Corp., and MJM Enterprises LLC for Commodity Pool Fraud
Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Chief Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska entered a summary judgment Order against Defendant Michael B. Kratville, a licensed attorney, and a default judgment Order against Defendants Jonathan W. Arrington, Elite Management Holdings Corp. (Elite), and MJM Enterprises LLC (MJM), all of Omaha, Nebraska, in a CFTC enforcement action charging the Defendants with commodity pool fraud in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulations (see CFTC Press Release 6045-11, May 26, 2011).
The court’s Orders impose $4,368,368.71 in restitution and require that Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM pay a total of $5,729,142.87 in civil monetary penalties. The Orders further impose permanent trading and registration bans on Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM and prohibit them from violating the anti-fraud and disclosure provisions of the CEA and CFTC Regulations, as charged.
More than $700,000 of Pool Participant Funds Were Misappropriated for Country Club Memberships and Travel to Europe
Specifically, the default judgment Order finds that, from at least August 2005 until at least July 2008, Arrington, Elite, and MJM, through a variety of commodity pools, defrauded at least 130 pool participants of more than $4.7 million, of which they misappropriated more than $700,000 to, among other things, pay for country club memberships and travel to Europe. In soliciting for their pools that purported to trade in commodity futures contracts and off-exchange foreign currency contracts, Arrington, Elite, and MJM made fraudulent statements that their proprietary trading program consistently earned gains of up to six percent monthly and never risked more than 10 percent of principal at any one time. According to the summary judgment Order, Kratville made similar fraudulent statements. Both the default judgment and summary judgment Orders also find that Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM fraudulently boasted to investors that they had received many multi-million dollar offers to buy their system.
In addition, the summary judgment Order finds that Kratville, personally and through his involvement with Elite and MJM, defrauded pool participants through fraudulent solicitations, false statements, efforts to hide investor losses, and his involvement with Elite and MJM. The court found that Kratville had “an intent to keep the scheme in place as long as possible and avoid detection as long possible.” For example, the court cited Kratville’s own email that stated, “Someone will find out we have been acting illegally too. If this thing blows up, I will lose by bar license . . . My other fear is . . . [the] state and feds finding out what we were doing.”
The court’s Orders also noted that when the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance (NDBF) inquired about the operations of the pools, Kratville and Elite lied about the identity of the pools’ traders. Also, when the NDBF ordered the pools operated by Elite to be immediately shut down, Arrington and Kratville formed a new corporation, MJM, to continue their fraudulent scheme, told the NDBF that Elite was closed, and failed to disclose that a new operation similar to the Elite had begun, according to the Orders.
The court also found that because Kratville and Arrington controlled Elite and MJM and actively participated in Elite’s and MJM’s unlawful conduct, they were liable for all of Elite’s and MJM’s violations. Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM were also liable for failing to register with the CFTC, as required.
A Related Criminal Action
In a related criminal action, on April 16, 2013, a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska indicted Kratville, Arrington, and Defendant Michael J. Welke, with whom the CFTC previously settled (see CFTC Press Release 6516-13, February 13, 2013) on 14 counts arising from this fraud.
The CFTC thanks the NDBF for its assistance.
Federal Court in Nebraska Imposes More than $10 Million in Sanctions against Michael B. Kratville, Jonathan W. Arrington, Elite Management Holdings Corp., and MJM Enterprises LLC for Commodity Pool Fraud
Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Chief Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska entered a summary judgment Order against Defendant Michael B. Kratville, a licensed attorney, and a default judgment Order against Defendants Jonathan W. Arrington, Elite Management Holdings Corp. (Elite), and MJM Enterprises LLC (MJM), all of Omaha, Nebraska, in a CFTC enforcement action charging the Defendants with commodity pool fraud in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulations (see CFTC Press Release 6045-11, May 26, 2011).
The court’s Orders impose $4,368,368.71 in restitution and require that Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM pay a total of $5,729,142.87 in civil monetary penalties. The Orders further impose permanent trading and registration bans on Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM and prohibit them from violating the anti-fraud and disclosure provisions of the CEA and CFTC Regulations, as charged.
More than $700,000 of Pool Participant Funds Were Misappropriated for Country Club Memberships and Travel to Europe
Specifically, the default judgment Order finds that, from at least August 2005 until at least July 2008, Arrington, Elite, and MJM, through a variety of commodity pools, defrauded at least 130 pool participants of more than $4.7 million, of which they misappropriated more than $700,000 to, among other things, pay for country club memberships and travel to Europe. In soliciting for their pools that purported to trade in commodity futures contracts and off-exchange foreign currency contracts, Arrington, Elite, and MJM made fraudulent statements that their proprietary trading program consistently earned gains of up to six percent monthly and never risked more than 10 percent of principal at any one time. According to the summary judgment Order, Kratville made similar fraudulent statements. Both the default judgment and summary judgment Orders also find that Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM fraudulently boasted to investors that they had received many multi-million dollar offers to buy their system.
In addition, the summary judgment Order finds that Kratville, personally and through his involvement with Elite and MJM, defrauded pool participants through fraudulent solicitations, false statements, efforts to hide investor losses, and his involvement with Elite and MJM. The court found that Kratville had “an intent to keep the scheme in place as long as possible and avoid detection as long possible.” For example, the court cited Kratville’s own email that stated, “Someone will find out we have been acting illegally too. If this thing blows up, I will lose by bar license . . . My other fear is . . . [the] state and feds finding out what we were doing.”
The court’s Orders also noted that when the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance (NDBF) inquired about the operations of the pools, Kratville and Elite lied about the identity of the pools’ traders. Also, when the NDBF ordered the pools operated by Elite to be immediately shut down, Arrington and Kratville formed a new corporation, MJM, to continue their fraudulent scheme, told the NDBF that Elite was closed, and failed to disclose that a new operation similar to the Elite had begun, according to the Orders.
The court also found that because Kratville and Arrington controlled Elite and MJM and actively participated in Elite’s and MJM’s unlawful conduct, they were liable for all of Elite’s and MJM’s violations. Kratville, Arrington, Elite, and MJM were also liable for failing to register with the CFTC, as required.
A Related Criminal Action
In a related criminal action, on April 16, 2013, a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska indicted Kratville, Arrington, and Defendant Michael J. Welke, with whom the CFTC previously settled (see CFTC Press Release 6516-13, February 13, 2013) on 14 counts arising from this fraud.
The CFTC thanks the NDBF for its assistance.
REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY, INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA
Remarks With Indonesian Foreign Minister Raden Mohammad Marty Muliana Natalegawa
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Jakarta, Indonesia
February 17, 2014
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: I will speak in Bahasa Indonesia first, and then I will also speak a little bit in English as well.
(In Bahasa Indonesia) (Via translation) This morning, I am very happy to have a visit from our friend, his Excellency U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry. Secretary Kerry and I have met many times on the sidelines of international meetings. If I am not mistaken, the last time we met was at the meeting on Syria, in Montreux, Switzerland. This time, we are really very happy that you are visiting Jakarta on the occasion of the 4th Joint Ministerial Commission between Indonesia and the United States.
Actually, the talks started last night, in an informal meeting during dinner. We discussed many issues, especially regional and global issues. Without going into great detail about what we discussed yesterday, we discussed, for example, the issues related to the situation in the Asia Pacific, including South East Asia, and East Asia in general. We also discussed the issue of the South China Sea, and also Indonesia’s initiative on the prevention on violence and our preference for resolving issues through diplomacy. In addition, yesterday, we also discussed global issues.
