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1) Papua Sees Better Economy, but Stagnant Politics, Security: Expert

January 13, 2017, 12:13 pm
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2) Silence equals complicity: Indonesia’s Jokowi blamed for human rights failures
3) TNI Should Be Indonesia-Centric, Not Java-Centric: Jokowi
4) Raja Ampat gears up to attract more tourists
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1) Papua Sees Better Economy, but Stagnant Politics, Security: Expert




Students from the Indonesian Peoples Front of West Papua (FRI) participating in a protest rally in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Dec. 1. The group called on the government to better support the people of West Papua and to distribute more funding and development to the region. (Antara Photo/Yusran Uccang)



By : Edo Karensa | on 1:39 PM January 12, 2017
Jakarta. Vidhyandhika D. Perkasa, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, or CSIS, said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration has made some economic improvements in Papua, but it is still lacking progress in political and security-related matters.
The political and international relations expert said Jokowi had launched a one fuel price police and instituted massive infrastructure projects, including electricity projects in Papua to boost the local economy and improve connectivity, but such efforts must be followed up with improvements in politics, security and international relations.
"It is nonsense to focus on one dimension while overlooking other aspects," Vidhyandhika told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday (11/01).
Vidhyandhika underlined how separatist movements have shifted from physical guerrilla resistance to diplomacy with the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to secure international acknowledgement.
New diplomacy efforts have been initiated by Papuan students who have studied in other parts of the country or overseas and use savvy internet campaign techniques.
In July, the MSG rejected an application for full membership status by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, a group deemed separatist by the Indonesian government.
"We need more intensive diplomacy to address this situation. The Foreign Affairs Ministry must map where the Papuan freedom issues are being discussed and if needed send diplomats to attend those discussions," Vidhyandhika said.
"The ministry should also invite foreign NGOs, officials and diplomats to Papua for the sake of building trust, like Minister Luhut has done. He invited [former East Timor President] Ramos Horta and American Ambassador [Robert Blake] to Papua," he added.
Vidhyandhika said Jokowi also needs to push investigation of major human rights abuses in Wasior, Wamena and Paniai to gain the trust of the Papuan people.
"It is a good thing to see the president addressing human rights issues, but results remain unclear and doubts have also appeared as the team was managed by the chief security minister. It is difficult to see transparency and independence there," Vidhyandhika said.
Papua has allegedly suffered more human rights abuses than those that are currently being investigated by the government.
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2) Silence equals complicity: Indonesia’s Jokowi blamed for human rights failures
By  | | @ascorrespondent

INDONESIAN President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s second year in office was marred by his alleged failure to address serious abuses in the republic, from attacks on religious freedom to sexual and gender discrimination and violations against child and minority rights, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its World Report 2017 released Friday.
In the Indonesia chapter, the 687-page report studying abuses in 90 countries questioned Jokowi’s commitment to defending human rights, saying the leader failed last year to translate previous pledges it described as rhetorical into meaningful policy initiatives.
“Although Jokowi’s government announced long-overdue initiatives to promote accountability for the worst human rights abuses of the past, there was no official follow-through, and current abuses persisted,” HRW’s deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said in a statement.
HRW in the report noted that throughout last year, Jokowi remained mostly silent when senior government and military officials issued discriminatory remarks and policies that it said only fueled violations of the rights of minorities.
Even worse, the report said, Jokowi also continued to be outspoken in his backing of capital punishment. One key example cited is the execution of four convicted drug traffickers in July last year, despite widespread international opposition to previous death row cases in the Southeast Asian nation.
At the time, Indonesia’s deputy attorney-general Noor Rachmand told detractors that while the executions were “not a pleasant thing”, they had to be done in accordance with the law.
“The executions are only aimed at halting drug crimes,” he said.
Noor appeared to be speaking through Jokowi, who had only months earlier called the death penalty a necessity for drug offences as drug trafficking was a “national emergency”.
Months later when the world’s attention shifted to the Philippines’ violent war on drugs, Indonesian officials were quoted saying they would adopt their neighbour’s drug enforcement methods with more weapons, investigators, technology and sniffer dogs.
The announcement riled Indonesia’s foreign allies and international rights advocates.
According to HRW, the president’s support for putting drug traffickers on death row put a strain on ties over the past year with close bilateral allies like Australia.
“The likelihood of more executions in 2017 will continue to make that issue a sore point in Indonesia’s foreign relations,” it said.
The group said 2016 was also a year when Indonesian government officials were allowed to issue anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) comments with impunity.

In February, for example, the mayor of Tangerang warned that Indonesian children might become gay by consuming milk formula and instant noodles. Later, the republic’s higher education minister urged for a ban on gay students in universities. Then, the president’s spokesman declared that there was “no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement”.
The anti-LGBT assertions, HRW noted, resulted in proposals of laws which pose a serious threat to the rights and safety of LGBT Indonesians. They also fueled increased threats and at times, violent attacks on LGBT activists and individuals, primarily by Islamist militants.
“In some cases, the threats and violence occurred in the presence, and with the tacit support, of government officials or security forces,” the report said.
On religious freedom, HRW accused Indonesian officials and security forces of complicity in last year’s violent forced eviction of more than 7,000 members of the Gerakan Fajar Nusantara religious community, or the Gafatar, from their homes in East and West Kalimantan.
The group said its researchers found that security forces failed to protect Gafatar members, and merely stood by while mobs from the ethnic Malay and Dayak communities looted and destroyed properties owned by group members, many of whom originally came from Java.
“Government officials transferred Gafatar members to unofficial detention centers and then to their home towns, not as a short-term safety measure, but apparently to end their presence on the island and dissolve the religious group,” the report said.
The Jokowi government in March last year also issued a decree banning Gafatar activities and introduced a five-year prison term as punishment for violations.
The report also listed other instances of alleged government failure to prevent abuses on religious freedom, one of which is the July attack on three Buddhist temples in the city of Tanjung Balai in northern Sumatra. It noted that police denied the attack was sectarian and arrested seven suspects. Indonesia is said to be the most populous Muslim nation in the world but is also home to a sizeable ethnic Chinese minority, most of whom are Buddhists.
Impunity for security forces in the provinces of Papua and West Papua also remained a serious problem in 2016, with dozens of Papuans still imprisoned for nonviolent expression of their political views, HRW said.
It noted that in April, the government announced that it would seek accountability for 11 high-priority past human rights cases in Papua.
“However, the government has not provided any details as to when, where, and how the cases would be addressed,” the report said.


On children’s rights, HRW highlighted cases of child labour exploitation, noting that thousands of children in Indonesia, some just eight years of age, are working in hazardous conditions in tobacco farms.
These child workers, it claimed, are exposed to nicotine, handle toxic chemicals, use sharp tools, lift heavy loads, and work in extreme heat. Such work can have lasting consequences for their health and development.
HRW urged the Jokowi government to prohibit children from work that involves direct contact with tobacco; inspect farms to ensure children are not in danger; and carry out an extensive public education and training program to raise awareness of the health risks to children of work in tobacco farming.
The report also noted that gender discrimination continued unabated in Indonesia last year, with the Commission on Violence against Women reporting that as of August, the number of discriminatory national and local regulations targeting women had risen to 422, from 389 at the end of 2015.
They include local laws compelling women and girls to don the hijab, or headscarf, in schools, government offices, and public spaces.
“The Jokowi government is proving to be all talk and no positive action in terms of meaningfully addressing Indonesia’s serious human rights problems,” Kine said.
“Indonesians need to insist that Jokowi deliver on past human rights commitments and seek to advance justice and curtail abuses in 2017.”

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3) TNI Should Be Indonesia-Centric, Not Java-Centric: Jokowi
By : Novy Lumanauw & Eko Prasetyo | on 5:47 PM January 12, 2017
Jakarta. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has instructed the Indonesian Military (TNI) to synchronize the distribution of its personnel with the national development plan, which is focused on outer regions in the archipelago.
Jokowi, during a cabinet meeting at the State Palace on Thursday (12/01), said that efficient distribution is necessary to build a strong and firm national defense to counter threats against Indonesia’s sovereignty.
"As an archipelago with a vast geographical span, deployment of TNI officers along the east and west fringes of the country is still lacking," Jokowi said.
These regions not only form Indonesia's front line but also have high potentials to grow as motors of economic growth.
"I want TNI personnel to be distributed in accordance with the changes in our national development paradigm, which is no longer Java-centric, but Indonesia-centric," the president added.
The government, according to Jokowi, will focus on accelerating the development of border areas, the eastern parts of Indonesia and its outermost islands.
Even distribution of development will counter regional gaps, especially between the western and eastern sides of the country, the president added.
"The outermost areas, such as the Natuna Islands, the Miangas Islands, Biak-Merauke, Rote Island and its surrounding areas, will develop into new economic centers," Jokowi said.
He also urged the military to design a future warfare strategy based on Indonesia’s geographical character as an archipelago.
"The people need to feel the presence of the state, it will make them proud to be Indonesian."

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4) Raja Ampat gears up to attract more tourists
Jakarta | Fri, January 13, 2017 | 03:24 pm

The Raja Ampat Tourism Agency has revealed plans to manage the jellyfish lake in Misool Island to try and increase the number of visitors to West Papua this year.
The agency’s head, Yusdi Lamatenggo, said the lake was a unique tourist spot because visitors were able to interact with non-poisonous jellyfish there. The agency plans to maintain and protect the jellyfish habitat due to its tourist potential.
“Misool Island also has beautiful underwater views, including an underwater cave. Many foreign tourists visit this place to dive,” Yusdi said in Sorong on Wednesday as quoted by Antara news agency.
The local administration also plans to build an airport in Misool to provide easier access for local and foreign visitors. It has set a target for small airlines, such as Susi Air, to be able to land on the island by the end of 2017. Public transportation services from Waisai, the capital of West Papua regency, to Misool Island are also slated to be developed for this year. (mas/kes)
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1) Pacific Predictions: what will 2017 hold for the Pacific?

January 15, 2017, 11:51 am
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2) Freeport, Amman Hope Status Change Would Not Disturb Operations  
3) FRAGMENTS  [of a desire for revolution]
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1) Pacific Predictions: what will 2017 hold for the Pacific?
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Pacific politics will continue to be a source of fascination and concern in 2017. There will be general elections in Papua New Guinea (polling will take place between June 24th and July 8th).
In addition to the ever-present concerns about money politics, logistics, cost and security, the economic crisis that country is currently experiencing will also contribute to the prevailing environment. It is always a matter of concern if governments cannot pay their bills and these concerns are exacerbated in election years.
Jitteriness was increased recently, when the O’Neill government ‘delayed’ release of the IMF Article IV assessment, which has yet to appear. Another potential flashpoint is the failure (in both Waigani and Canberra) to appropriately resolve the situation in relation to the closure of the Manus refugee-processing centre. Recent violence should be seen as a serious warning as should the increasing frustration (seen most evidently on Twitter: @pontuna2run) of Ron Knight, the current MP for Manus province.
Fiji is scheduled to hold elections during 2018 but the pre-positioning that took place last year will continue during 2017. The major opposition party SODELPA has a ‘back to the future’ leader in former coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka and he has called for opposition parties to work together in coalition to unseat the Fiji First government. The electoral system in Fiji militates against independents and, in an attempt to counter this, Roshika Deo [SH1] (who contested unsuccessfully in 2014) is expected to form a new party to contest.
Further afield, there will be presidential elections in France. The results may have a ripple effect in our region in relation to the finalisation of the Noumea Accords process in New Caledonia and the participation of France in the Pacific Islands Forum, the details of which are yet to become clear.
Constitutional reform is a hot topic in several Pacific island countries. Vanuatu’s attempts to progress a whole raft of measures (largely designed to engender greater political stability) faltered in late 2016. This was because the Salwai government failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed to progress legislation further to constitutional reform committee process. Whilst there are certainly elements within the government who will want to progress this if the opportunity arises, it is possible that other issues will become and remain more pressing. Chief among them is Vanuatu’s impending relegation to the Financial Action Task Force’s ‘black list’. The referendum on constitutional reform scheduled to take place concurrently with provincial elections in March is on indefinite hold.
To our north, the Republic of the Marshall Islands will hold its first Constitutional Convention once the 45-person membership has been established. The most significant item for consideration is a proposal to move from a parliamentary to a presidential system of government. Meanwhile, in Samoa, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi is seeking to have the Constitution amended to make the Samoan state Christian, a proposal that has caused concern within the wider society.
During 2016, I suggested that the new logo for the Melanesian Spearhead Group should be the Gordian knot. As we enter a new year, the internal tussles are becoming ever more entrenched. There are several strands to this knot with the issue of membership being the one that is proving the most stubborn to shift. Despite the fact that there was no leaders’ meeting in December, the foreign ministers met in Port Vila to consider the text of membership regulations and guidelines prepared by the group’s Subcommittee on Legal and Institutional Issues. In town at the same time was a large delegation of West Papuans including Benny Wenda and other key members of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua leadership. The MSG leaders’ meeting is now pencilled in for January, to be held in Port Moresby, prompting declarations of disappointment from within the ULMWP. It is hard to see the disappointment lifting any time soon given the proposal to hold the meeting in Papua New Guinea (the ULMWP would prefer that the meeting be held in Port Vila, where they have the most support from government and civil society) [SH2] and the continuing non-appearance of Fiji’s prime minister at these gatherings – last month in Port Vila he was represented by Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, the former Foreign Minister and current Minister for Defence.
There are some indications that the current chair (Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands) is looking to use the current impasse over membership as an opportunity to expand the grouping. In relation to activism around the West Papua issue, this is likely to be taken forward at global levels by the Pacific Coalition on West Papua, with Sogavare as its head. Australia has had two indications recently that its ‘nothing to do with us’ stance is wearing thin in Jakarta: the ‘request’ made to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister Marise Payne to caution the leadership of Pacific island countries to stop interference in relation to the West Papua issue and, more recently, the rupture in defence relationships.
More generally, Australia will prepare and publish its first white paper on foreign policy in 14 years, which will complement a new ‘Pacific strategy’ promised by the Prime Minister. We hope to see a detailed and nuanced approach to relationships with the Pacific island region feature prominently in this document. It presents an important opportunity to rectify previous missteps, build on what is working well and send important messages about where our region features in Australian policy thinking on diplomacy, trade, development assistance and, critically for the Pacific, labour mobility.
‘This item was first published on Devpolicy (www.devpolicy.org). Dr Tess Newton Cain is the Principal of TNC Pacific Consulting and a Visiting Fellow to the Development Policy Centre.


