Photos Palm Sunday Rally Sydney
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1) Papuans accuse Greenpeace of scaring off investors
2) “It’s forest that we can live from, not oil palm”
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1) Papuans accuse Greenpeace of scaring off investors
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura | Sun, March 25, 2018 | 05:00 pm
Greenpeace activists stage a theatrical performance in front of the Health Ministry offices in Jakarta recently. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
Indigenous communities from Airu Hulu village in Jayapura regency, Papua, have accused Greenpeace of "interfering" with the management of customary forests in the region and scaring off investor.
Airu youth figure Soleman Waibara said the locals had been facing difficulties in developing their forestry and farming business potential.
“We need schools, roads, electricity and proper housing. The government has been working here, but our lives have yet to change. We need investors to build our community,” Soleman told The Jakarta Post.
He said Airu villagers believed regulations on protected forest and conservation forest were preventing them from enjoying the benefits of infrastructure development.
“The decision to designate protected, conservation and production forest should be based on clear data and announced to locals, so we can develop the forest based on the regulations,” Soleman said.
Greenpeace Papua representative Carles Tawaru rebuffed the claim, saying the organization had never tried to deter investors from coming to Papua. He went on to say that the environmental group had been collaborating with locals in campaigning for the protection of Indonesian forests.
“For example, we participate in building indigenous community-based forest in Manggroholo-Sira, West Papua. We support community-based forest management and putting sovereignty in people’s hands,” Carles told The Jakarta Post.
Environmentalists say forests in Papua are threatened by the rapid expansion of agricultural plantations, such as for oil palm, which have been touted as a means to improve economic opportunities. (kuk/ahw)
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2) “It’s forest that we can live from, not oil palm”
MARCH 25, 2018
“A protest was made in 2015, but the government’s response was a permit to release state forest”
Jakarta – A civil society coalition took action outside the Environment and Forestry Ministry on Friday (23/03/2018), protesting a permit to release state forest land near the Wosimi River in Naikere and Kuriwamesa subdistricts of Wondama Bay Regency, Papua Barat which was issued to an oil palm company, PT Menara Wasior.
A statement of community opposition to the permits issued to this company had already been sent to the ministry in 2015, to which no response has ever been received. On the contrary, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has now issued PT Menara Wasior a permit SK No. 16/1/PKH/PMDH/2017, dated 20 September 2017, for an oil palm plantation.
Stephanus Marani, a representative of civil society from Wasior who attended the action, explained how the company’s plans threatened to destroy the areas where the Wondamen, Torowar and Mairasi ethnic groups lived.
A similar point was made by Yohanes Akwan, the chair of the Federation of Indonesian Trade Unions (GSBI) for Papua Barat province, who said that the one-sided practice of permits being issued in Jakarta was highly detrimental to Papuan indigenous communities.
“It’s forest that supports our livelihoods, not oil palm; we can’t eat oil palm if our sago groves have been converted into palm plantations” Yohanes said in his speech.
According to him, the people in this area had been the victims of violence from the security forces in 2001. The violence, which became known as ‘Bloody Wasior’, was to be described by the National Human Rights Commission as a Gross Human Rights Violation in 2004. The aggression took place between April and October 2001.
In July 2004, the National Human Rights Commission’s Adhoc Team for Papua investigated the 2001 Bloody Wasior case and the 2003 Bloody Wamena case, uncovering data about how the violence escalated, and came to the conclusion that there had been structural violence from both the police and the military.
The director of Yayasan Pusaka, Franky Samperante drew attention to the inconsistencies in Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla’s government. He said that during 2017 the government had issued forest release permits to three companies in Papua, comprising an area of 60,000 hectares. Not only plantation companies received permits, an area of 85,000 hectares was also allocated to mining companies.
This protest was jointly staged by several civil society organisations: Yayasan Pusaka. Foker LSM Papua, KPKC GKI Tanah Papua, Walhi Papua, Wongkei Institute, JERAT Papua, SKP KC Fransiskan Papua, Perkumpulan Belantara, Perkumpulan Bin Madag Hom, GSBI Papua Barat and Papua Forest Watch.
Letter of Protest to Environment and Forestry Ministry about oil palm policy in Papua.
A strong protest about the policy of issuing permits to release state forest to oil palm plantation companies.
Letter of Protest
Concerning the PT Menara Wasior case in Wondama Bay Regency
To:
1. The President of the Republic of Indonesia
2. The Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister
Respectfully,
We are writing regarding the permit to release state forest lands in the Wosimi River area, Naikere and Kuriwamesa sub-districts, Wondama Bay Regency, Papua Barat province that was issued to oil palm plantation company PT Menara Wasior on the 20th September 2017, decree SK No. 16/1/PKH/PMDH/2017. We wish to protest strongly about this permit and the policy which underlies it.
We are writing regarding the permit to release state forest lands in the Wosimi River area, Naikere and Kuriwamesa sub-districts, Wondama Bay Regency, Papua Barat province that was issued to oil palm plantation company PT Menara Wasior on the 20th September 2017, decree SK No. 16/1/PKH/PMDH/2017. We wish to protest strongly about this permit and the policy which underlies it.
Back in 2015 we sent a letter protesting about PT Menara Wasior’s plans and asked the government not to process PT Menara Wasior’s request that state forest land be released for an oil palm plantation.
There were multiple reasons for this:
- The area of forest in question is the customary land and living space of the Wondamen, Torowar and Mairasi ethnic groups, who were the victims of the human rights violations known as the “2001 Bloody Wasior events”, which still remains unresolved to this day. The people in the area are still traumatised and they do not have the freedom of expression to make a decision about ‘development’ projects on their customary lands. Because of this, the granting of this permit goes against any sense of justice, it neither respects nor protects the indigenous people’s legal rights, and it disregards their right to feel safe and their right to determine their own path of development.
- PT Menara Wasior’s plantation will threaten the loss of the forest which is the source of life for local indigenous people. This forest is the source of their livelihoods, their income, their food and water, their medicines, the groves that are passed from generation to generation, sacred places, etc.
- This policy is incompatible with the government’s commitment to issue a moratorium on oil palm permits, and its commitment to sustainable development.
Based on these aforementioned issues, in the name of justice and the law, we urge the following action:
- The President should take immediate action to find a settlement to the 2001 Bloody Wasior human rights violation, rehabilitate and restore the victims’ rights, in a fair way which shows respect to the victims and their families. The same should also apply to all other cases of human rights violations throughout the Land of Papua.
- The Environment and Forestry Minister should immediately revoke the forest release permit issued to PT Menara Wasior because it violates the fundamental rights of Papuan indigenous people and has the potential to exacerbate existing problems or create other social conflicts. (A chronology is attached below).
- Another important action is to acknowledge, protect and respect indigenous people and their rights to land, forest and other natural wealth.
Jakarta, 23 March 2018
Yours respectfully,
Yayasan Pusaka
Foker LSM Papua
KPKC GKI Tanah Papua
Walhi PapuaWongkei Institute
JERAT Papua
SKP KC Fransiskan Papua
Perkumpulan Belantara
Perkumpulan Bin Madag Kom
Papua Forest Watch
Foker LSM Papua
KPKC GKI Tanah Papua
Walhi PapuaWongkei Institute
JERAT Papua
SKP KC Fransiskan Papua
Perkumpulan Belantara
Perkumpulan Bin Madag Kom
Papua Forest Watch
Copies sent to:
- Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board
- Director-General for Planology at the Environment and Forestry Ministry
- Cabinet Secretary
- The Presidential Chief of Staff at the President’s Staff Office
- The Head of the National Human Rights Commission
- Papua Barat Provincial Governor
Contact Person:
Franky Samperante (Tel. +62 813 1728 6019)
Stephanus Marani (Tel. +62 812 9453 5639)
Franky Samperante (Tel. +62 813 1728 6019)
Stephanus Marani (Tel. +62 812 9453 5639)
A CHRONOLOGY OF NATURAL RESOURCE EXPLOITATION AND VIOLENCE IN WASIOR
In 2001: as the Bloody Wasior events unfolded between March and October 2001, a string of protest actions took place against the logging companies operating in the area: PT Wapoga Mutiara Timber (WMT), PT Dharma Mukti Persada (DMP, a subsidiary of Kayu Lapis Indonesia Group), CV Vatika Papuana Perkasa (VPP). The reason for the actions was that these companies had not met their obligations or fulfilled the promises of development they had made to the local people.