But today, in the meeting, we focused on the bilateral relationship between two countries. We heard in detail reports from various working groups that have been set up to enhance relations between Indonesia and the United States. We need to underline that Indonesia and the United States are the second and third biggest democratic country in the word, have become equal partners, and become partners that cooperate closely to promote relations between the two countries and to advance common interests at the regional and global level.
For this reason, we heard reports from the working group on democracy and civil society, working group on trade and investment, working group on education, on climate change and environment, working group on security, and working group on energy.
After giving guidance to these working groups, we are determined to increase our bilateral relationship to an even higher level.
(In English) Secretary Kerry, it is my tremendous pleasure and honor even to welcome you to Jakarta, on the occasion of this fourth joint ministerial commission. I have mentioned with our colleagues from the media that we have had occasions in the past to meet at the sidelines of other conferences. I recall probably the last time that we would have been in one forum would have been in Montreux, when we met for the Syrian international conference.
But it is, therefore, of singular importance that we are welcoming you today here in Jakarta on the occasion of the Joint Ministerial Commission, because apart – in this forum, apart from discussing issues of common interest of regional and global nature, we can be really focused on promoting the comprehensive partnership that our two countries are – have been developing since 2010.
I must say that the discussion throughout this morning has been especially productive and especially constructive as well. We have been hearing from our colleagues, the chairs of the six working groups promoting bilateral relations between our two countries: democracy and civil society, trade and investment, education, climate and environment, security, energy. We have been able to scorecard or snapshot the current state of Indonesia-U.S. relations. And I must say, the trajectory has been very positive, but we now have the task of consolidating and taking it to a higher level.
Indonesia and United States are partners, partners in promoting democratic values, partners in promoting peace and security in our region, and partners in promoting the better welfare and economic prosperity of peoples in our region. And I’m, therefore, especially pleased that throughout this morning and yesterday evening we were able to cooperate and exchange views on these such issues of common interest.
With that, I’d like to give you the floor now, John, to share your thoughts on our conversation and, if time allows, to also open the floor for some questions from our media colleagues. Please, John.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much, Marty, my friend. We have really met many times on the side of different conferences, and we’ve gotten to know each other well. And I think we work effectively together, and I appreciate the – both the friendship and the generosity of his efforts with respect to the partnership between the United States and Indonesia.
Let me start today, if I can, by expressing my condolences on behalf of all Americans and President Obama to the victims of the Mount Sinabung volcano in the Mount Kelud volcanoes. We understand that the families of the 21 people who passed away are obviously suffering a great loss, and the tens of thousands of people who have been uprooted from their homes is a humanitarian challenge. And we stand ready to help in any way that Indonesia might need or want. And we certainly express our condolences to the families for those lost and to all of Indonesia.
Very special for me to be able to be back in Jakarta. I came here a number of times as a senator, and my sister lived here in Jakarta and taught at the International School for quite a few years. So I have, for many years, heard her stories of her years here and her enjoyment of both the people and the country, and so it’s nice for me to be able to be back here.
This is an amazingly dynamic city. Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to the Istiqlal mosque. And it’s my pleasure to not only say good morning to everybody here, but as-salam alaykum. It’s my honor to be a guest at this remarkable house of worship, the third largest mosque in the world, the largest in the region, in Asia, and really an incredible monument to faith and to the power of worship and the ability of people to come together and worship.
And what is really important, I thought, was to see just a short distance away the spires of the cathedral, which really is a symbol together of the tolerance that exists here in Indonesia, a very, very critical asset and one that we admire Indonesians for embracing. Much of the world could learn a great deal from your tradition of religious tolerance and pluralism, which is so clearly embedded in the DNA of Indonesian people.
This morning, as the Foreign Minister mentioned, we were both very pleased to join in the fourth convening of the meeting of the U.S-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership Joint Commission. Comprehensive partnership defines the work that we are doing. And I mentioned at the end of our meeting how impressed I was with the ideas that were exchanged, because we have these working groups that had been sitting down with each other when we’re not here, to listen to them, as we were today, in order to press the agenda between Indonesia and the United States.
In the few short years since our governments established this comprehensive partnership, we have together been far better equipped to be able to address shared challenges and to identify shared opportunities. And as Marty mentioned, we targeted today trade and investment, climate change and energy, issues of education, and other challenges in our relationship that we believe are opportunities. And we intend to try to make the most of those opportunities. And we talked about ways we could even improve this joint commission partnership, and we’re going to work on them. The fact is that, as a result of these meetings, our bilateral relationship is growing in a wide range of areas, and it’s growing faster, I can assure you, than it would be if we did not have this kind of partnership effort.
You saw just a few minutes ago we signed two new memorandum of understanding. Those came out of this commission – one to build on the work that we do to protect against wildlife trafficking, which is a threat to the ecosystem, a threat to species, a threat to our conscience, and really summons an obligation by all of us to try to do better, and also the responsibility to preserve the remarkably rich biodiversity that exists, both marine diversity and land-based biodiversity that exists in Indonesia, richest in the world, and it’s important to preserve it.
We also signed a memorandum to increase our joint development assistance to support human rights, regional integration, democracy, peace, and stability in third countries. And there are many countries that could benefit from the joint effort of the United States and Indonesia, and we intend to continue to do that.
I respect Mr. Natalegawa’s commitment as a leader to ASEAN and the work that has been done, which is critical to advancing our efforts to promote peace and prosperity in the region. I was in Beijing just two days ago, where I discussed the United States growing concerns over a pattern of behavior in which maritime claims are being asserted in the East China and South China Sea, from restrictions on access to the Scarborough Shoals, the Scarborough Reef, to China’s establishment of an ADIZ in the East China Sea, to the issuance of revised regulations restricting fishing in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
We believe very strongly that international law applies to all countries, big countries, small countries. And we live, even though we are not – even though the United States has not ratified the Law of the Sea, we live by the Law of the Sea. We are pledged to stick with the rules of the Law of the Sea. And we think it’s important for all countries to do that. It is imperative for all claimants to any location in these seas to base their maritime claims on the definitions of international law and to be able to resolve them peacefully within that framework.
The United States is very grateful for the leadership and the role that Indonesia has played in advancing China-ASEAN negotiations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the region’s future stability will depend, in part, on the success and the timeliness of the effort to produce a code of conduct. The longer the process takes, the longer tensions will simmer, and the greater the chance of a miscalculation by somebody that could trigger a conflict. That is in nobody’s interest. So I commend Foreign Minister Natalegawa for his focus on this issue. And I urge all of the parties to follow his lead and accelerate the negotiations.
Indonesia – it should be clear from today’s meeting and from the things that we have talked about and the things that we are accomplishing – is increasingly becoming a major U.S. partner, not just on regional challenges, but on global challenges like climate change and counterterrorism. That includes on Syria, where we are working hard to together to finally bring about a political solution to this horrible war. And I am very grateful to Foreign Minister Natalegawa for coming to Montreux to join us as one of 40 nations to help to make it clear how important it is to adhere to the standards of the Geneva I communique.
Yesterday, here in Jakarta, at the @america forum, I had the privilege of being able to talk about the challenge of climate change. You really only have to look at the extensive science to understand that climate change is one of the one, two, or three biggest challenges facing this planet. That’s why I raise the issue in nearly every single country that I visit as Secretary of State.
