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Summary of events in West Papua for November -7 December) 2016)

December 6, 2016, 5:44 pm
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Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088



Summary of events in West Papua  (14 November  -7 December) 2016).



West Papuan National Flag Day.  1st December


On the 1st December in 1961, the Morning Star was flown for the first time officially beside the Dutch Tricolor.  The Dutch were finally about to give the West Papuan people their freedom. However it is one of the great tragedies that at their moment of freedom it was cruelly crushed and West Papua was basically handed over to Indonesia in 1963.


Fifty five years later, in a global day of action the Morning Star was raised around the world in an inspiring show of support for the people of West Papua. It is greatly encouraging to see this huge groundswell of support around the world and in particular in our region on the issue. This support includes Civil Society Organisations (CSO), churches, governments and individuals who raised the flag in great numbers on the 1st December.



                                                                 
















Peter Boyle/Green Left Weekly.

                                                                                                                                                        PeterBoyle/Green Left Weekly.






In Sydney, supporters for West Papua marched from the Sydney Opera House to Sydney Town Hall on the 4th December where speakers included Rex Rumakiek, one of the spokespeople for the ULMWP. As well as the numerous speakers the rally included traditional song and dance. Another inspiring event and congratulations to all involved.                   


Video footage of the Sydney march and other actions at bottom of update. Photos at 
http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/photos-of-west-papuan-march-rally.htmlOn the 1st December in Sydney individuals and groups also raised the flag including at the Indonesian Consulate.

In another encouraging and courageous move the Jakarta Post reported (29 November) that a new civil society group, The Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-West Papua), consisting of non-Papuan Indonesian activists and intellectuals, was established as a form of solidarity from non-Papuans regarding the constant oppression suffered by Papuan activists who have fought for independence.

"There is no happiness for Papuans as long as they are part of Indonesia," the alliance’s spokesperson, Surya Anta, said in a press conference held at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) on Tuesday 



Fight for freedom: Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua spokesperson Surya Anta speaks to reporters at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) on Tuesday to declare the group’s support for Papuans to exercise the right to self-determination. (JP/Fachrul Sidiq) http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/29/group-supports-referendum-for-west-papua.html

In another Jakarta Post report the group’s spokesperson Surya Anta said the need for a referendum was a consequence of abuses carried out by the government that have resulted in a persistent lack of welfare in the region. “It’s not possible for West Papuans to live normally if manipulation and deceit of history still persist, racial discrimination is deeply entrenched in every aspect of their lives, the slow-motion genocide continues systematically and extortion of natural wealth destroys their livelihoods and culture,” Surya told a press conference at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) in Central Jakarta. 

Police apprehended several people from the group who were participating in a peaceful rally to demand a referendum for West Papua on the 1stDecember. One of the people arrested was the coordinator of the rally, Surya Anta, a lawyer for the rally participants, Veronica Koman, said on Thursday. Veronica said the protesters were beaten and arrested by police officers who wore civilian attire on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta when they were about to head to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, located a few meters away from the scene. "We may report the police because we saw many procedures the police violated. They beat and arrested [participants] without wearing police uniforms," Veronica said. Veronica said she was not sure how many of the participants had been arrested, but said there were no more than five. 



Participants of a rally held to demand a referendum for West Papua gather on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta on Thursday. Some of their colleagues were arrested during the event. (JP/Safrin La Batu) http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/12/01/participants-of-west-papua-rally-arrested.html




RNZI reported (2nd December) that Police arrested over two hundred people in Jakarta yesterday for participating in a rally to mark the West Papuan nationalist day, 1st December.

A public interest lawyer who was present, Veronica Koman, said police subsequently released those arrested, without charge, a few hours later.


But she said the arrests follow the pattern seen in the large demonstrations across Papua region in May and June, where authorities violate citizens' right to freedom of expression.




Indonesian police turn water canons on protestors who were mostly university students from Free Papua Organization and the Papua Student Alliance in Jakarta on December 1, 2016. Photo: Supplied

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/319475/more-mass-arrests-at-papua-rallies-in-indonesia


There were a number of gatherings in In West Papua itself. In Wamena up to 3000 people gathered for a large prayer event at the Traditional Council headquarters (RNZI 2 Dec.)At an event in Jayapura hundreds of people signed a petition in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua with its growing representative role in the Pacific region.





Thousands sign petition message in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua movement in the Pacific and at the UN. Photo: Supplied

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/319478/flag-day-in-papua-takes-form-of-prayer-events,-petition



Jakarta is becoming increasingly concerned at the internationalisation of the issue of West Papua which is why the security forces have been cracking down on peacefully rallies organised by civil society organisations in West Papua


In Sorong on the 19 November a total of 106 activists of the West Papuan National Committee (KNPB) were arrested by the police as they celebrated the eight anniversary of their founding of the KNPB. The KNPB said the police took those arrested to Sorong Police office for questioning. Later, they released 99 people and detained the other seven.  The Sorong Police ch
ief Adj. Sr. Comr. Edfrie Maith said the seven were detained for 24 hours for questioning and then released but they had to report daily to the police.




On the 26 November, 14 activists from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) were arrested in Manokwari for handing out leaflets about an upcoming rally to be held on the 1stDecember.  AWPA letter to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/media-release-awpa-letter-to-aust.html




Call for Vanuatu to seek seat on UN committee of 24

RNZI 2 December 2016

A former Vanuatu Prime Minister Barak Sope wants Vanuatu to become a member of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation to counter Indonesia's influence. Barak Sope said Indonesia is only on the committee to ensure the subject of self-determination in West Papua is not discussed.

Vanuatu is one of the strongest supporters of Papuan self-determination and Mr Sope has been one of the strongest advocates. He said Vanuatu has a right to sit on two UN committees and should push to have its say on what is known as the Committee of 24. "The reason why Indonesia is there is to prevent West Papua's case. That is all they are doing - always wanting to be in that top committee to ensure that West Papua is not discussed in that committee," he said.

"That is why it is important that we have countries that would support the idea of West Papua to get independence and the proper way of doing it is to be on the Committee of 24." While West Papua is not on the list of 24 territories being considered for independence, six Pacific territories are on it - namely French Polynesia, New Caledonia, American Samoa, Guam, Tokelau and Pitcairn.



MSG committee mulls over membership guidelines

RNZI 25 November 2016 

A Melanesian Spearhead Group committee is meeting in Port Vila to consider guidelines around membership in the regional organisation. The Sub-Committee on Legal and Institutional Issues was tasked by MSG leaders at their Honiara summit in July to clarify guidelines for observer, associate and full membership in the group. This comes as the MSG's five full members - Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanaks Movement - grapple with whether to grant full membership to West Papuans.


The United Liberation Movement for West Papua was granted observer status in the MSG last year but its bid for full membership has been deferred pending clarity on the guidelines. Indonesia, which has associate membership status in the MSG, has opposed the Liberation Movement’s bid, saying its own involvement in the group covers West Papuans. Opening the two day meeting at the MSG secretariat, a Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs official, William Soaki, suggested the guidelines needed to contribute to the overall objective of the group. It echoed recent comments by Vanuatu's Prime Minister Charlot Salwai that since last year MSG membership criteria had been developed which did not reflect the group's founding principles, which were about decolonising Melanesia. Mr Soaki said guidelines were required to provide a more streamlined and clear scope for leaders to use in assessing expressions of interest for some form of membership in the MSG.

The Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Amena Yauvoli, encouraged the committee to provide "a workable resolution going forward".

He said the deliberation of the committee was "pivotally important for the future of the organisation" as the issue of West Papuan membership could make or break the organisation. Pending development of the guidelines, a leader summit was expected in the next couple of months to make a decision on the Liberation Movement’s application.




Opinion pieces/reports/press releases etc.



Video -West Papua Solidarity March (Sydney) 4th December
https://video214.com/play/I9kMuZkrxg2cxyEZMdae8A/s/dark



Video- GLOBAL FLAG RAISING FOR WEST PAPUA - AUSTRALIA

https://vimeo.com/193527108



‘Rize of Morning Star’ boosts global ‘free Papua’ movement with new video

http://asiapacificreport.nz/2016/12/03/rize-of-morning-star-boosts-global-free-papua-movement-with-new-video/



The Project Channel 10 West Papua

https://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-project/extra/season-8/west-papua?_from=searchresult


West Papua: Local Community Accuses Conglomerate of Severe Land-Grabbing Threatening their Livelihood  http://unpo.org/article/19631


How mining and the military created an HIV epidemic in Indonesia’s Papua

https://www.irinnews.org/special-report/2016/11/21/how-mining-and-military-created-hiv-epidemic-indonesia’s-papua



Commentary: Jokowi Is 'Killing' Papua With Rice
http://jakartaglobe.id/opinion/commentary-jokowi-killing-papua-rice/



West Papua: Local Community Accuses Conglomerate of Severe Land-Grabbing Threatening their Livelihood
http://unpo.org/article/19631



RI and the Pacific: A history of cooperation


http://www.thejakartapost.com/adv/2016/12/02/ri-and-the-pacific-a-history-of-cooperation.html


Photos-The Morning Star on Sydney Harbour

http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/photos-morning-star-on-sydney-harbour.html



Photos -The West Papuan struggle through T-shirts

http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/photos-west-papuan-struggle-through-t.html



Last update
http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/summary-of-events-in-west-papua-october.html

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1) Freeport continues to buy time on smelter development

December 8, 2016, 12:46 pm
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2) CSR Sugar owner linked to palm oil deforestation
3) Two years Paniai bloody tragedy: Where is the justice?
4) Incarcerated in West Papua, my son endured a six-month ordeal

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1) Freeport continues to buy time on smelter development
Viriya P. Singgih The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Thu, December 8 2016 | 09:16 am
Gold and copper mining giant Freeport Indonesia has yet to realize its commitment to build a smelter in Indonesia in support of the government’s downstream industry push, triggering lawmakers to demand the government cancel the company’s export permit. 

Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of United States giant Freeport McMoRan Inc., said Wednesday that it would only build a new smelter if the government could grant an early extension of the company’s contract, which is due to expire in 2021. The earliest miners can renegotiate contracts is two years before they expire, according to a local regulation.

The smelter development is compliant with a local mining law that bans raw mineral exports, slated to take full effect on Jan. 12, 2017, to encourage smelter development in the country and strengthen the processing sector.

“The point is, Freeport Indonesia is committed to building the new smelter. Nonetheless, there are some considerations that need to be addressed first, including the assurance of our contract extension,” said the newly appointed Freeport Indonesia president director Chappy Hakim during a hearing with the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

“We need funds to build the smelter and such funds can be secured if we have extended our contract,” said Chappy, a retired Indonesian Air Force chief of staff.

Lawmakers of Commission VII overseeing energy affairs bombarded the company with criticism, saying it was just buying time until it gets clearance to extend its contract in 2019.

“We have talked about this over and over again, but it seems like there’s no progress at all with Freeport’s new smelter development. So it looks like such a commitment is only the company’s trick to extend its export permit,” said Endre Saifoel of the NasDem Party.

The progress of the new smelter development is crucial for Freeport Indonesia, as it is currently seeking a recommendation from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s mineral and coal directorate general for an extension of its export permit for copper concentrate, which will expire on January 12, 2017.

“It’s been around 40 years since Freeport first operated here, and considering the profit you guys have made since then, the development of new smelter should not be a problem at all. It’s not like you want to build a whole new country. It’s only a smelter,” said Mat Nasir from the Democratic Party. 

Hence, House Commission VII concluded the hearing by urging the ministry’s mineral and coal directorate general not to give a recommendation for Freeport Indonesia’s export permit extension as long as the company was yet to show real commitment to the new smelter development.

“Whatever decision made by the government later is to ensure the smelter development in Indonesia,” the ministry’s mineral and coal director general Bambang Gatot Ariyono said in response to lawmakers’ calls for export permit stoppage.

At present, Freeport Indonesia sells most of the copper concentrate produced from its Grasberg operation overseas and sends roughly 40 percent of its production to PT Smelting Gresik, which operates the only copper smelter in the country. Freeport Indonesia has a 25-percent stake in Smelting Gresik.

On the other hand, it has allocated US$2.2 billion in capital expenditure for the new smelter development, even though only $212.9 million of it has been disbursed, including $115 million as collateral to the government and $50 million for preparing the smelter’s environmental impact analysis (Amdal) document, early works and basic engineering.

Even so, the company is yet to decide where the new smelter will be located, mulling a land plot owned by state-owned fertilizer maker Petrokimia Gresik and the industrial estate Java Integrated Industrial and Port Estate (JIIPE) operated by Berkah Kawasan Manyar Sejahtera. Both are located in Gresik, East Java.
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http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2016/s4589563.htm

2) CSR Sugar owner linked to palm oil deforestation

video footage

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 08/12/2016
Reporter: Hayden Cooper
The owner of some of Australia's most famous food brands has been linked to deforestation in Indonesia after new footage of land clearing in North Sumatra was obtained by 7.30.

Transcript

HAYDEN COOPER, REPORTER: The aerial view of deforestation in Indonesia. This footage was filmed earlier this year. 

It reveals the rainforests of West Papua, cleared and ready to be replaced by palm oil plantations. 

GEMMA TILLACK, RAINFORST ACTION NETWORK: Papua is a critically important tropical rainforest. It is an area that we cannot afford to lose, and right now it is being threatened by palm oil development including the development for other crops like pulp, paper, and other agri business commodities. 

HAYDEN COOPER: This is the end result - massive plantations of palm oil as more companies line up to capitalise often at the expense of the environment and local Indigenous communities. 

