Disabilities should not hinder rights<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Physical accessibility in public life for the
\ncountry's six million disabled persons is needed to improve their
\nwelfare, Minister of Health and Social Welfare Achmad Sujudi said
\non Friday.<\/p>\n
\"Anyone can become disabled or crippled and being handicapped
\nshould not hinder a persons rights in their daily lives,\" Sujudi
\ntold a media briefing on the commemoration of International Day
\nfor Disabled Persons which will fall on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Indonesians should be proud of having two outstanding
\nindividuals, President Abdurrahman Wahid and First Lady Sinta
\nNuriyah -- who happen to be disabled persons -- leading this
\ncountry, the minister said.<\/p>\n
\"The two are extraordinary ... brave people demonstrating to
\nthe world that being disabled is not an obstacle to achieving
\noutstanding contributions,\" Sujudi said.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number of
\ndisabled people in a country is about 10 percent of the total
\npopulation.<\/p>\n
The minister further cited examples of how limited access and
\nfacilities obstructed the activities of disabled people.<\/p>\n
\"So far only Gambir Railway Station has facilities for
\ndisabled persons. Other public places have yet to provide them,\"
\nSujudi said.<\/p>\n
\"There are many people who still discriminate against disabled
\npeople,\" Sularso, Executive Director of the Indonesia National
\nBoard for Social Welfare (DNIKS), said.<\/p>\n
He cited the fact that disabled people still have limited
\nopportunity to work, although there was a regulation guaranteeing
\nequal treatment.<\/p>\n
Presidential Decree No. 43\/1999 on the Coordinating
\nInstitution on Disabled People's Social Welfare Improvement,
\nstipulates that there should be one disabled employee for every
\nhundred employees in a company.<\/p>\n
\"If a company violates the regulation, it has to pay a Rp 100
\nmillion (US$10,638) fine. But there is no implementation of the
\nlaw,\" said Mrs. Sugeng Supari of International Rehabilitation, a
\nnongovernmental organization.<\/p>\n
The country currently has 14 houses for disabled people and
\nthree social rehabilitation centers. The management of 23 other
\ninstitutions has been transferred to regional authorities in
\naccordance with the regional autonomy.<\/p>\n
Pudji Astuti, deputy chairperson for Social Rehabilitation and
\nServices at the National Social Welfare Agency (BKSN) said that
\nannually, only 73,000 disabled people in Indonesia received
\nproper treatment.<\/p>\n
There are also a total of 4,572 community business groups set
\nup to help the disabled, with mobile social service units in 26
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
Settlements and facilities for lepers are available in eight
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
The official commemoration of International Day for Disabled
\nPersons will be marked with the declaration of Piagam Millennium
\nIII by First Lady Sinta Nuriyah at the Presidential Palace on
\nSunday, containing an urgent call for the government and
\ninternational community to recognize and put into reality the
\nrights of disabled people.<\/p>\n
The declaration will be handed over to the President.<\/p>\n
The United Nations marked the international day with a theme
\nof \"Making Information Technology Work for All\".<\/p>\n
\"In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated
\nthat 'everyone has the right to participate freely in the
\ncultural life of the community' and 'to share in scientific
\nadvancement and its benefits',\" UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
\nsaid in a written message.<\/p>\n
\"Unless Information Technology is truly accessible for all,
\nthe potential for information to empower all countries and all
\npeople will not be realized. We must break through the barriers
\nthat stand between technology and the users -- whether technical,
\npsychological, physical or financial,\" Annan stated. (04\/edt)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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