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SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY, 2017 | 18:22 WIB
2) Freeport, Amman Hope Status Change Would Not Disturb Operations  



TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Freeport Indonesia and PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara hope that the change in the companies status from contract of work (CoW) to a special mining business license (IUPK) would not impact their operations.
Mining companies operating under the CoW are now required to change their status to a special mining business (IUPK) after the issuance of Government Regulation (PP) No. 1 of 2017.
The regulation, PP No.1/2017 allows IUPK companies to export mineral ores. Mining companies currently having CoW must obtain the IUPK to continue exporting concentrates.
"We do not want it to disturb the companys operations. All this will depend on our talks with the government. It seems it would have many different kinds of impact on us," Freeport Indonesia Spokesman Riza Pratama said at the office of the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal of the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) in Jakarta on Friday (Jan 13).
Representatives of PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (PT AMNT) and the Director General of Mineral and Coal, Bambang Gatot Ariyono, discussed the new policy. The policy has been signed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
Pratama noted that with the issuance of the new regulation, the company is no longer allowed to export concentrates. Yet, Freeport remains committed to developing a mineral smelter.
"We are committed to developing a smelter but we are still waiting for the contract. Developing a smelter needs a certainty of contract," Pratama explained.
On the same occasion, President Director of PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara Rachmat Makkasau clarified that his company was still studying the new regulation, particularly with regard to the companys obligations towards the government.
Makkasau pointed out that his companys operations were still running. "Our operations are running at normal pace. Our focus is to ensure that the operations keep running well," he added.
ANTARA


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3) FRAGMENTS 
[of a desire for revolution]

January 15, 2017 Van Abbemuseum

90315_46e0108e1c634e02c08e2c3d457348e8.jpg,1440.jpeg


Lidwien van der Ven
FRAGMENTS 
[of a desire for revolution]
January 28–April 9, 2017 

Artist talk : January 28, 3–4pm 

Van Abbemuseum 
Bilderdijklaan 10 
Eindhoven
The Netherlands 
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 11am–5pm,
Thursday 11am–9pm 

T +31 40 238 1000 
info@vanabbemuseum.nl 

vanabbemuseum.nl 
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
From January 28, 2017 the Project Room in the exhibition The Collection Now will be dedicated to FRAGMENTS [of a desire for revolution], a new work by Lidwien van de Ven, commissioned by the Van Abbemuseum. In 2014 the Van Abbemuseum invited Van de Ven to carry out research into the colonial history of the Netherlands in Indonesia. The result is an ambitious installation comprising Van de Ven’s large format photographic works, alongside video and documentary material.
During an exploratory visit in 2015 Van de Ven attended the 60th commemoration of the Konferensi Asia Afrika in Bandung, a meeting that in 1955 brought together 29 African-Asiatic countries to seek economic and cultural collaboration and to fight against colonial domination. One of the highlights in 1955 was President Sukarno’s opening speech. He raised questions, still relevant today, about identity and how we want to live together in a globalizing world. Also in 2015 the International People’s Tribunal took place in The Hague to examine the military coup in 1965 and the following mass murder of an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 communists, ethnic Chinese citizens and supporters of left-wing parties. This history remains sensitive and contested today.
Van de Ven explored the Dutch role in the history of communism in Indonesia and came across the inspirational role played by the Dutchman Henk Sneevliet who in 1914, founded the Indische Sociaal-Democratische Vereeniging, which later became the communist party in Indonesia, PKI. It was opposed by the Dutch colonial powers, which suppressed the development of communism and its aim for independence. When the communist uprisings of 1926/1927 against the colonial oppressors failed, the Netherlands responded by expelling the rebels to Boven Digoel (Upper Digul), a remote area, 500 kilometre up the Digul-river in Papua New-Guinea, where the Dutch founded the internment camps, Tanah Merah and Tanah Tinggi. Van de Ven’s presentation builds around this location.
In present-day Tanah Merah she looked for traces of the former internment camp, whose history for many has been virtually forgotten. She mapped its history with the help of different sources, like the publications by I.F.M. Salim, an exile who was interned in the camp from 1928 to 1943, and by L.J.A. Schoonheyt, who worked in the camp as a doctor from 1932 to 1934. Further archival research in the Netherlands and Jakarta provided additional perspectives. The first exiles were expelled using the so-called Exorbitant Rights of the Governor General to circumvent the judiciary, which also implied that appeal was not possible. Papua was infamous for the many diseases as malaria and black water fever, which were rampant, and for the presence of cannibals. Surviving there was a struggle. Although stories about the terrible living conditions in the camp reached the Netherlands in the late 1920s, the camp was not abolished. Only in 1943 were exiles evacuated to Australia, following the threat of the Japanese occupation and the fear of the Dutch authorities that the exiles might collude with the Japanese. A few of the remaining buildings were in the 90s designated as a historical monument to commemorate the struggle for independence. 
Lidwien van de Ven
Lidwien van de Ven is known above all as a photographer. She is interested in parts of the world where important social and political changes are taking place. These are also places in which often the complex reality is shunned and reduced to stereotypes. Van de Ven is curious to look into this process. She digs around for the meaning of traces of the past and the present, rather like an archaeologist. She looks for the almost invisible and intangible moment at which contemporary reality unfolds and tears appear in the fabric, which allow for new interpretations and perspectives. She translates this process into photographic works and installations with an extremely detailed composition. Lidwien van de Ven lives and works in Rotterdam and Berlin.
Curator: Christiane Berndes.
Subsidisers: The research, the presentation and the purchase of this work were made possible by the Mondriaan Fund and the BankGiro Loterij.
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1) MSG chair discusses membership in Vila

January 15, 2017, 11:44 pm
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2) Army to develop 500 ha rice fields in Nabire, Papua

3) Indonesia pledges leeway for obedient miners
4) Jonan tells Freeport to release 51 percent of shares
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1) MSG chair discusses membership in Vila
3:18 pm today 

The chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group has arrived in Port Vila for discussions that cover membership guidelines.
Manasseh Sogavare, who is the Solomon Islands prime minister, is in the Vanuatu capital as part of his second MSG capitals' visit in his capacity as chair.
Mr Sogavare's office said that revised criteria for observer status and associate membership guidelines within the MSG will be discussed and endorsed.
This comes as the MSG considers a full membership application by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua which currently has observer status in the MSG.
Indonesia, which has associate member status, is opposed to elevating the West Papuans' status and the issue has proved difficult for MSG full members to settle on.
The full members are Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanaks Movement.
Also on the cards for discussions is the matter of operations of the MSG's Port Vila-based secretariat which has struggled for funding and resources in the last couple of years.
While in Vila, the MSG Chair will be meeting with both the Vanuatu Prime Minister and FLNKS spokesperson.
Mr Sogavare and delegation will be departing on Wednesday for Suva, Fiji.
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2) Army to develop 500 ha rice fields in Nabire, Papua

Senin, 16 Januari 2017 09:10 WIB | 497 Views
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian military plans to develop rice fields in the remote district of Nabire in the countrys eastern province of Papua this year.

The chief of the District Military Command 1705/Paniai in Papua, Lt. Col. Jerry Harapan Tua Simatupang, confirmed here on Sunday that the project was a cooperation project between TNI (the military) and the ministry of agriculture to increase food self-sufficiency especially in Papua.

He said several military officials from the command along with Trubus farmers group chief and a number of farmers inspected the area to be used for the project last week.

"The area spreads in Wanggar Sari village (80 hectares), Wiraska (57 ha), Wami (60 ha), Waroki (25 ha) and Maiday (108 ha)," he explained.

Simatupang said the inspection was needed to see possible hurdles that might be met during development process including irrigation issue.

"I will deploy all members of the community development unit to mentor the farmers with regard to achieving a maximum harvest," he said.(*)

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3) Indonesia pledges leeway for obedient miners
Viriya P. Singgih The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Mon, January 16, 2017 | 05:38 am
The government has reiterated that local miners, particularly nickel, bauxite and copper miners, will be allowed to export their products should they express a commitment to build their own smelters and be able to supply domestic smelters with at least 30 percent of their input capacity.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration issued on Jan. 11 the fourth revision to Government Regulation No. 23/2010 on the management of mineral and coal businesses, which allows miners to continue exporting copper concentrates, certain amounts of low-grade nickel ore and washed bauxite under certain conditions.
“Nickel and bauxite miners can export after supplying 30 percent of the input of existing domestic smelters. They also have to be committed to building their own smelters within five years,” Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said Saturday in a press briefing.
“We will monitor [the progress] every six months. If they fail to fulfill the commitment to build the smelters, there will be no export licenses for nickel and bauxite miners.”
Jonan said there had been a misunderstanding over the newly-launched regulation, as many people interpreted that it was forcing local miners to funnel 30 percent of their nickel or bauxite production into local smelters, even though, he said, the correct calculation was based on the total capacity of all domestic smelters.
For instance, the total input capacity of nickel smelters in the country currently stands at 16 million tons per year. Meanwhile, the total production for low-grade nickel — with nickel content below 1.7 percent — stands at 10 million tons per year.
“So that means the nickel miners must sell to domestic smelters for about 30 percent of the 16 million tons of smelter capacity, or equal to 4.8 million tons, not of the 10 million tons of production capacity,” he said.
The government, Jonan continued, would serve as the “traffic manager” for the supply chain system in order to prevent unfair implementation of the regulation. For example, this is possible if there are only two or three companies supplying 4.8 million tons of nickel to local smelters through their own production.
According to the Processing and Smelting Companies Association (AP3I), 32 new smelters have been built in the country — 24 of which are nickel smelters — within the past four years with a total investment value of around US$20 billion.
The ban was a boon to rival producers as their output filled the hole, Bloomberg reported.
The Philippines became the world’s biggest supplier of mined nickel and the largest shipper to China. Now, their shares are tumbling. Nickel Asia Corp., the country’s top producer, fell 14 percent on Friday along with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. and GMK Norilsk Nickel PJSC.
The change in regulations may also upset Chinese investors that pumped money into developing Indonesia’s domestic processing industry. Citigroup had forecast a 180 percent increase in capacity by 2020, to about 400,000 tons, according to Bloomberg.
The 2009 Mining Law stipulates a mineral ore export ban to encourage smelter development in the country and to strengthen the processing sector. It has been applied to nickel, bauxite, chromium, gold, silver and tin.
However, because none of the proposed smelters were completed, including the one committed to by gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia, the government has been forced to issue a new regulation extending export permits for certain mineral ores.
One of the requirements for miners to get an export recommendation from the government is to convert their permit status from a contract of work (CoW) to a special mining license (IUPK).
The government stated that Freeport Indonesia, the subsidiary of US giant Freeport McMoRan, had submitted an official letter confirming its commitment to convert its CoW into an IUPK. “They also mentioned their commitment to build the smelter within five years. If so, we will issue the export recommendation for them immediately,” Jonan said.
Freeport Indonesia claims it has allocated $2.2 billion in capital expenditure for the new smelter development, even though only $212.9 million has been disbursed so far, including $115 million as collateral to the government and $50 million to work on the smelter’s environmental impact analysis (Amdal) document and basic engineering.
“Freeport Indonesia has presented to the government its willingness to convert [its CoW] into an IUPK, that will happen if there is an agreement over investment stability and also fiscal and legal certainty,” Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama told
The Jakarta Post on Sunday. The company has also confirmed its commitment to continue its new smelter development soon after it receives certainty over its contract extension for its Grasberg mine in Papua, the world’s largest gold mine and third-largest copper mine.
Freeport Indonesia’s contract is due to expire in 2021. However, the earliest miners can renegotiate their contracts is five years before they expire under the latest regulation.

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4) Jonan tells Freeport to release 51 percent of shares
News Desk The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Mon, January 16, 2017 | 01:31 pm

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan has stressed that the government will require mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia to release 51 percent of its shares, stressing that there is no exception in abiding by the new mining regulation.
“There is no exception to the divestment. It must be 51 percent of its shares,” said Jonan on Monday, as reported by tempo.co.
The requirement for mining companies to divest 51 percent of their shares is stipulated in Government Regulation No. 1/2017 on the mineral and coal mining business. Initially, Freeport was only required to sell 30 percent of its shares, because the company has underground mining operations.
Jonan made the statement at his office in Jakarta on Friday, where he had a meeting with Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. president Richard C. Adkerson and Freeport Indonesia president director Chappy Hakim.
Jonan also said that Freeport had submitted an official letter confirming its commitment to convert its contract of work (CoW) to a special mining production (IUPK) license, as required by the new regulation.
“They also mentioned their commitment to building a smelter within five years. If so, we will issue the export recommendation for them immediately,” the minister added. (bbn)
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1) Tackling Inequality, Starting with Fuel Price in Papua

January 16, 2017, 12:01 pm
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2) Electricity privatization regulation introduced to boost rural access
3) Self Determination is a Baasic Human Right
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1) Tackling Inequality, Starting with Fuel Price in Papua

Posted On 16 Jan 2017By : Santi Berlinawati0 CommentsTag: Equality, fuel, Gasoline, Jokowi, news, Papua, Price

Economic challenges faced by residents in remote areas are not unheard by the State Palace.


An airfield in a remote region, Papua. (Photo source: Kabupaten Pengunungan Bintang provincial government’s website)
Jakarta, GIVnews.com – One of President Joko Widodo’s new year resolution for 2017 is to tackle the problem of inequality.
“Some points that I want to convey are related to our focus on equality. Although we know that our Gini ratio has slightly improved, nonetheless if we see the number is at a high level,” the President was quoted as saying by the Office of the Presidential Staff’s website.
The president who is familiarly called Jokowi has proposed several steps to reduce economic disparities, including by setting up policy on asset distribution and land legalization so all citizens get easier access to own a piece of land. This is in addition to easing the citizens’ access to capitals to increase competitiveness, and skills improvement through vocational education and training.
Economic inequality is reflected by huge price difference of essential items across different regions in the archipelago. For instance, a portion of standard rice that usually costs Rp 15-20 thousands in Jakarta was priced Rp 70-75 thousands in Papua back in December 2015, as reported by Tempo.
On this, Theo Hasegem, a member of the Human Rights Care Team for Pegunungan Tengah in Papua, said that expensive prices were caused by fuel scarcity.
Even if fuel is available, the price is usually very expensive, due to the cost of transporting them to the region. Essential items, including gasoline, are usually transported by aeroplanes, thereby increasing its price at the consumers end.
Furthermore, the unavailability of gas station operated by state oil company Pertamina, would also push up gasoline prices further. By the time gasoline is sold to the people through the local merchants, its price had gone up much higher. Locals have had to frequently wait days till fuel supply arrived.
Such challenges faced by residents in remote areas are not unheard by the State Palace.
President Jokowi, aiming to tackle such price disparity, initiated the ‘one-price’ fuel program in Papua in November 2016. With such program, it is expected that gasoline price in Papua will match that in Java.
Several districts in Papua that have ‘tasted’ the cheaper fuel price following the program implementation  include Puncak, Puncak Jaya, Yalimo, Mamberamo Raya, Mamberamo Tengah, and Intan Jaya, as reported by Media Indonesia.
According to Taufik Nurrahman, Pertamina’s spokesman for Papua-Maluku region, fuel price in these regions are now set at the same level to that of the standard national price.
The program implementation is also being monitored by the local police. Papua Police Chief Inspectorate General Paulus Waterpauw Price shared that although price variation still exists, such disparity did not cause an overly expensive fuel price.
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2) Electricity privatization regulation introduced to boost rural access

Fedina S. Sundaryani The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Mon, January 16, 2017 | 10:55 am
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has officially launched a ministerial decree, which allows private companies to develop their own electricity grids that are separate from state-owned electricity firm PLN.
On Monday, Energy and Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Arcandra Tahar introduced Ministerial Decree No. 38/2016 that was aimed to help expedite electricity development in 2,500 remote villages across the nation.
"This is an innovation from the government to provide a legal basis that will allow for fairer energy procurement and to increase the ratio of villages with electricity in Indonesia, which has only reached 96.95 percent out of a total 83,190 villages," he said at the ministry’s Electricity Directorate General headquarters in Jakarta.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), there are still 2,519 villages that had no electricity in 2014. Furthermore, PLN's plans until 2019 only covers 504 villages to be lit up through village electricity procurement projects.
The latest ministerial decree will allow private companies, provincial administration-owned companies and cooperatives to set up off-grid power plant projects in remote villages, 2,376 of which are located in Papua and West Papua.
Private investors must focus on procuring electricity through a hybrid-power system, supported by both renewable energy sources and conventional fossil fuels.
A hybrid-power system combines two or more modes of electricity production, usually involving at least one renewable energy source to ensure the villages can maintain power 24 hours a day. (bbn)

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Note. Follow up posting from Carmel to original posting below.
To readers of these lists, I apologise for repeating the first two paragraphs of my translation of Yan Christian Warinussy’s excellent
article about the right to self-determination.   Let's hope that President Joko Wodido will respond to his call for a
peaceful dialogue.
Carmel Budiardjo

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3) Self Determination is a Baasic Human Right
via regwestpapualist
5th January 2017

    The first paragraph of the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia
stipulates that ‘freedom is the right of alll nations, meaning that colonisation in every part of the world must be ended'.

    That sentence means that all nations everywhere in the world  that are living under the control mus be giving the opportunity to have the
right to self-determination.


The first sentence of the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia states
that ‘the right to independence is the basic right of all nations which means that colonialism should be abolished throughout the
world’.   That sentence means that all those people who are still being held under the control of any government should be granted the right
to self-determination.

  It should therefore be understood by the Government of Indonesia at the centre and down to the regions , including the Land of Papua,
that this right this is one of the most basic rights that it guaranteed under international law, as is clear in the Universal
Declaration om Basic Human Rights and the UN Declaration of the Rights of Traditional Peoples that was adopted in 2007.