WENSI FATUBUN, PAPUAN FILMMAKER: Papuan people facing difficult with economic development project create by Indonesian governments. Economic development project for who? This is the big question, from the Papuans to the Indonesian government. 

HAYDEN COOPER: This has been occurring across the region at an extraordinary rate. 

Indonesia and Malaysia produce 85 per cent of the world's palm oil. Across Aceh, Sumatra, Borneo, Kalimantan and now Papua, millions of hectares of forests have been cleared and replaced by the lucrative crop, often endangering species like the Sumatra orangutan. 

The palm oil is shipped all over the world and used in roughly half of the products in a typical supermarket. 

GEMMA TILLACK: So what you can see here is excavators ripping down the rainforests. 

HAYDEN COOPER: San Francisco-based Australian, Gemma Tillack monitors the industry for the rainforest action network. 

GEMMA TILLACK: So right now we're at a critical juncture in the fate of Indonesia's rainforests. 

The Indonesian president has actually taken a big, bold step forward and announced a moratorium on the further development of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. 

So we have a critical opportunity right now to get it right and to act together as a global community to protect Indonesia's rainforests. 

HAYDEN COOPER: But this footage obtained by 7.30 reveals destruction continues in Indonesia's rainforest and peatlands despite the moratorium. 

It was filmed in North Sumatra, in the crucial Leuser Ecosystem. 

GEMMA TILLACK: It is the last place on earth where you can find the Sumatra orangutans, the tigers, the elephants and the rhinos all co-existing together in the wild. 

HAYDEN COOPER: This land clearing can be linked to some of Australia's most famous food brands through their parent company, Wilmar. 

Wilmar International is the world's biggest palm oil trader. 

The Singapore-based agri business is controlled by the Malaysian billionaire Kuok Khoon Hong. It's the owner of CSR Sugar, one of Australia's most popular brands. 

Together with the Hong Kong based conglomerate, First Pacific, Wilmar also owns Goodman Fielder, the maker of many well-known Australian food products. 

The footage was filmed last month and shows a plantation owner clearing forest in the vulnerable Tripa peatland. 

GEMMA TILLACK: You can see that the excavator is ripping down the rainforest in the Tripa peatland. This is the orangutan capital of the world. So this is prime habitat for the Sumatra orangutan. 

HAYDEN COOPER: The workers have been digging canals in the area and the clearance appears to have been under way for months. 

GEMMA TILLACK: The drainage of the peat systems reduces the water table so that you can actually plant oil palm on the land. 

HAYDEN COOPER: The Rainforest Action Network researchers decided to investigate further. 

At the same plantation, they filmed palm oil fruit being loaded into a truck. They followed it as it drove to a nearby processing mill. 

The name of the site, PT Raja Marga. This mill is listed on Wilmar International's website as a supplier. 

GEMMA TILLACK: I was shocked. I actually thought that by now Wilmar would have identified all of the third party actor that were still destroying the Leuser and convinced them to either stop or to shut down their operations. 

NICK XENOPHON, NXT SENATOR: It's pretty full on, isn't it? There's no, it's not selective. It's just... 

HAYDEN COOPER: Senator Nick Xenophon is a vocal critic of the palm oil industry. It even got him deported from neighbouring Malaysia three years ago. 

Should Wilmar be held accountable for what is going on there? 

NICK XENOPHON: Look, absolutely, and they need to be up front with Australian consumers, all of us, who would have consumed one of the products that Wilmar now controls or owns as to what's going on here. 

Particularly where there appears to have been a blatant disregard in the supply chain of a moratorium announced by the Indonesian government. 

HAYDEN COOPER: Wilmar International declined 7.30's request for an interview. In a statement it said it shares the concerns about the Leuser Ecosystem. 

It says it proactively audits its supply chain and after its own investigation it halted buying from the rogue processing mill in October. 

GEMMA TILLACK: Two years ago Wilmar did commit to stopping deforestation, to stopping the destruction of peatland and the exploitation of workers and communities. 

So it has taken the first step with this commitment but what we have found on the ground is that its third party suppliers continue to destroy rainforests including those in the Leuser ecosystem. 

NICK XENOPHON: Well, Wilmar is talking the talk but not only are they not walking the walk, they're actually walking away from their previous commitments. 

HAYDEN COOPER: So how far will the deforestation of Indonesia's rainforests go? 

West Papua is now considered the last frontier. But there, too, major companies are looking to expand. 

CAMELLIA WEBB-GANNON, WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY: The companies that are interested in buying the land tend to be Malaysian, Indonesian, Korean and Singapore-based companies, and these companies are the world's major traders in oil palm. 

HAYDEN COOPER: Among them is Indo Agri, a key subsidiary of Wilmar's business partner First Pacific, the other part owner of Australia's Goodman Fielder. 

As this footage confirms, it's now on the hunt in West Papua. 

What's your company, say again? 

INDO AGRI WORKER: I'm from Indo Agri. 

HAYDEN COOPER: Indo Agri?

INDO AGRI WORKER: Yeah. 

HAYDEN COOPER: That's a group of ...?

INDO AGRI WORKER: A company. 

HAYDEN COOPER: A company? Based in Jakarta?

INDO AGRI WORKER: Yes, based in Jakarta. 

HAYDEN COOPER: Your core business is ...?

INDO AGRI WORKER: Oil palm. 

HAYDEN COOPER: Oil palm? Oh okay. 

HAYDEN COOPER: The encounter was filmed near the hometown of a Papuan filmmaker, Wensi Fatuban. 

WENSI FATUBUN: When (inaudible) come and taken Marine people's land, they not only lost land but they also lost their culture. 

CAMELLIA WEBB-GANNON: For the majority of these negotiated contracts, there has not been free, informed and prior consent on behalf of the Indigenous peoples and that is something companies are beholden to ensure. 

HAYDEN COOPER: These latest images have inspired Nick Xenophon to act. He'll reintroduce a bill to require better labelling of palm oil products. 

NICK XENOPHON: At the moment palm oil is just labelled as a vegetable oil and it's given a number. It's meaningless in terms of consumers being informed. 

HAYDEN COOPER: In the meantime, the clock is ticking for Indonesia's forests and the famous Australian brands that have aided their demolition. 

GEMMA TILLACK: Wilmar is connected to the destruction of Tripa's peatland and it is connected to the destruction of the Leuser ecosystem. That needs to change. 

Wilmar need to go beyond the mill, they need to get down to the front line of forest destruction and stop the bulldozers in their tracks. 

LEIGH SALES: Hayden Cooper reporting.


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A google translate.Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

3) Two years Paniai bloody tragedy: Where is the justice?

News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,

Jayapura, Jubi - Eruption accompaniment weapons fall due terbembus dozens of bullets in the Field Karel Gobay, Enarotali, Paniai regency capital, two years ago, December 8, 2014 around 10:30 am, leaving sorrow until now. A total of 18 civilians were wounded. Four high school students and a farmer's last breath. That date, it will not disappear from the minds of people in Paniai. The day of the ill-fated, they lost relatives. Death by intermediaries hot lead, whoever the owner, forced to pick them up.

Alpius Youw (17) high school students YPPK Epouto, Yulian Yeimo (17) high school students YPPGI Enarotali, Simon Degei (18) SMA Negeri 1 Enarotali, Alpius Gobai (17) SMA Negeri 1 Enarotali lying lifeless. In addition to the four, Abia Gobai (28), a farmer from Enarotali also picked want despite being treated in hospitals Madi, Paniai.

The urge completion of cases Paniai voiced parties without ceasing. Not only by activists and those who care about human rights in Papua. Insistence that reveal the country also come from those who are outside Papua.

Two years passed. Bloody tragedy at Tiananmen Karel Gobay never revealed. Owners bullets spewed stealth no man's weapon was still a mystery. I wonder where the justice is hiding. Victims and families of victims continue to wait for the miracle of justice.

"I want to talk any more. During this time I continued to express what people want Paniai generally and their families in particular. But there was no action from the state," said legislator Papua, Laurenzus Kadepa via telephone to the Jubi, Wednesday (07/12/2016 ).

Commission I of Papua, the Commission for Political, Legal and Human Rights wants the state really had no intention of solving cases Paniai. During this time various team has conducted an investigation. But there was no result.

"I want a country is really sincere to solve this case. Giving a sense of justice to the victims and their families. Let the commission or other independent teams to work without pressure. Without any intervention. This is my message commemorating the tragedy Paniai two years," he said.

During this time the victim's family could not stay silent. Make efforts to get justice. They want the perpetrators brought to justice arrested. But so expensive justice to them.

"Victims and families of victims are still kept waiting when the actors revealed. Whenever the state to deliver justice to them," he said.

While the Commission Commissioner RI, Natalius Pigai states, the disclosure of Paniai bloody tragedy so important to society in particular Paniai, Papua general and for Indonesia in the eyes of the world.

"Case Paniai, guilt rests with the government. As long as the government cover-up of actors, particularly related to the results of the investigation TNI and Polri, the community against those who conduct investigations. I think people in Paniai think smart," said Natalius Pigai to Jubi recently.

Learning from other cases Natalius words, all was never proven because the military and police never declared culprit even hide the culprit. Unless the public or the victim's family want to do an autopsy in the case of Paniai. But the clash with the culture. The only way out is the military and police should announce the results of the investigation.

"We want the perpetrators were given severe punishment in accordance with Act 26 of 2000, even facing death sentence. The case Paniai asked by anyone, including the international community then covering the offender and refused to open an investigation, the government," he said.

Regent Paniai, Kayame Heng also said he wants the case was soon revealed. He said that so far has been a lot of teams who go down to Paniai, but to no avail.

"I wish Tim Ad Hoc Human Rights Commission could soon menungkap the case and the perpetrators brought to justice. Now Paniai wait disclosure of Paniai," said Hengy Kayame to Jubi recently.

Some time ago Kemenko Polhukam has formed a team. The team was named Team of Integrated Settlement human rights violations in Papua. Some cases of alleged human rights violations in Papua, including the agenda Paniai case team. But until now the performance of the team has not given it meaning.

Coordinating Minister for Politics, Wiranto has recently stated, there are various constraints experienced by the team. One of them cost constraints and outopsi.

"The government already has the intention. We are going to solve. But it is not easy. Not to be fast," said Wiranto was recently quoted as saying of the various media.

According to him, to convince their human rights violations required outopsi. However it was contrary to the local culture.

"Cultures do not allow it. If there is a result in the next outopsi there," he said.

But the chairman of Commission I of Papua, Elvis Tabuni rate, outopsi and the budget can not be used as an excuse hamper the completion of the human rights in Papua.

"If plagued many things entrusted to a team from outside


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4) Incarcerated in West Papua, my son endured a six-month ordeal
Susan Skyvington

Before gaining independence in 1999, East Timor endured 24 years of brutal suffering under Indonesian occupation. Are we aware, do we care that this is today being repeated in West Papua?
Just 200km from Australia, the western half of New Guinea island, formerly Irian Jaya, West Papua also wants freedom from Indonesia, but is being violently oppressed.
My son Saul Dalton was detained for six months in this remote province, inadvertently caught up in both independence struggles.
A a young graduate, Saul went as a UN-sponsored witness to the referendum in East Timor. Proud of him for his social conscience, unusual among his materialistic Gen X cohort, I was also concerned. Massacre was predicted if the vote went against Indonesia retaining East Timor.

Bloodbath

A violent bloodbath did ensue. Saul hopped onto an inter-island ferry to escape trouble. Or so he thought. Ten days later he landed up in Irian Jaya. Out of the frying pan into the fire. John Howard had just sent Australian-led troops into Timor to quell the slaughter.
Indonesia hated Australia for this intervention, for their loss of face. Saul was arrested on boarding a short flight back to Darwin. At midnight, driven into dark remote jungle, he was sure this was where his life would end.
Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas gloated next day to his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer at a New York UN meeting: ‘We are holding one of your countrymen’.
I went to try to get him out. From Byron paradise plunged into Papua hell. I was told, ‘We do not like your country, we will not help your son. We have photographed him in Darwin wearing a Falintil [the ET resistance movement] t-shirt demonstrating against the Republic of Indonesia.’
My naive plea, ‘But we were all supporting East Timor,’ did not help.
Alone, defended only by a police-appointed non-English-speaking lawyer, Saul was put through a drawn-out trial on charges of misusing his visa (endorsed by the Indonesian Consulate in Darwin with ‘Pro-UNAMET’, to assist in the UN mission to East Timor) for espionage, for trying to wrest this province from the Republic of Indonesia – sent moreover by the Australian government!

Payback

The Papuan prosecutor told me, ‘I know your son has done nothing. I am being asked to bring these false charges against him as a payback to Australia’. Young Melky Huka, who had helped Saul, died suddenly, mysteriously.
Eventually my son was released. A case of straying into the wrong place at the wrong time. They had not caught a big spymaster, just small fry. Face had been saved.
We were asked to write a statement to General Siagian, head of armed forces of Irian Jaya, to never speak out against the Republic of Indonesia.
Through our long ordeal, the legacy of which is PTSD, we learned about this most remote, secret, sinister place, of its exploited natural beauty and rich resources, its brave, gentle freedom-loving people. I have met human rights lawyers and advocates, tribal and church leaders, musicians, artists – all have lost loved ones, land, and livelihood. But not their spirit.
Saul was held near giant US-owned Freeport, the world’s largest gold and third largest copper mine (200,000 tons of copper ore per day). Freeport’s four per cent royalty is the single largest contribution to Indonesia’s GNP.
It pays millions of dollars to Kopassus, the ‘elite’ Indonesian military unit, to provide security to the mine.