Subsequently, after some violent protests, officers from the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) got involved to provide security for the companies and tensions mounted, until some acts of deadly violence occurred. In June 2001, the Papuan Police HQ, with the support of the XVII Trikora Regional Military Command launched the “Operasi Tuntas Matoa” sweeping operation.
This major sweeping operation to track down the killers of some policemen started in nearby villages and eventually reached areas such as Nabire and Serui. Many villagers who knew nothing whatsoever about the issue were also arrested without a warrant, held in custody, beaten up and shot. 51 houses of local people were burnt along with all their possessions in eight different locations (Wasior city, Wondamawi, Wondiboi, Senderaboi, Sanoba and Ambuni villages, as well as Yopenggar and Sanoba in Nabire Regency). Gardens were destroyed and farm animals killed.
According to the report of the Humanitarian Team for the 2001 Wasior case, there were 94 known cases of innocent civilians arrested, amongst which some experienced mild or severe torture, or were even left with disabilities for life. People also fled the area en masse.
The results of the investigation carried out by the National Human Rights Commission’s Study Team on Human Rights Problems in Papua, stated that during the whole period the people who were believed to have carried out the killings were being pursued, people were killed, others were tortured, including tortured to death, and there were forced disappearances and rapes in several locations.
Four cases of people who died were recorded, one case of sexual abuse, five disappearances and 39 cases of torture. The Human Rights Commission passed the dossier on this case to the Attorney General’s office in July 2015. The AGO returned it several times (in July 2013 and June 2014) , but the National Human Rights commission have continued to resubmit it (in September 2004, December 2004, Septembe 2013 and on the 17th July 2014).
In early May 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Indonesian Government, represented by foreign minister Retno Marsuhi – speaking to the UN Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review hearing, expressed the Indonesian Government’s commitment to establish a human rights court as outlined in law 26/2000. However, there is still no evidence that any trial process will be set out.
2009: New concessions and Continuing Violence
Amidst the lack of clarity in reaching a settlement about the Bloody Wasior human rights violation, the Forestry Minister granted a logging permit to PT Kurnia Tama Sejahtera (KTS, a company belonging to the Artha Graha group). The permit, with reference SK.648/MenhutII/2009, was located in PT DMP’s former concession area, and was for an area of 115,800 hectares.
The government and company never consulted with the local indigenous community or sought their support before the permit was granted. The company offered compensation money and promises of development. The Mairasi, Miere, Torowa and Wondamen ethnic groups, never gave their free consent, and opposed the plan, because they were still traumatised by the events of the past (ie. Bloody Wasior)
In January 2013, violence took place once more as three residents of Sararti and Ambumi villages were punched and tortured by members of army battalion Yonif 753 from Sorong at PT KTS’ log compound in Ambuni and at the KM48 company basecamp. In February 2013, community leaders from Sararti, Wosimo, Inyora, Undurari, Oyaa and Yawore villages, Naikere sub-district, wrote a statement expressing the indigenous community’s opposition to PT. KTS’ operations.
2013: Wijaya Sentosa and unpaid debts.
In 2013, the Forestry Minister once again issued a logging permit, this time to PT Wijaya Sentosa (WS, subsidiary of the Sinar Wijaya Group), with permit reference SK.33/Menhut-II/2013, dated 15th January 2013, and for a location stretching from Kuri Wamesa sub-district to Nikiwar sub-district. This concession borders on that of PT KTS.
Previously, PT WS’ concession belonged to PT WMT which had not been active in the area since the Bloody Wasior events. The company left owing many debts, including compensation to indigenous landowners for commercial timber species which had already been felled, as well as the promised development projects which had not been fully realised.
The people from the Dusner, Kuri and Wamesa ethnic groups, who are the customary owners of the concession land and live in the area, weren’t able to oppose the arrival of PT WS on their lands either. Army and Brimob guards oversaw all the company’s work, from when it asked for the community’s agreement to the annual work plan to transporting logs to the logging compound. The company was working without heeding what the people were saying. Sacred forests were destroyed, commercial timber species were felled all along the course of the river and even along the shoreline, rivers were silted up with mud so they stopped flowing and sago groves died. Despite all this, the company was able to obtain a sustainable forestry certificate [from the FSC].
2017: Threatened Deforestation for Oil Palm
During Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono’s presidency, Forestry Minster Zulkifli Hasan issued an in-principle permit to release forest estate land for an oil palm plantation to PT Menara Wasior (MW, associated with the Salim Group), in the lowlands along the Wosimi River near Ambuni Village, Kuriwamesa sub-district, for 32,170 hectares. The concession also shares a border with PT KTS’s logging concession.
Then in 2017, the government issued a forest release permit to PT Menara Wasior with reference SK No. 16/1/PKH/PMDH/2017, dated 20 September 2017. The company had visited the area several times to present its plans and consult on its environmental impact assessment, but the community opposed the plans and did not attend the meetings.
In 2015, Pusaka sent a protest letter to the Environment and Forestry Minister, asking to halt the process of issuing a permit to release state forest to PT MW in line with the demands and opposition of local people, and because it was inappropriate to bring new companies to the area before problems of the past were resolved, notably the human right violations and other incidents that had occurred in the area. The government did not respond to this letter, and did not act consistently with its stated policy to implement a moratorium on oil palm plantations.
The natural forest around the Wosimi river is now threatened with deforestation. Local people from the Wondamen ethnic group will directly feel the effects of this plan. Ancestral forest, sacred places and sago groves which are passed from generation to generation, including the areas known as Sanebuh, Iwagasi and Koine, will be lost for ever. Areas which people find the resources to support their livelihoods will be cleared and the people will lose their sources of food and income.
Aside from the oil palm company, another threat has arisen from a plan to mine gold in the area. In 2014, the Wondama Bay local government issued an exploration permit to PT Abisha Bumi Persada, with number 543/06A/BUP-TW/2014, also located in Kuriwamesa, Rasiei and Naikere sub-districts, an area of 23,324 hectares. This company is currently engaging in consultations for its EIA study.
The Salim Group in Papua.
PT Menara Wasior is believes to still be linked with the giant Salim Group, belonging to the family of the late Sudono Salim (Liem Sioe Liong). In the Soeharto era, Sudono Salim was known as a crony of Soeharto and owned a logging business in Papua through PT Hanurata.
In Papua, oil palm companies linked to the Salim Group are PT Rimbun Sawit Papua (RSP,2014), located in Bomberay and Tomage sub-districts, Fakfak Regency (10,102 ha), PT Suber Karunia Raya (SKR, 2014), located in Maskona sub-district Bintuni Bay Regency (38770 ha) and PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa (BAPP, 2014) located in Kebar, Tambrauw Regency (19369 ha).
The Salim Group’s expansion in Papua has been met with protests from opponents. In Tambrauw, local people have protested because the commodity planted by PT BAPP does not correspond to its permits and it threatens the local environment.
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1) Democracy takes a step back in Indonesia
2) Does Indonesia belong in the Melanesian Spearhead Group?
3) Mosque in Indonesia has Papuan Christians seething
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1) Democracy takes a step back in Indonesia
Newly enacted law bans public criticism of politicians after media helped to expose country's most egregious ever parliamentary scandal
JAKARTA, MARCH 26, 2018 3:31 PM (UTC+8)
Indonesian journalists wearing masks observe World Press Freedom Day in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 3, 2016. Photo: AFP Forum
Twenty years after the fall of president Suharto’s authoritarian regime, Indonesians are waking up to the fact that new laws which have either been passed or are under consideration threaten to erode the hard-fought concepts of freedom of speech and expression.