If we are going to prevent the worst consequences of climate change then, especially in places like Indonesia, which are on the frontlines of this threat, then we need everybody engaged. No one nation can solve this problem by itself. We need the United States, Indonesia, and every other country on earth doing everything that they can do to make the right choices in order to meet this challenge head-on. This is the most quintessentially global challenge that we have ever faced. It really demands a global solution. There’s no way to solve it. So we look forward to working with our partner, Indonesia, on that, as well as others.
As the world’s second and third largest democracies, we stand here today firmly with the belief, which both our presidents share, that our nations will benefit greatly from stronger ties and deeper levels of cooperation. I am not only talking about strengthening the ties between governments, we’re also talking about strengthening the ties between our peoples.
In the past few years alone, we have made terrific progress in the area of people-to-people relationships. I’m proud to say that the number of Americans studying in Indonesia has increased nearly 70 percent since 2010. And the number of Indonesians studying in the United States has grown substantially as well. And with the joint commission’s focusing on strengthening university partnerships and increasing the quality of education, we are absolutely confident the number of students going in both directions is going to increase. I look forward to seeing that.
So thank you, Indonesia, for your friendship. Thank you for the partnership. We respect the serious way in which we work out differences, and we appreciate enormously the fact that we have found common ground on such important issues. And through this joint commission, we are building our relationship even more so. Thank you very much, Marty.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Thanks very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you.
MODERATOR: We will now begin the (inaudible). I will give the first opportunity to our guest from the U.S. media.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Minister Natalegawa, what is your response to the report that the NSA, with the help of the Australians, spied on an American law firm that represented your government in trade talks with the United States? And did you raise this issue in your talks with Secretary Kerry?
And Secretary Kerry, if the issued was raised, could I ask you what your response was? And more broadly, moving onto the TPP negotiations, how much of a handicap is it that even your own Democrats are balking at giving President Obama trade promotion authority? How can you expect Asian countries to start providing access to their markets if there’s a perceived lack of support for this in Congress? Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Thank you very much for that question. The entire portfolio of extraterritorial surveillance has been obtaining a great deal of attention, not only here in Jakarta, but, as I understand it, as well in Washington and many capitals in Europe as well. I am aware that the U.S. administration recently – President Obama – had gone through, undertaken a review of the type of activities and the type of work that the various U.S. intelligence agencies are conducting, its impact, its relevance within United States, and as well in its international relations.
Our understanding is that the kind of review, the kind of amendments and approach that had been signaled by United States sides will be also forthcoming, will also be relevant in its conduct of its relations with Indonesia, given the nature of our relationship between the two countries. That is as far as the broad subject of extraterritorial surveillance.
As I said before, this is a subject that is obtaining a great deal of attention in many a capital. And United States is one of those that had actually taken a very comprehensive and thought-through review. And what I am now anticipating and what I am now understanding is that the kind of refinement and approach and refinement in outlook and practice would be a relevant to a country like Indonesia as a partner of the United States.
On the specific issue – I’m sorry if I have to speak of this at this forum, because this doesn’t impact on United States directly. But on the alleged information about the sharing of information by one intelligence agency, namely the Australian, signals directed on matters to do with the then-pending issue of – between United States and Indonesia to do with cloves and to do with shrimps. I have come across a statement by our good partner Australia on this issue and the reference that Australia collect intelligence to save Australian lives, to save the lives of other people, to promote Australian values, that those are well understood as our general outlook.
But I must say, that is why I chose not to respond immediately yesterday, this weekend. I find it a bit mind-boggling, a little bit difficult, how I can connect or reconcile discussions about shrimps and how it impact on Australia security. This is a very technical, bilateral Indonesia-U.S. issue, which is thankfully now behind us. But to suggest as if the future of shrimps export by Indonesia to United States has an impact on Australian security is a little bit too much and begs some kind of a serious question about what it is all about.
Again, my apologies for taking – using this opportunity, but in my view, in our view, neighbors, like Indonesia and Australia are, we should be looking out for each other, not turning against one another. We should be listening to one another and not to listen-in. And I think there is a very important and fine distinction between to listen to one another and to listen-in. And I think the recent revelations indicate that we are where we are just now.
But on the United States, I’m quite comfortable to hear the U.S. views on this, but my understanding is as I had just now described. Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Marty, thank you very, very much. Let me deal with the question that Marty was just answering first, and then I’ll come to the other on the TPP. I really appreciate and respect what Marty has just said, and I completely understand, as we do in the United States, how there are concerns in various parts of the world regarding this issue, which is a challenge for all of us.
We take this issue very seriously, which is why President Obama laid out a series of concrete and substantial reforms that we believe should give greater confidence to people everywhere about privacy and civil liberties and that they are being protected and, at the same time, preserving very important tools with respect to keeping us safe in an age of major threats and of terrorism and that addresses significant questions.
I’d just make to very clear to everybody: As the President said in his speech on this subject, the United States does not collect intelligence to afford a competitive advantage to U.S. companies or U.S. commercial sectors. And with the reforms that we put in place, we believe we have a transparency and an accountability that should address everybody’s concerns.
With respect to TPP, I spent 29 years in the United States Senate. And I have voted on many trade agreements, including way back in the beginning, NAFTA, all the way through to our most recent agreements with Colombia and Korea and so forth. There is always opposition. We’ve never known there not to be opposition. That’s part of political life.
But we are living in a very different world today. Because of globalization, no country can think about growing and providing greater prosperity and opportunity to its people and a rising income without the ability to be able to trade in goods and services on a global basis. That’s the world we live in. No political leader can put that genie back in the bottle. You can’t do it. So what you need to do is, through good government and good leadership, tame the worst outcomes that might stare at you if you don’t address them.
In the very beginning, when the first trade agreements were created, there weren’t appropriate applications of law on labor standards or on environment standards or on other kinds of things. But the fact is that, over a period of time, we have developed those things. And modern trade agreements encompass a balance so that we address some of the things that we’ve learned through experience can occur in economies that people have opposed.
So I will urge my colleagues – my former colleagues in the United States Senate and the Congress – to look very carefully and to measure this and not to jump ahead of time with a decision that so seriously affects our economic future and the future of how countries behave in trade relationships around the world. It is very important for us to be able to be part of the fastest growing region in the world and to make sure that everybody is engaged in a race to the top, not a race to bottom.
So I will continue to speak, as President Obama will and the rest of the Administration, to the United States Congress and to the world about importance of these agreements. We will continue to negotiate and continue to work for the TPP, because we believe that is a critical component of prosperity and growth for the regions, as well as the way in which we will build greater stability on a global basis. So we look forward to doing what we’ve always done, which is testifying, speaking one-on-one, talking to people, advocating, demonstrating how this benefits the United States and Asia at the same time. And in the end, I believe people will come to the appropriate judgment.
MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question is from (inaudible).
QUESTION: Good morning, Excellencies. My name’s Grace Manjutak. My first question: How would you comment on the upcoming Indonesian elections and the struggle for democracy, as some of the presidential candidates were accused of human rights violations? What do you expect from the next leader of Indonesia?
And secondly, why is the U.S. actively campaigning for solution of climate change while you refuse to comply with international protocol on climate change, the Kyoto Protocol, for example? The U.S. also refuses to ratify a number of international protocol, including the Rome Statute and CTBT. Can you please comment on this? Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Was the election question to me, too? Oh, okay. (Laughter.)