    More specifically, Article 3 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Traditional Communities states that: ‘Traditional Communities,
states that: ‘Traditional Communities have the right to self-determination, the right to autonomy or to self-government  with
regard to affairs within their area which also includes  finding the means to finance their own autonomy.

    All these rights were further reinforced by a UN resolution on The Right to Self Determination, in accordance with an initiative by the
Pakistani ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Modi at the end of the year 2016.  Speaking as a lawyer and Defender of Human Rights in the Land of
Papua, I regard the birth of a UN Law on the Right to Self-Determination as a great victory within the context of democracy
and peace for the protection of the human rights of all peoples in the twenty-first century.

    The UN Resolution regarding the Right to Self-Determination was certainly planned  [unfortunately the last line at the bottom of the
document is unreadable]    .... but it also provides the legal basis for the protection of
other nations throughout the world which have not yet had the opportunity to determine there own future such as the Palestinian
people,, the Kannaky,  Colony of France New Caledonia as well as the\ Papuan people who for the past fifty years have been peacefully
struggling for their right to self determination.      In connection with all this, I called upon the Government of
Indonesia under President Joko Widodo to adopt a more lenient approach
towards the Papuan people who are peacefully struggling for their right to self determination,  and not to use the security approach
towards the Papuan  people when the security forces  resort to physical violence armed with weapons all of which has the potential to
systematically violate their basic human rights.

     A peaceful approach by means of dialogue between the Government of Indonesia and the Papuan people including various organisations and
groups such as the ULMWP, KNPB, the OPM,the Papuan Presidium Council, the WPNA, the WPNCL and the Papuan Women’s Solidarity is essential for
the government under President Joko Widodo.

      And finally,the Indonesian Government should de-militarise the whole of the territory of the Land of Papua by withdrawing all the
personnel and units of the military commands, both organic and non-organic

     It is my opinion, as the recipient of the John Huimphrey Award/Canada  in 2005   taking the approach of dialogue is very
pressing as the correct way forward at this time, because such elements are irrelevant to creating a peaceful and conducive situation
for holding a peaceful dialogue.

Peace.
Yan Christian Waarinussy, Executive-Director of the LP3BH-Manokwari.

Translated by Carmel Budiardjo, recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, 1995.
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1) MSG has become “proxy theatre of debate over West Papua”

January 17, 2017, 11:41 am
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2) Police most reported for alleged rights violations in 2016: Komnas HAM


3) Sweeping conducted by  joint security forces recently in Dogiyai 

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-17/msg-has-become-proxy-theatre-of-debate-over-west/8187230


1) MSG has become “proxy theatre of debate over West Papua”

Updated yesterday at 9:05am
The chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, has set out on a regional charm offensive to persuade fellow leaders to back the admission of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
Up to now the MSG has been split over the move, with Vanuatu and Solomon Islands in favour, while Papua New Guinea and Fiji are against.
Mr Sogavare is flying on to Port Moresby and Suva, after talks in Port Vila with Vanuatu's Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, and Victor Tutugoro from the New Caledonian independence movement.
But Pacific analyst Jonathan Pryke from the Lowy Institute's Melanesia Program is warning that the MSG may be too heavily focussed on the West Papua issue, and the organisation's relevance could be severely tested over the next 12 months.
Catherine Graue
Source: Pacific Beat | Duration: 3min 26sec
audio
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2) Police most reported for alleged rights violations in 2016: Komnas HAM
Fachrul Sidiq The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Tue, January 17, 2017 | 08:30 pm

West Papua rally participants shout from the back of a police truck on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Central Jakarta on Dec. 1, 2016. Police arrested 10 of them for bringing Free West Papua Movement symbols. (JP/Safrin La Batu)

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has revealed that of all institutions, the police were implicated in the highest number of human rights violation cases in 2016.

“Throughout 2016, Komnas HAM received 7,188 reports related to alleged human rights violations. From that report, the police were reported 2,290 times, the highest figure among all institutions,” Komnas HAM chairman Imdadun Rahmat said during a year-end report presentation at the commission’s office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The second and third place went to corporations and regional administrations with 1,030 and 931 reports, respectively, Imdadun said.

He added that most of the reports were related to violations of welfare and justice rights, such as a case in July when police officers surrounded a Papuan student dormitory in Yogyakarta to prevent residents from attending an event organized by the People’s Union for West Papua Freedom (PRPPB). The police also reportedly prevented an Indonesian Red Cross ambulance from delivering food to the dormitory.
Komnas HAM commissioner Nur Khoiron said the commission would continue cooperation with the police in an attempt to push the institution to be more human-rights friendly in carrying out its duty.

“We have conducted some activities including launching a human rights pocket book for police officers and conducting a general lecture about rights principles for students at the Police Higher Education College (PTIK),” he said. (jun)


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3) Sweeping conducted by  joint security forces recently in Dogiyai 

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



Dogiyai community who are uncomfortable with the sweeping action of the security forces staged a demonstration to the Office of Legislative districts Dogiyai - Jubi / Philemon Keiya

Sweeping Police diguga eat victims, thousands of people attended Dogiyai Parliament Office
News Portal Papua No. 1 | Jubi, Tuesday, January 17, 2017





Jubi, Dogiyai - Sweeping conducted joint security forces recently in Dogiyai casualties. At least two civilians Dogiyai, Otis Pekei (21) and Melkias Dogomo (33) into a sweeping victim. It forced thousands of residents down the road and go to the Dogiyai Parliament's office, Monday (16/01/2017).

Chairman of the People's Solidarity Cultural Care Mee Dogiyai, Benedict Goo to the Jubi in Dogiyai, said two residents died after being tortured group of security forces. In addition to the two victims died, dozens of residents Dogiyai been beaten by the security forces combined to do the sweep.

Goo said Otis Pekei tortured by the police, on Tuesday (10/01) from the time the police arrived at the Tuka to Moanemani. At that time, Otis Pekei is heading to Nabire. However, he was detained in Kali Bridge Tuka. Pekei tortured during detention. Pekei Moanemani removed from the police in a state of lifeless at around 15:00 CET and returned to his family.

While Melkias Dogomo after reportedly died in police custody. He was held in Moanemani, December 23. During detained for several hours in police Moanemani, police allegedly entering the base of a gun out of bullets into his mouth. In the afternoon he was sent home. When we got home, Melkias Dogomo got sick to death last January 7.

In addition to the two victims died, many residents Dogiyai were beaten for no apparent reason. All goods Built-in bags and camshaft was confiscated. Moreover, sharp tools such as machetes, knives, razor blades and other sharp tools.

"The security forces also seized clothing, camshaft, bracelets and hats that motivated the Morning Star," he said.

Goo said, in the sweeping, the police asked residents dreadlocks long hair and a long beard to be trimmed. Residents Dogiyai annoyed. Because, every day doing sweeping group of security forces.

Properly, the combined security forces came to Dogiyai to maintain the security of the elections. In fact, the sweep is not clear. Due to sharp tools still sweeping the street.

"It should sweep for securing the elections and sweeping SIM / vehicle registration for all vehicles in Dogiyai," said Goo.

SubmitTambah Goo, the combined security forces were brought in accordance with the Act PKPU Dogiyai only for securing the elections that will be held in February.

He considered, sweep the wrong target. It should, according to him, secured the liquor sellers and dealers that are still rife. In fact, in addition to liquor, related to the elections, many billboards are already planted the regent candidates are still scattered.

"The police should have been secured with regard to the elections alone. Instead of coming to the last Dogiyai would scare residents Dogiyai are not wrong at all, "pissed.

He continued, "This sweeping Sweeping is done without direction. Because, as we know so far, if the police sweeping means associated with the vehicle, such as license and registration. "

Support demonstration of citizens

District Chief Dogiyai, Willem Tagi said it supports the action taken. Because, what had been done joint security forces in Dogiyai Dogiyai very disturbing residents.

"We have several heads of districts in Dogiyai welcomes today's action. Do not anybody from the outside coming Dogiyai pitting my citizens, "said Tagi.

He asked the security forces did not again sweeping Dogiyai disturbing residents. Because, he said, during this Dogiyai residents live in harmony and peace.

"If the security came to Dogiyai for securing the elections, run the task alone. There should be no additional movement in Dogiyai, "he said.

The same thing also delivered by Head East Kamuu District, Aleks Pigai. Pigai words, if in the future there are sweeping of excessive security forces, along with thousands of citizens Dogiyai it will still do the action to reject all of the action taken.

"We very much regret the attitude of the security forces of these excesses," he said.

He asked the group of security forces that have been stationed in Dogiyai to be withdrawn. Can be reassigned before two weeks of the election held in February.

At the same place, Secretary of the Indigenous Peoples Organization (LMA) Dogiyai, Aleks Kogaa asserted, that the police do not act arbitrarily to the citizens in Dogiyai.

"During this time, many residents Dogiyai are always beaten. There was bloodshed, too. We unequivocally reject all the actions of the police, "said Kogaa.

SubmitDogiyai, obviously Kogaa, is one of the safest areas in Papua. During this time, residents Dogiyai live in security and peace. However, the situation Dogiyai changed since five months ago. Then he asked that all parties, including the security forces to maintain security in Dogiyai together.

DPR members Dogiyai, Y
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1) MSG Leaders Duty-Bound To Make Positive Decisions: Sogavare

January 17, 2017, 11:55 pm
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2) Freeport to Give Up Current Contract to Extend Indonesian Operations Beyond 2021

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1) MSG Leaders Duty-Bound To Make Positive Decisions: Sogavare
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Chair and Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare said leaders of MSG countries have a ‘greater’ responsibility to ensure their decisions
positively impact on the lives of their citizens.
He made the remarks on Monday night at a function held at the Iririki Resort.
The MSG Chair is currently in the Vanuatu capital Port Vila for the first leg of his second MSG Capitals’ tour.
“We as leaders have a greater responsibility to ensure our decisions have positive impacts on the lives of our people and we must shoulder this responsibility with wisdom from our Almighty God,” the MSG Chair emphasised in his speech at the function attended by Vanuatu Government officials, Heads of Foreign Diplomatic Missions and the MSG Director General and Heads of Divisions.
The MSG Chair said the Melanesian sub-regional grouping is unique as its member countries make up the majority the Pacific island states’ population, natural resources including land and hold the largest economies.
He said the MSG countries also share a ‘ rich history, culture, customs and values’ deeply rooted in how they value their land and people.
“Essentially when we talk about the Pacific, we are talking about Melanesia and vice-versa,” he added.
Turning to the agenda of the current MSG Capitals’ tour, Prime Minister Sogavare said, “Following on the success of my first visit in early 2016, this second visit is poised to pursue consensus-building with my colleague leaders of the Melanesian region on a number of important issues in the true Melanesian way of dialogue and friendship.”
“Pursuant to the Governing body meeting held here in Port Vila on December 2016, there are two important issues that I will be discussing with my colleague leaders,” he added.
The MSG Chair said the first issue is the restructuring of the Port Vila-based MSG Secretariat following a consultancy report on the Independent Review of the secretariat to ensure its alignment with MSG Members’ priorities and delivery of much needed services to MSG citizens and the other issue is MSG Membership Guidelines.
Expounding on the MSG Secretariat organisational restructure, the MSG Chair said a particular focus for this year will be the implementation of the restructure and transition plan which the secretariat is currently embarking on.
On the issue of MSG Membership Guidelines and Application for New Membership, he said the MSG Governing Body in its meeting in Port Vila on the 22nd of December 2016 has endorsed the MSG Membership Guidelines and subsequently agreed to recommend them to Leaders for approval and applications in due course.
In noting that the recommended MSG Membership Guidelines provide a transparent Membership Application process that would allow any new membership application to be dealt with in the most impartial and unprejudiced manner whilst at the same time respect the integrity and sanctity of the 2015 Revised MSG Agreement, the MSG Chair said, “It is my firm desire to see these guidelines approved by Leaders as soon as possible.”
“I wish to build on the momentum gained during my first (MSG) Capitals’ visit which sets a positive precedence in fostering common understanding and support on important issues concerning our region.
“I intend to encourage frequent dialogues between leaders so that we are able to build consensus and reach common understanding on important issues and challenges facing the MSG region.”
The MSG Chair also expressed appreciation to the Vanuatu Prime Minister for the courtesies the Vanuatu Government accorded to him and his delegation since arriving in Port Vila last Sunday night.
Meanwhile, the meeting between the MSG Chair and Prime Minister Charlot Salwai of Vanuatu and the FLNKS Spokesman Victor Tutugoro was scheduled for yesterday.
-Prime Minister’s Press Secretariat Office



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2) Freeport to Give Up Current Contract to Extend Indonesian Operations Beyond 2021

By : Rangga Prakoso | on 4:43 PM January 17, 2017
Jakarta. Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of United States mining giant Freeport McMoRan, has asked the Indonesian government to swap its current contract-of-work with a special mining permit as the miner races against time to secure an extension for exporting gold concentrates from Grasberg in Papua, Indonesia's largest gold mine.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource last week issued a regulation that bars contract-of-work contractors from exporting mining concentrates starting from Jan. 12.
Contractors can only export concentrates once they acquire a special mining permit, the special mining business license (IUPK), the ministry said.
IUPK is one of a new series of licensing regimes to replace the work contracts of all miners that have been operating in Indonesia since the country revised its mining law in 2009.
"Freeport has conveyed to the government its intention to convert its current work contract into IUPK," Freeport spokesman Riza Pratama said on Monday (16/01).
The move marks a significant progress after months of negotiation between the government and Freeport — which had been looking for ways to ensure it can can extend its Indonesian operation beyond 2021, the deadline for its current contract of work.

The government is adamant that the only way Freeport could do that was by complying with the 2009 law, which apart from dropping the contract-of-work, also requires the miner to divest the majority of its shares to local investors and build a smelter in Indonesia to process raw mining ores.
Freeport had been reluctant on complying with the 2009 mining law, arguing that its contract-of-work, first signed in the 1960s, shield it from any change in domestic laws and taxation regimes.
Yet the prospect of losing a lot of cash from being unable to export concentrates seemed to force Freeport's hand and leave it with no option but to cave in to the government's demand.
Up until last week, Freeport was only allowed to export its concentrates as long as it could show progress in the construction of its smelter in Indonesia.
Riza said if Freeport goes ahead with swapping its contract-of-work for the special mining permit, the company can be sure of continuing its Indonesian operations beyond 2021.
Freeport has already pledged $17 billion in investment to expand its mining operation in Grasberg until 2041 and another $2.1 billion to build a smelter in Gresik, East Java.
"We will resume the construction of our smelter as soon as we get our operation rights extended," Riza said.
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1) A matter of principles

January 18, 2017, 11:02 am
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2) Greenpeace’s ‘Dirty Bankers’ Report Accuses HSBC of Funding Deforestation in Indonesia
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1) A matter of principles
The ‘five crazy principles’ and a rising challenge for Indonesia’s ideology
BRADLEY WOOD
Recent reports of a suspension of military cooperation between Indonesia and Australia were wildly exaggerated, but they emphasise the importance of proper intercountry linguistic, cultural and political understanding, Bradley Wood writes.
Indonesia’s official state ideology, the Pancasila, has re-emerged as a dominant feature in political rhetoric, while also being perceived as a vulnerable political target by Indonesia’s political elite during a very sensitive time in Indonesia.
It’s no surprise then, that the recent bilateral incident between Australia and Indonesia involving the alleged laminated display of the political send-up ‘Pancagila’ (the five crazy principles), along with other politically sensitive training material about Indonesia’s chequered past in West Papua provoked an official response.
There have long been suspicions among Indonesia’s political elite about Australia’s intentions regarding West Papua dating back to Indonesia’s independence. These continue to linger in the minds of some Indonesians because of Australia’s instrumental role in securing East Timor’s independence. This latest development has only raised the spectre of such pre-existing suspicions.