Destruction

That is also why Saul was arrested: no-one is meant to go there, to reveal what is happening in this last innocent Shangri-la being brutally raped behind closed doors.
I witnessed a kilometres-wide swathe of mining waste descending from the glacier-topped mountain of gold to the sea, decimating rainforest, rivers and villages along its path. Papua’s rainforest, home of exotic birds of paradise, is being destroyed.
In 2004 Yale Law School concluded that genocide is occurring, half a million of West Papua’s people massacred since Indonesia appropriated it in 1969. Australia is complicit in turning a blind eye, and our taxes are paying for Kopassus training.

• Free West Papua activism

An Australian site for human rights in West Papua is at freewestpapua.com.au
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West Papuan Liberation Movement lobbies at the UN

December 8, 2016, 6:41 pm
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http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/320036/west-papuan-liberation-movement-lobbies-at-the-un


West Papuan Liberation Movement lobbies at the UN

29 minutes ago 
United Liberation Movement for West Papua leaders have been in New York this week, lobbying at the United Nations about their self-determination struggle in Indonesia.



The Liberation Movement's secretary-general Octo Mote and spokesman Benny Wenda said they have been meeting with officials from several UN departments and various embassies.
They have been talking about their hopes for a new internationally-supervised self-determination vote for the indigenous people of Indonesia’s Papua region.

Benny Wenda ✔@BennyWenda
Benny Wenda meeting US Congressman for American Samoa, Eni Faleomavaega, in Washington D.C in 2013. 
2:20 AM - 7 Dec 2016


Mr Wenda said the lobbying gives them an opportunity to correct misinformation spread internationally about Papua by Jakarta and people within the UN system appreciate the discussions.
"We're also updating the current situation (on the ground in Papua) and this is like... that West Papua has been neglected for the last fifty years, so they're surprised that this has been going on. So there's a number of diplomats we met in New York."
Mr Wenda said that taking the matter to the UN is part of the new phase of their struggle.
He said the combined issues of human rights abuses in West Papua, and Papuans' self-determination struggle, are considered an issue for the whole Pacific islands region, and that Pacific countries are increasingly supportive.
Jakarta said Papua's incorporation into Indonesia is final and that human rights abuses in the region are being addressed.
It also said it is devoting significant resources into creating better conditions for economic development at grassroots levels in West Papuan communities.
However, despite Jakarta's sensitivity to it, there have been various diplomatic gains made this year in advancing West Papua as an issue for the UN to address.
This includes the call by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua for an independence referendum in Papua, and the rise of the Pacific Coalition for West Papua.
It is still unclear if the melanesian Spearhead Group will accept the Liberation Movement's bid to be a full member in the group - a decision could be made before Christmas, according to the MSG secretariat.
However Mr Wenda said Papuans were greatly encouraged by the unprecedented call by seven Pacific states at the UN General Assembly in September for the world community to take action about alleged historical and current injustices in Papua.
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Make 'action graffiti', eighteen members of KNPB arrested and threatened with treason

December 9, 2016, 11:54 am
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A google translate. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at



Jumat, 09 Desember 2016
Make 'action graffiti', eighteen members of KNPB arrested and threatened with treason

News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,





Activities undertaken graffiti action KNPB members on Friday (09/12/2016) - IST


Jayapura, Jubi - Eighteen members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) are still being held in Abepura Police Sector and threatened taxable Article treason due to perform acts of graffiti (graffiti wall) campaigning for Papuan independence.

Secretary General (KNPB) Suhuniap Ones to Jubi Monday (09/12/2016) confirmed the arrest of members who take action KNPB graffiti "Free Papua" in the walls around the area of ​​Abepura and in front of the campus of the University of Science and Technology Jayapura (USTJ ) that.

Ones said the arrest occurred at two points Abepura and the USTJ simultaneously around 12:15 this afternoon, Friday (9/12). "Those arrested in Abepura 8 people are Alo Yeimo, Onsen Balingga, Paul Osen, Orentus Kogoya, Yeskiel Wanimbo, Akomomouwea Kadepa, Beny Yatipai, and Okto Yeimo arrested in Dove Abepura," said Ones to Jubi, Friday.

While being arrested in front of the Campus USTJ there are 10 people, respectively Jason Bahabol, Hosea Yeimo, Jhon Matuan, Raz Omis Balingga, Robet W Yelemaken, Dance Boma, Keli Balingga, Venus Kabak, Ario Wanimbo, and Jek Mote.





Related to the arrest, admitted Suhuniap Ones has become a risk for the struggle KNPB. "The arrest of normal for us. However we will continue to write on the walls of the Free Papua neighbor, Referendums and so forth, as this is part of the knowledge that needs to be delivered to the people of Papua struggle, "said Ones explain the purpose of the graffiti action.

Besides, he added, the way the action was chosen because of the democratic space for political rights of the Papuan people speak no walled and writing is a means to be declared in public.

"Colonial continues to suppress democracy in Papua so through the writing on the wall is part of the expression of the Papuan people about their political rights," said Ones.








Separately, Mecky Yeimo Management Board confirms that the eighteenth KNPB members are still detained until about 19:30 at night and threatened subject to Article treason and asked to sign Berka Events Arrest (BAP).

"Yes, they are still being detained, and arguably treason, it's strange," said Mecky through a telephone connection.

According to him, of the 18 people detained all of them subject to Article 104 and 106 related to treason. "From the eighteenth person, two people already signed the dossier without a lawyer because I have to, while 16 others survived for rejecting signatures dossier to a lawyer," said Mecky.

Until the news was revealed, the board KNPB and friends who want to visit to deliver the food is not allowed to enter.

Contacted via telephone day and night before the Abepura police chief, Superintendent Arnolis Korwa, yet provide testimony related to the arrest of eighteen members of this KNPB. (*)
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Photos -human Rights Day -Sydney

December 10, 2016, 12:02 am
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Stand up for someone's rights today!

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.
This year, Human Rights Day calls on everyone to stand up for someone's rights! Disrespect for basic human rights continues to be wide-spread in all parts of the globe. Extremist movements subject people to horrific violence. Messages of intolerance and hatred prey on our fears. Humane values are under attack. 
In Sydney West Papuan supporters and civil society groups joined in a rally and march, uniting with Aboriginal Peoples defence of Human Rights and  to bring awareness to the issues our government should be looking at but don't.
Aboriginal leaders a march through Sydney in a protest to mark International Human Rights Day. In July ABC’s Four Corners program aired footage of the repeated assault and mistreatment of Indigenous boys at detention centres in the Northern Territory, provoking a Royal Commission into youth abuse at the Don Dale detention centre, including that against Dylan Voller whose mother participated in the march
Slide show at
http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/nsw/aboriginal-leaders-march-through-sydney-20161210-gt8djz.html
















































































































































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Anticorruption activist George Aditjondro passes away in Palu

December 10, 2016, 12:03 pm
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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/12/10/anticorruption-activist-george-aditjondro-passes-away-in-palu.html
Anticorruption activist George Aditjondro passes away in Palu
Ruslan Sangadji The Jakarta Post
Palu | Sat, December 10, 2016 | 11:28 am


George Junus Aditjondro (right). (Tribun Jogja/Hasan Sakri Ghazali)


Activist, researcher, scholar and former Tempo magazine journalist George Junus Aditjondro died in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Saturday at 5:45 a.m. local time. He was 70 and died by his widow, Erna Tenge, and son from his earlier marriage, Enrico Suryo Aditjondro.
Since 2012 when a stroke affected his health, George had difficulty speaking. He died in Bala Keselamatan Hospital in Palu.
George was known as a passionate critic of what he saw as corrupt power. During the Soeharto regime he researched the business empire of the “Cendana family”, referring to Soeharto’s family that resided on Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta. He also wrote about military business in Indonesia.
A prolific writer and researcher, George, who earned his PhD degree from Cornell University, had written dozens of books and hundreds of papers. His works and audacity to speak up had put him into trouble several times. He had to leave Indonesia during the Soeharto era and he went to Australia from 1995 to 2002. He taught sociology at Newcastle University in Australia and was a guest lecturer at Murdoch University.
He also taught at Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga, Central Java, when he was part of a trio of passionate critics from the university at that time: Ariel Heryanto, Arief Budiman and George himself.
After he returned home from Australia, he wrote more controversial books, including Dissecting Cikeas Octopus: Behind the Scene of Bank Century Scandal, which discusses then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The book looks into Yudhoyono and how four foundations allegedly helped raise money for his 2009 election campaign.
During the launch of the book in 2009, he was accused of violence against Ramadhan Pohan, a politician from Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party. Ramadhan said George hit him with a book.
His last controversial criticism was in 2011 when he lived in Yogyakarta while his wife finished her PhD at Gadjah Mada University (UGM). In a discussion at UGM about the controversial Sultan Ground, in which the Yogyakarta Sultanate marked plots of lands in the province as “Sultan Ground”, he criticized the sultanate. Several residents said he insulted the sultan and he was barred from his own home in Yogyakarta. Later he tried, to no avail, to apologize in person to Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX.
In September 2014 he moved to Palu after his Poso-born wife Erna completed her doctorate degree from Geography School at UGM. In Palu he researched and wrote about military and police operations in conflict-ridden Poso in Central Sulawesi. He joined Tanah Merdeka Foundation in Palu and did his research as an activist in the foundation.
George was born on May 27, 1946, in Pekalongan, to a Javanese father and Dutch mother. Before Erna, he married Bernadetta Esti and they had a son, Enrico Suryo Aditjondro. After his separation with Bernadetta, George, who loved to keep his hair long, married Erna, 60, a scholar at Economic School in Tadulako University. (evi)
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1) Video of march in Sydney

December 10, 2016, 12:10 pm
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2) Team insists probe into Paniai case will continue
3) Island focus: 60 villages in Papua to be lit by Christmas
4) Indonesia’s human rights record still poor: Imparsial

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1) Video of march in Sydney (10 Dec.)
where West Papuan supporters and civil society groups joined in a rally and march, uniting with Aboriginal Peoples defence of Human Rights and  to bring awareness to the issues our government should be looking at but don’t.

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2) Team insists probe into Paniai case will continue
    Nethy Dharma Somba  The Jakarta Post
    Jayapura | Sat, December 10 2016 | 09:17 am

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has insisted that the investigation into the human rights violation case in Paniai, Papua, in which five civilians, including four students, allegedly died after being shot by security personnel, is not being put on hold despite the challenges it has met.

The ad hoc team from Komnas HAM tasked with the investigation were in Paniai from Nov. 21 to 25 to complete the dossiers on three victims and two witnesses, member of the team, and Komnas HAM’s Papua representative, Frits Ramandey said on Thursday.

“The team, led by Manager Nasution, planned to draw up dossiers for 23 victims and witnesses but only five people came forward,” he said.

He blamed the lack of enthusiasm on the local people’s lack of faith in the numerous institutions coming to Paniai to investigate the case.

“The victims’ families argue that many teams have gone there following the incident, asking for information from victims and witnesses but so far none of the teams has announced the results of their investigations,” he said.

As a result, the victims’ families wanted Amnesty International to investigate the case, which was not easy to achieve because getting Amnesty to Paniai would require permission from the government.

Komnas HAM itself has already stated that there was a serious violation of human rights in the Paniai incident, he added.

For the sake of a thorough investigation of the case, Frits called on all involved parties to open themselves up to the commission’s ad hoc team in the drawing up of the dossiers.

He said the findings of the ad hoc team would be reported during the commission’s plenary session before the commission moved to the next step, including examining military and police personnel who were 
on duty when the incident took place in Karel Gobay Square, Paniai, on Dec. 8, 2014.

Komnas HAM apologized to the victims and their families for the slow pace of the investigation into the case, said Frits.

The commission also asked for support from all parties including the victims, their families, churches, NGOs, as well as the military and the police to cooperate with the commission to get to the bottom of the case.

“This is to fulfill the sense of justice for the victims’ families and the people of Papua,” Frits said.

Local pastor Santon Tekege confirmed that the families of the victims of the Paniai incident had refused to meet with the Komnas HAM team and instead demanded an international body investigate the case.

“They don’t trust Indonesia or a team made up by Indonesia. That’s why they want to have the United Nations come to Paniai instead,” Santon said.

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3) Island focus: 60 villages in Papua to be lit by Christmas
Jayapura | Sat, December 10 2016 | 09:11 am

The Papua and West Papua’s office of state electricity company PLN will supply power to 60 previously unconnected villages in Papua and West Papua provinces before Christmas.

“Connecting the 60 villages to the electricity grid is part of the 2020 electricity program. This is a Christmas gift from PLN,” Papua and West Papua’s PLN General Manager Yohanes Sukrislismono said on Friday.

Forty-two of the villages are located in West Papua while 18 are in Papua province.

The company aims to boost the electrification ratio of the country’s easternmost provinces, which currently stands at 55.72 percent, to 90 percent by 2020, Yohanes added.

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4) Indonesia’s human rights record still poor: Imparsial
Margareth S. Aritonang The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Sat, December 10, 2016 | 12:57 pm
The government is still failing to protect and uphold human rights in the country despite a number of laws guaranteeing the rights of all citizens, which according to Jakarta-based human rights watchdog Imparsial is rooted in a lack of focus and commitment.
Imparsial executive director Al Araf said the absence of human rights in the priority programs of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had added to the already long list of challenges to the poor performance in the country’s efforts to equally protect the rights of all people.
“It’s really important for the government to politically commit to making human rights a priority program otherwise we will not see any changes in the future,” Al Araf said in a discussion on Friday.
He said such a lack of political commitment had posed challenges, including political transactions that consequently put aside human rights, a toothless national rights body, which was supposedly a front-line protector of human rights in the country, and unfinished legal reform.
“Jokowi’s administration is no different to those of his predecessors, which failed to prioritize actions to uphold human rights,” Al Araf said, citing current rampant religious intolerance, criminalization of activists, the ongoing use of the death penalty as well as impunity as examples that showed Jokowi was not committed to human rights. (evi)
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Indonesian police shut down Punks for West Papua Screening.

