"Keep away from cigarettes, pornography, and bad associations, such as biker gangs," the minister was quoted as saying in a statement here on Friday.
This year's Children Day is themed "Children are Protected, Indonesia is Advancing" and its sub-theme is "Stop Violence against Children, Make Positive Friendship with Peers, and Healthy and Happy Indonesian Children at Home".
HAN 2020 is commemorated to boost awareness and participation of all components of the Indonesian nation in ensuring that children's rights, including the right to dignity, are fulfilled properly in addition to protecting children from violence, exploitation, and discrimination.
The minister believes that the future of the Indonesian nation lies in the hands of children as the next generation, for which they must be protected from now on.
Batubara also reminded children that in order to achieve success, they must love, respect, and obey their parents.
On the occasion, the minister received five letters from representatives of Indonesian children from remote and border areas, including Mimika, Meranti Islands, Kefamenanu, North Timur Tengah in NTT Province, Sampang in Madura, and East Aceh.
In the letters, the children expressed hope of being able to go back to school, achieve their goals, receive support in online learning, and witness the minister's visit to their villages, among other things.
"Thank you for the letters given to me. I am touched, and in fact, I would like to meet you directly. However, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not yet possible to meet," he stated.
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The ministry's Director General for Social Rehabilitation, Harry Hikmat, noted in his report that the ministry had organized a series of activities to celebrate 2020 HAN, starting with a Webinar and Technical Guidance on "Working amid COVID-19 pandemic for social Workers" on June 16-30.
The event was organized in cooperation with Unicef Indonesia, with some 900 participants comprising social workers, among others.
"The Directorate of Child Social Rehabilitation has deployed 770 social workers in 463 districts and cities. They are the foremost figures in handling child cases in Indonesia," Hikmat noted.
Chairperson of the Indonesian Child Protection Institute (LPAI) Seto Mulyadi was also present to enliven the event. "Keep up the spirit. We will face whatever with joy," he affirmed.
Arist Merdeka Sirait, head of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), highlighted the need to offer protection to children.
Moreover, children are expected to say no to drugs, pornography, exploitation, abuse, and neglect, he stated.
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Translator: Desi P, Fardah
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