While Indonesia may have what New York-based Freedom House calls a “vibrant and diverse media environment,” its most recent 2017 report said press freedom was still hampered by legal and regulatory restrictions and a resulting penchant for self-censorship.
In what activists say is a worrying example of democratic back-sliding – and an apparent dislocation in the law-drafting process – the House of Representatives recently passed an amendment to the 2014 Legislative Institutions Law, or MD3, which effectively protects the country’s politicians from public criticism.
The legislation allows for Parliament’s ethics council to bring charges against anyone who “disrespects the dignity of the House or its members,” but does not define what “disrespect” means or say what form of punishment will be meted out to violators.
Although his ruling Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) is among the eight political parties who supported the revision, President Joko Widodo has refused to sign it and a coalition of civil society organizations is challenging it in the Constitutional Court.
Critics say that by denying them the right to criticize their own representatives, the amended law undermines the sovereignty of the people. “I understand these concerns,” the president said in a statement last month. “We all want the quality of our democracy to rise, not fall.”
Baffling to many analysts, however, is why the palace didn’t do more to head off or at least freeze the process, when the constitution specifically states that the content of bills must be jointly approved by Parliament and the president, or his representatives.
If agreement isn’t reached, then the bill can not be considered again by the same Parliament.
A palace spokesman did not respond to a request for comment, but a senior government official claims the immunity from criticism provision was inserted after the president had approved the draft law, which also gave PDI-P two speakership positions that it had been trying to secure since winning the 2014 elections.
If that was the case, then it suggests a disturbing failure in the law-making process itself, with a lack of communication or coordination between the palace and Justice Minister Yasonna Laoly. In fact, it is similar to what is now happening with equally controversial proposed changes to the century-old Criminal Code.
Lacking veto power, Widodo was unable to prevent the amended legislative bill from automatically becoming law on March 14, 30 days after it slipped through a plenary session of the House; only the United Development (PPP) and National Democrat (Nasdem) parties, two members of the ruling coalition, stood against it.
Civil society activists who know him say that as a long-standing member of PDI-P, and a former party legislator himself from North Sumatra, the American-educated Laoly is on difficult ground, evidenced by his public call for a petition against the law in which he seemed to abrogate his own responsibility.
Despite being in opposition for much of that time, the PDI-P has had 171 local and national politicians convicted of corruption over the past decade, well ahead of Golkar (116) and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhogyono’s Democrat Party (51).
Ironically, the revision came into force four months to the day since former House Speaker Setya Novanto went on trial for allegedly engineering the embezzlement of 2.3 trillion rupiah (US$$$) from a 5.9 trillion rupiah electronic identity card (e-KTP) project.
Novanto claimed in court testimony last week that two prominent PDI leaders, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, both received US$500,000 from the grossly front-loaded project.
Maharani is the daughter of PDI-P chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri.
The scandal has left Parliament a target of public scorn, with the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) implicating nine political parties, along with 37 lawmakers from the 2009-2014 parliamentary legal commission, none of whom have been charged so far. Maharani and Anung had not been named until now.
The legislative law is not the only concern for press freedom advocates. The draft of the new Criminal Code, currently in the hands of a special parliamentary committee, prescribes a maximum of nine years’ imprisonment for anyone who verbally attacks the president or vice president.
Individuals who publicly defame the two leaders face five years in jail, though with a rider that their action will not be considered as defamation “if it is done to serve the public interest or as a measure of self-defense” – again overbroad language that can be loosely interpreted.
Subsequent articles also prescribe three years’ imprisonment for those who publicly defame Indonesia’s government in a manner that causes social unrest, or who broadcast, exhibit or disseminate defamatory anti-government material
Foreign journalists have little to complain about in the way of official restrictions, though Widodo’s decision in 2015 to lift the ban on them travelling to restive Papua has never been properly implemented on the ground.
Even when permission is given, obstacles remain. Military officials expelled BBC correspondent Rebecca Henschke and her two Indonesian assistants from the territory last month while covering a health emergency on the southeast coast.
Henschke was accused of “hurting the feelings” of soldiers involved in the relief effort by tweeting that the aid for severely malnourished Asmat tribal children comprised little more than instant noodles, sugary soft drinks and biscuits.
Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid called the expulsion “a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression” and other critics questioned why only the military — and not the police — were involved.
Freedom House’s 2018 country report on Indonesia has yet to be released, but it is likely to take a harsher line than it did in 2017 when Indonesia was one of the 59 countries designated as “partly free” with a score of four out of seven for civil liberties.
“Journalists often practice self-censorship to avoid running afoul of civil and criminal defamation laws,” it said in last year’s report, pointing to the 2008 Electronic Information and Transaction Law that has been increasingly used to curb freedom of expression.
Ostensibly, the law is aimed at cracking down on pornography, on-line fraud, money laundering, gambling and other cyber-crimes, but much of the focus has instead been on cases of defamation and blasphemy.
Among the more than 200 Internet users prosecuted under the law so far have been scores of alleged offenders who have been accused of lodging supposedly baseless corruption complaints against government and other public officials.
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2) Does Indonesia belong in the Melanesian Spearhead Group?
From Dateline Pacific, 6:04 am today
Indonesia's place in the Melanesian Spearhead Group has come under scrutiny from regional leaders and experts after allegations were made by Solomon Islands' deputy prime minister Manasseh Sogavare earlier this month that Fiji pressured other countries to accept Jakarta's bid to join the sub-regional group.
The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and the FLNKS indigenous New Caledonian pro-independence group granted Indonesia its associate member status in 2015.
But as Koroi Hawkins reports while Indonesia has secured itself a seat at the table it does not mean it is being welcomed across Melanesia.
TRANSCRIPT
"Well firstly Indonesia should be kicked out. Indonesia is not Melanesian, Indonesia does not have Melanesian interests at its heart and Indonesia is the oppressor of Melanesians in the regions lo West Papua Iran Jaya they used to call it."
Matthew Wale is an opposition MP in Solomon Islands.
And so it was a terrible mistake for Indonesia to be admitted as an associate member of the MSG."
Mr Wale's comments are in relation to Indonesia's opposition to the United Liberation Movement for West Papua which is seeking to be the West Papuan representative on the MSG.
So far the ULMWP has managed to secure observer status in the MSG despite considerable opposition from Indonesia.
Critics of Indonesia say undermining the ULMWP was one of the main reasons it sought to join the MSG.
But a spokesperson from Indonesia's Embassy in Canberra, Sade Bimantara, says this is not true.
"You know since the 1960s Indonesia, we have been contributing towards peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region. So all we are doing also in the South Pacific is expanding that sort of architecture building and norm setting into the South Pacific as well and working with Australia and working with New Zealand and other countries in the South Pacific region."
But the peace rhetoric stops when it comes to the ULMWP and its bid for full membership in the MSG.
"ULMWP does not belong in the MSG. It is not a state and does not represent the almost four million West Papuans living in the Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia. They do not have the mandate and never contested in the democratic process in Papua and West Papua."
But the indigenous New Caledonian pro-independence group the FLNKS is a full member of the MSG.
However Mr Bimantara says West Papua cannot be compared to the FLNKS.
"New Caledonia is recognised by the United Nations and is on the list of the C24 decolonisation committee. While West Papua the issue has been resolved since 1969 that Indonesia is a sovereign nation which encompasses also West Papua and that has been recognised by all of the countries in the United Nations system."
The latest shade on Indonesia's status in the MSG was cast by Solomon Islands' deputy prime minister Manasseh Sogavare who accused Fiji of putting pressure on other Melanesian countries to accept Indonesia.
An allegation Fiji's Defence Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola rubbished.
"I think he is either suffering from memory loss or is trying to play politics to his own constituents. He has forgotten that it was during his term when he was chair of the MSG when Indonesia was admitted to the MSG as an associate member."