December 10, 2016, 12:26 pm
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Indonesian  police shut down Punks for West Papua Screening.

A planned showing of “Punks for West Papua” in Manado was banned by Police.
West Papuan student cannot screening Punk for West Papua in Manado.



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1) Watch Indonesia-Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Republic of Indonesia

December 10, 2016, 11:33 pm
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2) If You Cared About Standing Rock, You Need To Know About West Papua
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1) Watch Indonesia-Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Republic of Indonesia
submitted September 2016, published at Human Rights Day, 10 December 2016


Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Republic of Indonesia

www.watchindonesia.org/wp-content/uploads/UPR_Submission_Indonesia_2017_WI_WPN_OMCT.pdf

Human Rights Council
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Republic of Indonesia
3rd cycle (May – June 2017)

United_Nations_Human_Rights_Council_LogoJoint Stakeholders’ Submission by:
Watch Indonesia! e.V.
West Papua Network (WPN)
World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)
I. Introduction

1. This stakeholder report is a joint submission by the West Papua Network (WPN), Watch Indonesia! and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) The report highlights key concerns, trends and significant developments in the human rights situation in Indonesia including a particular focus on the region West Papua between January 2012 and July 2016 in the following areas: torture and maltreatment; extra-judicial and arbitrary executions; violence against land rights activists; freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly; death penalty; discrimination on the basis of religious belief and sexual orientation; truth finding and dealing with the past, the role of the military; human rights defenders; and indigenous peoples. This report will conclude with a set of recommendations
2. The WPN is monitoring and documenting the human rights and conflict situation, the legal and institutional framework in Indonesia and supports a peaceful solution to the long lasting conflict in West Papua for more than 20 years. It operates jointly with other organizations in the International Coalition for Papua (ICP).
3. Watch Indonesia! is a Berlin based human rights NGO working since 1991 to address the human rights, democracy and environmental issues in Indonesia and East Timor. It has been actively engaged in doing lobby and advocacy work in Germany, at the EU and the UN level together with its local, national and international partners.
4. Created in 1985, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is today the main coalition of international non-governmental organizations (NGO) fighting against torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances and all other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. With 311 affiliated organizations in its SOS-Torture Network and many tens of thousands correspondents in every country, OMCT is the most important network of non-governmental organizations working for the protection and the promotion of human rights in the world.

read the complete submission at:
www.watchindonesia.org/wp-content/uploads/UPR_Submission_Indonesia_2017_WI_WPN_OMCT.pdf
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Watch Indonesia! e.V.
Für Demokratie, Menschenrechte und Umwelt in Indonesien und Osttimor
Urbanstr. 114             Tel./Fax +49-30-698 179 38
10967 Berlin              e-mail: watchindonesia@watchindonesia.org
                         www.watchindonesia.org







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http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/claudia-hyde/standing-rock_b_13435172.html
2) If You Cared About Standing Rock, You Need To Know About West Papua
09/12/2016 11:27
Claudia Hyde  Blogger, campaigner and politico from London
This week, activists across the world celebrated as the Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would not grant the permit for the Dakota Access pipeline to drill under the Missouri river. This followed campaigning efforts from local Standing Rock Sioux tribe and thousands of Native American supporters from across North America and further afield, who argued that if the pipeline was approved, their spiritual lands would be compromised and local waters would be contaminated, threatening their livelihood. With a message that resonated with indigenous rights activists and environmentalists everywhere, campaigners were successful in forcing officials to back down.

The announcement was, however, met with scepticism from some first-nation Americans. With a heavy awareness that the DAPL would appeal the decision, many tribe members were cautious about celebrating too soon. After all, exploitation of indigenous groups, particularly in excavation projects, is common place: in Australia, historically aboriginal lands have been named as the preferred site for a nuclear waste dump, and in Nigeria, the indigenous Ogoni people have, according to numerous reports, been subjected to ethnic cleansing in the course of mishandled oil extraction projects.

It’s clear then that the exploitation of indigenous peoples is commonplace. So what set Standing Rock aside from the cases of groups in Australia, Nigeria and so many more? The answer is clear: a global coalition of activists. And no case study demonstrates more clearly the importance of activism in the struggle for indigenous rights than the situation in West Papua.


West Papua forms half of the Papua island, to the west of Papua New Guinea in South-East Asia. The island itself is split in half. The indigenous people of West Papua have Melanesian roots, and culturally and ethnically enjoy many similarities to the people of Papua New Guinea. However, the region’s fraught history and decades of political turmoil have left it without international recognition. It was formally colonised by the Dutch in 1898, and while the Netherlands began a process of decolonising the region following the Second World War, this was co-opted when Indonesia asserted a claim over the territory. Papuans fought back, declaring independence in 1961, but Indonesia soon retaliated by invading, backed by the Soviet Union. The situation was exacerbated when the US, prompted by fears of spreading Communist influence, interfered, brokering a deal with Indonesia to grant her control over West Papua. This was in theory meant to be followed by a referendum with the end goal of self-determination, but this never happened.
Since then, the military occupation of West Papua has resulted in over 500,000 deaths. The occupation has devastated indigenous people and scarred West Papuan communities: the Biak massacre of 1998 is a particularly haunting example of this. On the anniversary of the unsuccessful Papuan declaration of independence, over 200 independence demonstrators were forced by the army into two Indonesian naval vessels and taken to two different locations to be thrown into the ocean. In the following days, the protesters’ bodies washed up on Biak’s shores, or were snarled in fishing nets.

The Biak tragedy is just the tip of the iceberg. Aside from the scores of unlawful deaths, there are widespread reports of violence, including sexual violence, against civilians. In a public report to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 1999, the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women concluded that the Indonesian security forces used rape “as an instrument of torture and intimidation” in West Papua, and “torture of women detained by the Indonesian security forces was widespread”. Political prisoners engaged in peaceful demonstration are routinely convicted in unfair trials, and large numbers have yet to be released. The depth of suffering in West Papua is such that, in 2004, a groundbreaking report from Yale Law School referred to the Indonesian policy in West Papua as “genocide”- a label which was, apparently, taken lightly by the international communiyu.


It has been clear for a while now that the situation in West Papua has reached, and remained at, crisis point. So how do we explain the lack of public awareness and concerted policy responses? The problem is that most campaigns and activist movements are catalysed by news stories that shock us and compel us to take action, but there is a distinct lack of reporting on the West Papua situation. West Papua is effectively off limits to international journalists, and the penalties for flouting the region’s restrictive laws are severe: if discovered without permission they are arrested and deported by the Indonesian authorities. Some have even been attacked and imprisoned. Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced earlier this year that Papua would be open to foreign journalists, but this does not reflect the reality on the ground.

This is worsened by the fact that Indonesian authorities have made it near impossible for many NGOs to operate in West Papua: organisations such as the International Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have all been denied access, and their vital services denied along with it.

West Papua represents one of the most atrocious systems of repression of indigenous peoples that we see in the world today. But the Standing Rock victory shows us that the will, manpower and resources do exist to mount an effective opposition tothreats to indigenous peoples’ rights. Even if it isn’t possible to go to West Papua and prevent these atrocities from happening directly, there is still a lot that each of us can do: you can support the fundraising efforts of the few NGOs that are allowed to operate in West Papua, you can write to your Member of Parliament, you can share resources and information with friends, family and colleagues, and you can help increase the public awareness that is so sorely needed to effect change.

Standing Rock taught us that persistent efforts can succeed- this lesson must not be forgotten, especially when it comes to groups that need protection the most.

Follow Claudia Hyde on Twitter: 
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1) Commemorating Human Rights Day, a period action in Manokwari admitted beaten with rattan

December 11, 2016, 11:37 am
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2) After his release, 14 KNPB members arrested again
3) UN makes call on Tahiti’s self-determination
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A google translate. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at
Minggu, 11 Desember 2016 — 17:02 
1) Commemorating Human Rights Day, a period action in Manokwari admitted beaten with rattan
News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,
                                         Gerardus Korlap Tembut when coordinated with the police Manokwari - IST

Jayapura, Jubi - Solidarity and Youth Care HAM Papua in Manokwari in commemoration of Human Rights (HAM) which falls on December 10, 2016, ended with the beating action by the police against the future action of the threads as rattan, consequently dozen students injured in the body.
Solidarity action was accommodated by three led Organizations (OKP), Manokwari including the Independent Student Forum (FIM), Manokwari, Catholic Student Association of the Republic of Indonesia (PMKRI), branch of Manokwari and the Indonesian Christian Students Movement (GMKI), branch Manokwari. Saturday (10/12/2016), Manokwari, West Papua.
Gerardus Tembut as field coordinator, said the peaceful rally to commemorate Human Rights Day in Manokwari future action was blocked by the police with no apparent reason. But eventually the police give this permission on the condition that future action must use the vehicle, are not allowed to walk.
"The actions of some college Manokwari also joined. During the action we were confronted with a reason to disrupt traffic so that future must use two or four wheeled vehicles with action points finish in front of the Golkar Sanggeng Manokwari. "
He continued, now speeding past action occurred anarchy by the police against future acts exactly in front of the Hotel Swissbell. Police beat future action, about a dozen students, using a cane, causing bruises around the body of both the head and body.
Arnold Halitopo, future actions are also witness to the beating case, said future action future action confused with vigilante actions by the police because of the negotiation process is already well underway.
"The police issue the word" fast road we were bored, quickly. , , cried all the police, swinging a cane them against future action, "said Arnold Halitopo, via cell phone.
He continued, arrived at the finish time of action giving speeches and reading of statement. Exactly 13.30 WP-time action put an end to the rally and disperse.
Separately, police chief Adjunct Senior Manokwari Cristian Rony Putra, when confirmed, via a short message saying there was no beating of mass action. According to him, even Kasipropam Manokwari Police were beaten so that members of the police officers who Mmemukul Kasipropam pursue fleeing when being secured.
"They are also not registered as CSOs in Kesbangpol and also at the demo no demo license if there must be permission from the police and its implementation must be orderly," said Chief of Police. (*)
The following names of victims of beatings by police officers Manokwari:
1.Lamek Loho 20th (whole body in the car Dalmas Persecuted Police)
2.Nies Wilil 22th (neck back)
3.Titus Peyon 19th (Head, ears)
4.Yulius Woy 17th (Backs)
5.Naos Elopere 17th (Kena hand)
6.Anton Silak 19th (Part feet)
7.E.Mekison Yare 19th (Right Hand)
Major 8.Oto 20th (back of head)
9.Yhonai Weby 20th (Head and back)
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A google translate. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at
Sabtu, 10 Desember 2016 — 14:43
2) After his release, 14 KNPB members arrested again
News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,
                     Action graffiti around Abepura KNPB Friday (9/12) led to 17 people were detained 1x24 hours - Doc. KNPB

Jayapura, Jubi - Right on the anniversary of International Human Rights Day, 14 of the 17 members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) newly released Abepura Police Sector was again arrested around Padangbulan, Jayapura, on Saturday (10/12/2016).
"Approximately at 11:04 in front of the Police Station Padangbulan, approximately 14 members of KNPB newly released is recaptured," the statement Mecky Yeimo, the Governing Body KNPB to Jubi on the sidelines of a peaceful demonstration Rights Day International in Pigeon, Abepura, Saturday (10 / 12/2016).Those arrested include Hosea Yeimo, Onchen Balingga, Alo Yeimo, Omis Raz Balingga, Ario Wanimbo, Robet W Yelemaken, Akamouwa Kadepa, Jhek Mote, Venus Kabak, Jhon Matuan, Weko Werentus Kogoya, Beni Yatipai, Oti Yeimo, and Denius Murip ,
Alfince Degei, a student witnessed the arrest. "Yes, I saw them (members of KNPB) in Padangbulan with the police are pretty much being fresh raw, and hold police and asked kam want to do anything, then somehow they had taken to bring the police here," he told Jubi in Melati, Abepura.
Abepura police chief, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Korwa Arnolis when met at the same place, confirmed the arrest.
"Yes, how did we bring, they do more scratch scratch in Padang Bulan who had just come out. It was how can not understand at all," said AKBP Korwa.
It said four people currently in Abepura police station. "Let them there until the afternoon, so thoughtful," he said.
Confirmed related actions of the members of the KNPB, Mecky Yeimo confirms that KNPB commit acts of graffiti is fully conscious.
"Since the beginning of my friends already know what they are doing. What we write it is the political will Papuans not given the space to be delivered widely, so we will continue to do so," said Mecky.
Earlier, on Friday (9/12) 17 members were arrested around Melati KNPB Abepura for committing acts of graffiti (scratch scratch the wall) related to Referendum and Papua Merdeka. They were released on Saturday (10/12) morning around 10:00. (*)
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3) UN makes call on Tahiti’s self-determination
42 minutes ago 
The United Nations has adopted a resolution asking France to put in place a self-determination process for French Polynesia.
The resolution said the people of French Polynesia should freely choose its political status, noting that over 30 years France carried out nuclear weapons tests which have had an impact on health and the environment.
It called on France to intensify the dialogue despite French Polynesia's government in October calling for the territory to be removed from the United Nations decolonisation list.
France has refused to organise a referendum in Tahiti despite being asked by the territorial assembly three years ago.
France pulled the so-called French Establishments in Oceania off the UN decolonisation list in 1947 - 67 years after it annexed the erstwhile Kingdom of Tahiti.
However, in 2013 the UN General Assembly returned French Polynesia to the list.
The move angered Paris which labelled it as glaring interference by the UN and it has shunned co-operation with the UN on the matter.
France does however recognise the UN in the decolonisation process of its other Pacific territory, New Caledonia, which is due for a referendum on independence within two years.
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1) PNG opposition leader calls for “honest” take on Papua

December 11, 2016, 10:29 pm
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2) Thousands of West Papuans mark human rights day
3) Wings Air continues flights to Nabire despite ban
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1) PNG opposition leader calls for “honest” take on Papua
1:24 pm today 
Papua New Guinea's opposition leader says his country and Australia need to play a greater role in responding to human rights abuses in neighbouring West Papua.
Don Polye said basic human rights of West Papuans continue to be repressed by Indonesian authorities and security forces, requiring a more "honest" approach from neighbouring countries.
He said the problem had a set of direct consequences for PNG, yet its government continued to turn a blind eye to what was going on.
Mr Polye said recent remarks by Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop playing down reports of rights abuses in Papua were unfortunate.
"She said that there is not enough justification or evidence to show if there is any human rights abuse along the border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. I believe that Australia should assess the situation more closely, in partnership with Indonesia as well as with Papua New Guinea, to be honest about it and to look at the issues more carefully," he said.
Mr Polye said as party to international conventions on human rights, PNG and Indonesia needed to engage more to address the situation in Papua.
He said that West Papuan calls for a legitimate self-determination process could no longer be ignored.
A need for meaningful dialogue at both international and bilateral level, he said, also required leadership from the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
However the MSG's full members - PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia's Kanaks - are divided over advancing the Papua issue.
Governments of PNG and Fiji in particular appear opposed to granting the United Liberation Movement for West Papua full membership in the group.
They also firmly support Indonesian territorial control over Papua.
Yet Mr Polye says the example of France in granting a self-determination referendum to its Melanesian territory of New Caledonia shows that the Papua question could be solved peacefully.