MINISTER NATALEGAWA: It’s especially to you. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY KERRY: How lucky can I be? (Laughter.) That’s what I want to do, is be the Secretary of State who comes and comments on someone else’s election before it takes place. (Laughter.)
Well, look, let me just say to you very, very clearly the United States, as I said earlier in my comments, has huge respect for the fact that Indonesia is a leading democracy and a very important partner to the United States. But it’s up to the Indonesian people to choose their own leaders. The United States will not get involved. We will not, quietly or otherwise, be picking candidates. That would be entirely inappropriate. It’s up to the people of Indonesia to make their choices. And we’re not going to be hypocritical and say we value democracy and people’s independence and respect their sovereignty and then turn around and become involved.
We are confident that whatever outcome comes out of this election we will maintain a very strong relationship with Indonesia and it will reflect our shared goals: our commitment to democracy, our respect for human rights, our respect for pluralism, for tolerance with respect to religious practice and individual practice. And we are confident that Indonesia will continue to make progress, the way it has over the course of the last 10 years.
On the subject of climate change and the international conventions, actually the United States of America is taking a lead today. President Obama has decided that he will do, by executive order, what Congress has been unwilling to do. So we have passed new standards for our automobiles, higher standards for reducing emissions. We have passed new standards requiring lower emissions for all of our trucks. We have lowered emissions in the United States significantly. We have put out, by executive order, requirements for buildings and government buildings and government purchase of fleets of automobiles.
We have engaged, through – our Environmental Protection Agency has put on some of the toughest standards ever in our history with respect to any new coal-fired power plant. So it is very difficult now in America to build a coal-fire power plant without meeting very, very rigorous standards. We have much tougher standards than other countries in the rest of the world with respect to that, except perhaps for Europe, where they have very strong standards also.
We are increasingly moving on a climate action agenda, which President Obama has put into place and ordered. We meet regularly with the cabinet now in order to designate where each cabinet secretary – where each area could provide greater contribution to emissions reductions. That includes, for instance, agriculture and our agriculture practices.
And I just came from China, where we agreed to work with the Chinese. And they are beginning to take enormous steps, because they’re concerned about air quality, air pollution, as well as what’s happening to the globe in terms of climate change. And we have agreed to work together to set very strong standards as we go into 2015 and to try to work to compare how we can do this in a way that is least impactful on our economies and most beneficial to the environment.
So I’m proud of what the United States is doing today, and I believe we will help to move the process towards a successful 2015 negotiation in Paris.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Let me just say a little bit on the climate change.
Secretary Kerry just now had inform us about the national-level efforts the United States has been taking to address the challenge of climate change. Of course, likewise, at the national level in Indonesia, we have, as you are I’m sure very much well informed, have also been taking a number of concrete, important national-level steps to address the threat of climate change, whether to achieve our target of 26 percent or 41 percent emission cut by 2020, our efforts through the national action plan on the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission through dealing with the issue of forest degradation, the issue of energy mix and transportation and industry, and so on and so forth.
So both of us, I’m sure has a narrative to share in terms of our national-level efforts. What is important in this forum is to synergize those efforts so the national becomes, at the same time, bilateral. We can showcase some bilateral U.S.-Indonesia cooperation on climate change to the rest of the world, that this is – it is actually possible to synergize national and bilateral and to become drivers in global discussions on climate change.
So what we are dong very much is part of creating that synergy between national-level efforts, bilateral, regional, and global, because we have really – if there is one issue that requires cooperative outlook, this would be it.
And I was struck by the points made by Secretary Kerry yesterday in his remarks at the public forum, reminding all of us in the sense of how extensive and how expansive is the impact of climate change. And you can count on Indonesia as being a continued strong partner in this very worthwhile endeavor.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much.
MODERATOR: The next question comes from (inaudible).
QUESTION: First question for Secretary Kerry. The Geneva II talks have yielded no progress and they’re stalling. And in your statement yesterday, you said the U.S. remains committed to a political solution. So what leverage can you bring to stop the Assad regime from obstructing the talks and that there is a political solution when there is no progress?
Also your statement, you said that regime supporters aren’t doing enough to pressure the regime. Are you talking specifically about Russia, and what are they not doing enough of?
And for Minister Natalegawa, are Indonesians traveling to Syria to join foreign fighters and help the extremist groups there establish their goal of establishing an Islamic state there? And if so, how many have done so? Where are they being recruited? And what is your government doing about this?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much. Syria is a tragedy to the world, and all of us have a stake in trying to change the equation on the ground with respect to the people of Syria.
The talks themselves are taking a recess for a moment, but all of us need to remember that there is no recess for the people of Syria, who are suffering. And the international community needs to use this recess in the Geneva talks to determine how to use this time most effectively in order to bring about a political solution. We still believe there is no military solution with respect to Syria; there has to be a political resolution.
But right now, Bashar al-Assad has not engaged in the discussions along the promised and required standard that both Russia spoke up for and the regime spoke up for, that they would come to Geneva and accept the Geneva I communique as the basis of negotiations. They have refused to open up one moment of discussion legitimately about a transition government, and it is very clear that Bashar al-Assad is continuing to try to win this in the battlefield rather than to come to the negotiating table in good faith.
None of us are surprised that the talks are hard. We always knew these talks would be very, very difficult, and we’re still at a difficult moment. But everybody should agree that the Assad regime’s attitude is what has made these talks tougher. The opposition, whom they dismissed completely, has come to these talks with a greater preparation, with a greater preparedness, to be able to talk seriously, and they have presented themselves – I think Marty would agree – far more effectively and with greater sense of purpose than the Assad regime.
I think it was an example to the whole world that, while the Assad regime has obstructed and filibustered, the opposition demonstrated a courageous and mature seriousness of purpose and a willingness to try to discuss all the aspects of the conflict. They put forward a well-thought-out, well-reasoned, viable roadmap for the creation of a transitional governing body and a viable path by which to move the negotiations forward. They did that. The opposition did that. The regime stonewalled. They did nothing, except continue to drop barrel bombs on their own people and continue to destroy their own country.
And I regret to say they are dong so with increased support from Iran, from Hezbollah, and from Russia. Russia needs to be a part of the solution and not be contributing so many more weapons and so much more aid that they’re, in fact, enabling Assad to double down, which is creating an enormous problem.
And as for Assad, who says he wants to talk about terrorism, Assad himself is a magnet for terrorists. He’s the principal magnet of the region for attracting foreign fighters to Syria. Moreover, Assad himself is engaging in state-sanctioned terror against his own people. When you indiscriminately drop bombs on women and children, when you starve people and torture people by the thousands, those are acts of terror.
And so it is important for the world to consider in these next days exactly what steps can now be taken in the face of this intransigence that is creating an even greater human catastrophe by the moment. The numbers of refugees within Syria has gone up about 50 percent, and the numbers of refugees who’ve gone out of Syria has gone up about 33 percent since October, when this process began.
So we are deeply committed and deeply concerned about it. The international community understands that the primary purpose of our diplomacy is to discuss the full implementation of the Geneva communique. The full implementation is what 40 countries came and supported in Montreux, and that calls for a transition government with full executive authority arrived at by mutual consent.
Russia, on several occasions, has stood up publicly with me, or in other places, and said they are committed to that transition government to the Geneva communique and Geneva I. And yet, we have not seen the kind of effort to create the dynamic by which that can be achieved.