But a Solomon Islands' academic at the University of Hawaii, Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, who was at the 2015 MSG meeting when Indonesia was granted its associate membership, says Ratu Inoke is trying to discount the fact that it was Fiji who sponsored Indonesia's bid and Fiji who had the most riding on its outcome.
"Fiji has an economic relationship with Indonesia and also there are connections in terms of exchanges of ideas vis-a-vis the military in particular. And so it is an important friend for Fiji."
Economically PNG shares a similar relationship with Indonesia to Fiji but it has even more reason to try and keep Indonesia on side given its shared land border.
Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have no such restrictions.
Solomon Islands' opposition MP Matthew Wale says since Indonesia joined the MSG it has had a chilling effect on conversations about human rights abuses and the push for self-determination in West Papua.
Mr Wale says the MSG was created to help Melanesians gain independence from their colonial masters and it has strayed too far from its roots.
"The MSG has worked itself into a bad joke. A really seriously bad joke. I advocate for the dismantling of the MSG and then a re-constituting of something new in its place that will truly advocate for decolonisation and much better treatment of Melanesians that are oppressed that are living under conditions that are not at all humane."
But Indonesia's Sade Bimantara, says the entire region is misguided on the issue of West Papua. He says Papuans are already "politically" free.
"...well West Papua is free because it is a democracy, it elects directly their own leaders and their government can freely govern in Papua and West Papua and the majority of the members of government are West Papuan natives. And also financially they are also free to manage their own finances."
On the subject of finances the MSG has experienced difficulty running its Port Vila based secretariat which was built by the Chinese government and has been getting financial support from Indonesia.
Tarcisius Kabutaulaka says it is an arrangement that further compromises the objectivity of the group.
"You know running a regional organisation or in this case a sub-regional organisation is expensive. And Indonesia has taken advantage of that and I think that is partly a result of lack planning on the part of our MSG countries. But there are creative ways of running regional organisations that would not hold us accountable to powers outside of the region that are putting money into these kinds of things."
Despite Indonesia's opposition the ULMWP's bid for membership it is still unresolved.
The MSG secretariat is looking at the application through a newly drafted set of guidelines on admission.
The outcome of this application will most likely set the tone for the next chapter of Melanesia's love/hate relationship with Indonesia.
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3) Mosque in Indonesia has Papuan Christians seething
Height of minaret draws protests as Protestant leaders accuse local Muslims of trying to overshadow their own churches
The under-construction minaret of Al-Aqsha mosque in Sentani, capital of Jayapura district in Papua province.
The Communion of Churches in Jayapura district, known as PGGJ, opposes the construction of the
minaret as it is taller than church buildings in the area. (Photo by Benny Mawel)
March 26, 2018
The height of a minaret at a Muslim mosque in Indonesia's predominantly Christian Papuaprovince has Protestants and Catholics hot under the collar as they claim it is being built to deliberately overshadow nearby churches.
The Protestant Communion of Churches in Jayapura district, known as the PGGJ, has called for the minaret in the city of Sentani to be pulled down, a call backed by a local Catholic priest who called opposition to the tower a move to counter intolerance.
"Construction of Al-Aqsha mosque's minaret must be halted and demolished, while the mosque itself must lowered to the same height as church buildings in the area," Protestant Church leaders said in a statement sent to the government and Muslim leaders.
They also said their protest underlined their concern among Papuan Christians over the growing influence of Islam in Papua province.
Franciscan Father Hendrikus Nahak from Redeemer Parish in Sentani told ucanews.com on March 22 that the Protestant protest was a move to counter intolerance, which was being displayed through ego and the need by the mosque's builders to overshadow nearby churches.
"Ego makes people fall into pride. Pride makes the faithful more concerned with the accessories of faith rather than the substance of faith, and people try to show it in life," said the priest whose church is about 100 meters away from the mosque.
"Accessories should not negate the substance of faith," he said. "Even a small building, which appreciates other believers, is not really a problem."
Referring to the growing influence of Islam, Father Nahak, who has served the area for about ten years, claimed the number of Muslims particularly in cities has increased.
"It can be seen in the construction of mosques and mushola [small mosques] everywhere. In Jayapura district this is very obvious," he said.
About 1.9 million of Papua's 2.8 million population are Protestants, 0.5 million Catholics and 0.4 million Muslims. The rest are Confucians, Buddhists and Hindus, according to the last census.
PGGJ chairman Reverend Robby Depondoye said their protest is also to try and buck a trend that is taking place across Papua.
"Old mosques are demolished and rebuilt to a design similar to the Al-Aqsha mosque," he said.
According to Marianus Yaung, a member of the PGGJ's law and education desk, the under-construction minaret is about 30-meters high while church buildings are only 15-meters high on average.
The Protestant group also called for a ban on the building of mosques in residential areas.
Muhammad Taufik, who manages Al-Aqsha mosque, refused to comment.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Jayapura chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Saiful Islam Al Payage said the issue should be resolved through "dialogue and peaceful means."
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1) TPN-PB OPM proves not screw up in Paniai regional election
2) “Bloody Paniai” settlement is a key to public trust
3) Eight months sentences for military culprit the fishermen shooter: It’s not fair, Father John Jonga said
4) Puti Hatil’s latest condition in Kampung Afimabul
5) Korindo still clearing forests in timber concession after being outed for fires in Indonesian palm oil plantations
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1) TPN-PB OPM proves not screw up in Paniai regional election
Paniai, Jubi – The West Papua National Liberation Army – Free Papua Movement (TPN-PB/OPM) of Paniai District proves that its institution does not create disputes in simultaneously regional election 2018.
The situation in Paniai District is secured and peaceful. It is evidence to dismiss against the allegation appointed by the Papua Police Chief accusing TPN-PB creates chaos.
“Now it’s been proven. It wasn’t us, but some political elites who defend Indonesia in Papua do. So, what was conveyed by the Papua Police Chief is to refer to himself,” said the TPN-PB Paniai leader, Demianus Magai Yogi on Friday (16/3/2018).
Further, he accused the police of not being capable to secure the regions where elections would run, so they publish hoax news to the public. “I would just say that the police is a trigger of conflict. They cannot handle a simple case, in fact now Paniai people are victimized for the sake of this country,” said Yogi.
According to him, the conflict in the regional election is the responsibilities of candidates and security officers because they are not capable to manage their supporters and campaign teams.
Meanwhile, Paniai Police Chief Supriyagung appealed people to collectively maintain the security in Paniai and Deiyai. “Do not be provoked by irresponsible parties, and do not easily be affected by news in social media that might not be true,” he said.
The police chief also prohibits liquor trading and alcohol drinking as well as sharp weapons to prevent any dispute. “Always stand on the good of diversity, keep on your faith and beliefs,” he said. (*)
Reporter: Abeth You
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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2) “Bloody Paniai” settlement is a key to public trust
Jayapura, Jubi – Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, should think of a settlement of “Bloody Paniai” case, which happened in 2014 as a key to win a public trust if he wants to run in the next election.
The families of victims are still waiting for Jokowi’s promise to solve this case. “If Joko Widodo wants to run in the presidential election 2019, he must settle the case of bloody Paniai as he promised,” said Yohan You, a brother of the death Alpius Yau, recently.
He voiced the same opinion to Amnesty International team who recorded the database of the families of the death, survivors, community and customary leaders as well as religious leaders in Paniai last week.
“If not, we will boycott him. It’s our commitment and his capacity as the head of state in doubt.”
The Campaign Manager of the Amnesty International in Indonesia, Puri Kencana Putri said the bloody Paniai case is the only entrance of other violence happened in Paniai.
“This data is collected and compiled for being launched in 150 countries. In Papua, we choose three regions.” (*)
Reporter: Abeth You
Reporter: Abeth You
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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3) Eight months sentences for military culprit the fishermen shooter: It’s not fair, Father John Jonga said
Jayapura, Jubi –Father John Jonga, Yap Thiam Hien Award winner 2009, said the military judge’s verdict to sentence 8 months prison to the First Sergeant Yusuf Salasar in a military tribunal held in Jayapura on Tuesday (20/03/18) was not fair.