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2) Thousands of West Papuans mark human rights day

1:19 pm today 
At least 6000 West Papuans are estimated to have demonstrated in the Papuan Highlands town of Wamena to mark Human Rights Day at the weekend.

West Papuans demonstrate in Wamena, 10 December 2016 Photo: Islami/Jubi
According to reports from Indonesia's Papua region, the demonstration was organised by the West Papua National Committee, KNPB.
It was the latest in a series of large demonstrations by Papuans calling for a legitimate self-determination referendum.
The demonstrators had initially converged outside the local parliament building, but due to the huge crowd decamped to a central street in the Highlands town.

VIDEO CREDIT: Ronny Hisage
They were protesting about unaddressed human rights abuses, and reportedly signed a petition submitted to the Jayawijaya member of the House of Representatives.
The petitioners urged the Indonesian government to accept fact-finding missions by the UN and the Pacific Islands Forum.
Various ground reports put the number of demonstrators between six and eight thousand people.
The KNPB has been central to some of the biggest demonstrations in Papua this year, several of which resulted in mass arrests.

Papuan petition handed over to local representatives in Wamena on 10 December 2016 Photo: Tabloid Jubi
There were no reports of arrests at the Wamena demonstration, however police arrested nine Papuans at a demonstration to mark Human Rights Day in the capital of West Papua province, Manokwari.
There have been reports from the Indonesian city of Makassar that police blocked university students in their dormitory, preventing them from demonstrating.
This year has also seen an increase in demonstrations outside the Papua region by young people supporting West Papuan rights and self-determination aspirations.
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3) Wings Air continues flights to Nabire despite ban
Jayapura, Papua | Mon, December 12, 2016 | 01:12 pm
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Wings Air, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s largest private carrier, the Lion Group, has continued to provide flights to and from Nabire, Papua, despite a flying ban imposed by Nabire Regent Isaias Douw last week.
“Wings Air will continue to fly from Nabire to Ambon [Maluku], Jayapura [Papua] and Kaimana [West Papua] as scheduled,” Nabire Airport official Omardani Setyonugroho told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He said the Wings Air office had received a copy of a letter from the Nabire regent who barred the private carrier from flying to the region. However, it had not yet received a letter from the Transportation Ministry’s Air Transportation Directorate General requesting the airline to stop its flight routes to Nabire, he added.
“We are still waiting for information from the Air Transportation Directorate General,” said Omardani. He said he did not know whether or not there had been communication between Air Transportation Director General Suprasetyo and the Nabire regent on the matter.
“What I can confirm is that as of today, there has been no notification [on a flying ban] from the Air Transportation Directorate General, the one and the only entity with authority to impose such a ban,” said Omardani.
“We are committed to serving the people,” said Lion Air manager for Papua flight areas, Agung Setyo Wibowo.
As reported earlier, Isaias issued a letter dated Dec.6 to private airline PT Wings Air Service, which banned it from flying to Nabire due to its poor passenger services. The ban took effect starting on Dec.10 and is valid until further notification.
“A lack of quality flight service from airline company PT Wings Air in Nabire led to disgruntled passengers,” the letter stated. (ebf)
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1) Major demonstrations staged in Papua

December 13, 2016, 12:31 am
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2) KNPB activists arrested and released twice in Papua

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1) Major demonstrations staged in Papua
From Dateline Pacific, 4:03 pm today 
Last weekend at least six thousand West Papuans demonstrated in the town of Wamena to mark Human Rights Day.
It was the latest in a series of large demonstrations by Papuans in the Indonesian province who want a referendum about self-determination.
Police arrested nine Papuans at another demonstration in the capital of West Papua province, Manokwari.
Guyon Espiner spoke with Johnny Blades about the Wamena demonstration and asked if it was met with a violent reaction from Indonesian security forces.

TRANSCRIPT

JOHNNY BLADES: The police didn't have a violent response to this big demo in Wamena. I guess probably its sheer size - something like 6 to 8 thousand people - meant that police exercised restraint. No arrests either. But as you mentioned, there was a fairly brutal response down in Manokwari: police whipping Papuans with rattan canes, and a bunch of arrests.
GUYON ESPINER: And is this reaching something of a crescendo, do you think?
JB: It does feel like that. This year there's been an increase in big public demonstrations in the main Papuan cities and towns. Big rallies, peaceful affairs, and they've also spread to non-Papuan cities, like Makassar, elsewhere in the republic. And non-Papuans are getting on board too. But huge amounts of arrests in some of these other demonstrations in Papua. Indonesia's constitution does guarantee basic rights like freedom of expression, but when it comes to anything touching on Papuan independence aims, or when they're flying like their banned nationalist flag the Morning Star, it's generally not permitted by  the police. However it hasn;t stopped the Papuans from taking to the streets. So there is definitely a sense of momentum in the West Papuan pro-independence movement or among those at least calling for their basic rights to be respected.
GE: Well, let's talk about that movment for a second because we talk aboutn this group wanting self-determination but are they one group, what sort of unity is there among them?
JB: Yeah I think they're a lot more unified now than they were in the past. There were divisions, tribal divisions and so forth which held them back. But in the past few years, let's say the past five years, they've largely put down their guns, those sort of West Papuan guerillas in the jungles and mountains, and really committed to non-violent struggle. And we're seeing a far more cohesive, non-violent civil resistance now, and that is of course directed into support for the organisation called the United Liberation Movement for West Papua which is doing a lot of stuff abroad. You just get the feeling now, this year, that Papuans see this current phase as a window, an opportunity they must take, where they have to stand strong for their rights, knowing too that the issue is increasingly internationalised.
GE: Well, what about that international reaction? Melanesian countries, some have supported these calls for self-determination. Some of the big powerhouse Melanesian countries - I guess PNG, Fiji - would they come on board, do you think?
JB: That's the big question, Guyon, because of course in the Melanesian countries there is  widespread support for West Papuans to be treated like basic human beings and to have self-determination, a legitimate process. But the governments of that region are split, particularly when it comes to this bid by the Liberation Movement for greater regional representation. PNG and Fiji, who are the two biggest countries there, appear to be siding with Jakarta, firmly supporting Indonesian territorial control of Papua. But at the same time, there's been quite some movement across the wider Pacific Islands region: just a couple of months ago at the UN general assembly, leaders of seven Pacific nations spoke out on their concern over rights abuses in Papua, and supporting Papuans in their right to a proper self-determination. They are pressing the UN to take action on both fronts. Whether the UN will respond, that's another matter, but there's certainly an unprecedented level of discussion on Papua taking place.




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2) KNPB activists arrested and released twice in Papua
7:22 pm on 12 December 2016 
About a dozen West Papuan activists were arrested and released twice within two days in the capital of Indonesia’s Papua province.

On Friday, 17 members of the West Papua National Committee, or KNPB, were arrested in Jayapura for writing "Free West Papua" graffiti on walls.
They were released after being interrogated by police.
However, on Saturday 14 of the KNPB activists were arrested a second time for writing the same message as public graffiti again.
According to the Indonesian public interest lawyer, Veronica Koman, they were were released later in the day.
Also on Saturday the KNPB organised a huge demonstration in the Highlands town of Wamena.
At least 6,000 people were reported to have attended the demonstration, protesting against human rights abuses in Papua and calling for a legitimate self-determination referendum.
There were no reported arrests.
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1) Indonesia Gets a Chance to Prove Its More Journalist-Friendly in 2017

December 13, 2016, 11:28 am
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2) This strategy Foreign Ministry on the issue of Papua, Melanesia and the Pacific
3) Government should be ‘more patient, less reactive’ on Papua issue
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1) Indonesia Gets a Chance to Prove Its More Journalist-Friendly in 2017

The country, known for its harsh censorship practices against journalists, will host UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day celebrations in May

Guest Contributor  Follow Dec 13, 2016 11:47 AM EST





By Colette Davidson
When journalist and media activist Victor Mambour wants information from inside Papua, Indonesia, he knows how to get it - he has to ask someone who isn't Papuan.
"I'm Papuan so when something happens, I ask the police about it but they don't give me an answer," says Mambour. "My friend, who isn't Papuan, can ask the same thing and get an answer."
The situation epitomizes how Mambour has had to operate in order to fill the pages of his Papuan-based newspaper, Jubi.
"If you want to be a real journalist in Papua and committed to ethics, it's very hard, from the reporting to the salary," says Mambour. "There's a double standard for Papuan journalists and a lot of discrimination."
The Indonesian government has used the long-standing conflict in Papua to justify implementing harsh rules in the region, offering limited opportunities and restricted access to journalists. While authorities may withhold information from local Papuan journalists--who are identified by their family name or physical characteristics--foreign journalists have little chance of even accessing the region.
But while the lack of access to Papua means that coverage of the region remains limited, some say that the coming year will be a test for Indonesia as it gets set to host UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day celebrations on May 3, 2017. Many Papuan journalists say they are fed up with the censorship, self-censorship and dangers that go along with reporting from and about the region and they are ready to let the world know.
Papua and West Papua have a long-standing history of human rights abuses, ever since the Free Papua Movement began its low-level guerrilla war against the Indonesian state in the 1960s. Since then, West Papuans have protested for independence, accusing the Indonesian government of violence and abuses of freedom of expression. In an attempt to mask the suppression of Papuan nationalism, the Indonesian government has long made outside access to Papua a challenge.
For journalists who do tackle the task of reporting on Papua, the primary focus is often related to the environment, with topics on resource extraction or corruption--topics very difficult and dangerous to report on.
Recently, the Indonesian government looked ready to open access to Papua, when President Joko Widodo made an announcement in May 2015 stating that the government would lift restrictions on foreign media access. But Phelim Kine, the Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch in New York, says that the announcement hasn't pulled much weight.

"It was never followed up by any written decree, so while it was a rhetorical opening to Papua, foreign media still can't get in," says Kine. "And if they do get in, they're subject to surveillance and harassment that makes effective reporting very difficult."
Kine says journalists routinely self-censor material, and that the Indonesian government and security forces in Papua often place informers into media organizations to monitor and influence coverage. At other times, an intelligence operative will be required to follow a journalist into the region, restricting what they can report on and how sources offer testimony.
The result is that little or no coverage exists about the realities inside Papua, where civilians--especially in remote areas--are victims of civil, social and economic rights violations. Many in the region have no access to health or education services, or risk having their land stolen by the police or military. Because of their isolation, they have no one to whom they can report the violations.
But as much as authorities within Papua have tried to censor incriminating material, much of the news that comes out of the region remains negative, says Lina Nursanty, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers' (WAN-IFRA) Indonesian Media Freedom Committee chair and a West Java-based freelance editor.
"Whenever we hear anything about Papua, it's always about a tribal war or human rights abuses," says Nursanty. "The news we get from there is always violent."
As hosts of next year's UNESCO World Press Freedom Day celebrations, Indonesia has the challenging task of convincing the world that it deserves to act as a platform for media freedom. Nursanty says that while attending last year's Press Freedom Day event in Helsinki, she joined a meeting with the Indonesian ambassador, where the discussion of Papua was at the top of the agenda. 
"The Indonesian press council representative said that our biggest homework for next year is press freedom in Papua," says Nursanty.
The Indonesian press council is currently creating a press freedom index for each region. And while the country's overall index is improving, many Papuan journalists say it's not enough. Mambour says that at next year's World Press Freedom Day, he is willing to expose the truth about Papua, even if it puts his personal safety at risk.
"We need to take the opportunity to tell the world about what's happening in Papua," says Mambour. "We need to say how we are not granted freedom of the press and about the discrimination there."
"I'm already past paranoia. I'll talk about what's going on. I'm not worried. Sometimes you have to take the risk."