So we will continue to look at options. We will continue to stay focused. And we will continue to debate among ourselves what steps are appropriate at this point in time.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: On Syria, the specific question you had asked about the possibility of Indonesian nationals being somehow engaged or involved on the ground – actually, there’s no way of verifying the data. Our current efforts have been actually in repatriating our nationals out of Syria, because we’ve had – prior to the conflict – quite a sizeable number of our nationals in Syria, so we have been working very hard to have them repatriated, return back to Indonesia.
I have been hearing – we have been hearing information or suggestion that there are some who have gone to Syria to be involved in the conflict. Obviously, it’s not something that we condone. Our message to them is not to involve themselves in such activities and that they must return back.
But beyond that specific question, I mean, all of us, when we were in Geneva – I mean, in Montreux for the meeting, all of us are in recognition that more of the same is not acceptable. More of the same means more civilian causalities, more lives lost, and more humanitarian sufferings. I fear that we may become a little bit numb to all this – of all this humanitarian catastrophe. We must not allow that to happen. We must constantly ensure that the interest of the innocent Syrians are at the forefront and change the dynamics.
I have spoken on many occasions of Indonesia’s strong belief in the power of diplomacy, in the power of peaceful settlement of disputes, even in the face of obviously very difficult situation, as we are facing just now in Syria.
So based on Geneva I, we must redouble our efforts in order to ensure that the diplomatic option, the diplomatic solution, becomes at the forefront. We owe the people of Syria that at least, that we apply ourselves seriously and that we don’t have – no longer have the luxury of allowing things to be prolonged. Because every day that passes means more lives lost and more sufferings for the ordinary people of Syria.
Indonesia’s view is very clear. We have always felt, first and foremost, we must engineer, we must enforce even, some kind of a cease-fire or pause in the conflict to allow for precisely the kind of transitional process, political process to get underway, as well as humanitarian assistance to be extended. Indonesia and United States are strong partners, I am sure, in speaking on behalf of such important principles as ensuring that the choices and the wishes of the Syrian people are actually respected. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Can I just add one other thing, quickly, if I may? On the humanitarian situation, we are trying very hard at the United Nations, through the United Nations Security Council, to achieve a meaningful resolution that might be able to have some impact on this humanitarian crisis. In Homs, people were allowed finally, after a long negotiation – we don’t have time for negotiations for every single place where you’re trying to save lives. So there has to be a broad rule of access for humanitarian assistance.
More than 250,000 people are currently under siege and being starved, some of them for as long as a year or two. They haven’t received humanitarian assistance. The Assad regime blocks it or requires it to come through to Damascus, where it gets separated and never gets to some of the people it’s supposed to get to. Now sometimes, the opposition has gotten in the way, certain opposition, the really bad opposition, and they’ve stood in the way of delivery. So both have to happen, and we’re trying to include both. We’re not trying to point a finger at one party alone.
But the fact is that you can’t allow people to be taken out as a matter of humanitarian effort – and then they’re separated. The young men are separated and the government takes them, and some of them have disappeared, some have been tortured. That’s not humanitarian. That is not part of providing humanitarian assistance to people. But that’s the way the Assad regime has treated it.
So this is an urgent matter for the international community. And President Obama and I call on all members of the United Nations Security Council to join together and pass a meaningful, impactful resolution with respect to this humanitarian crisis.
MODERATOR: Thank you.
(In Bahasa Indonesia) (Via translation) This morning, I am very happy to have a visit from our friend, his Excellency U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry. Secretary Kerry and I have met many times on the sidelines of international meetings. If I am not mistaken, the last time we met was at the meeting on Syria, in Montreux, Switzerland. This time, we are really very happy that you are visiting Jakarta on the occasion of the 4th Joint Ministerial Commission between Indonesia and the United States.
Actually, the talks started last night, in an informal meeting during dinner. We discussed many issues, especially regional and global issues. Without going into great detail about what we discussed yesterday, we discussed, for example, the issues related to the situation in the Asia Pacific, including South East Asia, and East Asia in general. We also discussed the issue of the South China Sea, and also Indonesia’s initiative on the prevention on violence and our preference for resolving issues through diplomacy. In addition, yesterday, we also discussed global issues.
But today, in the meeting, we focused on the bilateral relationship between two countries. We heard in detail reports from various working groups that have been set up to enhance relations between Indonesia and the United States. We need to underline that Indonesia and the United States are the second and third biggest democratic country in the word, have become equal partners, and become partners that cooperate closely to promote relations between the two countries and to advance common interests at the regional and global level.
For this reason, we heard reports from the working group on democracy and civil society, working group on trade and investment, working group on education, on climate change and environment, working group on security, and working group on energy.
After giving guidance to these working groups, we are determined to increase our bilateral relationship to an even higher level.
(In English) Secretary Kerry, it is my tremendous pleasure and honor even to welcome you to Jakarta, on the occasion of this fourth joint ministerial commission. I have mentioned with our colleagues from the media that we have had occasions in the past to meet at the sidelines of other conferences. I recall probably the last time that we would have been in one forum would have been in Montreux, when we met for the Syrian international conference.
But it is, therefore, of singular importance that we are welcoming you today here in Jakarta on the occasion of the Joint Ministerial Commission, because apart – in this forum, apart from discussing issues of common interest of regional and global nature, we can be really focused on promoting the comprehensive partnership that our two countries are – have been developing since 2010.
I must say that the discussion throughout this morning has been especially productive and especially constructive as well. We have been hearing from our colleagues, the chairs of the six working groups promoting bilateral relations between our two countries: democracy and civil society, trade and investment, education, climate and environment, security, energy. We have been able to scorecard or snapshot the current state of Indonesia-U.S. relations. And I must say, the trajectory has been very positive, but we now have the task of consolidating and taking it to a higher level.
Indonesia and United States are partners, partners in promoting democratic values, partners in promoting peace and security in our region, and partners in promoting the better welfare and economic prosperity of peoples in our region. And I’m, therefore, especially pleased that throughout this morning and yesterday evening we were able to cooperate and exchange views on these such issues of common interest.
With that, I’d like to give you the floor now, John, to share your thoughts on our conversation and, if time allows, to also open the floor for some questions from our media colleagues. Please, John.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much, Marty, my friend. We have really met many times on the side of different conferences, and we’ve gotten to know each other well. And I think we work effectively together, and I appreciate the – both the friendship and the generosity of his efforts with respect to the partnership between the United States and Indonesia.
Let me start today, if I can, by expressing my condolences on behalf of all Americans and President Obama to the victims of the Mount Sinabung volcano in the Mount Kelud volcanoes. We understand that the families of the 21 people who passed away are obviously suffering a great loss, and the tens of thousands of people who have been uprooted from their homes is a humanitarian challenge. And we stand ready to help in any way that Indonesia might need or want. And we certainly express our condolences to the families for those lost and to all of Indonesia.
Very special for me to be able to be back in Jakarta. I came here a number of times as a senator, and my sister lived here in Jakarta and taught at the International School for quite a few years. So I have, for many years, heard her stories of her years here and her enjoyment of both the people and the country, and so it’s nice for me to be able to be back here.
This is an amazingly dynamic city. Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to the Istiqlal mosque. And it’s my pleasure to not only say good morning to everybody here, but as-salam alaykum. It’s my honor to be a guest at this remarkable house of worship, the third largest mosque in the world, the largest in the region, in Asia, and really an incredible monument to faith and to the power of worship and the ability of people to come together and worship.