Recent political rhetoric in Indonesia has centred on reminding Indonesia’s citizens about its founding principles, namely the Pancasila—the five principles that make up Indonesia’s official ideology. This follows mass demonstrations backed by Indonesia’s Islamic hardliners in November and December last year, against the incumbent Jakarta Governor, locally known as Ahok, for alleged blasphemy. Various political forces within Indonesia have capitalised on these events in the run-up to next month’s regional elections, which includes the Jakarta Governor’s seat, now seen as an ascension pathway to the presidency.
Inaccurate reporting of the ‘Pancagila’ incident, based on the initially limited coverage in the Indonesian press, gave rise to a public perception in Australia that it had caused a significant suspension in military cooperation between the two countries. The Australian media continued its media frenzy even after a detailed press conference by the outspoken Commander of Indonesia’s military (TNI) General Gatot Nurmantyo. This further fuelled the speculation of a blanket freeze on military cooperation, despite Gatot’s emphasis on the good relationship he has with the Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Mark Binskin.
This media controversy, however, has since been adequately framed as a miscommunication between the TNI, the Ministry of Defence, and the Presidential Press office. A belated press release was eventually produced by the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security, and former Commander of the TNI, Wiranto. This clarified the Indonesian Government’s position—that only a specific language training program between the two countries had been temporarily suspended.
The ‘Pancagila’ send-up that was reportedly sighted by an Indonesian language trainer at the Campbell Barracks in Perth, however, was not an Australian creation. Last year, an Indonesian court chose not to impose criminal sanctions after an Indonesian activist posted the Pancagila principles on Facebook, signalling an historic moment for freedom of expression in Indonesia. It has also been widely used on social media by a number of Indonesian-associated accounts that date back to at least 2011.


Translated (see image), it reads: Belief in the one and only God / The Financial Almighty; Just and civilised humanity / Corruption that is fair and equitable; The unity of Indonesia / The unity of the political elite within Indonesia’s legal system; Democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations amongst representatives / Power which is led by lust and depravity in the conspiracy of hypocrisy; and, Social justice for all people of Indonesia / Social security for the whole family of officials and representatives.
There is no doubt that the public display of such content at a language training facility at the Campbell Barracks—where it would be seen by Indonesian defence colleagues—was a significant political mistake, with potentially serious implications for the bilateral defence relationship.
However, the use of sensitive political material, such as ‘Pancagila’, by the ADF’s language students is important to Australia’s official language and cultural training. Politically sensitive material like this provides a valuable insight into Indonesia’s internal political dynamics from an indigenous perspective, and it’s these insights that contribute to a better understanding of Indonesia’s human terrain.
The outcome of an inquiry by the Chief of the Australian Army, Angus Campbell, is likely to have already been delivered, and there have been reports that indicate Australian defence personnel have already been reprimanded. It is important, however, that the Australian Army evaluate these language materials beyond their politically sensitive attributes, as they improve their linguistic and cultural understanding about their largest neighbour and, arguably, their most important non-aligned defence relationship—where respective interests often differ, but can also be managed.
With such a diverse makeup in Indonesia, SARA tensions—a security acronym used to explain ethnic, religion, race, and inter-group inspired conflict—will likely continue to be a part of the internal dynamics of Indonesia’s democratic process. The challenge for Indonesia will be managing these tensions within the confines of its post-reformasi democratic limits, without using the extreme concept of an external proxy war involving Australia, to build its national cohesion. However, reminding Indonesia’s large population about Pancasila and Indonesia’s national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) may play an effective role here.
Indonesia continues, however, to face internal challenges to the Pancasila ideology by hard-line Islamic groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). These groups have also recently been trained by the TNI’s district command, albeit without official approval, as part of Indonesia’s civil defence program known as Bela Negara. Gatot Nurmantyo, however, has defended the right of the FPI to participate in the civilian defence training and there has been at least one approved incident of FPI members engaging in civil defence training that dates back to 2014.
While this is only basic civil defence education centred around building a sense of patriotism, national awareness, and belief in the Pancasila ideology, it demonstrates the complexities of Indonesia’s policy response to uniting such a diverse population. In this case, it appears that the TNI is playing an active role, and it’s therefore within the ADF’s purview to understand this development in its entirety.
The ADF needs to pay attention to these internal dynamics and political sensitivities in Indonesia to prevent any miscommunication when it comes to Australia’s laid back sense of humour regarding world politics. However, preventing the use of politically sensitive material across all ADF Indonesian language programs, risks limiting the ADF’s nuanced understanding of current developments impacting on the internal security of a very important archipelagic neighbour.
This article is published in collaboration with New Mandala, the premier website for analysis on Southeast Asia’s politics and society. 
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2) Greenpeace’s ‘Dirty Bankers’ Report Accuses HSBC of Funding Deforestation in Indonesia
By : Ratri M. Siniwi | on 7:56 PM January 17, 2017
Jakarta. HSBC, one of the biggest banks in the world, has been accused of funding deforestation in Indonesia by environmental group Greenpeace International.
In a report titled "Dirty Bankers: How HSBC is Financing Forest Destruction for Palm Oil," the environmental activist group accused HSBC of arranging loans and other credit facilities totaling $16.3 billion for six companies profiled in Greenpeace's Dirty Bankers report, as well as nearly $2 billion in corporate bonds since 2012, despite the lender's proclaimed sustainable policy.

The UK-headquartered bank is known as one of the largest lenders to the palm oil industry in the world.
Greenpeace's report specifically highlights a list of HSBC clients that have been linked to unsustainable palm oil practices.
The NGO accused six companies — Singapore’s Bumitama Agri and Goodhope Asia Holdings, Malaysia’s IOI Group, Noble Group, and Korea’s POSCO Daewoo and Indonesia’s Salim Group — of destroying tropical rainforests, land grabbing, operating with zero permits, employing child labor and peatland draining.
"For a bank that proclaims 'sustainability underpins our strategic priorities and enables us to fulfil our purpose,' funding companies like Noble is a strange move!" Greenpeace's campaigner Annisa Rahmawati said on the NGO's website.
Specifically, the NGO said in its report that evidences are now available in the public domain showing that the six companies were responsible for unacceptable activities including having been subjected to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) complaints or suspensions.
They have also been been cited by the Indonesian government in cases of unrestrained fires and or been the subject of numerous critical reports from social and environmental NGOs.
"Even the most basic due diligence on these companies should have set alarm bells ringing, which raises the question: is HSBC failing to apply its policies altogether, or just failing to apply sufficient scrutiny when assessing whether current or prospective customers comply?" the Greenpeace report said.
The NGO called out HSBC to disclose details of all financial services to palm oil companies, halt financing to existing customers and refuse financing or other services to potential customers that do not comply to the "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation" policy.

HSBC's response
HSBC released a statement on Tuesday (17/01) to comment on the Greenpeace report, which started in a diplomatic tone, saying HSBC shares Greenpeace's concern about deforestation in Indonesia.
The bank said it "has no interest in financing customers involved in: illegal operations; land clearance by burning; the conversion of high conservation value areas; harmful or exploitative child labor or forced labor; the violation of the rights of local communities, such as the principle of free prior and informed consent; and operations where there is significant social conflict."
Regarding companies named by Greenpeace, HSBC said "customer confidentiality restricts us from commenting on specific companies. We recognize that this can cause frustration but do direct stakeholders to public information where we are aware of it."
The lender also claimed that following its policy revision in 2014, it has closed about 60 forestry and 104 palm oil banking accounts for failing to comply with their so-called "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation" policy.
"We do not consider closing a relationship a success, as we lose influence to promote higher standards, although we have no doubt that our policies benefit from having a bar, below which relationships will be ended," HSBC wrote in the statement.

"We are not aware of any current instances where customers are alleged to be operating outside our policy and where we have not taken, are not taking, appropriate action," the bank added.
Looking specifically at the palm oil sector, HSBC said it "believes that palm oil can bring many benefits to society, such as economic development and the alleviation of poverty. And we agree with Greenpeace that palm oil can also result in negative impacts if not managed legally and sustainably."
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1) MSG chair postpones PNG leg of Melanesia tour

January 19, 2017, 11:33 am
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2) ’Syringe terror’ prompts Papua Police to intensify security

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1) MSG chair postpones PNG leg of Melanesia tour
22 minutes ago 
The chairperson of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has postponed the PNG leg of his Melanesia tour.

Manasseh Sogavare Photo: RNZI
The tour, his second as chairperson, is to discuss the restructuring of the MSG Secretariat in Vanuatu and the revision of MSG Membership Guidelines with other MSG leaders.
Earlier this week Mr Sogavare met with his Vanuatu counterpart, Charlot Salwai in Port Vila and also with FLNKS spokesperson Victor Tutugoro.
Today he is to meet with the Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in Suva.

Fiji's Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. Photo: RNZ/ALEX PERROTTET
Following that meeting Mr Sogavare was supposed to fly to Port Moresby to meet with PNG's prime minister Peter O'Neill.
But this leg of the tour has now been postponed until February.
Mr Sogavare, who flys back to Solomon Islands on Sunday, said he would not be releasing a statement on the outcome of the tour until he completes the PNG leg in February.
The MSG secretariat in Port Vila has been plaqued by issues with funding and its overhaul was recommended by an independent review commissioned because of persistent funding problems and the review of membership guidelines has arisen over the issue of West Papuan membership to the Melanesian Spearhead group.
Solomon Islands and Vanuatu favour West Papuan Membership while Fiji and Papua New Guinea support Indonesia’s view that it should represent West Papuan interests in the group.
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2) ’Syringe terror’ prompts Papua Police to intensify security
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua | Thu, January 19, 2017 | 08:41 pm
Jayapura Police will intensify security measures in the Papuan city on the heels of reports that several residents have fallen victim to random syringe attacks while riding motorcycles or walking on the street.
The unidentified perpetrators reportedly usually target women on motorcycles or pedestrians.
Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Tober Sirait said his office had investigated the shocking incidents to ascertain the motives of the attacks and content of the syringes. The police have sent blood samples drawn from victims to a forensics lab in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
“There is concern among the public that the syringes have HIV and the motive is to spread the virus,” Tober said Thursday.
Tober said rumors had circulated that many victims had gone to hospitals after being attacked, but many did not file a police report. Another rumor was that there were dozens who had been attacked, but they had neither reported the incidents to the police nor gone for a medical examination.
He said the police had only received reports from two victims, one of whom reported a syringe attack on Jan. 6 and the other on Jan. 13. “Both are women. The one on Jan. 6 said she was walking alone when a motorcycle cornered her and then [an individual] stabbed her in the back,” he said. The second one said she was struck with a needle while riding her motorcycle alone on the way to pick up her child from school. (evi)
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1) Organisations petition Australia

January 19, 2017, 9:47 pm
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2) Indonesian Military to build naval base in Papua
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1) Organisations petition Australia
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The five most prominent Ni-Vanuatu charitable organisations in the country led by the Vanuatu Free West Papua Association (VFWPA), have petitioned the Australian Government to “stop killing Melanesian people
in West Papua” by way of providing financial support and military training for Indonesian Elite Kopassus and Detachment 88.
The training programme is made possible under the Australia/Indonesia bilateral military cooperation.
The petition was signed by the Chairman of VFWPA, Pastor Allan Nafuki, President of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs, Chief Seni Mao Tirsupe, Chief Executive Officer of the Vanuatu National Council of Women, Leias Cullwick, Chief Executive Officer of Vanuatu Non-Government Organisations, Charlie Harrison and President of Vanuatu National Youth Council, Vira Taivakalo.
The petition says the decision has come at the right time to support and encourage all the West Papua Solidarity Groups in Australia to change the heart of the Australian Government to “stop the killing of Melanesian brothers and sisters in West Papua”.
The petition describes Melanesians as “the most hated ethnic group in the world” saying, “…the Australian Government should have learned and repented from the past barbarous treatment our forefathers received during the black birding and slave-trade era”.
In the true spirit of solidarity and partnership with all the Pacific Civil Society Organisations and the people of Vanuatu:
• Convince that all indigenous peoples have an inalienable right to complete freedom, the exercise of their sovereignty and the integrity of their national territory.
• Re-affirm our solid stand to continue always to be the voice of the voiceless.
• Express solidarity with the commitments of the leaders of the MSG, other Pacific countries and all the West Papuan support groups around the globe to condemn the ongoing genocide and human rights violation in West Papua.
• Further petition the Australian Government to respect all the Articles of the following International Instruments on Human Rights which were adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly :
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (GA resolution 217 A (111) of 10 December 1948),
• (11) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
• (GA resolution 2200 A (XX1) of 16 December 1966 and came into force on 23/03/1976),
• (111) Declaration On The Granting Of Independence To Colonial Countries and Peoples. (GA resolution 1514 (xv) of 14 December 1960 and
• (1V) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. (GA resolution 2200 A (XXXI) of 16 December 1966, but entered into force on 03/01/1976
• Finally petition the Australian Government to solemnly proclaim the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end of colonialism in all its forms and manifestation in the world and especially in West Papua.
The Chairman of VFWPA says the First Secretary Head of Political and Economic Unit, Sonya Gray attended the signing ceremony at the PCV Office yesterday.
The Chairman read the petition in her presence then handed her a copy to deliver to the Australian High Commissioner.
The First Secretary said thank you and assured the petitioners with words to the effect that the Australian Government, like Vanuatu, does not support all forms of mistreatment of all colonised peoples but that at the same time respects Indonesia’s sovereignty.
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2) Indonesian Military to build naval base in Papua
News Desk The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Fri, January 20, 2017 | 09:10 am

Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said his side planned to improve the distribution of personnel across the country's territories, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia, including in Papua. 
"We hope military personnel and military bases are no longer concentrated around Java, but also in the border areas so that those [bases]  help create new economic centers and trigger development," Gatot was quoted as saying by Antara on Thursday at TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta. 
 
When asked to give further details about the plan, Gatot said the TNI would focus on distributing naval personnel first, while the expansion of Army and Air Force bases had yet to be planned.  
"Currently, the TNI has only been focused on [developing] the Eastern Fleet. We need to establish a new fleet in Papua," Gatot added. 
Currently, the TNI has the Eastern Fleet based in Surabaya and Western Fleet in Jakarta. (dmr) 
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1) Indonesia’s West Papua: Settlers Dominate Coastal Regions, Highlands Still Overwhelmingly Papuan

January 20, 2017, 12:03 pm
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2) GUEST BLOG: Maire Leadbeater – Indonesian Military Sensitivity revealing
3) Indonesian government challenges another green group over freedom of information request
4) Freeport seeks guarantees from Indonesia amid mining shake-up
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1) Indonesia’s West Papua: Settlers Dominate Coastal Regions, Highlands Still Overwhelmingly Papuan

 West Papuan Demographics Revisited

By Jim Elmslie Global Research, January 20, 2017 The Asia-Pacific Journal 15 January 2017