According to him, the act of Salasar who’s Deputy Commander of Intel II Military Resort Command 174 Timika could not be justified. He fired a gunshot during a quarrel between traditional and migrant fishermen in KP3 Office Pomako Port Timika on 9/8/2017. As a result, it caused the death of a traditional fisherman Theo Cakatem, while other fishermen, Rudolf Saran and Gabrial Nawipo were injured respectively in their arm and left palm hand.
“The verdict of 18 months sentences is embarrassed. It is not a new case; this kind of shooting case is about human’s life. It’s not professional if it has done by a military officer,” Father John Jonga told Jubi on Thursday evening (22/3/2018).
In addition, Jonga said, this verdict signified that the Military Tribunal is very unfair. His self-defense reason when firing a gun cannot be an excuse. “If he said he did it for self-defense, what for?”
A human right attorney Gustaf Kawer, in the press release received by Jubi on Wednesday (21/3/2018), said considering the legal process to the verdict, it assumed that law enforcement officers who involved in this trial already had a ‘design’ to protect the defendant.
Firstly, from the process of investigation to the trial, all were handed over to the court for about six months. It is considered to violate the principle of a fast and low-cost trial.
“Secondly, this case was not conducted at the scene or in Timika. It should be conducted in the location nearby to the victims’ families in order to guarantee a sense of justice as well as to facilitate the presence of victims to witness in the court. So the trial is supposed to be done in Timika,” said Kawer. (*)
Reporter: Arjuna Pademme
Reporter: Arjuna Pademme
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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4) Puti Hatil’s latest condition in Kampung Afimabul
Jayapura, Jubi – Rev. Trevor Christian Johnson from the Papuan Reform Church (GJRP) visited Puti Hatil, who was once diagnosed with an infection and hospitalized in Jayapura, in Kampung Afimabul on Friday (16/3/2018) for checking her latest condition.
He said the child is still healthy, hardy, active and strong enough. The wound on her cheek is also slightly evident. “Today we examined her health. So far she is fine. Thank God,” said the priest on Sunday (18/03/2018) in Jayapura, Papua.
“We are happy that she is getting better. You can see in the picture that Puti Hatil is still healthy,” he said. Further, he said in the picture, people also can see other children wearing school uniform. Everyday they go to school and learn from Manu Ya-wol, a native Koroway evangelist. Moreover, he thanked both Papuans and other donors who help him with fundraising.
On Friday (16/3/2018), the Rev. Trevor Johnson and the Rev. Paul Snider, as well as GIDI evangelist Jimmy Weyato took a helicopter from Helivida to visit Puti Hatil as well as to provide health services for the local community. They often conduct a humanitarian mission to neglected people in the remote area, such as those who live in Kampung Afimabul of Asmat District, Papua. (*)
Reporter: Aguz Pabika
Reporter: Aguz Pabika
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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5) Korindo still clearing forests in timber concession after being outed for fires in Indonesian palm oil plantations
By Hans Nicholas Jong, Mongabay.com
Monday 26 March 2018
Non-profit Mighty Earth found out that the agribusiness conglomerate may have since 2017 degraded more than 30 square kilometers of pristine forest to build logging roads in one of its timber concessions.
An environmental watchdog has accused a palm oil company in Indonesia of failing to extend a sustainable forestry pledge to a timber concession that it also operates.
In a recent report, the NGO Mighty Earth alleged that Korindo, a South Korean-Indonesian joint venture, had degraded an area of more than 30 square kilometers (12 square miles) of rainforest in the easternmost province of Papua. The area is part of a logging concession spanning 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) operated by a subsidiary of Korindo, PT Inocin Abadi.
“Korindo is continuing to destroy pristine rainforest in Papua on its logging concession, PT Inocin Abadi, with clear expansion into intact forest landscape underway, even as it is proclaiming it is committed to forest conservation and sustainability,” Mighty Earth campaign director Deborah Lapidus told Mongabay.
The NGO says Korindo degraded the area to make way for logging roads, based on satellite imagery from November 2017 to January 2018, and that it continues to extend the road network into new areas of rainforest. In total, Korindo has built logging roads through more than 150 square kilometers (58 square miles) of rainforest since it started developing the concession in 2014, Mighty Earth says.
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They are clearly missing the forest for the trees when it comes to the ultimate intent being to stop destroying pristine rainforest, whether for palm oil or for logging.
Deborah Lapidus, campaign director, Mighty Earth
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“This makes it clear that Korindo is continuing to open up new logging areas on its 100,000 hectare concession,” Lapidus said.Maps show the logging concession in question sits adjacent to an oil palm concession also operated by a Korindo subsidiary, PT Papua Agro Lestari, where it stopped clearing forest in 2017. It announced a moratorium on forest clearing in all its oil palm concessions in the wake of a 2016 Mighty Earth investigation, titled “Burning Paradise,” that alleged Korindo had caused 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of deforestation and an estimated 894 fire hotspots since 2013.
Logging roads
Korindo refuted the latest allegations in a response on its website, saying the location shown in Mighty Earth’s report was an area that had been logged by the previous owner of the concession, from whom Korindo acquired the lease in 2011. Korindo did not disclose the identity of the earlier concession holder.
It also denied having built a major network of logging roads, saying again that most of the forest roads shown in the report were built by the previous concession holder. The company said it had maintained these roads and expanded only when necessary.
“Even for this purpose, the company has always reported and obtained permission from the government in advance, before any forest road development,” Korindo said.
Lapidus challenged that statement, saying the satellite imagery obtained by Mighty Earth clearly showed that new roads were being built in 2017, well into Korindo’s tenure as the concession holder.
She said that Korindo had punched a large logging road straight through an area of intact forest landscape inside the concession, which now connects that concession with the adjacent oil palm concession.
“You can see the appearance of new roads throughout the year,” Lapidus said, referring to the above animated image.
Korindo also said it had complied with all regulations for logging concession by carrying out “selective cutting,” felling only trees with a diameter of 40 centimeters (16 inches) or more and of certain species in limited areas.
“Moreover, the company has always carried out reforestation programs after the selective cutting process is finished,” Korindo said. It said this had allowed it to maintain most of the forests in its logging concession “as dense forest.”
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1) Freeport faces threat from armed gangs of criminal: Police
2) Indonesian ambassador hits back at Herald columnist’s ‘baseless’ claim
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1) Freeport faces threat from armed gangs of criminal: Police
Reporter: SYSTEM 7 hours ago
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA News) - Papua Police Chief Ins.Gen. Boy Rafli said there are still armed gangs of criminals seeking to create trouble for US mining company PT Freeport Indonesia.
Freeport, which has large copper and gold mine in Tembagapura, Papua, is still facing threat to security in mining operation, Boy said here on Monday.
He said the existence of the armed criminals is also a threat to the security officers including police and the military personnel in Papua.
The armed groups, police called armed gangs of criminals, are believed to be separatists hiding in the mountain jungle of Papua sporadically launching attacks on patrolling security officers.
Boy said the criminals had caused also trouble for the people such as when they attacked and set fire on a hospital in the village of Banti recently.
Boy said despite the growing intensity of attacks, he did not think Papua needs additional police personnel to help improve security in the region.
However, he did not rule out additional personnel if the situation is worse, saying,"We still study the situation, and it is not impossible that we would need additional personnel if the situation is worse.
He said the the Banti hospital has ceased operation after the attacked around five months earlier as all paramedics have not returned from evacuation.
Only native people dare to stay in the village of Banti, away from police station, he said.
He said police have difficulty to reach that village as the unpaved road was badly damaged.
The armed criminals apparently dug big holes in the road to hamper mobility of both the villagers and patrolling police, he said.
"If police tried to use the road they would be an easy target like a sitting duck for snipers hiding behind the jungle trees," he said.
The nearest police station to Banti is at Utikini Lama around one kilometer away, he said.
(AS/a014)
(T.SYS/B/H-ASG/A014)
Freeport, which has large copper and gold mine in Tembagapura, Papua, is still facing threat to security in mining operation, Boy said here on Monday.
