TEMPO.CO, Mataram - There is still a debate among ministers over the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
“[The FCTC discussion] is still in the process, and there are pros and cons among ministries,” Women’s Empowerment and Children Protection Minister Yohana Yembise told journalists during the commemoration of the National Children’s Day in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara on Saturday, July 23, 2016.
The FCTC deliberation involves the Health Ministry, the Education and Culture Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, and the Industry Ministry.
Yohana expressed her wish to save children from the danger posed by cigarettes.
“Cigarette is a gate to drugs and alcoholic drinks Therefore, I ask the President to consider the issue,” she added.
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani, who represented President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Mataram, revealed that the government was still taking several matters into account before signing the FCTC.
“We’re still reviewing [the FCTC]. But the government will protect children [from] the danger of smoking,” Puan said.
Earlier at the National Children’s Forum, the Children Lantern Foundation urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to protect children from cigarette distribution by ratifying the FCTC. Ethiopia recently ratified the framework.
Children’s Lantern Foundation chairperson Lisda Sundari said that Indonesia is one of the seven countries that have not yet signed the FCTC. Lisda hope that the symbolic handover of 11,000 letters to the President would provide children with protection against cigarette.
“The president must listen and realize the hope for children, so that they can be protected from cigarette,” she said.
ARKHELAUS W