This paper will reconsider previous work on the demographic transition under way in West Papua (the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat) in the light of documents received from the Indonesian Statistics Office (Badan Pusat Statistic BPS) that give an ethnic breakdown across the 29 regencies that comprise Papua province and the eleven regencies in Papua Barat. They show that, while the proportion of Papuan people as a percentage of the entire population continues to decline, this process varies widely between different regencies. While some have a strong majority of non-Papuan people other regencies are still overwhelmingly Papuan. 
This dichotomy is closely linked with topography – the mountainous interior outside of urban areas having a Papuan majority and the accessible lowlands a non-Papuan majority. The consequences of this dichotomy – a large chunk of West Papua about the size of Great Britain is peopled almost exclusively by Melanesian people, even as some of the coastal regions become non-Papuan majority– is profound. West Papuans of the interior have not only survived Indonesian occupation but have kept their lands and cultures largely intact, which continues to underpin calls for an independent West Papua and conflict with the Indonesian government and its security forces. 
While coastal regions continue to receive large numbers of non-Papuan migrants resulting in the increasing minoritisation of the Papuan people and their concomitant militarization, marginalization and dispossession. This process is also occurring in the highlands from expansion of the oil/gas sector and mining sector; the proliferation of new regencies (with new bureaucracies) and the continuing development of new roads, all of which alienate traditional land and draw in migrants. Meanwhile the conflict over the political status of West Papua will continue, and indeed grow, as external actors, such as the Pacific countries of Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, shine a spotlight on the conflict and advocate for the right to self-determination for the West Papuan people.
The Importance of West Papua to Indonesia
The territory of West Papua (the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat) makes up about 24% of Indonesia’s total landmass but contains only 1.7% of the nation’s population. It is also Indonesia’s richest region in terms of natural resources with the largest extant tracts of rainforest in south-east Asia; vast oil and gas reserves, and possibly the world’s largest deposits of copper and gold. Indeed the Papua’s giant Freeport Mine is the largest economic entity in Indonesia and the country’s largest taxpayer.
The economic exploitation of these resources, especially in the establishment of massive oil palm plantations (millions of hectares are underway or planned), and the economic opportunities that arise from a fast growing local economy has drawn in hundreds of thousands of migrants from other regions of Indonesia motivated by self-interest and previously by government sponsored transmigration programs. The migrants differ starkly from the indigenous (mainly Christian) Melanesian inhabitants of West Papua, being light skinned Asians predominantly of the Muslim faith.
West Papua is also symbolically central to the self-conceptualization of the Indonesian state as an archipelago nation whose motto is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) and it represents the final victory of the Indonesian nationalists over the Dutch after 350 years of brutal colonial rule. This means that the future of West Papua, and the movement by Papuan nationalists to break away from Indonesia, is a first order concern for the Indonesian government and military. The demographic transition now underway wherein new migrants have become the majority in many regencies is one of the underlying drivers of conflict in West Papua and is fueling the widespread desire for independence amongst the Papuan people. This is resulting in a direct challenge to the authority and legitimacy of the Indonesian state and its sovereignty over West Papua.
Map One showing the territory of West Papua (the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat), previously known as Irian Jaya. Note the large chain of mountain ranges that run through the island of New Guinea all the way to the Bird’s Head region and the flat coastal plains to the north and south of this highlands region.
West Papuan Demographic Transition
In a series of papers since 2006 I have examined the demographic transition that has taken place in West Papua following Indonesian takeover in 1962-63, and especially since the census of 1971, which found the total population of 923,000 as being 96% Papuan and only 4%, or 36,000 people, as non-Papuan1. The basis of this argument is that the non-Papuan sector of the population is growing faster than the Papuan sector due to large scale inward migration of non-Papuans from other parts of Indonesia and the vastly substandard living conditions of ethic Papuans, including high infant and maternal mortality rates, that cause a lower overall fertility rate. Due to patchy statistical information the rate of growth of the two population sectors had to be estimated from different censuses data and then extrapolated as a projection of a possible future demographic break down.
While the trends are clear and unambiguous the actual population growth rates vary depending on assumptions about future inward migration and respective fertility rates. It also must be presumed that in a region as vast and as rugged as West Papua, census data will always be incomplete, as well as containing certain inaccuracies. Therefore while the data allows one to establish trends with great confidence, the precise number of future population segments should be taken as indicative (with the caveat that projections are based on past growth rates remaining consistent, which may not always be the case). Nonetheless the population of West Papua continues to grow and the percentage of the population which is non-Papuan also continues to rise. This is a driver of conflict: newcomers take resources such as land, forests and minerals from traditional land owners; the Indonesian security apparatus continues to grow to maintain control over the territory and resource extraction in particular; Papuan people are further marginalized and lose even their basic freedoms of speech and association, and so Papuan discontent at the Indonesian occupation also grows and with it the desire for independence. Therefore understanding the demographic transition that is underway is central to comprehending the nature of the conflict in West Papua.
Where this paper extends the argument made in previous works is in the examination of the Papuan population on a regency by regency basis. Whereas in previous analyses the figures were largely conflated to look at the territory of West Papua (both Papua and Papua Barat provinces) as a whole, we are now able to rather forensically examine each particular region in isolation. This allows a deeper more finely grained insight into the process.



Map Two showing the territory of West Papua including the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) and the administrative regions called kabupatan (regencies).
My previous analysis determined that the long term annual growth rate for the Papuan population was 1.84% and that of the non-Papuan population 10.82%2 for the period from 1971 up to 2000. From my calculations this meant that indigenous Papuans comprised about 48%3 of the entire population of West Papua (Papua and Papua Barat provinces) in 2010. The figures received from the BPS are from the 2010 census and identify the inhabitants of Papua province as either Suku Papua (Papuan tribe) or Suku Bukan Papua4 (non-Papuan tribe). According to these figures out of a total population of 2,883,381 in Papua Province, some 2,121,436 were Papuan (73.57%) and 658,708 Non-Papuan (22.84%), the remainder being unknown. The BPS figures for Papua Barat show that the total population is 753,399 of which 51.49% is Papuan5.
Thus these BPS figures differ somewhat from my previous figures where I estimated that in 2010 for a combined population of Papua Province and Papua Barat Province of 3,612,854 some 1,730,336 (47.89%) were Papuan and 1,882,517 (52.10%) were non-Papuan. The new BPS figures now indicate that the Papuan proportion of the total population of Papua and Papua Barat provinces is 66.26%, or 2,409,670 Papuans out of a total population of 3,612,8546. This means (according to the BPS figures) that the historical growth rate of the Papuans for the period 1971-2000 (1.84%) and the non-Papuans (10.82%) have changed. However the total number of Papuans in the 2000 Indonesian census, where there was a breakdown of tribal populations, was 1,505,405 while the number of Papuans in the 2010 Indonesian census (Papua and Papua Barat provinces) was 2,409,670. This seems hard to believe as it implies a Papuan population growth rate of nearly 5%. The historical Papuan growth rate was 1.84% (1971 to 2000). The current estimated growth rate for the whole of Indonesia is 1.40%7. The 2013 estimate for the growth rate of PNG is 2.1%. How can a growth rate of 5% for the Papuan population be explained? The answer to this question explains why there is a divergence of my previous predictions and the figures released by BPS.
One explanation is that previous and current Indonesian governments have deliberately pursued a policy that researcher and analyst, Emil Ola Kleden describes as the ‘unclarity of ethnic composition in Papua [that] reflected Indonesia’s lasting political stand on this issue. Both Old and New Order regimes held the view that knowing the ‘truth’ about ethnic composition could result in social and political instability8’. One example of this policy of ‘unclarity’ is that the BPS documents from the 2010 census relating to ethnicity quoted in this paper were only briefly displayed on the provincial BPS website before being taken down9.
Besides any deliberate Indonesian government policy there are several other possible explanations for the confusion over the Papuan population growth rate and the subsequent total Papuan population and they lie in the uncertainty of the data collected by BPS over various census periods. I have derived my figures from the 1971; 2000 and 2010 censuses and extrapolated growth rates from the changes in population numbers between censuses. It is very possible that:
  • The 1971 census was inaccurate due to the recent takeover of Irian Barat (as the territory of West Papua was then officially designated) by the Indonesian military; the relatively loose state control over a vast and wild country and the limited resources of the Indonesian state apparatus to conduct such a census.
  • The 2000 census was inaccurate due to the widespread turmoil that was unfolding across much of Eastern Indonesia in the wake of the fall of President Suharto and the subsequent independence of East Timor. In West Papua militia and other groups were active and the Indonesian state apparatus was again poorly equipped to undertake such a huge process as a census across the vast and restless stretches of West Papua.
  • The 2010 census may well be accurate, although given that West Papua remains a very large and relatively undeveloped region with low population densities spread throughout very rugged terrain where a low level insurgency still continues it is highly likely some groups were not included. It is also possible that groups of Papuans were included who had not been included in previous census (which could go some way to explaining the rapid increase in the number of Papuans).
  • Anecdotally there has been an incentive for the local regent (bupati) and other local leaders and politicians to inflate the number of people in villages and tribes to leverage more resources from the provincial government – funds allocated for health and education services for instance. This may or may not have had an effect on census data.
Besides actual difficulties in data collection there are also assumptions embodied in the data that may impact the outcome – either intentionally or unintentionally. For instance Table One shows the average annual population growth rates for Indonesian provinces going back to 1971 by decade. For Papua (and previously Irian Jaya Province) the growth rates have been 2.31% (1971-1980); 3.46% (1980-1990); 3.22% (1990-2000); 5.39% (200-2010) but just 1.99% for 2010-2014. This last figure is an estimation as censuses are conducted every ten years. This is counter intuitive as the population growth rate has been growing for four decades in a solid trend, inward migration of non-Papuans into Papua has been strong in recent years (not least due to massive development in the oil palm sector that has brought in many workers), and there has been rapid growth in (non-Papuan dominated) urban areas.
Together the above points mean that the data provided by BPS must be used with a degree of caution. It is highly possible that Papuans who missed out on earlier censuses due to their isolation were included in subsequent censuses as the strengthening Indonesian state apparatus and modern communications and transportation improved the efficiency of BPS field operatives. It is also quite possible that the numbers of Papuan people living in remote regions have been inflated to secure more government funding (and electoral advantage).
Does this mean that it is impossible to draw conclusions on the demographic transition that is underway in West Papua? No. Even if precise numbers might be elusive trends can clearly be established from the BPS data which hold even when the exact numbers of respective population groups are unclear. By examining the data from the 2010 census it is apparent that:
  • The percentage of Papuans as a proportion of the total population of the Papua and Papua Barat is falling over time, primarily due to inward migration. This process is ongoing.
  • In some regions the percentage of Papuans as a proportion of the population has fallen catastrophically. This is particularly true in most urban centres such as Jayapura and Sorong, and in the flat coastal areas such as Merauke and Keerom. This process is ongoing (see below).
  • That in large areas of the highlands and remote regions of both Papua and Papua Barat provinces Papuan people still make up in excess of 90% of the total population.
Figures from the BPS publication, Profil Penduduk Menurut Suku Hasil SP 2010 di Papua, (Population Profile Result According to Tribe in Papua 2010), show that the most of the Non-Papuan population reside in only a few of Papua’s 28 kabupatens (regencies). According to the Suku document 556,422 Non-Papuans (84.47%) out of the total 658,708 are found in just seven of Papua’s 28 regencies, leaving just 102,286 non-Papuans spread out in the remaining 21 regencies.





Table One showing average annual population growth rates by decade. Source: BPS.
It is clear that the trend of an increasing proportion of non-Papuans in the overall population of Papua and Papua Barat province is continuing. What the Suku document shows is that the non-Papuans are concentrated in a few regencies, most of which are located in the border region close to neighbouring PNG; in Mimika near the Freeport Mine; on Biak Island and in the urban centre of Nabire. Table Two shows the actual breakdown for each regency in Papua Province by ethnic group. This table shows that there are five regencies with a majority of non-Papuans: Merauke (62.73%); Nabire (52.46%); Mimika (57.49%); Keerom (58.68%), and Jayapura City (65.09%). This means that there are still 23 regencies where Papuans are in the majority although there are another six with substantial non-Papuan populations: Jayapura (rural) (38.52%); Yapen Waropen (21.91%); Biak Numfor (26.18%); Boven Digoel (33.04%); Sarmi (29.75%), and Waropen (20.41%). The remaining 17 regencies are all overwhelmingly Papuan in their ethnic composition, although with a non-Papuan presence concentrated heavily in the towns. For instance Lanny Jaya is 99.89% Papuan; Tolikara 99.04%; Yahukimo 98.57%; Paniai 97.58%, and Jayawijaya 90.79% Papuan. This dramatic population disparity is graphic shown in Table Three.
Table Three, Jumlah Penduduk Suku Papua dan Bukan Papua Menurut Topografi Wilayah di Papua, Tahun 2010 (Total Population of Tribe Papua and not Tribe Papua According to Topography in Papua Year 2010), is quite staggering in revealing the incredible inconsistency in the ethnic makeup of the various regencies in Papua Province. Table Three divides the regencies of Papua Province into three geographical zones: Dataran Mudah (easy plains); Dataran Sulit (difficult plains) and Pegunungan (mountain range). It is immediately apparent that the non-Papuan population is predominant in the hospitable ‘easy plains’, significant in the ‘difficult plains’, but very sparse in the ‘mountain ranges’. The non-Papuan population has moved to and settled regions most conducive to types of agriculture of industrial development in line with the economic models seen elsewhere in Indonesia. They have not moved in large numbers to the mountainous regions – with some exceptions such as the fertile agricultural lands of the Baliem Valley where much land has been ‘bought’ from traditional Dani subsistence farmers.
In Papua Barat province the population divide similarly runs between urban and remote areas. In Sorong regency Papuans make up only 36.07% of the population and non-Papuans 73.93% with Javanese being the single biggest ethnic group at 41.46%. Meanwhile the mountainous regencies of Trambraun and Maybrat both have Papuan populations in excess of 95% of the total populations10.