He said the existence of the armed criminals is also a threat to the security officers including police and the military personnel in Papua.
The armed groups, police called armed gangs of criminals, are believed to be separatists hiding in the mountain jungle of Papua sporadically launching attacks on patrolling security officers.
Boy said the criminals had caused also trouble for the people such as when they attacked and set fire on a hospital in the village of Banti recently.
Boy said despite the growing intensity of attacks, he did not think Papua needs additional police personnel to help improve security in the region.
However, he did not rule out additional personnel if the situation is worse, saying,"We still study the situation, and it is not impossible that we would need additional personnel if the situation is worse.
He said the the Banti hospital has ceased operation after the attacked around five months earlier as all paramedics have not returned from evacuation.
Only native people dare to stay in the village of Banti, away from police station, he said.
He said police have difficulty to reach that village as the unpaved road was badly damaged.
The armed criminals apparently dug big holes in the road to hamper mobility of both the villagers and patrolling police, he said.
"If police tried to use the road they would be an easy target like a sitting duck for snipers hiding behind the jungle trees," he said.
The nearest police station to Banti is at Utikini Lama around one kilometer away, he said.
(AS/a014)
(T.SYS/B/H-ASG/A014)
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1) Jayapura Police in war on marijuana
2) Letter in NZ Herald
3) Can this dive resort save the last paradise on earth?
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1) Jayapura Police in war on marijuana
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua | Tue, March 27, 2018 | 10:45 pm
The Jayapura Police have stepped up measures to fight the distribution of marijuana in the city by strengthening security checks at all of its entrance points at the border with Papua New Guinea.
In a two-day security patrol, police officers confiscated 6.2 kilograms of dried marijuana and arrested four suspects. The operation was jointly held by the Jayapura Police and the Army Strategic Reserves Command’s 501 Para Raider Infantry Battalion.
“Marijuana distribution in Jayapura city has been getting worse and all of the drugs have been smuggled from Papua New Guinea. That’s why we are stepping up security patrols at all entrances, in ports and the Papua New Guinea border in Skouw Wutung,” Jayapura Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Gustaf Urbinas said on Tuesday.
The police arrested the four suspects in different places. One of the suspects, identified only as EL, 31, a Papua New Guinea citizen, was arrested at the Skouw Wutung market on Saturday, during which the police found 500 grams of dried marijuana in his bag.
Another suspect, identified only as AF, 19, was arrested on Holtekamp Beach on Monday. He was apprehended on a speedboat with 4 kilograms of dried marijuana.
Meanwhile, two other suspects identified only as MW, 42, and KM, 21, were arrested at Jayapura Port on Monday with a total of 1.5 kg of marijuana. “They were arrested during a security check on passengers who would board vessels departing for Biak, Manokwari, Sorong and other ports in the central and eastern parts of Indonesia. They planned to distribute the marijuana in Sorong,” said Gustaf. (ebf)
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2) Letter in NZ Herald
The Editor
The New Zealand Herald
Dear Madam/Sir,
Audrey Young is right; Indonesian President Widodo short-changed New Zealanders by his public silence, a poor start to celebrations for New Zealand and Indonesia’s sixty years of diplomatic relations, or ‘Sixty years as friends for good’.
In 1960, before Indonesia took over West Papua, Prime Minister Walter Nash proposed that the two halves of the New Guinea Island should be placed under joint trusteeship and prepared for eventual independence as one country. He did not prevail, but he stood up to the Indonesian Ambassador who came over from Canberra to remonstrate with him. His idea had merit and Papuan leaders still talk wistfully about one united country: West Papua and Papua New Guinea, ‘from Sorong to Samarai’.
Since then from a West Papua perspective, there has been little good about the relationship. In the remote Asmat region dozens of children died recently from a combination of measles and malnutrition. This kind of health and environmental neglect added to such crimes as extrajudicial killings has led academics to use the term ‘slow genocide’. New Zealand needs to be friends with the powerless as well as the political elite and territorial integrity should not be allowed to trump genocide.
Yours sincerely,
Maire Leadbeater
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Note. Lots of photos in article
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3) Can this dive resort save the last paradise on earth?
Papua Diving plans to be the first resort in the divers’ paradise of Raja Ampat to be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy, and wants to be a role model for local communities to protect the world’s most biodiverse coral reefs.
By Robin Hicks Tuesday 27 March 2018
A story that Max Ammer, the owner of a five-star eco-resort in the Indonesian Papua diver’s paradise of Raja Ampat, loves to tell his guests is about the time he rescued two turtles from a fisherman’s boat in the early nineties. After buying the turtles from the young fisherman, Ammer immediately put one of them back into the water. Shocked, the boy jumped in after it. He resurfaced without the turtle, but with questions about why his catch had been so carelessly discarded.
As the Dutchman released the second turtle over the side of his boat, he explained to the young fisherman that the animals were worth more alive than dead. From that day, Ammer claims, the boy did not catch another turtle. Instead, Ammer hired him and trained him as a dive instructor at his resort, Papua Diving. Now, after many years of working there, the fisherman-turned-tour operator runs a resort of his own.
Preaching the theory of conservation to people doesn’t work. You need to offer them a better way to make money.Max Ammer, founder, Papua Diving
Only when people see the direct benefits of tourism will they have reason to protect their environment, says Ammer, who counts former shark finners, bomb fishermen and loggers among his 120 staff at his two resorts on the island of Kri, Kri Eco Resort and the more upmarket Sorido Bay, where guests pay about US$2,000 for a week’s stay. “Preaching the theory of conservation to people doesn’t work. You need to offer them a better way to make money,” he tells Eco-Business during a recent media visit to his resort.
Though West Papua’s economy is growing quickly, fuelled by agribusiness and tourism, local communities—especially indigenous people—have not enjoyed an equal share in that growth, and are Indonesia’s poorest people; Ammer’s mission is to involve local, indigenous communities as his business grows.
Awareness of the need to protect the area is growing among fisherman who eke out a living in the remote province, but it is not always because the sustainability message is hitting home. Eco-Business visited a village that was a 10-minutes boat ride away from Kri Island, where a former bomb fisherman shared that he stopped the practice because he was scared of being put in jail again.
Paradise in peril
Kri Island is nestled in the heart of Raja Ampat Marine Park, an area set up to protect what is claimed to be the world’s most biologically diverse coral habitat, and where 75 per cent of all coral species are known to live.
Raja Ampat, often dubbed ‘the last paradise on earth’, is also home to rare animals unique to the 40,000 square-kilometre region’s jungle-covered islands, such as the inimitable Bird of Paradise.
But Raja Ampat has been the victim of its own natural wealth. Not only have dynamite and poison fishing harmed the reef, vulnerable species such as turtles, sharks, crocodiles and Napoleon wrasse have also been targeted by poachers, threatening the region’s ecological balance.
The biggest threat to the area, says Papuan native Bustar Maitar, a former Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner who now runs environmental consultancy EcoNusa Foundation, is mass tourism. Relatively untouched until the start of the decade, Raja Ampat is now the poster child for the ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ international tourism campaign. Though expensive for an Indonesian province and relatively hard to get to, it now receives in ever-greater numbers.
A journey from Singapore to Raja Ampat now takes 12 hours, and involves three flights and a boat ride, but an expanded runway at Marinda Airport on the island of Waisai will slash travel time, and make one of the world’s most pristine marine environments more accessible to the masses.In under a decade, tourism in Raja Ampat has ballooned by more than 1,300 per cent—from just 998 visitors in 2007 to 14,137 in 2015. At this rate, there will be 92,000 tourist arrivals each year by 2021—a number that is, according to Conservation International, more than three times the carrying capacity of Raja Ampat’s dive sites.The conscientiousness of tourists is another worry, Maitar tells Eco-Business. To access the marine park, visitors must buy an entry permit that supposedly goes towards protecting the reserve and on community development programmes. But many sneak in without buying a pass, and these visitors are less likely to be aware or care about the fragility of the area, he says.