And what is really important, I thought, was to see just a short distance away the spires of the cathedral, which really is a symbol together of the tolerance that exists here in Indonesia, a very, very critical asset and one that we admire Indonesians for embracing. Much of the world could learn a great deal from your tradition of religious tolerance and pluralism, which is so clearly embedded in the DNA of Indonesian people.
This morning, as the Foreign Minister mentioned, we were both very pleased to join in the fourth convening of the meeting of the U.S-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership Joint Commission. Comprehensive partnership defines the work that we are doing. And I mentioned at the end of our meeting how impressed I was with the ideas that were exchanged, because we have these working groups that had been sitting down with each other when we’re not here, to listen to them, as we were today, in order to press the agenda between Indonesia and the United States.
In the few short years since our governments established this comprehensive partnership, we have together been far better equipped to be able to address shared challenges and to identify shared opportunities. And as Marty mentioned, we targeted today trade and investment, climate change and energy, issues of education, and other challenges in our relationship that we believe are opportunities. And we intend to try to make the most of those opportunities. And we talked about ways we could even improve this joint commission partnership, and we’re going to work on them. The fact is that, as a result of these meetings, our bilateral relationship is growing in a wide range of areas, and it’s growing faster, I can assure you, than it would be if we did not have this kind of partnership effort.
You saw just a few minutes ago we signed two new memorandum of understanding. Those came out of this commission – one to build on the work that we do to protect against wildlife trafficking, which is a threat to the ecosystem, a threat to species, a threat to our conscience, and really summons an obligation by all of us to try to do better, and also the responsibility to preserve the remarkably rich biodiversity that exists, both marine diversity and land-based biodiversity that exists in Indonesia, richest in the world, and it’s important to preserve it.
We also signed a memorandum to increase our joint development assistance to support human rights, regional integration, democracy, peace, and stability in third countries. And there are many countries that could benefit from the joint effort of the United States and Indonesia, and we intend to continue to do that.
I respect Mr. Natalegawa’s commitment as a leader to ASEAN and the work that has been done, which is critical to advancing our efforts to promote peace and prosperity in the region. I was in Beijing just two days ago, where I discussed the United States growing concerns over a pattern of behavior in which maritime claims are being asserted in the East China and South China Sea, from restrictions on access to the Scarborough Shoals, the Scarborough Reef, to China’s establishment of an ADIZ in the East China Sea, to the issuance of revised regulations restricting fishing in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
We believe very strongly that international law applies to all countries, big countries, small countries. And we live, even though we are not – even though the United States has not ratified the Law of the Sea, we live by the Law of the Sea. We are pledged to stick with the rules of the Law of the Sea. And we think it’s important for all countries to do that. It is imperative for all claimants to any location in these seas to base their maritime claims on the definitions of international law and to be able to resolve them peacefully within that framework.
The United States is very grateful for the leadership and the role that Indonesia has played in advancing China-ASEAN negotiations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the region’s future stability will depend, in part, on the success and the timeliness of the effort to produce a code of conduct. The longer the process takes, the longer tensions will simmer, and the greater the chance of a miscalculation by somebody that could trigger a conflict. That is in nobody’s interest. So I commend Foreign Minister Natalegawa for his focus on this issue. And I urge all of the parties to follow his lead and accelerate the negotiations.
Indonesia – it should be clear from today’s meeting and from the things that we have talked about and the things that we are accomplishing – is increasingly becoming a major U.S. partner, not just on regional challenges, but on global challenges like climate change and counterterrorism. That includes on Syria, where we are working hard to together to finally bring about a political solution to this horrible war. And I am very grateful to Foreign Minister Natalegawa for coming to Montreux to join us as one of 40 nations to help to make it clear how important it is to adhere to the standards of the Geneva I communique.
Yesterday, here in Jakarta, at the @america forum, I had the privilege of being able to talk about the challenge of climate change. You really only have to look at the extensive science to understand that climate change is one of the one, two, or three biggest challenges facing this planet. That’s why I raise the issue in nearly every single country that I visit as Secretary of State.
If we are going to prevent the worst consequences of climate change then, especially in places like Indonesia, which are on the frontlines of this threat, then we need everybody engaged. No one nation can solve this problem by itself. We need the United States, Indonesia, and every other country on earth doing everything that they can do to make the right choices in order to meet this challenge head-on. This is the most quintessentially global challenge that we have ever faced. It really demands a global solution. There’s no way to solve it. So we look forward to working with our partner, Indonesia, on that, as well as others.
As the world’s second and third largest democracies, we stand here today firmly with the belief, which both our presidents share, that our nations will benefit greatly from stronger ties and deeper levels of cooperation. I am not only talking about strengthening the ties between governments, we’re also talking about strengthening the ties between our peoples.
In the past few years alone, we have made terrific progress in the area of people-to-people relationships. I’m proud to say that the number of Americans studying in Indonesia has increased nearly 70 percent since 2010. And the number of Indonesians studying in the United States has grown substantially as well. And with the joint commission’s focusing on strengthening university partnerships and increasing the quality of education, we are absolutely confident the number of students going in both directions is going to increase. I look forward to seeing that.
So thank you, Indonesia, for your friendship. Thank you for the partnership. We respect the serious way in which we work out differences, and we appreciate enormously the fact that we have found common ground on such important issues. And through this joint commission, we are building our relationship even more so. Thank you very much, Marty.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Thanks very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you.
MODERATOR: We will now begin the (inaudible). I will give the first opportunity to our guest from the U.S. media.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Minister Natalegawa, what is your response to the report that the NSA, with the help of the Australians, spied on an American law firm that represented your government in trade talks with the United States? And did you raise this issue in your talks with Secretary Kerry?
And Secretary Kerry, if the issued was raised, could I ask you what your response was? And more broadly, moving onto the TPP negotiations, how much of a handicap is it that even your own Democrats are balking at giving President Obama trade promotion authority? How can you expect Asian countries to start providing access to their markets if there’s a perceived lack of support for this in Congress? Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Thank you very much for that question. The entire portfolio of extraterritorial surveillance has been obtaining a great deal of attention, not only here in Jakarta, but, as I understand it, as well in Washington and many capitals in Europe as well. I am aware that the U.S. administration recently – President Obama – had gone through, undertaken a review of the type of activities and the type of work that the various U.S. intelligence agencies are conducting, its impact, its relevance within United States, and as well in its international relations.
Our understanding is that the kind of review, the kind of amendments and approach that had been signaled by United States sides will be also forthcoming, will also be relevant in its conduct of its relations with Indonesia, given the nature of our relationship between the two countries. That is as far as the broad subject of extraterritorial surveillance.
As I said before, this is a subject that is obtaining a great deal of attention in many a capital. And United States is one of those that had actually taken a very comprehensive and thought-through review. And what I am now anticipating and what I am now understanding is that the kind of refinement and approach and refinement in outlook and practice would be a relevant to a country like Indonesia as a partner of the United States.
On the specific issue – I’m sorry if I have to speak of this at this forum, because this doesn’t impact on United States directly. But on the alleged information about the sharing of information by one intelligence agency, namely the Australian, signals directed on matters to do with the then-pending issue of – between United States and Indonesia to do with cloves and to do with shrimps. I have come across a statement by our good partner Australia on this issue and the reference that Australia collect intelligence to save Australian lives, to save the lives of other people, to promote Australian values, that those are well understood as our general outlook.