Table Two showing the ethnic breakdown of regencies into Papuan and Bukan Papuan (non-Papuan) charts in 2010. Source: Indonesian Statistics Office, BPS.
Table Three showing the regencies of Papua Province broken into Papuan and Bukan Papuan (non-Papuan) population cohorts and by geographic region into Dataran Mudah (easy plains); Dataran Sulit (difficult plains) and Pegunungan (mountain range). Source: Indonesian Statistics Office, BPS. Note that the non-Papuan population cohort is indicated by the darker shaded portion of the bar graphs and is predominantly in the Dataran Mudah (easy plains) region of Papuan province. Relatively few non-Papuan people live in the Pegunungan (mountain range) regions of the highlands.
This situation has echoes of the occupation of Australia by European settlers. The fertile ‘easy’ country of the coastal regions, particularly along the Eastern seaboard, was quickly taken over by farmer settlers, but the harsh interior and northern reaches of Australia were left alone for nearly a century from initial European invasion in 1788. It was really only with the expansion of the cattle industry in the late nineteenth century that large areas of the centre and north were occupied by the colonialists, driven by commercial imperatives. Similar settlement patterns unfolded in New Zealand, Canada and the United States where the economics of settler colonization (where the colonisers never left) resulted in widespread land alienation from traditional owners and the death of indigenous peoples on a massive scale. Will this same process unfold in Papua Province driven by mining projects, new regencies and roads as well as new military bases, rather than cattle?
Whereas in previous analysis’s I conflated the population segments and treated the population of West Papua (Papua Province and West Papua Province) as a single entity and extrapolated future population projections based on previous growth rates, the Suku, and other, documents allow for focused analysis. The basic finding that the non-Papuan sector of the population is growing faster than the Papuan is sound, but with great regional variance. The projection that the non-Papuan sector of the population would come to dominate the Papuan sector and comprise a majority is correct in certain regencies, but clearly not yet happening in other regencies, especially in the highlands. The non-Papuan sector of the population now clearly dominates the richest areas and the urban centres of power, with all the benefits that brings such as education and health services.
One region where the demographic transition has been well researched is Keerom, where non-Papuans made up around 60% of the population in 2010 (this figure would be significantly higher in 2017). From being 100% Papuan in 1963 the authors’ predict on current trends that the Papuan percentage of the population will fall to 15-20% within the next decade or so11. The Papuans are systematically discriminated against by having manifestly inferior health and education services, greatly reduced access to sealed roads, piped water and electricity and have lost large areas of land to migrant ‘land grabbing’ for both small scale agriculture and large scale oil palm projects12. Besides the racial divide the two populations are also divided by religion – Papuans being predominantly Christian and migrants predominantly Muslim. Fear and mistrust characterize relations between the two communities. As migrants continue to encroach on Papuan land tension continues to simmer. Such conditions are a breeding ground for inter-ethnic violence, up to and including genocide, which I have discussed at some length in previous publications13.
Another region where non-Papuan domination has already become entrenched is in Merauke Kabupaten, in the southern region of Papua province, where the Papuans comprised less than 40 percent of the population in 2010 (this figure would be lower in 2017). This is a region where huge oil palm development is proceeding as part of the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE). Millions of hectares of plantations are underway or in the planning stages – all on land taken from traditional owners, often under coercion and with little or no compensation. Papuans are even deprived of employment as labourers on the plantations as workers are being brought in from Java, many of whom apparently do not speak the lingua franca and official national language, Bahasa Indonesia (and are therefore unable to communicate with local Papuans who can speak it)14. The Javanese are seen as more reliable and dedicated workers than the Papuans – which may be true as the Papuans are used to the more relaxed lifestyle of subsistence farming15. Apparently these Javanese settlers have themselves been forced off their land in Java due to large scale industrial developments, for example, the expansion of Java’s network of freeways; there is therefore an economic imperative to resettle them elsewhere and Papua is still seen as largely ‘empty’.
Ethnic tension in Merauke is high and minor incidents, such as traffic accidents, easily escalate into violent stand offs where the (predominantly non-Papuan) police side with the migrants. There are reports that police are also arming migrants, who are fearful of the Papuans’ ‘primitiveness’16 and believe them to be uncivilized and violent. Further exacerbated by religious differences this situation is a powder keg contained only by a repressive military and police presence. It is a situation where everyday life is one of oppression and misery for most of the Papuan population who suffer the indignity of being an occupied population: having their traditional lands stolen; discrimination in employment; very poor levels of health and education services and no basic freedoms of expression and association. Violence meted out to Papuans suspected of supporting ‘separatism’ is swift and ranges from beatings, incarceration and torture to extrajudicial killings. The police and military act with impunity and the legal system is effectively an arm of the security apparatus.
Concluding Comments
Previously I have predicted that, if the trends of the past few decades remained constant, the Papuan sector of the total population of West Papua would continue to fall until it was a ‘small and rapidly dwindling minority’17. This paper extends that argument and finds while such a conclusion is correct for some regencies, it is not for others. Indeed the situation predicted as a possible future for West Papua as a whole – the minoritisation of the Papuan people – is already a reality in rural areas such as Keerom and Merauke, and urban centres such as Jayapura and Sorong.
The fact that only relatively small numbers of migrants have moved into the highlands regions of Papua and Papua Barat means the highland Papuan groups, such as the Dani and the Mee, are not in imminent danger of becoming a ‘small and rapidly dwindling minority’, even as their lowland brothers and sisters suffer that fate. Migrants are increasingly drawn to the economic advantages, and relative safety, of the lowland regions where they can work on oil palm plantations or ‘own’ their own small agricultural blocks, as well as works as traders, public servants and participants in the rapid economic expansion that is underway. These opportunities are more limited in the highlands but growing as new regencies are created and new roads and settlements built, and as mining and oil/gas projects proliferate.
While some regions are Papuan dominated and others migrant dominated, regions such as Sarmi, Biak Numfor and Jayapura (rural) still have a Papuan majority but are receiving large numbers of migrants. If these trends continue they will end up in the same pernicious situation as the migrant dominated areas discussed above where the Papuans become marginalised and their future existence is put in peril.
The consequences of these new findings are profound:
  • The Papuan people living in regencies such as Sorong, Merauke, Jayapura City, Keerom and Mimika are already a minority and are set to become further marginalized as non-Papuan migrants continue to arrive to work in the agricultural sector and pursue other economic opportunities. Non-Papuan migrants clash with the Papuan population due to loss of traditional lands; discrimination in employment, health and education services; religious tensions, and by the increasing suppression and human rights abuses inflicted by Indonesian security forces, especially in response to perceived ‘separatist’ activity. This is set to continue and grow as more non-Papuan migrants arrive, fueling ethnic tensions and laying the ground for violent, even genocidal, conflict.
  • The Papuan people living in regencies in the mountainous interior of the country are still the overwhelming majority. The relatively small number of non-Papuan migrants in these areas are involved in trade, civil service, the construction industry and the security forces. While new roads, airports and industrial developments are underway, large numbers of migrants will only arrive when economic opportunities are present, such as oil palm or other plantations (where possible); mines; gas and oil fields are expanded or other projects are established. It seems likely that this will occur, at least in some areas, as the economic imperative driving development reaches ever further into remote areas. Conflict over such resource development and the ongoing security response with ‘sweeping’ operations and military reprisals seems likely to continue under current Indonesian government policies. The situation can be described as ongoing insurgency which is now characterized by non-violent resistance on the part of the Papuans demanding not just their basic human rights but also that of self-determination, bolstered by rapidly growing international support, particularly from the small Pacific island nations such as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
  • Given the above the conflict in Papua Province (and West Papua Province) will only grow short of a fundamental shift in Indonesian policy including: the recognition of traditional land ownership rights; ceasing militarization and military impunity; respect for the fundamental human rights of free speech and association; progressive education, health and employment opportunities, and the emergence of political organisations that adequately reflect the interests of the Papuan people. At this stage such policy shifts by the Indonesian government appear unlikely.
  • International support for the basic rights of the Papuan people is growing rapidly with a goal of taking the issue to the United Nations, having (West) Papua put back on the Schedule of Non-Self Governing Territories and, ultimately, having the flawed 1969 Act of Free Choice, whereby Indonesia gained sovereignty over the region, revisited. These figures mean that the ‘problem’ of West Papua will not be resolved any time soon by the effective minoritisation of the Papuan people, at least not in the highlands. On the contrary large portions of the Papuan people retain their lands and cultures intact and are quite capable of both having an open and honest vote on their integration into Indonesia, and, given the chance, functioning as an independent nation.
This paper shows how that the process of settlement by recent non-Papuan migrants in the territory of West Papua is far from uniform. On the contrary most of the migrants have settled in the coastal plains and urban centres while the vast highlands regions remain populated predominantly by Papuan people. However the highlands regions will be increasingly attractive to migrants as the Indonesia government pursues aggressive economic development policies including creating new regencies (and their concomitant bureaucracies); building roads and developing mineral; oil/gas and forestry resources. While the Indonesian government claims that accelerated development will help resolve Papuan grievances against Indonesian rule the opposite is likely as the Papuans get left behind in the development process in favour of non-Papuan migrants; they become further marginalized within an Asian Muslim society, and their traditional lands are forcibly taken over by government or commercial interests. Therefore it looks likely that the changing demographic make of West Papua will continue to fuel conflict into the future.
The author would like to thank Septer Manufandu for his insightful comments and assistance with this essay.


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Notes
1For instance, West Papua: Genocide, Demographic Change, the Issue of ‘Intent’ and the Australia-Indonesia Security Treaty, Australia Institute of International Affairs, Adelaide, 23/10/06; Not Just a Disaster, Papuan Claims of Genocide Deserve to be taken Seriously, Inside Indonesia Issue 97, July-Sept. 2009; West Papuan Demographic Transition and the 2010 Indonesian Census: “Slow Motion Genocide” or Not?, Papua Papers No. 1, CPACS, University of Sydney, September, 2010. More recently with Camellia Webb-Gannon, A Slow Motion Genocide: Indonesian Rule in West Papua, Griffith Journal of Law and Human Dignity, Vol. 1(2), 2013, pp. 142-165.
2See West Papuan Demographic Transition and the 2010 Indonesian Census: “Slow Motion genocide” or not? Op. cit.
3Ibid.
4Suku meaning ‘tribe’ and Bukan meaning ‘not’ in Bahasa Indonesia
5Statistics on Ethnic Diversity in the Land of Papua, Indonesia, Aris Ananta; Dwi Retno Wilujeng Wahyu Utami; Nur Budi Handayani, Asia & Pacific Policy Studies, Vol. 3, Issue 3, September 2016, p. 3.
6There is some variance in the figures from the Badan Pusat Staistik of total populations etc. although these are statistically insignificant.
8This quote is from a paper presented by Emil Ola Kleden, ‘Papua, Indonesia and Climate Change’ for the conference, At The Intersection: Climate Change in the Pacific and Resource Exploitation in West Papua, organized by the West Papua Project at the University of Western Sydney on November 3-4, 2016. Kleden refers to Ananta, A., Evi Nurvidya Arifin, M. Sairi Hasbullah, Nur Budi Handayani, Agus Pramono, Demography of Indonesia’s Ethnicity, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2015, p.10.
9
10Statistics on Ethnic Diversity, op. cit.
11Cypri J. P. Dale and John Djonga, The Papuan Paradox: The Patterns of Social Injustice, the Violations of Right to Development, and the Failure of Affirmative Policies in Kabupaten Keerom, Papua, Yayasan Teratai Hati Papua, Arso, Keerom, Papua, and Sunspirit for Justice and Peace, Flores, NTT, Indonesia, 2011, slide 45.
12Ibid.
13See Jim Elmslie and Cammi Webb-Gannon, A Slow-Motion Genocide: Indonesian Rule in West Papua, Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity, Vol. 1[2] 2013, pp. 142-165.
14Confidential source with firsthand knowledge of conditions in Merauke.
15Personal comment from a Papuan source who related that many Papuan people are unused to the controlled and repetitive regime of industrial agriculture, and intensely bored from such occupations as security ‘guards’.
16Ibid.
17For instance see, Jim Elmslie, West Papuan Demographic Transition and the 2010 Indonesian Census: “Slow Motion Genocide” or not?, Papua Papers No. 1, West Papua Project, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney, 2010, p.4.
The original source of this article is The Asia-Pacific Journal 
Copyright © Jim Elmslie, The Asia-Pacific Journal , 2017


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2) GUEST BLOG: Maire Leadbeater – Indonesian Military Sensitivity revealing
By   /   January 20, 2017 
Earlier this month, the touchy Indonesian military commander in chief, Gatot Nurmantyo, set off a mini diplomatic storm with Australia. He took offence at teaching materials in use at a Perth military base where some of his officers were being trained.


Earlier this month, the touchy Indonesian military commander in chief, Gatot Nurmantyo, set off a mini diplomatic storm with Australia. He took offence at teaching materials in use at a Perth military base where some of his officers were being trained. One item involved a satirical rendering of Pancasila, Indonesia’s five point state ideology. For instance in this alternative ‘Pancagila’ , or five ‘crazy’ principles, ‘just and civilised humanity’ becomes ‘corruption that is fair and equitable’. The joke has been circulating on Indonesian social media for some time. Then there were references to West Papua which did not please the General. He was outraged by an assertion that West Papuans wanted independence as a Melanesian nation, although that would be considered a statement of fact by independent observers. And he did not like an article referring to the 1969 “Act of Free Choice’ which cemented Indonesia’s control over the territory.
It wasn’t respectful enough to the then military commander Sarwo Edhie Wibowo. Again the documented facts are plain: in 1969 less than one percent of the population took part in a ‘vote’. The military helped to ensure the unanimous backing for Indonesia by means of intimidation, coercion, and in the case of rebellious tribes with the help of air strikes and paratroopers.
The outcome of the spat looked like being a full suspension of Indonesia’s military ties with Australia, which would have been a cause for celebration for West Papuan people and their supporters around the world. Regrettably the Australian brass apologised and removed the ‘offensive ’ material, so now the fallout seems limited to a suspension of the language training for Indonesian officers.
In New Zealand, as in Australia, we hear a lot about the good relationship we have with Indonesia. But it comes at a high price – turning a blind eye to the repressive nature of the Indonesian military. Australia and New Zealand are both in the business of training Indonesian officers to be more efficient and effective. This is deeply problematic because the military’s major role is suppressing internal dissent, and it targets those with political aspirations for self-determination and freedom. We don’t have a good influence on the Indonesian soldiers as is sometimes claimed, instead we cave in to Indonesian sensitivity even when it means trampling on free speech and the rights of the West Papuan people.
Indonesia has made democratic progress since the end of the Suharto regime, but the military remains largely untouched, in part because of its independent sources of income from legal and illegal enterprises. In West Papua it benefits from ‘protecting’ the resource extraction of gold, copper and timber. Nationalist hardliners like Nurmantyo are in the ascendancy. Retired General Wiranto was recently appointed as Indonesia’s top security minister. He was in command of the military when East Timor was in flames and has been charged by a UN sponsored court with crimes against humanity: murder, deportation and persecution of those believed to be supporters of independence. Like all the other Indonesian perpetrators of violence in East Timor, he has never been brought to trial.
Indonesia’s Defense Minister is Ryamizard Ryacudu, an uncompromising nationalist who is infamous for his defence of the special forces soldiers who killed Chief Theys Eluay (charismatic chairperson of the Papuan Presidium Council) in November 2001: ‘people say they did wrong, they broke the law … But for me, they are heroes because the person they killed was a rebel leader.’
17 years ago when horrific violence engulfed East Timor, New Zealand and other western governments were impelled to suspend defence ties with Indonesia. To its discredit New Zealand quietly resumed defence training ties with Indonesia in 2007. These days it is the people of West Papua who are in the line of fire from the police and military, even though their struggle is a peaceful one. They risk arrest and torture every time they stage a demonstration especially if they dare to display an image of the Morning Star flag. Last November even a prayer gathering in Sorong was deemed a ‘separatist’ activity, so it was forcibly dispersed and 106 people were arrested.
Over the half century that Indonesia has been in charge in West Papua the loss of life is so high that it is described by academics and human rights advocates as a ‘slow genocide’. This term encompasses not only killings and the routine practice of torture, but also the multiple impacts of a brutal colonial rule on health and the environment.
New Zealand’s defence ties are significant even though small in scale. Selected Indonesian officers regularly attend the six month New Zealand Defence Force Advanced Command and Staff Course. Indonesian officers come here to attend bilateral defence talks, workshops, and meetings. New Zealand officers visit Indonesia to take part in study tours, conferences, and ceremonies. In 2011 we hosted an officer from the notorious Kopassus special forces and an enquiry under the Official Information Act confirmed that no questions were asked about his human rights record.
Our political leaders are so obsessed with keeping on side with Indonesia that they routinely chant the mantra that they support the ‘territorial integrity’ of Indonesia. Our representatives raise human rights concerns from time to time, but always politely and ineffectively. General Nurmantyo knows this game well and he has won this round, but the debate he provoked draws new attention to the true agenda of Indonesia’s unreformed and unrepentant military.
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3) Indonesian government challenges another green group over freedom of information request
By Philip Jacobson, Mongabay.com Thursday 19 January 2017
The data in question: detailed maps of the land handed out to oil palm companies.
The Indonesian government is going to the Supreme Court over an NGO’s freedom of information request for detailed maps of land on which oil palm companies have been licensed to operate in Kalimantan, the country’s portion of Borneo island. Civil society groups have tried for years to pry away the maps, said to be crucial if the public is to effectively monitor an industry rife with illegality. Oil palm plantation firms routinely clear outside of their permitted areas, destroying forests and community lands with little oversight from local officials.

The lack of clarity over who has been authorised to operate in precisely which areas can play into the hands of companies who dismiss watchdogallegations as based on faulty data.
“We as members of the public want to participate in the nation’s governance of its natural resources”, said Linda Rosalina, a campaigner with Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), the group behind the request. “There is no reason for the ministry to keep these documents under wraps,” she said. The Ministry of Land and Spatial Planning says otherwise. While it concedes that sharing the boundaries, coordinates and area of a company’s concession presents no problem, it continues to argue that releasing the permit holder’s name is a violation of the firm’s privacy.  “It cannot be disclosed except for the purposes of [official] investigation and deed checking,” ministry spokesperson Virgo Eresta Jaya told Mongabay.
There is no reason for the ministry to keep these documents under wraps.
Linda Rosalina, campaigner, Forest Watch Indonesia 
FWI disagrees, arguing that maps without concessionaires’ names “make it difficult to identify companies that overlap or come into conflict with community land,” according to Kristian Purba, the group’s director. “I don’t know why the names can’t be released,” he told Mongabay. “It’s not like we’re asking for really detailed information, like the company’s wealth or finances.” While the ministry has put the nameless maps online, “they can’t be downloaded if you want to do spatial analysis,” Purba added. Last July, Indonesia’s Central Information Commission (KIP) ruled in favor of FWI’s request, ordering the ministry to release the maps, permit holders’ names included. The Surabaya State Administrative Court backed the NGO on appeal.
On December 29, the ministry announced a second appeal, this time to the nation’s highest court. FWI isn’t the only environmental pressure group to meet resistance from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration after filing a successful freedom of information request. Also in December, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry decided to go to court over a KIP ruling in favor of Greenpeace Indonesia. Greenpeace had asked the forestry ministry to release a variety of geospatial maps in the shapefile (.shp) format, which allows for more sophisticated analysis than do the .jpeg and .pdf files the state is willing to part with. The NGO is pursuing shapefile maps of oil palm, timber and mining concessions, of Indonesia’s land cover and more. The forestry ministry argues that complying with the KIP’s decision would violate the 2011 Geospatial Information Law. While the forestry ministry has made timber and logging concession maps available on its website — permit holders’ names included — its oil palm data is not as complete as that of the land ministry, which issues the last in a series of licenses that such firms must obtain.
This story was published with permission from Mongabay.com

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-mining-freeport-mcmoran-idUSKBN1540F7

4) Freeport seeks guarantees from Indonesia amid mining shake-up

Fri Jan 20, 2017 | 1:41am EST

By Fergus Jensen | JAKARTA

The Indonesian unit of Freeport-Mcmoran Inc is seeking fiscal and legal guarantees from the government over mining rules issued last week, a spokesman for the copper mining giant said late on Thursday.