The race to be first
More tourists mean more pressure on Raja Ampat’s most prized asset—its coral reefs. This is a threat that came into sharp focus in May last year, when a 4,200-tonne British cruise ship ran aground and destroyed 14,000 square metres of pristine reef.
Though the incident made international headlines, a bigger and more constant threat to corals is the careless dropping of anchors by liveaboard boats that happens on a daily basis, says Max Ammer, who estimates that on average, 55 liveaboard boats are moored in the archipelago every day.
“Tidal change will make these anchors drag and destroy an area of reef as big as a ship in one day, and that is happening 55 times a day. But no one is doing anything about it,” he says.
Ammer’s idea to confront the problem—to install some 200 buoys for liveaboards to moor to in partnership with the Liveaboard Association so that boats don’t need to drop anchor—is part of the Dutchman’s plan to green his resort and the environment on which his business depends.
He also hopes to set up a marine association to ensure that mooring fees are collected, and the rules are enforced.
One idea is for local communities to own the moorings, and for mooring fees to go towards maintenance of the buoys, which will be managed by locals.
“You have a ship, you can operate here, fine—but pay for the mooring,” says Ammer. “Otherwise the reefs are going to be destroyed.”
For it to work, he needs rival liveaboard operators on side onside. “It is stupid to not work together. We can help each other, at least on things that affect everyone’s interests. Other things we do by ourselves,” he says.
The son of an oil executive, raised surrounded by animals and nature in Nigeria, Ammer founded Papua Diving almost three decades ago after spending a time in West Papua hunting for submerged World War II aircraft, one of his many esoteric passions.
While some visitors may raise eyebrows at two young cassowary birds kept in captivity on the island, and the ritual feeding of critically endangered Cuscus and black-tip reef sharks for the guests at Sorido Bay, Ammer wants to have the first eco-resort in Raja Ampat that can genuinely call itself green.
While a number of resorts in the area claim to be eco-friendly, most—like Papua Diving—continue to rely on polluting diesel generators for power and import fresh water in plastic bottles. Ammer wants to fix this, and he wants it done quickly—because he has competition.
A feather in Papua Diving’s cap is the Raja Ampat Research and Conservation Centre, a conservation project Ammer founded with Conservation International. But a rival operator on the neighbouring island of Misool also has a well developed conservation project, employs mainly locals, and is also partly solar-powered.
Ammer wants to be the first eco-tourism operator in Raja Ampat that can claim to be 100 per cent renewable-powered. To achieve this feat, he has hired fellow countryman Hans van Mameren, a ship designer who founded renewables firm Energy Renewed last year, to fix the resort’s sustainability credentials from top to bottom.
The plan
The first task on van Mameren’s to-do list is the resort’s fleet of 11 petrol-powered boats, which will all be electrified. Solar panels are to be fitted onto their roofs, batteries installed in their hulls, and they’ll be recharged while docked at the jetty at night.
The boats are a good place to start, since they are “independent energy islands” that can be electrified quickly, says van Mameren, who has 50 years’ experience in the shipping industry. The boats will take about three months to convert; the whole resort could take up to two years to make 100 per cent renewables-powered—a lot sooner, if Ammer gets his way.
The next phase is to build small, locally-made electric catamarans that will used to shuttle divers around the dive sites. Two-stroke petrol engines are a serious source of pollution. The exhaust fumes are released underwater, and are slowly polluting the water and reefs. “Fish like clean water as much as we like clean air,” says Van Mameren.
Ferrying divers around in solar-powered boats is not just about bragging rights, he adds. Silent boats cruising around Raja Ampat will not only prompt other dive operators to go electric, but inspire curiosity among the locals.
This principle is central to Ammer’s approach to eco-tourism—build something sustainable using a local workforce, and let that expertise spread through the community.
For instance, Ammer invited local fishermen to learn how to build energy-efficient fibreglass boats, which can now be seen dotted around the area. Some people he has trained in the past are now village leaders, which helps to spread the sustainability message, he says.
Collaborating with locals on sustainability has not always been easy for the plain-speaking Dutchman. In one village in a remote part of Papua, the locals believed him to be a god. In another, he was threatened over a project he wouldn’t support. He also says that bombs have been thrown at him by bomb fishermen that he has turned over to the police.
Solar will be the main source of energy for the two resorts, which take up to 38 guests at a time, adding up to about 1600 clients a year. Air-conditioning in the luxurious guest suites is the biggest energy consumer in the resorts, which are already about 20 per cent powered by solar. But this figure is set to increase as hundreds more panels are to be added to the solar field at Sorido Bay.
Ammer and van Mameren are also exploring tidal power as a source of renewable energy in the resorts. Indonesia’s thousands of islands make one of the world’s strongest cases for tidal power. “The current runs day and night—it’s always there,” says van Mameren. Small tidal turbines are to be trialed just off the shore.
But won’t a tidal turbine prove hazardous for fish and other marine creatures? No, because fish can move faster than turbine’s propellor, which moves only as quickly as the current, says van Mameren. “Fish are smart. They will learn to avoid it,” he says.
Once the new renewable energy system is up and running, it should take two to three years to recover the cost of the upfront investment (Papua Diving won’t reveal the total cost of the project). The solar panels and batteries, if kept clean and cool, should last for about 15 to 20 years before they need replacing.
Almost everything, from the fibreglass boats to the tidal turbines, will be built by local workers on Kri Island, where Ammer has a workshop equipped with a vast arsenal of tools and machinery.
Water and farming
Ammer also plans to make the island (island or resorts) totally water self-sufficient. With no natural water supply, Kri Island currently relies on clean water from the neighbouring city of Sorong, delivered in large plastic bottles.
The two resorts already use some recycled water collected from rain gutters on the roofs of the chalets. That pipe network is to be expanded, and will feed into a 75-cubic metre water storage facility. A new filtration system will eventually mean drinkable tap water—a rarity in Papua.
Water could also be used to irrigate a farm on the island. To date, Ammer has been reluctant to move into agriculture, as he is wary of undermining a revenue stream for the local people from whom he buys food. But a small-scale farm is a possibility, using waste water and kitchen waste as compost.
Plastic in paradise
When it comes to waste management, the resort minimises its own plastic use by serving guests water in glass jugs, and handing out reusable metal water containers as soon as they arrive. But even remote Raja Ampat has not escaped Southeast Asia’s chronic plastic pollution problem.
Divers report seeing drifting plastic trash on almost every dive, and plastic debris can be seen drifting on the surface everywhere from Sorong, the entry city for Raja Ampat, to Kri Island, washing up on the shores of private beaches.
Though local tour operators claim that the plastic comes from other parts of Indonesia and China, strained garbage collection systems and trash-choked rivers in Sorong visibly contribute to the problem.
The plastic problem is one so big that it seems beyond the pragmatic Ammer, who prides himself on being able to fix things in-house. He says that despite some efforts to tackle the issue by the Indonesian government, they have not been effective.
One idea van Mameren has to contain plastic waste around Kri Island is to place skimmers in shallow coastal waters that work like oil spill booms, trapping drifting surface debris. The main concern, he says, is where to take the collected rubbish.
Another idea is to work with rival eco resorts in Raja Ampat to collect plastic on their beaches and reefs, and send it to a recycling plant in Sorong. Called Bank Sampah, or waste bank, the plant works like a regular bank. Deposits of plastic are weighed and valued, and customers can earn, save and withdraw from their account. It is a private initiative run by Misool Resort and run by a small team of volunteers.
Once the system for collecting and transporting the plastic waste is up and running, the plan is to plug local villages into the network. Currently, most villages lack any sort of formal rubbish collection system.
A model for the future of Papua
Ammer’s grand plan is to copy and paste his sustainable eco-resort model to other parts of Papua, which he says will help local communities that have not yet been included in Indonesia’s economic growth story.
He points to the rapid expansion of the palm oil industry in the interior of Papua as just one way that indigenous Papuans have been left behind by development in the region, while their neighbours across the border in Papua New Guinea enjoy far higher living standards.