The WAN-IFRA Indonesia Media Freedom Committee is organizing a joint reporting trip to Papua at the beginning of 2017. The initiative will see 10 Indonesian media organizations provide a week of joint coverage from the region, working with local Papuan journalists to shift the national news agenda and provide more detailed coverage of issues of importance to Papuans.

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A google translate . Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original Bahasa link at

Selasa, 13 Desember 2016 — 18:32
2) This strategy Foreign Ministry on the issue of Papua, Melanesia and the Pacific


News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,

Jayapura, Jubi - Head of the Agency for the Assessment and Policy Development (IRB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Ministry) Indonesia, Siswo Pramono said Indonesia needs to be more patient and not reactive in dealing with the issue of Papua.

Jakarta Post interviewed Siswo Pramono and published it in snippets answering questions about foreign policy and strategy for Indonesia in three years. In addition to the scope of the policy in Southeast Asia (ASEAN), Siswo also disclose the policy and strategy of Indonesia in the Pacific, including in the area of ​​Melanesia.

Siswo in an article interview titled Government should be 'more patient, less reactive on the Papua issue, said central plan marine developed by President Jokowi, including the Pacific, the Southwest Pacific in close context with the Melanesian Spearhead Groups (MSG) and the Papua issue.

Indonesia, he said, the position of member of the G20 into a donor country that had to divide its resources in the Pacific

He acknowledged, Foreign Ministry did attempt to avoid the internationalization of the issue of Papua.

"Although we tried to avoid the internationalization of the issue of Papua, a lot of people out there making a fuss about it (matter Papua)," he said.

The Indonesian government, said Siswo, need more patience is not too reactive in dealing with the issue of Papua.

"We put great care in MSG as part of the South Pacific. [...] Since this is a sensitive issue in eastern Indonesia and President Jokowi recently inaugurated several projects in Papua. MSG must feel they have benefited from Indonesia, which became one of its members. [...] "Siswo said in an interview with The Jakarta Post.

Siswo view MSG was directing him to ASEAN.

He also reiterated the view expressed Indonesia is part of Melanesia, as evidenced by the 11 million inhabitants of Melanesia in Eastern Indonesia. If 11 million people in Indonesia have joined the MSG, according to him, their political pie gets bigger and the eastern region of Indonesia will be the bridge to the Asian market Melanesia. Currently, he added, has no direct flights to Bali from Papua New Guinea.

"Papua is a major and important domestic issues in Indonesia. Papua also become a potential gateway to our friends in the Pacific to access the Asian market, "said Siswo. (*)


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3) Government should be ‘more patient, less reactive’ on Papua issue
Tue, December 13 2016 | 09:25 am

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo delegates the formulation of Indonesia’s position on global matters without much guidance or clarity, observers say. The Jakarta Post’s Tama Salim interviewed Siswo Pramono, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Policy Analysis and Development Agency (BPPK), to review his foreign policy and strategies for the next three years. Here are excerpts from the interview:
Question: What is the current priority of Indonesian foreign policy?

Answer: The closest region is our biggest priority, not just for economic reasons but also for our survival, which is highly dependent on ASEAN.

The challenges in ASEAN are enormous: first, a fundamental change in […] the “ASEAN way,” which has taken on new [...] meanings with the generational changes.

We have the generation of [Foreign Minister] Retno [LP Marsudi] — the third generation [of the ministry’s diplomats] — but then we have a generation of people from ministries and other counterparts who have not changed all that much.

 ASEAN […] requires constant care in preserving its unity; the challenge is in the political communication.

Secondly, while our foreign policy is formulated for the long term, we feel its direct impact when it is tangible. So […] when [ASEAN] members converge into a single market we may not be able to discern its effects on prosperity within a day, but we can sense it through the penetration of goods [into the market].

[…] In celebrating ASEAN’s 50th anniversary next year, we’ve gone through many changes, including the ASEAN Charter. There is so much transparency now […] Concrete projects include the ASEAN Economic Community […] but […] we need to better inform our people about the [risks]. […]

What did you mean with generational differences among those shaping foreign policy?

 […] A lot of the [1945 generation] were Dutch-educated; […] even for homegrown talents, most universities were developed by the Dutch. So when we speak about the foreign policy of that time, we speak of 
de-colonization.

[...] Then the development of schools of thought from one generation to another is quite dynamic, owing [partly] to the extraordinary democracy in 1955 […]

We had products of Dutch thinking and then American. Then we shifted more toward the Pacific […]; around 20,000 Indonesians are studying in Australia. So we have had a Western perspective within the Asian experience. But nowadays we have more people who studied in Japan, South Korea and China […]

So how do we interpret the ASEAN Way through the eyes of our current generation? And how do others, such as Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam or the Philippines, see the ASEAN Way through their perspective? […]

[We require] brainstorming among leaders […] including how to face the common challenge of the South China Sea debacle. […] If these parties [in ASEAN are] economically close but are culturally different, it is something we only find out from intense dialogue.

What other regions will the Foreign Ministry prioritize apart from ASEAN?

We see [the importance of] the Indian Ocean through our leadership [in the Indian Ocean Rim Association, IORA]. […] Indonesia is bound by […] the Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea and the East Asia region to the north, and to our west is the Indian Ocean […] 

When President Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo speaks about the Indo-Pacific region and the “maritime axis,” he refers to the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, including the South China Sea.

So in line with the maritime axis plan […], the foundation of our foreign policy in the last two years, we have to connect the two oceans.

Indonesia is more focused on communicating inwardly through infrastructure development — building ports, toll roads etc. But now we are being challenged by China on how to connect the maritime axis plan with their One Belt, One Road initiative. […]

Indonesia [must also] consider the Indian Ocean […]

Jokowi’s maritime axis plan [also comprises] the Pacific — the southwest Pacific in the context of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) and the Papua issue. Although we try to avoid internationalization of the Papua issue, many people out there make a fuss about it.

[As] a G20 member state, [...] we are now a donor country, meaning we have to funnel our resources in the Pacific.

Compared to ASEAN, with a combined GDP of US$2.3 trillion […] and IORA with around $9 trillion; the MSG [has] a total GDP of $23 billion. So with a GDP of roughly $850 billion, we can play a bigger role [in the Pacific]. 

[…] the government should be more patient and be less reactive. […] We place great care in the MSG as it is a part of the South Pacific. […] Because it is a sensitive issue in eastern Indonesia and President Jokowi has just inaugurated several projects in Papua, the MSG should feel it is benefiting from Indonesia becoming one of its members. […]

 The MSG orients itself toward ASEAN. […] Indonesia is part-Melanesian, as evidenced by our 11 million Melanesian population [in eastern Indonesia]. If they join the MSG, their slice of the political pie will get bigger and the eastern region […] will become their bridge to the Asian market. There are already direct flights from PNG to Bali […]

Papua is first and foremost Indonesia’s domestic problem […] Papua can also become a potential gateway for our friends in the Pacific to access the Asian market. […]

So these past two years Pak Jokowi has been promoting the maritime axis plan, but now we must devise concrete strategies and translate them into foreign policy. [Our challenge is] not only to realize the connectivity […] but also to ensure it becomes the gateway to profits in the Indian Ocean, in East Asia and the South China Sea area, as well as in the Pacific. [..]

Do we need better coordination among government bodies?

[…] it is up to each ministry to respond to the will of the President, who represents the will of the people. And how his ministers respond will heavily depend on how everything is coordinated.

For instance, in negotiations on the South China Sea, [apart from] the Foreign Ministry there is the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister and the Navy — even the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry is involved […] because development on the Natuna islands will be decisive in maintaining sovereignty in the area.

[But] […] it remains the domain of the foreign minister to convey the substance to ASEAN or China. Interdepartmental coordination is crucial because Indonesia [has] many gaps — whether between east and west or among competing interests. But it is the purpose of good governance to ensure that everything [put out as a policy] is discussed together.
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Seasons Greetings

December 14, 2016, 3:03 am
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1) MSG Secretariat Inaugural Meeting

December 14, 2016, 11:41 am
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2) Copper supply from top mine threatened as export ban looms
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http://fijisun.com.fj/2016/12/14/msg-secretariat-inaugural-meeting/

1) MSG Secretariat Inaugural Meeting
December 14 11:00 2016
 by ARISHMA DEVI-NARAYAN Nadi

The Melanesian Spearhead Group representatives and senior Police officers will today begin thorough discussions on Police and Security issues at Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi.
The inaugural two days meeting will be chaired by Solomon Islands. The Fiji Police Force will also be making presentations on various progress reports.
The Minister for Defence and National Security, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola last night welcomed the ministers and Police officers through a traditional welcome ceremony at the hotel.
The ceremony was followed by a cocktail.
Ratu Inoke said the meeting was a result of the decision taken by the MSG leaders earlier in July during a meeting.
“We have MSG Police officers from Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands and we look forward to the meeting which is hosted by Fiji but chaired by Solomon Islands.”
Meanwhile the chairperson of the MSG Secretariat Meeting and representative from Solomon Islands, Peter Agovaka, said one of the major discussions at the meeting will be in regards to the plans for putting up a regional Police academy.
“This was an idea that came about when Ratu Inoke and I were Foreign Ministers, and now that we look after the interest of Police and Security, we have put it forward to MSG to consider,” Mr Agovaka said.
He said it would be the topic of debate and discussion. But with the regional Police academy, our Police officers will train, share information and resources.
“In our respective countries so Police in the Melanesian regions are working together to make sure that our people are safe,” Mr Agovaka added.
The meeting will follow up on the progress report on the Police and security issues particularly the outcome of the sixth Police Commissioner Conference which was held in Suva in April.
Edited by Maraia Vula




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2) Copper supply from top mine threatened as export ban looms
WEDNESDAY , DECEMBER 14, 2016 - 7:20 AM

c) 2016, Bloomberg.
Exports from the world’s second-largest copper mine in Indonesia are under threat as a government ban on overseas concentrate shipments is scheduled to come into force from the middle of January.
While ministers are rushing to revise the regulations so miners that have committed to build smelters can continue to export ore concentrates, an intermediate product used to make copper, there’s no guarantee that the deadline will be met. The rules as they stand now only permit shipments of refined metal after Jan. 11.
Richard Adkerson, chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the world’s biggest publicly traded copper miner and owner of the massive Grasberg mine in Papua province, says he’s confident the issue will be resolved. He told a conference in the U.S. last week that without a resolution the company would have to cut back operations and potentially curb development of the underground mine where it’s spending $1 billion a year. CRU Group, a consultancy, says the regulations will be changed.
“CRU’s view is that the rules will be revised and Freeport McMoRan will be able to continue to export Grasberg concentrates,” Christine Meilton, principal consultant, copper supply and raw materials, said by e-mail from London. “This may not happen before Jan. 11, when the current export licence is also due to expire, in which case we may see a disruption to exports. Our base case forecast assumes that any disruption does not continue long enough to result in a cutback in production.”
Grasberg is the world’s largest mine in terms of copper capacity after Escondida in Chile, according to the International Copper Study Group, while Freeport says the deposit has the single biggest reserves of gold. Any disruption could support prices of copper, which is the best performer among its peers this quarter, as banks from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Citigroup Inc. take a bullish view on the metal next year.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, prohibited exports of raw, unprocessed ores in January 2014 as it sought to build a processing industry and prevent its mineral wealth from disappearing overseas. While the rules allowed time for producers to build smelters, the government said that after three years shipments of semi-processed ores would no longer be permitted.
Progress building plants has been slow because of problems with investment, power supplies and falling prices for metals, which in January hit the lowest since 2009. Luhut Panjaitan, the co-ordinating minister of maritime affairs, said last month the government is expediting a revision to the law to allow semi-processed exports as long as miners are constructing smelters.
The outlook has been muddied by uncertainty over the role to be played by parliament. The head of a commission which overseas energy and mineral resources policy said in October parliament would only have time to consider a revision to the law next year. The government has said the changes could be made by revisions to regulations rather than to the law itself.
“It’s all still in discussion,” said Bambang Gatot Ariyono, director general of minerals and coal at the Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry. “We are still looking at things from all sides,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Friday.
Whatever the process, this is an important moment for Freeport in Indonesia. The regulation as it stands prohibits the export of concentrates, Adkerson told the conference last week. “If that’s not resolved, that will have a significant impact on us in terms of our employment there, our investments that we’re making,” he said, according to a Bloomberg transcript.
It’s not just a question of concentrate exports. Freeport is also seeking clarity on the conditions that will permit it to operate in the country beyond 2021 when the 30-year term on its contract expires. Then, there is also a requirement for the company to build a new smelter so it can continue to export concentrate under government rules.
“Building a copper smelter in Indonesia is hugely uneconomic because of the excess of smelters globally,” Adkerson said last week. “We’ll arrange project financing. We’ll bring in partners. The world will have a new smelter and we’ll do that. But we can’t start spending money on it until we get a contract extension. It’s a four-year or probably five-year construction project.”
All this is at a time when Freeport is aggressively selling assets to reduce debt, which stood at $19 billion at end-September, and after its credit ratings were cut to junk earlier this year. It’s involved in a tussle over the sale of a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is battling bondholder objections to the sale of its Gulf of Mexico assets. Cowen Group Inc., an investment firm, rates the producer as its top metals and mining pick for 2017.
Freeport has forecast sales from Grasberg next year will be 1.45 billion pounds of copper and 2.75 million ounces of gold.
--With assistance from Yoga Rusmana
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1) MSG police and security ministers meet

December 15, 2016, 12:38 am
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2) Tantowi seeks to clarify Papua issue in NZ

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http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/320522/msg-police-and-security-ministers-meet
1) MSG police and security ministers meet
t6:28 pm today 
A Solomon Islands cabinet minister says the Melanesian Spearhead Group, or MSG, countries need their police forces aligned because of their shared goals of economic growth, sustainable development, good governance, peace and security.
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Chief of Indonesian National Police, Police General Tito Karnavian  Photo: supplied Fiji Dept of Information
The MSG Police Ministers' meeting has just concluded in Fiji.
The chair, Solomons' Minister for Civil Aviation and Communication, Peter Shanel, had allowed for a number of important initiatives to be considered.
Fiji's Defence Minister, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola told the meeting the isolated nature of the Pacific islands makes them vulnerable to criminal activities which know no borders.
He said technology and globalisation have brought new problems to Melanesia and require a united and concerted effort.
The MSG has been calling for the establishment of several shared units to assist with security, policing, peace keeping operations and humanitarian response.