The Southeast Asian nation has been pushing miners to build smelters to process ore locally, with concentrate shipments stopped since Jan. 12 under laws introduced in 2014.

But new regulations announced last week mean that Freeport and some other miners could be allowed to keep exporting ore if they meet conditions including shifting from their current 'contracts of work' to so-called 'special mining permits', a move that could leave them liable to paying more in taxes. 

The latest rules also require foreign mining companies to divest at least 51 percent of their holdings in Indonesia.

Freeport spokesman Riza Pratama said in a statement that the company had told the government it would shift away from a contract of work and develop an additional smelter within five years as long as it obtains "a stability agreement providing the same rights and the same level of legal and fiscal certainty provided under its contract of work".

He said Freeport expects to be allowed to resume concentrate exports while the new license and requested guarantees were finalised.

"There is no requirement to pay export duties on concentrates or to conduct further divestments (under the company's existing contract)," Pratama added.

As of Friday, the mining ministry had not issued a recommendation for Freeport to obtain an export permit. According to Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot, Freeport will have to receive its new mining license before the government will issue an export permit.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said it would take a "maximum of 14 days" for Freeport to obtain its new mining license, once all necessary documents were submitted.

The head of the finance ministry fiscal policy office said on Wednesday that he expected Freeport to pay "slightly" more in taxes once it obtains the new mining permit.

(Additional reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Editing by Susan Thomas and Joseph Radford)

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How Russia helped Indonesia annex Western New Guinea

January 20, 2017, 10:27 pm
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How Russia helped Indonesia annex Western New Guinea

January 21, 2017 AJAY KAMALAKARAN,  RBTH
The USSR supported the anti-colonial movement across Asia, and was drawn to Sukarno’s quest to liberate the entire East Indies from Dutch rule. Moscow’s arming and open support of Jakarta forced the Netherlands to come to the negotiating table.

                  Nikita Khrushchev and Indonesian President Sukarno. Source: John Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection⁠⁠⁠⁠

Unlike the peaceful freedom struggles in British colonies that eventually gave way to the independence and the formation of new nation states, Indonesia had to fight the Netherlands in a four-year war to attain independence.
By December 1949, Holland recognized Indonesian sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies, with the exception of the western part of New Guinea (Papua), arguing that the island and its tribes had their own distinct culture.  
Indonesian President Sukarno, who led the country to independence, made it his personal mission to liberate Western New Guinea from Dutch rule.

“It was a futile effort at first,” Clarice Van den Hengel, a researcher and Indonesia specialist based in The Hague told RBTH. “Initially, the Americans who had formed NATO backed the Netherlands, and Stalin did not care about distant Indonesia.”
Sukarno’s efforts to liberate Western New Guinea began with an effort to launch direct bilateral negotiations with the Netherlands.  When this failed, Indonesia tried to drum up support in the United Nations General Assembly. This also proved to be in vain.

Confrontation

In 1956 Sukarno, who had strong socialist leanings, paid his first visit to Moscow. He took up the dispute with the Netherlands, which was then called the West Irian Dispute. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev who supported anti-colonial movements in Asia and Africa was quick to announce his support for Indonesia’s position, which at that time centered on getting support at the UN.
Moscow also began arming the Indonesia armed forces. From the late 1950s until Sukarno was forced to step down in 1966, the USSR supplied Indonesia with one cruiser, 14 destroyers, eight anti submarine patrol vessels, 20 missile boats and several motor torpedo boats and gunboats as well as armored and amphibious vehicles, helicopters and bombers.
“The equation completely changed when Indonesia was armed by the Russians,” Van den Hengel says. “The Dutch had already lost a war to the Indonesians and were in no position to deal with an Indonesian army equipped with modern arms.”
Emboldened by the supply of arms from the Soviet Union, Indonesia began a policy of confrontation with the Dutch in 1960.

Subandrio meets Khrushchev

The confrontation involved a combination of diplomatic, political and economic pressure and limited military force. 
The final stage however called for a full-scale military invasion, a risky proposition that would have forced the Americans to intervene and help their NATO ally.
During the peak of the confrontation, Sukarno’s Foreign Minister Subandrio, who was fluent in Russian, flew to Moscow to court Soviet support.
Nikita Khrushchev described the events leading up to the confrontation in his memoirs. “I asked Subandrio: ‘What are the chances that an agreement (with the Dutch) could be successfully reached,’” Khruschev wrote.

“He answered: ‘Not very great.’ I said: ‘If the Dutch fail to display sober-mindedness and engage in military operations, this is a war that could to some extent serve as a proving ground for our pilots who are flying planes equipped with missiles. We’ll see how our missiles work.’”
Although Moscow’s support of the Indonesian position was clear and openly stated, this particular conversation between Khrushchev and Subandrio was meant to be confidential.  The Indonesian Foreign Minister, according to Khrushchev’s memoirs, revealed everything to the Americans, who were not keen to have another crisis that could spiral into a World War.
“This was the death-knell for the Dutch rule over Western New Guinea,” Van den Hengel says. “Besides wanting to avoid a direct conflict with the Soviet Union, the U.S. did not want to look like it was supporting a European colonizer against a newly independent third world country.”
Under American pressure, in August 1962, the Netherlands agreed to hand over Western New Guinea to a United Nations Authority, which passed on administration of the territory to Indonesia in 1963.
After a plebiscite in 1969, Western New Guinea was integrated into Indonesia. The results of the plebiscite, though disputed by some western observers, were accepted by the United States, USSR and Australia, as well as 81 other members of the United Nations.
The Dutch cultivated a group of people who would oppose the integration of the region with Indonesia. These elements formed a still-active separatist movement in Western New Guinea.
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1) Indonesia ‘will not negotiate’ with Freeport over new rules: mining ministry official

January 21, 2017, 12:53 pm
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2) WEST PAPUA: ‘Stop killing Melanesians’ Vanuatu civil society plea to Canberra
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-mining-freeport-mcmoran-idUSKBN1550AN

Sat Jan 21, 2017 | 3:57am EST

1) Indonesia ‘will not negotiate’ with Freeport over new rules: mining ministry official

 
 

 FILE PHOTO: Trucks operate in the open-pit mine of PT Freeport's Grasberg copper and gold mine complex near Timika, in the eastern region of Papua, Indonesia on
 September 19, 2015 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. REUTERS/Muhammad Adimaja/Antara Foto/File Photo
 
 
Indonesia will not negotiate with Freeport McMoRan Inc on new rules requiring its local unit to convert its 'contracts of work' to a new 'special mining permit' in order to resume copper concentrate exports, a mining ministry official said on Saturday.

"There will be no negotiation," Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot told reporters.

The president and mining minister have signed regulations on the matter, and Freeport "should just follow the regulations," Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arcandra Tahar added.


Freeport's shipments of copper concentrate from Indonesia have been stopped since January 12, in accordance with rules on domestic mineral processing.

(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)


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2) WEST PAPUA: ‘Stop killing Melanesians’ Vanuatu civil society plea to Canberra



Video. Archival footage from ABC News on Australian SAS training of Indonesian special forces in 2010 republished on the Special Forces News channel on YouTube late last year.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Item: 9788
Len Garae
PORT VILA (Vanuatu Daily Post/Asia Pacific Report): The five most prominent ni-Vanuatu charitable organisations in the country — led by the Vanuatu Free West Papua Association (VFWPA) — have petitioned the Australian government to “stop killing Melanesian people in West Papua” by providing financial support and military training for Indonesian elite forces Kopassus and Detachment 88.
The training programme is made possible under the Australia/Indonesia bilateral military cooperation.
The petition was signed by the chairman of VFWPA, Pastor Allan Nafuki; president of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs, Chief Seni Mao Tirsupe; chief executive officer of the Vanuatu National Council of Women, Leias Cullwick; chief executive officer of Vanuatu Non-Government Organisations, Charlie Harrison; and president of the Vanuatu National Youth Council, Vira Taivakalo.
The petition says the decision has come at the right time to support and encourage all the West Papua Solidarity Groups in Australia to change the heart of the Australian government to “stop the killing of Melanesian brothers and sisters in West Papua”.

Read full story here
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Indonesia is losing Melanesia

January 21, 2017, 2:10 pm
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http://dailypost.vu/news/indonesia-is-losing-melanesia/article_c955f48b-ed82-5cb8-bec0-98fc209ec885.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share


Indonesia is losing Melanesia




On Sunday last week, New Zealand-based analyst Jose Sousa-Santos commented on Twitter that “Indonesia’s attempt at buying support from the Pacific region seem to have little to no impact on Melanesia’s stance on [West] Papua.
”That’s one of those pesky observations that’s neither entirely right nor entirely wrong. The truth is: Indonesia is winning almost every battle… and still losing the fight.
Conventional wisdom used to be that Indonesia had built an impregnable firewall against Melanesian action in support of West Papuan independence. Its commercial and strategic relationship with Papua New Guinea is such that PNG’s foreign affairs establishment will frankly admit that their support for Indonesia’s territorial claims is axiomatic. Call it realpolitik or call it timidity, but they feel that the West Papuan independence doesn’t even bear contemplating.

Widespread grassroots support and its popularity among progressive up-and-comers such as Gary Juffa don’t seem to matter. As long as Jakarta holds the key to economic and military tranquillity, Port Moresby’s elites are content to toe the Indonesian line.
The situation in Suva is similar. Fiji First is naturally inclined is toward a more authoritarian approach to governance. And it seems that the military’s dominance of Fiji’s political landscape dovetails nicely with Indonesia’s power dynamic.
Many argue that Fiji’s relationship is largely mercenary. It wouldn’t flourish, they say, if the path to entente weren’t strewn with cash and development assistance. That’s probably true, but we can’t ignore the sincere cordiality between Fiji’s leadership and their Indonesian counterparts. The same seeds have been planted in Port Vila, but they haven’t take root.
Until recently, Indonesia’s ability to derail consensus in the Melanesian Spearhead Group has ensured that West Papuan independence leaders lacked even a toehold on the international stage. In the absence of international recognition and legitimacy, the Indonesian government was able to impose draconian restrictions on activists both domestically and internationally.
Perhaps the most notorious example was their alleged campaign to silence independence leader Benny Wenda, who fled Indonesia after facing what he claims were politically motivated charges designed to silence him. He was granted political asylum in the United Kingdom, but a subsequent red notice—usually reserved for terrorists and international criminals—made travel impossible.
In mid-2012, following an appeal by human rights organisation Fair Trials, Interpol admitted that Indonesia’s red notice against Mr Wenda was ‘predominantly political in nature’, and removed it.
Since then, however, activists have accused Indonesia of abusing anti-terrorism mechanisms to curtail Mr Wenda’s travels. A trip to the United States was cancelled at the last moment because American authorities refused to let him board his flight. It was alleged that an Indonesian complaint was the source of this refusal.
Independence supporters claim that Indonesian truculence has also led to Mr Wenda being barred from addressing the New Zealand parliament. His appearance at the Sydney opera house with human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson received a standing ovation from the 2500 audience members… and an irate protest from Indonesian officials.
Not all of Indonesia’s efforts are overt. Numerous commentators made note of the fact that Vanuatu’s then-foreign minister Sato Kilman visited Jakarta immediately before his 2015 ouster of Prime Minister Joe Natuman. Mr Natuman, a lifelong supporter of West Papuan independence, was a stalwart backer of membership in the MSG for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, or ULMWP. He was unseated bare weeks before the Honiara meeting that was to consider the question.
Mr Kilman, along with Indonesian officials, vehemently deny any behind-the-scenes collusion on West Papua.
But even with Vanuatu wavering, something happened at the June2015 Honiara meeting that surprised everyone. Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare stage-managed a diplomatic coup, a master class in Melanesian mediation.
In June of 2015, I wrote that the “Solomonic decision by the Melanesian Spearhead Group to cut the baby in half and boost the membership status of both the ULMWP and Indonesia is an example of the Melanesian political mind at work. Valuing collective peace over individual justice, group prosperity over individual advancement, and allowing unabashed self-interest to leaven the sincerity of the entire process, our leaders have placed their stamp on what just might be an indelible historical moment.
”Since then, the sub-regional dynamic has undergone a transformation. Mr Kilman’s administration suffered a collapse of unprecedented proportions following corruption charges against more than half of his government. The resulting public furore seems—for the moment at least— to have catalysed a backlash against venality and personal interest.
If the rumours are true, and Indonesia did have a hand in Mr Kilman’s palace coup, the tactic hasn’t worked since. A pair of no confidence motions—not very coincidentally on the eve of yet another MSG leaders’ summit—failed even to reach the debate stage.
Kanaky’s support for West Papuan Independence has never wavered, but given their semi-governmental status, and their staunch socialist platform, Jakarta would be hard pressed to find a lever it could usefully pull.
For his part, Sogavare has survived more than one attempt to topple him. Hi sown party leaders explicitly referenced his leadership on the West Papuan question when they tried to oust him by withdrawing their support.
In a masterful—and probably unlawful—manoeuvre, Mr Sogavare retained his hold on power by getting the othercoalition members to endorse him as their leader. His deft handling of the onslaught has raised him in the estimation of many observers of Melanesian politics. Some claim that his dodging and weaving has placed him in the first rank of Melanesia’s political pantheon.
In Vanuatu as well, once bitten is twice shy. Prime Minister Charlot Salwai raised eyebrows when he not only met with the ULMWP leadership, but accepted the salute of a contingent of freedom fighters in full military regalia. The meeting took place at the same moment as MSG foreign ministers met to consider rule changes that, if enacted, will almost inevitably result in full membership for the ULMWP.
The MSG has traditionally operated on consensus. If these rule changes pass muster, this will no longer be the case. It is a near certainty that Indonesia will do its utmost to avert this.
Mr Sogavare has demonstrated an inspired approach to the situation: If the MSG won’t stand for decolonisation in the Pacific, he asks, what is it good for? This rhetoric has become a chorus, with senior politicians in Vanuatu and Kanaky joining in.
Mr Sogavare is, in short, embarked on his own march to Selma. And he is willing to allow the MSG to suffer the slings and arrows of Indonesian opprobrium. He is, in short, willing to allow the MSG to die for their sins.
Whether we agree or not with the independence campaign, there is no denying the genius of Mr Sogavare’s ploy. His willingness to sacrifice the MSG for the cause takes away the one lever that Indonesia had in Melanesia.
His key role in orchestrating an end run around the Pacific Islands Forum’s wilful silence is another trademark move. When human rights concerns were simply glossed over in the communiqué, he and other orchestrated a chorus of calls for attention to the issue in the UN general assembly.
Manasseh Sogavare and his Pacific allies have found a strategy that is making the advancement of the West Papuan independence movement inexorable. As Ghandi demonstrated in India, as with Dr King’s campaign for civil rights showed again and again, anything less than defeat is a victory.
Without losing a single major battle, Indonesia is—slowly, so slowly—being forced from the board.
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1) TRUMP’S SHADOW OVER FREEPORT WON’T BEND INDONESIA

January 23, 2017, 12:46 am
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2) PRESIDENT OPTIMISTIC WITH INDONESIA-US GOOD RELATIONS
3) Raja Ampat to Organize Various Festivals to Lure Tourists
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HTTP://WWW.THEJAKARTAPOST.COM/NEWS/2017/01/23/TRUMPS-SHADOW-OVER-FREEPORT-WONT-BEND-INDONESIA.HTML