But I must say, that is why I chose not to respond immediately yesterday, this weekend. I find it a bit mind-boggling, a little bit difficult, how I can connect or reconcile discussions about shrimps and how it impact on Australia security. This is a very technical, bilateral Indonesia-U.S. issue, which is thankfully now behind us. But to suggest as if the future of shrimps export by Indonesia to United States has an impact on Australian security is a little bit too much and begs some kind of a serious question about what it is all about.
Again, my apologies for taking – using this opportunity, but in my view, in our view, neighbors, like Indonesia and Australia are, we should be looking out for each other, not turning against one another. We should be listening to one another and not to listen-in. And I think there is a very important and fine distinction between to listen to one another and to listen-in. And I think the recent revelations indicate that we are where we are just now.
But on the United States, I’m quite comfortable to hear the U.S. views on this, but my understanding is as I had just now described. Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Marty, thank you very, very much. Let me deal with the question that Marty was just answering first, and then I’ll come to the other on the TPP. I really appreciate and respect what Marty has just said, and I completely understand, as we do in the United States, how there are concerns in various parts of the world regarding this issue, which is a challenge for all of us.
We take this issue very seriously, which is why President Obama laid out a series of concrete and substantial reforms that we believe should give greater confidence to people everywhere about privacy and civil liberties and that they are being protected and, at the same time, preserving very important tools with respect to keeping us safe in an age of major threats and of terrorism and that addresses significant questions.
I’d just make to very clear to everybody: As the President said in his speech on this subject, the United States does not collect intelligence to afford a competitive advantage to U.S. companies or U.S. commercial sectors. And with the reforms that we put in place, we believe we have a transparency and an accountability that should address everybody’s concerns.
With respect to TPP, I spent 29 years in the United States Senate. And I have voted on many trade agreements, including way back in the beginning, NAFTA, all the way through to our most recent agreements with Colombia and Korea and so forth. There is always opposition. We’ve never known there not to be opposition. That’s part of political life.
But we are living in a very different world today. Because of globalization, no country can think about growing and providing greater prosperity and opportunity to its people and a rising income without the ability to be able to trade in goods and services on a global basis. That’s the world we live in. No political leader can put that genie back in the bottle. You can’t do it. So what you need to do is, through good government and good leadership, tame the worst outcomes that might stare at you if you don’t address them.
In the very beginning, when the first trade agreements were created, there weren’t appropriate applications of law on labor standards or on environment standards or on other kinds of things. But the fact is that, over a period of time, we have developed those things. And modern trade agreements encompass a balance so that we address some of the things that we’ve learned through experience can occur in economies that people have opposed.
So I will urge my colleagues – my former colleagues in the United States Senate and the Congress – to look very carefully and to measure this and not to jump ahead of time with a decision that so seriously affects our economic future and the future of how countries behave in trade relationships around the world. It is very important for us to be able to be part of the fastest growing region in the world and to make sure that everybody is engaged in a race to the top, not a race to bottom.
So I will continue to speak, as President Obama will and the rest of the Administration, to the United States Congress and to the world about importance of these agreements. We will continue to negotiate and continue to work for the TPP, because we believe that is a critical component of prosperity and growth for the regions, as well as the way in which we will build greater stability on a global basis. So we look forward to doing what we’ve always done, which is testifying, speaking one-on-one, talking to people, advocating, demonstrating how this benefits the United States and Asia at the same time. And in the end, I believe people will come to the appropriate judgment.
MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question is from (inaudible).
QUESTION: Good morning, Excellencies. My name’s Grace Manjutak. My first question: How would you comment on the upcoming Indonesian elections and the struggle for democracy, as some of the presidential candidates were accused of human rights violations? What do you expect from the next leader of Indonesia?
And secondly, why is the U.S. actively campaigning for solution of climate change while you refuse to comply with international protocol on climate change, the Kyoto Protocol, for example? The U.S. also refuses to ratify a number of international protocol, including the Rome Statute and CTBT. Can you please comment on this? Thank you.
SECRETARY KERRY: Was the election question to me, too? Oh, okay. (Laughter.)
MINISTER NATALEGAWA: It’s especially to you. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY KERRY: How lucky can I be? (Laughter.) That’s what I want to do, is be the Secretary of State who comes and comments on someone else’s election before it takes place. (Laughter.)
Well, look, let me just say to you very, very clearly the United States, as I said earlier in my comments, has huge respect for the fact that Indonesia is a leading democracy and a very important partner to the United States. But it’s up to the Indonesian people to choose their own leaders. The United States will not get involved. We will not, quietly or otherwise, be picking candidates. That would be entirely inappropriate. It’s up to the people of Indonesia to make their choices. And we’re not going to be hypocritical and say we value democracy and people’s independence and respect their sovereignty and then turn around and become involved.
We are confident that whatever outcome comes out of this election we will maintain a very strong relationship with Indonesia and it will reflect our shared goals: our commitment to democracy, our respect for human rights, our respect for pluralism, for tolerance with respect to religious practice and individual practice. And we are confident that Indonesia will continue to make progress, the way it has over the course of the last 10 years.
On the subject of climate change and the international conventions, actually the United States of America is taking a lead today. President Obama has decided that he will do, by executive order, what Congress has been unwilling to do. So we have passed new standards for our automobiles, higher standards for reducing emissions. We have passed new standards requiring lower emissions for all of our trucks. We have lowered emissions in the United States significantly. We have put out, by executive order, requirements for buildings and government buildings and government purchase of fleets of automobiles.
We have engaged, through – our Environmental Protection Agency has put on some of the toughest standards ever in our history with respect to any new coal-fired power plant. So it is very difficult now in America to build a coal-fire power plant without meeting very, very rigorous standards. We have much tougher standards than other countries in the rest of the world with respect to that, except perhaps for Europe, where they have very strong standards also.
We are increasingly moving on a climate action agenda, which President Obama has put into place and ordered. We meet regularly with the cabinet now in order to designate where each cabinet secretary – where each area could provide greater contribution to emissions reductions. That includes, for instance, agriculture and our agriculture practices.
And I just came from China, where we agreed to work with the Chinese. And they are beginning to take enormous steps, because they’re concerned about air quality, air pollution, as well as what’s happening to the globe in terms of climate change. And we have agreed to work together to set very strong standards as we go into 2015 and to try to work to compare how we can do this in a way that is least impactful on our economies and most beneficial to the environment.
So I’m proud of what the United States is doing today, and I believe we will help to move the process towards a successful 2015 negotiation in Paris.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Let me just say a little bit on the climate change.
Secretary Kerry just now had inform us about the national-level efforts the United States has been taking to address the challenge of climate change. Of course, likewise, at the national level in Indonesia, we have, as you are I’m sure very much well informed, have also been taking a number of concrete, important national-level steps to address the threat of climate change, whether to achieve our target of 26 percent or 41 percent emission cut by 2020, our efforts through the national action plan on the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission through dealing with the issue of forest degradation, the issue of energy mix and transportation and industry, and so on and so forth.
So both of us, I’m sure has a narrative to share in terms of our national-level efforts. What is important in this forum is to synergize those efforts so the national becomes, at the same time, bilateral. We can showcase some bilateral U.S.-Indonesia cooperation on climate change to the rest of the world, that this is – it is actually possible to synergize national and bilateral and to become drivers in global discussions on climate change.