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2) Tantowi seeks to clarify Papua issue in NZ


Jakarta | Thu, December 15, 2016 | 10:18 am
Indonesian ambassador-designate to New Zealand, Tantowi Yahya, has made it his mission to inform the people of the South Pacific nation about the improved conditions in Papua and West Papua once he has been cleared to commence his duties in Wellington next year.

It is his belief that people in New Zealand are unaware of the progress the Indonesian government has achieved in improving the welfare of the country's easternmost provinces.

"The Papua issue has been intensely debated in New Zealand by NGOs [supporting Papua’s separatist movement]. They stage rallies at the Indonesian Embassy, in public spaces and even on university campuses," Tantowi told reporters after a closed-door vetting process at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Wednesday.

(Read also: Jokowi's picks for ambassadorial posts)
The Golkar Party politician, who has also been nominated to represent Indonesia in Tonga and Samoa, claimed that the situation in Papua and West Papua was significantly different now due to the government’s continued efforts to develop the regions.

"While the [protest] movement has remained small, we still have the responsibility to address the issue, especially since they cite outdated information that no longer reflects the reality on the ground," he said.
"It is my duty to present accurate and up-to-date information to shift the perceptions that New Zealand and other Pacific countries have about Indonesia: it is not true that Papuans yearn for independence."

Tantowi, a famous TV presenter and country singer prior to starting his career as politician, is one of 23 candidates endorsed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to serve as ambassadors.
The ambassador-elects, when cleared for duty, are expected to be officially sworn-in sometime in February or March next year. (hwa)
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1) Indonesia urged to address press freedom violations in West Papua

December 15, 2016, 11:17 am
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2) Association Calls for Freeport’s Copper Refinery

3) Declaration of Indigenous Papuans affected by Forestry, Plantations and Mining.

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1) Indonesia urged to address press freedom violations in West Papua
Observers call for improvement ahead of World Press Freedom Day in Jakarta
West Papuan protesters wear headbands with the banned “Morning Star" flag during a rally calling for the remote region's independence, in Jakarta, 1 December 2016
 AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
This statement was originally published on ipi.media on 7 December 2016. 

Just five months before Indonesia is set to host UNESCO's 2017 celebration of World Press Freedom Day, its government still has not met a regional human rights watchdog's demands to address press freedom violations in the country's restive West Papua province. 

Upon the announcement in July that UNESCO would mark May 3, 2017 with a conference in Jakarta, the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) set that date as a deadline for Indonesia's government to "ensure that there is open access to West Papua for foreign media, and an end to abuses against local media". 

However, the government has rejected that demand. In July 2016, the Minister Counsellor at Indonesia's embassy in New Zealand, Wanton Saragih, argued that great strides forward in terms of press freedom in West Papua have been made under the current administration, including a lift on the ban against foreign journalists. 

Last year, all foreign journalists' visa applications to West Papua were reportedly approved, including a request by Radio New Zealand International reporter Johnny Blades. But in an interview with the International Press Institute (IPI), he described a burdensome application process that required approval from 12 different state agencies, including the military. 

Meanwhile, West Papuan journalists such as Aprila Wayar, who works for online news outlets Tabloid Jubi and Tanah Papua News, say they are forced into self-censorship out of fear of persecution. 

"My friend [who is a journalist] died in 2010," Wayar said. "He covered illegal logging on the border of Papua New Guinea and West Papua, and they killed him. Sometimes I'm scared about [the work] that I do."


Human rights violations

West Papua has been the scene of conflict since 1963, when Indonesia gained control of the region on the western half of the island of New Guinea following a vote that pro-independence activists dismiss as illegitimate. Since then, activists maintain, Indonesian forces have killed more than 500,000 West Papuans and tortured, intimidated and illegally detained many more. 

Local and foreign journalists have long claimed to be the targets of repression for covering pro-independence views in West Papua and IPI has noted the deaths of two journalists in the region this decade. 

Indonesia's stance on criticism of its record in the region has been evasive. In September at the U.N. General Assembly, six Pacific island nations expressed support for an investigation of human rights abuses in West Papua by an independent commission. 

Jakarta responded by asserting Indonesia's national sovereignty and the U.N. principle of non-interference. One month later, Indonesian Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu asked Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to warn the Solomon Islands against interfering in Indonesia's domestic affairs.


West Papua in the media

Indonesia has been able to use its political clout to ensure that little is known about West Papua today. 

"When I was in the Netherlands, many people didn't even know that West Papua still exists," Wayar recalled. "For more than 25 years, Indonesia hasn't allowed [foreign] journalists to cover Papua, so of course the international community doesn't know anything about it. And I cannot blame them or be mad about the situation, because Indonesia made [it that way]." 

The few times that West Papua does make international news, narratives reflect those of mainstream Indonesian media and focus on separatist violence or strikes at Freeport-McMoRan's massive Grasberg mine, one the world's largest gold and copper mines. 

According to Blades, who has specialised in West Papuan and Melanesian affairs since 2004, "for years it seemed as though separatists would be blamed for any violence, even when it was [false]". 

However, a situation that has witnessed a spread of misinformation and lack of media attention is slowly improving thanks to the introduction of technology and social media.

"Jakarta can't keep a lid on it anymore," Blades said. "There are still ways they can control it, the messages coming out, but not entirely." 

Twitter and online news platforms have been particularly helpful giving international exposure to West Papuan issues. One example is West Papua Media, an online news outlet considered to be one of the best sources of verifiable information from Papua available in the English language. It currently has 12,575 subscribers worldwide.


Indonesia's 'right to be forgotten'

Unfortunately for online activists, and despite Saragih's claim about media improvements, recent amendments to Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law include a "right to be forgotten" clause inspired by a 2014 case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against tech giant Google. 

The ECJ ruled that individuals can, under certain conditions, demand that search engines remove links with personal information about them. The European Commission, however, has made clear that the "right to be forgotten" is not absolute and must be balanced with other fundamental rights, such as the freedoms of expression and the media. 

A proposed EU Data Protection Regulation would require EU members to pass national legislation to reconcile data protection with the freedom of expression. Indonesia's ITE Law, on the other hand, makes no reference to press freedoms or how the "right to be forgotten" will be implemented, prompting experts to argue that it lacks adequate data protection or legal mechanisms to limit state power. 

Moreover, the amended ITE Law not only targets search results, but also original content, meaning that all Internet content providers - from search engines, to online news outlets, to digital apps - could be obligated to erase published material if ordered to do so by a court. 

Expressing concern over the new right, Indonesia's Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) warned that "this provision may become a tool of the government for censoring news, media and journalist publication[s]".


The way forward

Experts say that Indonesia must protect its Internet freedoms by drafting clear rules on the implementation of the "right to be forgotten". 

Oxford professor Viktor Mayer-Schönberger noted that the right could be a positive development if it is applied judicially and its scope is narrowed, commenting: "Anything that helps our technologies to behave more like what we humans are used to (like forgetting and forgiving over time) is a potential step in the right direction." 

But, he added: "I would want to make sure that the right to be forgotten is not designed as an absolute remedy, with information vanishing completely, but as a relative remedy … that slows one down, but does not make it impossible to reach your goal." 

Blades and Wayar both said that journalist exchanges and professional employment are necessary to support high-quality local journalism. 

While Indonesia may heavily restrict access to West Papua, it does not restrict Papuans from travelling outside. Wayar suggested that foreign media groups should invite Papuans abroad to attend skills workshops, such as English courses and other training programs. 

She also explained that bribery remains a strong challenge for local journalists, who are not paid for covering human rights abuses and face the strong temptation of receiving money for covering Indonesian policies favourably. 

Blades said that "foreign media outlets [should] actively engage with [local journalists] and use them as a correspondent or pay them to do some work". 

He commented: "If there is some international component in their work, it might make their work safer or less compromised. Or maybe that's wishful thinking. I'm not sure." 


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THURSDAY, 15 DECEMBER, 2016 | 22:36 WIB
2) Association Calls for Freeport’s Copper Refinery

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Smelters Association suggested that the government should offer private companies to process and refine Freeport Indonesia's copper concentrate, since the giant mining company has not yet built smelters.
"For copper, the government should take over and offer the refinery to other companies. The government should confirm whether Freeport will build a smelter or not. If not, the government can find other investors," Indonesia Smelter Association chairman R. Sukhayar said in a discussion held in Jakarta on Thursday, December 15, 2016. 
Sukhayar added that the government could invite investors to refine Freeport's copper concentrate, if the company keeps delaying its smelter development. Sukhayar also suggested that the same could apply to other mining companies, such as Newmont Nusa Tenggara and Gorontalo Mining.
According to Sukhayar, since bans on raw mineral exports were enforced in January 2014, three investors have expressed interest in the smelting business to facilitate mineral refinery for companies reluctant to build smelters.
"The problems center on supply sustainability and other technical issues. There’s no need for legal basis because it’s a business-to-business affair,” Sukhayar explained.
Sukhayar pointed out that the scheme was worth trying, because Indonesia has a huge amount of supplies to meet demands on copper in Asia. China, Sukhayar added, could be one of the most potential investors to be offered due to its high demands on copper.
ANTARA

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https://awasmifee.potager.org/?p=1476

3) Declaration of Indigenous Papuans affected by Forestry, Plantations and Mining.

By ADMIN | Published: DECEMBER 15, 2016
A conference of indigenous Papuans affected by the forestry, plantation and mining industries was held in Sorong on 2nd and 3rd December 2014,  a follow-up to a similar conference held in Waena, Jayapura in 2014. This is the joint statement agreed by participants in that meeting.

Joint Declaration

We, as representatives of indigenous peoples from the land of Papua who live in and around forest areas, along with civil society organisations from around Papua and further afield, held a conference in Sorong on the 2nd and 3rd December 2016, to discuss various problems related to development policy and investments in forestry and land, and their effects on people and environment.
We have repeatedly conveyed the facts surrounding the negative impacts of investment in forestry and land on the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples around Papua, including violations of their right to life, right to freedom, right to justice and freedom from discrimination, right to not be tortured, right to feel safe, rights to our land, forest and territory, violations of the principle of free, prior informed consent, right to food, right to welfare and development, and also low rates of pay and poor working conditions, forest degradation and destruction, and environmental damage.
We wish to state our pain and deep concern about all these rights violations, the suffering and the losses which we have experienced, both in the past and until the present day, which have come abut as a result of forestry investment and exploitation of forest products, plantations and mining, carried out by private or state-owned companies, with no just settlement or attempts at redress for what we have lost.
We wish to state our concern at government plans and policies for the acceleration of development in the Land of Papua, by providing opportunities and increased flexibility for wealthy companies, through the large-scale national food and energy development programme in Merauke, expansion of oil palm plantations and other export commodities, exploitation of forests, industrial forestry plantations, mining permits, transport infrastructure, and so on, all of which take place with insufficient prior protection of our fundamental rights, our right to land and livelihood and environmental conservation.
Based on this scenario, we would like to make the following recommendations:
1. Urge the President of the Republic of Indonesia to arrange a meeting of stakeholders, involving local and national government decision-making bodies, companies, financial organisations and other relevant stakeholders, and most important of all, communities adversely affected by development. This activity should be a umbrella forum for critical dialogue aimed at resolving the problems that beset the Land of Papua.
2. Demand and insist that local government formulates and issues local regulations focussed specifically on protecting rights to land and traditional justice in Papua.
3. Demand and insist that the government conducts an evaluation and review of investment activities and permits to companies exploiting forest products, land and other natural assets, whether or not work has already started.
4. Demand and insist that the government conduct a review and harmonisation of the various controversial regulations which are in conflict with indigenous Papuans’ fundamental rights, and involves indigenous Papuans in this process.
5.Urge and press companies to show true recognition and respect for indigenous Papuans’ rights, and provide redress and rehabilitation where people’s rights have previously been violated
6. Demand that the government redoubles efforts to find a resolution of human rights violations and the problem of large-scale land-grabbing in Papua, such as the bloody Wasior case, the MIFEE project in Merauke and PTPN II in Keerom.
7 Affected communities and civil society organisations should try to reach legal settlements without going through the courts and should engage in local, regional, national and international advocacy campaigns, such as: complaints to UN institutions dealing with human rights, indigenous peoples and the environment, the UN Universal Periodic Review, complaints to the RSPO (for oil palm cases), and reporting cases to the Corruption Eradication Commission.
8. Affected communities and civil society organisations should take advocacy actions that don’t involve litigation, including: campaigns about production supply chains and markets for commodities derived from land and forest belonging to the people, and improving networks of communications and media campaigns.
9. Affected communities and civil society organisations should also build networks of paralegals (and build the capacity of those networks) within and between indigenous groups in Papua, as well as networks of lawyers who can defend the legal rights of indigenous Papuans as related to social, economic and cultural issues.
10. Affected communities and civil society organisations should build and strengthen alternative economic community enterprises based on local indigenous wisdom and just and sustainable management of natural resources.
11. Affected communities and civil society organisations should facilitate community organising, capacity building and strengthening community rights at the clan, tribal and village levels, and also between different areas, though education and alternative learning media such as films and storytelling, ancestral land mapping, strengthening local leadership systems, attempts at justice according to customary law, a critical knowledge of the law etc.
12. Affected communities and civil society organisations should develop their strengths and movements together with the wider indigenous society to be able to press for changes in policy and for protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and of the Land of Papua.
13. Affected communities and civil society organisations should build, strengthen and extend solidarity between affected communities in different areas, different islands and different groups, to act together to resist oppression, violence, human rights violations, land-grabbing, and all kinds of injustice.
14. We also propose and determine that the 13th of June should be the Day of Indigenous Papuans Affected by Investment, which will be celebrated to remember victims of human rights violations, land-grabbing, the destruction of cultural sites and Papua peoples’ identity, as well as environmental destruction. This day will be celebrated every year.
15. We also propose and declare that a Conference of Indigenous Victims of Investment will be held in Merauke on 9th August 2017, as we mark World Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The land of the Moi people, Sorong City, 4th December 2016
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1) PM: MSG seeks wider support for West Papua

December 16, 2016, 3:26 am
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2) NZ-bound Indonesian diplomat on a mission re Papua
3) Video #WP4MSG
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http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/11986-pm-msg-seeks-wider-support-for-west-papua

1) PM: MSG seeks wider support for West Papua

PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare says the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has include Micronesia, Polynesia, and African countries to fight against human rights violations in West Papua.
Mr Sogavare explained this in Parliament when asked by Opposition Leader, Jeremiah Manele on Thursday.