1) TRUMP’S SHADOW OVER FREEPORT WON’T BEND INDONESIA
ARIF GUNAWAN S. THE JAKARTA POST
    Jakarta | Mon, January 23, 2017 | 06:35 am
    Activists are furious, vowing to bring the case to the Constitutional Court, while PT Freeport Indonesia has sent a letter listing some “circumstances” around the implementation of the latest mineral-ore export rules amid the inauguration of the new US protectionist president.
    However, these things have yet to change the government’s stance on its rules on mineral exports and share divestment. No door is going to be opened for negotiation, not until time proves the opposite, an executive at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has said.
    Within a month, complaints and challenges have surfaced against the new four rules that allow miners to export semiprocessed minerals while requiring them to convert their contract of work (CoW) permits into special mining licenses (IUPKs) and divest their shares within five years.
    The latest challenge comes from gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia, which has sent a letter informing the government of its “commitment” to obey the rules while specifying several “circumstances” that should be taken into consideration.
    “It’s not a commitment letter but just a letter informing us of its intention to obey the rules while specifying ‘these’ and ‘those’ circumstances,” Energy and Mineral Resources deputy minister Arcandra Tahar told editors during a gathering on Saturday, adding that there was no obligation for the government to reply to the letter. “The President and the minister have signed the regulations. Freeport should just follow them,” he said.
    Freeport has operated in Indonesia for the past 50 years. The company sent the letter just a week before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who is known for his protectionist views and his “America First” rhetoric.
    “Freeport Indonesia has presented to the government its willingness to convert [its CoW] into an IUPK, that will happen if there is an agreement over investment stability and also fiscal and legal certainty,” Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama told The Jakarta Post recently, explaining about the company’s letter.
    US media reported earlier that Trump, the real estate tycoon, had enlisted Carl Icahn, a top shareholder in Freeport-McMoRan, to be his special adviser on business regulations in December last year. Freeport’s shipments of copper concentrate from Indonesia have been halted since Jan. 12 in accordance with rules on domestic mineral processing.
    Trump is also a close friend of Setya Novanto, the House of Representatives speaker who sparked public uproar when he showed up at a Trump campaign rally in September 2015. Trump introduced him as a special guest during the event.
    However, the ministry insisted that the government merely stipulated rules that could be adopted by companies while preventing any flagrant violation of the 2009 Mining Law.
    “The miners should have built the smelters as the law required them to do. But in reality, they failed to do so due to many factors. The latest rules are actually pushing them to finish the smelters, with tighter and more measurable supervision. So it’s not a relaxation,” the ministry’s minerals and coal director general Bambang Gatot Ariyono said.
    Indonesia, he further underlined, would not negotiate with any miner, including Freeport, on new rules requiring its local subsidiary to convert its permit in order to resume its copper concentrate exports. The government will also refuse to negotiate the stipulation requiring Freeport to divest 51 percent of its shares, he added.
    Meanwhile, a group of experts and environmentalists calling themselves the Civil Society Coalition has announced a plan to submit its request to the Constitutional Court this week. The coalition consists of at least 20 institutions, including the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), Energy World Indonesia, the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).
    Amid these new challenges, Arcandra acknowledged that the current administration would try to defend its firm stance on the impossibility of further negotiations.
    “How successful will the government be in guarding the implementation of these rules? Well, I can only say this: time will tell,” he said, declining to elaborate on the potential judicial review lawsuit and other challenges that the ministry is now facing.
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    HTTP://WWW.ANTARANEWS.COM/EN/NEWS/109059/PRESIDENT-OPTIMISTIC-WITH-INDONESIA-US-GOOD-RELATIONS

    2) PRESIDENT OPTIMISTIC WITH INDONESIA-US GOOD RELATIONS
    MINGGU, 22 JANUARI 2017 19:13 WIB
    Bogor, West Java (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said he is optimistic that Indonesia-United States relations will remain good after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the United States president on Friday.

    "I am optimistic that relations between Indonesia and the United States will be better but it should be based on mutual benefit," the President said.

    The president made the remarks after attending the Bogor Open Archery Championships 2017 in the Square of the Armys Engineer Education Center in Bogor on Sunday.

    President Jokowi congratulated Trump for his inauguration as the new US president. Jokowi also underlined Trumps speech with regard to the point of cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit with other countries.

    "I underline the (speech on the) mutual benefit cooperation. We are optimistic that Indonesia and the United States will maintain good cooperations," he said.

    He said he had called Trump on the telephone. Trump, according to Jokowi, said that he had a lot of friends in Indonesia.

    "Donald Trump said he has many friends in Indonesia and has business in the country, " Jokowi asserted.(*)



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    HTTPS://EN.TEMPO.CO/READ/NEWS/2017/01/22/199838552/RAJA-AMPAT-TO-ORGANIZE-VARIOUS-FESTIVALS-TO-LURE-TOURISTS

    SUNDAY, 22 JANUARY, 2017 | 08:18 WIB
    3) Raja Ampat to Organize Various Festivals to Lure Tourists

    TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The district administration of Raja Ampat in West Papua Province will organize various festivals to lure tourists to the island.
    The planned festivals will be part of the tourism campaign for the region, according to the Head of Raja Ampat tourism office, Yusdi Lamatenggo, on Saturday (Jan. 21).
    This years list of festivals include a maritime festival, a flute and drum festival, the Wonderful Misol festival, the Wonderful Salawati festival, the Wonderful Waigeo festival, a fish cooking festival and a Red and White festival.
    There will also be a spiritual festival, a blue sea festival, the Raja Ampat Fair and the Raja Ampat childrens reading festival.
    The events are also intended to preserve and promote the regions local culture and arts, he added.
    In an effort to improve transportion access to Raja Ampat, the government has also launched several key infrastructure projects on the islands.
    Regular transportation will be made available from the regional capital of Waisai to other islands, including Misol Island.
    "Foreign and local tourists will now be able to visit the islands without having to hire expensive speedboats," explained Lamatenggo.
    The Wing Air Lion Group will also operate direct return flights from Jakarta to Manado and Waisai to improve the access to West Papua from outside the region, he said.
    "At the moment, tourists wishing to visit Raja Ampat have to take a long flight from Jakarta to Sorong," he added.
    The Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat, fondly called the Living Eden or Paradise on Earth, was a lesser-known tourist destination and was familiar only to intrepid travelers and avid divers.
    Considered to be a crown jewel in Indonesia, Raja Ampat has crystal clear turquoise waters and islands covered by dense green forests and mangrove swamps.
    Located in an area called the "Coral Triangle" between the Pacific and Indian oceans in eastern Indonesias West Papua province, the world is now taking notice of Raja Ampat after the Indonesian government intensified its tourism campaign to promote the region.
     ANTARA
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    1) Fertilizer factory worth $1.5b to be developed in Papua

    January 23, 2017, 11:17 am
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    2) Five elections commission members dismissed in Papua
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    1) Fertilizer factory worth $1.5b to be developed in Papua
    News Desk The Jakarta Post
    Jakarta | Mon, January 23, 2017 | 05:37 pm

    Trade Minister Airlangga Hartarto has lauded a plan by state-owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Indonesia and Germany based Ferrostaal to develop a fertilizer factory in Bintuni Bay, West Papua.
    The two companies have agreed to carry out a feasibility study for the US$1.5 billion project.
    “The two parties have a commitment to provide the government with comprehensive data related to the petrochemical factory,” the minister said as reported by kontan.com on Monday.
    Airlangga’s statement was made after witnessing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Pupuk Indonesia investment director Gusrizal and Ferrostaal CEO Klaus Lesker in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Jan. 21.
    The plan to develop a fertilizer factory in West Papua is part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s plan to distribute development fairly nationwide. Bintuni Bay is known for its gas resources as raw material for the fertilizer. “We will support the allocation of gas with good prices,” he said.
    The fertilizer producer is among industrial sectors that will enjoy the gas-price cut introduced by the government, as stipulated in Presidential Regulation No. 40/2016 on natural gas prices.
    The potential of the natural gas in the area that has been identified reaches 23.8 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf). New gas reserves with potential between 6 tscf and 8 tscf has already been found.
    Meanwhile, Gusrizal assured that his company was interested in developing a fertilizer factory in Bintuni Bay by optimizing the use of gas resources in the region. (bbn)


    ——————————————————-

    2) Five elections commission members dismissed in Papua
    Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
    Jayapura, Papua | Mon, January 23, 2017 | 01:25 pm
    Several chairpersons and members of general elections commissions in Papua have been dismissed for approving regional leader candidates from an Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) camp that is in dispute.
    The Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) dismissed Jayapura General Elections Commission (KPU Jayapura) chairman Yermias Numberi and KPU Dogiyai chairman Matias Butu on Friday for approving Jayapura mayoral candidate pair Boy Markus Dawir and Nur Alam as well as Dogiyai regent candidate pair Apidus Mote and Freddy Annu “without factual and thorough verification”.
    The endorsements for the two pairs were signed by PKPI chairman Isran Noor and secretary-general Takudaeng Parawansa, whose “leadership is not acknowledged by the Law and Human Rights Ministry, thus the party’s endorsements [for the pairs] is unlawful”, KPU Papua commissioner Tarwinto told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.  
    The DKPP hearing in Jakarta also dismissed KPU Jayapura members Yusuf H. Sraun and Regina A. Yaung as well as Jayapura Elections Supervisory Committee chairman Soleman Clinton for supporting the decision, Tarwinto said.
    Tarwinto said that with the ruling, the Benhur Tommy Mano-Rustan Saru pair automatically became the sole Jayapura mayoral ticket ahead of the Feb. 15 election. In Dogiyai regency, four candidate pairs remain in contention, namely Fransiscus Tebay-Benediktus Kotouki (independents), Markus Wayne-Antian Goo (endorsed by the Hanura Party), Yakobus Dumapa-Oskar Makay (supported by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Gerindra Party and National Awakening Party) and Anton Yowau-Yanwarius (from the Prosperous Justice Party). 
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    Search

    Petition- Help West Papua

    January 24, 2017, 1:17 pm
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    Here's the petition for forwarding to your friends:

    Help to end the genocide in West Papua

    The West Papuan people are crying for their freedom – please sign this petition to show your support.
    The world’s longest‐running military occupation and genocide has killed more than 500,000 people, and is destroying the world’s second‐largest rainforest and 50,000 years of civilisation. Why haven't more people heard of West Papua?
    Here’s one reason: it’s because the Indonesian government doesn’t want you to know. The country’s authorities are working hard to cover up their brutal occupation of this Pacific island nation, just 250km North of Australia. 

    Please sign this petition calling for an end to the genocide and a free and fair independence vote for
    the West Papuan people.
    In 2016 alone eight thousand people ‐ including many children ‐ were arrested just for taking part in independence demonstrations or for raising the West Papuan flag. There are frequent reports of kidnapping and torture by the military and police. Journalists and community leaders are routinely detained and tortured simply for speaking out. 

    One West Papuan mother said; “We gave birth and raised the children, only to see them being killed like animals. In the eyes of the Indonesians, we West Papuans are like animal.” 

    The Indonesian government strictly controls media and NGO activity, allowing these stories to avoid international attention and continue one of the most brutal “silent genocides” of the 21st century. 

    Please sign this petition calling for an end to the genocide and a free and fair independence vote for the West Papuan people.
    In 1969, the people of West Papua (situated on the same island as Papua New Guinea) were promised a independence referendum which was violated by Indonesia at gunpoint.
    Since then, Indonesia has been occupying the area illegally, killing the indigenous population and bringing in the largest mining companies in the world who are stealing & destroying the natural resources. The people of West Papua have one of the highest poverty rates in the world, and continue to be denied basic freedoms. There is a real fear that without intervention they will lose everything. 

    Add your name to the petition NOW!
    Thanks to growing international support, the struggle of the West Papuan people is getting more and more attention and there is hope. Now, they’re calling for your help to gain the freedom they were promised over 50 years ago. 

    Will you add your name and help us to bring this urgent situation to the United Nations?
    Your name will join with others around the world until August 2017, when this petition (with your name) will be swum 69 kms across Lake Geneva by the Swim for West Papua team, and handed straight to the UN.

    Please join us and the people of West Papua on this journey by following the story of the Swim team and the petition as it goes around the world @BackTheSwim @FreeWestPapua.

    Together we can put an end to this genocide once and for all. 
    Thank you.
    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/SecretaryGeneral_of_the_United_Nations_Antonio_Guterres_End_the_Genocide_in_West_Papua/?tyqpzlb



    Sent by Avaaz on behalf of Free West Papua's petition
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    1) West Papuans not yet a minority in homeland

    January 25, 2017, 12:04 pm
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    2) Indonesian provincial government says Freeport loses $188 million tax appeal
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    1) West Papuans not yet a minority in homeland
    New statistics on the ethnic composition of Indonesia’s Papua region indicate that the indigenous West Papuans are not yet the minority there.
    39 minutes ago 

     Photo: RNZ / Koroi Hawkins
    This is despite research following the 2010 national census which extrapolated that Papuans made up around 48 percent of the entire population as the growth of the non-Papuan population soared.
    The Indonesian Statistics Office has recently produced an ethnic breakdown of the 40 regencies which make up the provinces of Papua and West Papua, based on the 2010 census.
    The stats show that of Papua region's total population of 3.6 million, around 66 percent is made up of Papuans.
    But the percentage of Papuans as a proportion of the population has fallen catastrophically in some regions, particularly around urban centres.
    The convenor of the West Papua project at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University, Jim Elmslie, said this pattern hadn't really happened in the Highlands where Papuans still make up the vast majority.
    "Even though there's huge developments all across the country that will threaten them, and bring in more settlers and bring in development. And all of those things are drivers of conflict, both between the state - in the form of the police and the military - and Papuan nationalists; and also within areas where there are populations (of Papuans and non-Papuans) who are in effect competing for land."
    Dr Elmslie said he it could considered a positive for the indigenous Melanesians that in the Highlands espeically, they are "not on the verge of disappearing under the weight of inward migration".
    "Some people seem to feel that the general conflict in West Papua would disappear over time as the Papuan population became a minority. Well that's obviously not gonig to happen. That is happening in the lowlands, but it's not going to happen anytime soon in the Highlands."
    The regencies where the non-Papuan population is concentrated tend to be the centres of power and the richest areas where acess to health and education services is best.
    Furthermore, the population growth rate of non-Papuans in Papua region is significantly higher than that of Papuans, and based on this trend, the minoritisation of the Papuan population will continue.
    Dr Elmslie's new paper confirms that the proportion of Papuan people as a percentage of the entire population continues to decline, which his previous research since 2006 already found.

    ————————————————————————————-
    Wed Jan 25, 2017 | 10:03am EST
    2) Indonesian provincial government says Freeport loses $188 million tax appeal
    Indonesia's Papua province, home of the giant Grasberg copper mine operated by the local unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc (FCX.N), said it has won a court battle in a claim against the company for 2.51 trillion rupiah ($188 million) in outstanding surface water taxes.
    According to Papua's local government Indonesia's Tax Court has rejected a lawsuit lodged by PT Freeport Indonesia over the claim for taxes on water the company used from the Aghawagon and Otomona rivers between 2011 and mid-2015.
    Freeport, which used the water to suspend its tailings in the Ajkwa River, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) away, had argued that a substantially lower tax rate should be applied, as set out in its contract of work signed in 1991, the administration said.
    "The Papua governor's decree on the refusal of Freeport Indonesia's objections and a letter on tax assessment for surface water tax were declared valid and enforceable," it said, referring to a verdict from Indonesia's Tax Court on January 18. [bit.ly/2kslGaU]
    "This ruling was welcomed by the Papuan government's team of attorneys after a long struggle," it said.
    A spokesman for Freeport Indonesia declined to comment on the matter.
    Freeport Indonesia is currently in talks with the Indonesian government about changing the terms of its mining rights, under which Indonesia expects it to pay more taxes than under its existing contract.
    Freeport is one of Indonesia's biggest taxpayers, with direct contributions of more than $16 billion to Southeast Asia's biggest economy in taxes, royalties, dividends and other payments between 1992 and 2015 according to company data.


    Indonesia’s Tax Court could not be reached for comment.
    (Reporting by Fergus Jensen and Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
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    DFAT reply to AWPA letter

    January 25, 2017, 1:54 pm
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    Photos Yapun festival 2017 Sydney

    January 25, 2017, 10:36 pm
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    Photos. Rally outside Indonesian Embassy Canberra

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