So what we are dong very much is part of creating that synergy between national-level efforts, bilateral, regional, and global, because we have really – if there is one issue that requires cooperative outlook, this would be it.
And I was struck by the points made by Secretary Kerry yesterday in his remarks at the public forum, reminding all of us in the sense of how extensive and how expansive is the impact of climate change. And you can count on Indonesia as being a continued strong partner in this very worthwhile endeavor.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much.
MODERATOR: The next question comes from (inaudible).
QUESTION: First question for Secretary Kerry. The Geneva II talks have yielded no progress and they’re stalling. And in your statement yesterday, you said the U.S. remains committed to a political solution. So what leverage can you bring to stop the Assad regime from obstructing the talks and that there is a political solution when there is no progress?
Also your statement, you said that regime supporters aren’t doing enough to pressure the regime. Are you talking specifically about Russia, and what are they not doing enough of?
And for Minister Natalegawa, are Indonesians traveling to Syria to join foreign fighters and help the extremist groups there establish their goal of establishing an Islamic state there? And if so, how many have done so? Where are they being recruited? And what is your government doing about this?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much. Syria is a tragedy to the world, and all of us have a stake in trying to change the equation on the ground with respect to the people of Syria.
The talks themselves are taking a recess for a moment, but all of us need to remember that there is no recess for the people of Syria, who are suffering. And the international community needs to use this recess in the Geneva talks to determine how to use this time most effectively in order to bring about a political solution. We still believe there is no military solution with respect to Syria; there has to be a political resolution.
But right now, Bashar al-Assad has not engaged in the discussions along the promised and required standard that both Russia spoke up for and the regime spoke up for, that they would come to Geneva and accept the Geneva I communique as the basis of negotiations. They have refused to open up one moment of discussion legitimately about a transition government, and it is very clear that Bashar al-Assad is continuing to try to win this in the battlefield rather than to come to the negotiating table in good faith.
None of us are surprised that the talks are hard. We always knew these talks would be very, very difficult, and we’re still at a difficult moment. But everybody should agree that the Assad regime’s attitude is what has made these talks tougher. The opposition, whom they dismissed completely, has come to these talks with a greater preparation, with a greater preparedness, to be able to talk seriously, and they have presented themselves – I think Marty would agree – far more effectively and with greater sense of purpose than the Assad regime.
I think it was an example to the whole world that, while the Assad regime has obstructed and filibustered, the opposition demonstrated a courageous and mature seriousness of purpose and a willingness to try to discuss all the aspects of the conflict. They put forward a well-thought-out, well-reasoned, viable roadmap for the creation of a transitional governing body and a viable path by which to move the negotiations forward. They did that. The opposition did that. The regime stonewalled. They did nothing, except continue to drop barrel bombs on their own people and continue to destroy their own country.
And I regret to say they are dong so with increased support from Iran, from Hezbollah, and from Russia. Russia needs to be a part of the solution and not be contributing so many more weapons and so much more aid that they’re, in fact, enabling Assad to double down, which is creating an enormous problem.
And as for Assad, who says he wants to talk about terrorism, Assad himself is a magnet for terrorists. He’s the principal magnet of the region for attracting foreign fighters to Syria. Moreover, Assad himself is engaging in state-sanctioned terror against his own people. When you indiscriminately drop bombs on women and children, when you starve people and torture people by the thousands, those are acts of terror.
And so it is important for the world to consider in these next days exactly what steps can now be taken in the face of this intransigence that is creating an even greater human catastrophe by the moment. The numbers of refugees within Syria has gone up about 50 percent, and the numbers of refugees who’ve gone out of Syria has gone up about 33 percent since October, when this process began.
So we are deeply committed and deeply concerned about it. The international community understands that the primary purpose of our diplomacy is to discuss the full implementation of the Geneva communique. The full implementation is what 40 countries came and supported in Montreux, and that calls for a transition government with full executive authority arrived at by mutual consent.
Russia, on several occasions, has stood up publicly with me, or in other places, and said they are committed to that transition government to the Geneva communique and Geneva I. And yet, we have not seen the kind of effort to create the dynamic by which that can be achieved.
So we will continue to look at options. We will continue to stay focused. And we will continue to debate among ourselves what steps are appropriate at this point in time.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: On Syria, the specific question you had asked about the possibility of Indonesian nationals being somehow engaged or involved on the ground – actually, there’s no way of verifying the data. Our current efforts have been actually in repatriating our nationals out of Syria, because we’ve had – prior to the conflict – quite a sizeable number of our nationals in Syria, so we have been working very hard to have them repatriated, return back to Indonesia.
I have been hearing – we have been hearing information or suggestion that there are some who have gone to Syria to be involved in the conflict. Obviously, it’s not something that we condone. Our message to them is not to involve themselves in such activities and that they must return back.
But beyond that specific question, I mean, all of us, when we were in Geneva – I mean, in Montreux for the meeting, all of us are in recognition that more of the same is not acceptable. More of the same means more civilian causalities, more lives lost, and more humanitarian sufferings. I fear that we may become a little bit numb to all this – of all this humanitarian catastrophe. We must not allow that to happen. We must constantly ensure that the interest of the innocent Syrians are at the forefront and change the dynamics.
I have spoken on many occasions of Indonesia’s strong belief in the power of diplomacy, in the power of peaceful settlement of disputes, even in the face of obviously very difficult situation, as we are facing just now in Syria.
So based on Geneva I, we must redouble our efforts in order to ensure that the diplomatic option, the diplomatic solution, becomes at the forefront. We owe the people of Syria that at least, that we apply ourselves seriously and that we don’t have – no longer have the luxury of allowing things to be prolonged. Because every day that passes means more lives lost and more sufferings for the ordinary people of Syria.
Indonesia’s view is very clear. We have always felt, first and foremost, we must engineer, we must enforce even, some kind of a cease-fire or pause in the conflict to allow for precisely the kind of transitional process, political process to get underway, as well as humanitarian assistance to be extended. Indonesia and United States are strong partners, I am sure, in speaking on behalf of such important principles as ensuring that the choices and the wishes of the Syrian people are actually respected. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Can I just add one other thing, quickly, if I may? On the humanitarian situation, we are trying very hard at the United Nations, through the United Nations Security Council, to achieve a meaningful resolution that might be able to have some impact on this humanitarian crisis. In Homs, people were allowed finally, after a long negotiation – we don’t have time for negotiations for every single place where you’re trying to save lives. So there has to be a broad rule of access for humanitarian assistance.
More than 250,000 people are currently under siege and being starved, some of them for as long as a year or two. They haven’t received humanitarian assistance. The Assad regime blocks it or requires it to come through to Damascus, where it gets separated and never gets to some of the people it’s supposed to get to. Now sometimes, the opposition has gotten in the way, certain opposition, the really bad opposition, and they’ve stood in the way of delivery. So both have to happen, and we’re trying to include both. We’re not trying to point a finger at one party alone.
But the fact is that you can’t allow people to be taken out as a matter of humanitarian effort – and then they’re separated. The young men are separated and the government takes them, and some of them have disappeared, some have been tortured. That’s not humanitarian. That is not part of providing humanitarian assistance to people. But that’s the way the Assad regime has treated it.
So this is an urgent matter for the international community. And President Obama and I call on all members of the United Nations Security Council to join together and pass a meaningful, impactful resolution with respect to this humanitarian crisis.
MODERATOR: Thank you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)