He said Papua New Guinea and Fiji have taken different stand on this issue and did not want to follow the purpose and stand of MSG.

“PNG shares the same border with Indonesia and want to take cautious and Fiji has fixed connections with Indonesia,” Mr Sogavare said.

“Therefore, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia will include the Micronesia and Polynesia countries ply non alliance group in Africa,” he said.

Furthermore, Mr Sogavare said the government will continue with the shuttle diplomacy of sending the envoy to consult and engage in Pacific countries.

“We send our envoy to talk with the leaders within our own circle and outside of Melanesia,” the MSG chair said.

Rex Horoi is the Solomon Islands’ special envoy to West Papua.

Mr Sogavare said the envoy’s term will end after his two years with MSG lapses.

However, he wants to take it up to Parliament to find ways to continue after the chair of MSG ends.

Opposition leader, Mr Manele said it’s a complex issue because it involves self-determination and human rights.

However, he said this is the first time for the government to take a proactive step on this policy.

“It’s important for Indonesia to understand our position,” Mr Manele said.

“I hope the engagement and consultation go on, can help Indonesia to understand where we are coming from,” he added.

“I guess it’s advisable for more engaging and consultative approach we continue to take on this matter, at the end of the day, not counter-productive,” he said.

Mr Manele supports the idea to continue with a policy in Parliament after the end of Mr Horoi’s term.

By EDDIE OSIFELO


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2) NZ-bound Indonesian diplomat on a mission re Papua
2:48 pm today
The man selected by Indonesia's government as its new ambassador to New Zealand says it's his mission to relay accurate information about West Papua.
Tantowi Yahya, formerly a well known TV presenter and country singer, has been endorsed by President Joko Widodo for the Wellington role which also covers Tonga and Samoa.
The Jakarta Post reports Tantowi as claiming people in New Zealand are unaware of the improved conditions in Papua and West Papua provinces.
He noted that issues around human rights in Papua have been intensely debated in New Zealand, including rallies at the Indonesian Embassy, in public spaces and university campuses.
But the Golkar Party politician claims the situation in Papua region is significantly different now due to government efforts to develop the regions.
His comments come after more demonstrations by Papuans calling for self-determination, including a rally attended by at least 6,000 people in Wamena last Saturday.
Tantowi says it is not true that Papuans yearn for independence.
He says that while the protest movement remains small, Indonesia still has the responsibility to address the issue, "especially since they cite outdated information that no longer reflects the reality on the ground".
Tantowi was quoted in Indonesian media in February this year warning against allowing foreign journalists to enter Papua.
President Widodo's move in 2015 to lift restrictions on foreign media access in Papua was widely welcomed internationally, but Tantowi pushed for the decision to be reviewed.
The ambassador-elect, when cleared for duty, is expected to be officially sworn in by March next year.
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3) Video #WP4MSG


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1) Commemorating 55 years of Trikora, the Papuan independence movement continues to urge MS

December 16, 2016, 11:46 am
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2) ADB $400 Million Loan to Help Indonesia Meet Energy Demand
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A google translate. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at
Jumat, 16 Desember 2016
1) Commemorating 55 years of Trikora, the Papuan independence movement continues to urge MSG
                        Illustration of volunteers submitted to Trikora operation - militer-review.blogspot.co.id
News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,
Wamena, Jubi - Papua independence movement will be holding a rally right at the commemoration of 55 years of events (Tri Komando Rakyat) Trikora December 19, 1961 and the meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), which is planned on 20-23 December 2016. When the state Indonesia Trikora interpret as an important momentum seizure of West Papua from Dutch colonizers hand, but for the Papuan independence movement Trikora actually be regarded as the beginning of the annexation of West Papua to Indonesia and Papua causes of human rights violations that have an impact on the extinction of the nation of Papua. 
Thus, according to this movement, full membership at MSG West Papua, an important recognition once rescue national identity Melanesian West Papuans have been destroyed by the events they refer to as the annexation. "December 19 is to coincide with the annexation of West Papua or dikumandangkannya Trikora as the beginning of the robbery, the murder of human rights violations in Papua. This action is also a form of support to the people of Papua ULMWP to be accepted as a full member of MSG, “said Dominic Surabut, the committee secretary peaceful protest December 19 to Jubi by phone in Wamena on Thursday (15.12.16).
The action, which will be held by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as a responsible and carried out by three factions Papuan independence movement, namely WPNLC, NFRPB and PNWP in the region Lapago be concentrated at the Football Kama Wamena.
“We the people of West Papua endangered originated from Trikora 1961 issued by President Sukarno, then the action on December 19 at the two moments (Trikora and support MSG), we demand the right to life of the people of Papua through full membership ULMWP in MSG as a solution to rescue the people of the nation of Papua from extinction, "said Dommi.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Regional KNPB Lapago, Simeon dabby also confirmed that the momentum of December 19 is important for the history of the nation of Papua.
"Trikora December 19, 1961 made after the Manifesto of Papuan political December 1, 1961 as a milestone for independence, but Soekarno 'annex' territories West Papua, and since then thousands of West Papuan people were slaughtered, killed, tortured in various military operations conducted by the State against the people of Papua west "Simeon said while confirming that the KNPB back will mediate joint action on December 19 that, as at 10 December.
Operation Trikora (Tri / three Komando Rakyat) is an operation announced by President Sukarno in the North Square of Yogyakarta, to reclaim or merge the region of Papua into Indonesia. Trikora contents are "thwarted" State of Papua "crafted by the Dutch; Hoist the red putuh in West Irian homeland of Indonesia; and a general mobilization in order to defend the independence and unity of the homeland and the nation of Indonesia. (*)
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Newseditor BUSINESS11 hours ago

2) ADB $400 Million Loan to Help Indonesia Meet Energy Demand
The FINANCIAL -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $400 million loan to help expand the Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility, one of the largest in Indonesia.
"Expanding the Tangguh LNG facility is crucial for Indonesia to meet its increasing energy demand,” said Christopher Thieme, Deputy Director General for ADB private sector operations. “The project will also support the country’s goal of developing a more sustainable energy mix in a continuous effort to achieve energy security while reducing carbon emissions.”
Operational since 2009, the Tangguh facility in eastern Indonesia’s Papua Barat province supplies around 7.6 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG, one of the largest productions in the country. The Tangguh expansion will be financed through a trustee borrower scheme, an arrangement typically used to finance natural gas infrastructure in Indonesia. BP operates the facility through BP Berau Ltd., a subsidiary, according to ADB.
The Tangguh expansion project will add a third LNG train — equipment that liquefies gas — that will increase capacity by an additional 3.8 mtpa, along with associated onshore and offshore production facilities and supporting infrastructure. Train 3 is expected to start production in 2020. The two existing trains were financed by ADB, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and international commercial banks in 2006-2007. The ADB loan closed in 2014.
The expansion project will increase government revenues while helping Indonesia meet its growing energy demand and energy security goals. Tangguh helps in the development of a lower carbon energy mix for the country by selling 75% of the new LNG production to the national power utility to fuel existing and planned gas fired power plants. The project will help accelerate economic development in Papua Barat province by employing local Papuans at the LNG production site, both during and post-construction phase, and promoting livelihood programs to accelerate local economic growth.
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Background

December 16, 2016, 11:27 pm
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A google translate . Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at
http://tabloidjubi.com/artikel-2531-antar-surat-pemberitahuan-polres-nabire-malah-tangkap-paksa-enam-anggota-knpb.html

Inter-mail notification, even Nabire Police forcibly arrested six members of KNPB

News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,



Nabire, Jubi - Six members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) Region Nabire arrested and taken forcibly Nabire Police for no apparent reason.

Region KNPB spokesman Nabire, Nus Degei to Jubi, Saturday (12/17/2016), said the arrests occurred on Friday at 09:00 local time.

"Those four people were arrested when it comes to the police station put a notice that according rencara peaceful demonstration will be conducted on Monday (19/12) to request support West Papua becoming a full member of MSG," said Nus when met Jubi.

According to Nus, four of his friends were immediately ditanghan and thrown into the cells so come to submit the notification letter. "Any one of them? We were disappointed with the actions of the authorities without cause immediately catch it. "

Nus added, in the same day (Friday) at around 13:00 KNPB two members were also arrested in a raid on the home of a resident named Zadrak Kudiai (30) by Nabire police officers.

"They (officials) came with a 2 car, approximately 8 people. And they brought two friends and two motor units, "said Nus while stressing that the actions of the officials could not they receive.

"We just want to express our right of expression in the form of a peaceful demonstration, were arrested without any explanation why?" Said Nus again.

Currently, the six members of the KNPB in Nabire police station and could not be visited. The sixth person was Andreas Kadepa, Elisa Pigome, Yohanis Tatogo, Yeimo Otis, Sam Nelligan Madai, and Zadrak Kudiai.

Separately, activists and human rights defenders to the Jubi Yones Douw from Nabire also confirmed the arrest. "Members KNPB come Police enter the letter into the part of the obligations of the Act, but they were arrested," Douw said, adding that it was written that the message is not permitted to visit the victims.

"Catching still go on, even though the Government of Indonesia has received 9 recommendations of the Universal Periodic Report (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council on human rights violations in Papua," Douw said.

Nabire Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Ronny Semmy Thabaa, reportedly were outside the area and until now could not be questioned.

KNPB simultaneously throughout Papua is known to hold a peaceful demonstration to commemorate December 19, 2016 1961 Trikora events at once welcoming session leader Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) that is scheduled from 20-23 December 2016. (*)

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A google translate. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at
Jumat, 16 Desember 2016
1) Commemorating 55 years of Trikora, the Papuan independence movement continues to urge MSG




Illustration of volunteers submitted to Trikora operation - militer-review.blogspot.co.id
News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi,
Wamena, Jubi - Papua independence movement will be holding a rally right at the commemoration of 55 years of events (Tri Komando Rakyat) Trikora December 19, 1961 and the meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), which is planned on 20-23 December 2016. When the state Indonesia Trikora interpret as an important momentum seizure of West Papua from Dutch colonizers hand, but for the Papuan independence movement Trikora actually be regarded as the beginning of the annexation of West Papua to Indonesia and Papua causes of human rights violations that have an impact on the extinction of the nation of Papua. 
Thus, according to this movement, full membership at MSG West Papua, an important recognition once rescue national identity Melanesian West Papuans have been destroyed by the events they refer to as the annexation. "December 19 is to coincide with the annexation of West Papua or dikumandangkannya Trikora as the beginning of the robbery, the murder of human rights violations in Papua. This action is also a form of support to the people of Papua ULMWP to be accepted as a full member of MSG, “said Dominic Surabut, the committee secretary peaceful protest December 19 to Jubi by phone in Wamena on Thursday (15.12.16).
The action, which will be held by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as a responsible and carried out by three factions Papuan independence movement, namely WPNLC, NFRPB and PNWP in the region Lapago be concentrated at the Football Kama Wamena.
“We the people of West Papua endangered originated from Trikora 1961 issued by President Sukarno, then the action on December 19 at the two moments (Trikora and support MSG), we demand the right to life of the people of Papua through full membership ULMWP in MSG as a solution to rescue the people of the nation of Papua from extinction, "said Dommi.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Regional KNPB Lapago, Simeon dabby also confirmed that the momentum of December 19 is important for the history of the nation of Papua.
"Trikora December 19, 1961 made after the Manifesto of Papuan political December 1, 1961 as a milestone for independence, but Soekarno 'annex' territories West Papua, and since then thousands of West Papuan people were slaughtered, killed, tortured in various military operations conducted by the State against the people of Papua west "Simeon said while confirming that the KNPB back will mediate joint action on December 19 that, as at 10 December.
Operation Trikora (Tri / three Komando Rakyat) is an operation announced by President Sukarno in the North Square of Yogyakarta, to reclaim or merge the region of Papua into Indonesia. Trikora contents are "thwarted" State of Papua "crafted by the Dutch; Hoist the red putuh in West Irian homeland of Indonesia; and a general mobilization in order to defend the independence and unity of the homeland and the nation of Indonesia. (*)
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