“Some indigenous people should be millionaires after selling their land [to agribusiness firms],” he says. “But they don’t know how to negotiate, and they don’t understand the value of money, so they end up selling their land for next to nothing.”
Ammer wants to include Papua’s indigenous people in the growth of his business, as he branches out from diving to other forms of nature tourism. He plans to build small resorts of luxurious eco-lodges in Papua’s cool, mountainous interior. There, guests can immerse themselves in nature and go hiking.
But for his plan to work, he cannot do it alone. Collaboration is key, he says, even in Papua’s competitive tourism sector. He uses the example of a Canadian goldminer could not find that one gold vein he was looking for. So he placed all his geological data on the internet, and asked users for their advice. A year later he hit the vein and became a billionaire.
The same thing applies to ecotourism, says Ammer. “Some people keep everything to themselves, and they don’t share. But you can win more from sharing than you lose from not sharing.”
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1) MSG rumblings over Indonesia will cool down, says PNG
2) The Mysterious Death of a Papuan Child
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1) MSG rumblings over Indonesia will cool down, says PNG
4:03 pm today
Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister has downplayed signs of tensions in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Leaders from MSG members states Solomon Islands and Fiji have been engaged in a war of words this month over Indonesia's involvement in the group.
The rift went public with recent comments by Solomon Islands' deputy prime minister Manasseh Sogavare that Fiji forced other MSG members to accept Indonesia in the group.
PNG's Rimbink Pato said as the current MSG chair holder, his country will work to maintain Melanesian unity.
Speaking in New Zealand, Mr Pato said it is typical of Melanesian peoples to have their differences.
"But there's a time to party together and get together and shake hands and move forward," he said.
"So I think those rumblings will come to an end."
"Of course we had those with Fiji, Australia and New Zealand at the Pacific Islands Forum some years back," said Mr Pato.
"But PNG was taking a role to resolve those issues, and see where we are, we are together now.”
Indonesia's entry to the MSG has been characterised by politicians from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands as being aimed at countering a West Papuan bid for full membership in the group.
The Solomon's MP Matthew Wale has warned that having Indonesia in the group would continue to divide the independent Melanesian states.
Indonesia's government has argued that it has more people of Melanesian stock than any other country and therefore deserves its associate member status in the MSG.
However, an application for full MSG membership by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua remained on the table and is being processed by the MSG Secretariat.
"There is a process and the application was the subject of recent discussions," Mr Pato explained, adding that the competence of the MSG to be decisive on this long-running issue was very clear.
"And the criteria for membership is being worked on, and we the foreign ministers (of MSG) will look at it, make the appropriate recommendations to the leaders. The leaders will then make a decision as to what the outcome (will be)."
Rimbink Pato said that the PNG government fully supported Indonesian territorial control of Papua.
"There is no authority permitted by the MSG constitution which allows membership of non-sovereign states, or loose entities, as it were."
He told RNZ Pacific that the case of the Liberation Movement was different to that of New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanaks movement which, although also not an independent state, was a full MSG member.
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2) The Mysterious Death of a Papuan Child
March 27, 2018 3:57PM EDT
Andreas Harsono Indonesia Researcher
There are multiple accounts of how Rico Ayomi, a 17-year-old student, died in Sorong, in Indonesia’s West Papua province, after 24 hours in police detention.
Police initially said Ayomi was found unconscious near an empty bottle of 70-percent alcohol when they detained him at midnight on March 11, indicating that his death 27 hours later was due to “alcohol poisoning.”
But Simon Soren, a relative of Ayomi’s, told Human Rights Watch that when police returned Ayomi to his family 24 hours after they detained him, he was unconscious and had injuries including “bruises on his left cheek, left shoulder, a bleeding nose and a broken jaw.” Ayomi never regained consciousness and died three hours later. Soren said eyewitnesses told him that a mob had assaulted Ayomi on the evening of March 11, accusing him of theft.
On March 21, Sorong’s deputy police chief, Chandra Ismawanto, told Human Rights Watch that the police assessment of “alcohol poisoning” as the cause of Ayomi’s death was “controversial” and that police now suspected Ayomi died from a combination of excessive alcohol consumption and a mob beating. He declined to say whether police were investigating. Ismawanto said the results of an autopsy would be available last week, but neither we nor the family have been able to get the results.
Questions about police conduct in Ayomi’s case don’t end there. Ismawanto confirmed that police waited 23 hours after they detained Ayomi to take him to a hospital, attributing the delay to slow official approval. He said police noted Ayomi’s failure to regain consciousness while in detention as “strange,” but that a doctor at the hospital certified that he was “healthy.”
The circumstances of Ayomi’s death demand a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation. But that is unlikely to happen. Indonesian authorities rarely investigate security forces implicated in the deaths of Papuans. In cases in which investigations do occur, police found culpable in unlawful killings invariably face administrative wrist-slaps rather than criminal prosecution.
Until there is political will in Jakarta to meaningfully investigate and prosecute the killings of Papuans by security forces or unidentified attackers, the lives of Papuans such as Rico Ayomi will remain at risk.
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1) Thousands without e-ID may not be able to vote in Papua
2) Places to Watch: 3 Forest Regions at Risk Right Now
3) Compromise yields New Caledonia referendum question
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1) Thousands without e-ID may not be able to vote in Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua | Wed, March 28, 2018 | 05:56 pm
Thousands of voters in Papua have yet to have their identities registered under the electronic identification (e-ID), which could strip them of their voting rights in the upcoming elections.
Acting Papua Governor Sudarmo said he had instructed the Papua Social Affairs and Civil Registry Agency to speed up the e-ID registration of 627,815 voters. He also said the residents must be provided with a statement letter if the agency had not yet acquired the blank cards for the new e-ID.
“The voters who don’t own an e-ID or a statement letter [regarding their identities] cannot use their voting rights in the 2018 regional elections and the 2019 legislative and presidential elections,” Sudarmo said on Wednesday.
The Papua General Election Commission (KPUD) has said the temporary voters list for the province included 3,580,279 people.
Civil registry agency head Ribka Haluk said the officials have faced challenges in recording residents’ data after equipment was destroyed during conflict and resistance from the residents.
“There are voters across all regencies in Papua that have yet to have their data recorded. They are mostly in the Jayawijaya, Paniai and Lanny Jaya regencies,” Ribka said.
Meanwhile, Papua Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) member Pata said authorities found out about the issue following coklit— a campaign by the KPU for voter data verification.
“We found that there are residents who do not have registered identification yet. That is unfortunate as they cannot vote in the upcoming elections,” Pata said.
The provincial administration has only three weeks left to record the residents' data as the KPUD will hold a plenary meeting to announce the final voters list.
Suparmo added if the administration could not register a significant number of people he would consult with related parties on special policies needed to make sure residents can still use their voting rights.
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2) Places to Watch: 3 Forest Regions at Risk Right Now
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1) West Papuans cry out for freedom
2) Foreign minister underlines PNG's regional leadership
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1) West Papuans cry out for freedom
29 March 2018
First published in Justice Trends, the quarterly newsletter of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, No. 168, March 2018.
After more than 50 years of repression, the indigenous people of West Papua hold on to the belief that one day they can reclaim their country.
While thousands of Papuans have been beaten, jailed, raped and murdered for standing up for their rights, Papuans young and old continue to risk danger by publicly campaigning for their freedom from Indonesian rule, which began as a result of a fraudulent and unjust process enforced by the Indonesian Government and supported by other countries, in particular the United States.
In the latest Catholic Social Justice Series paper, Into the Deep: Seeking justice for the people of West Papua, author Peter Arndt recounts his personal experience of meeting West Papuans in their homes and villages, and describes the importance of faith and solidarity in their struggle for justice.
Peter Arndt has been executive officer of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 2001. Over the last three years, he has travelled several times to West Papua and the Pacific as part of his commitment to deepening solidarity with marginalised and oppressed peoples.
In his introduction to Into the Deep, ACSJC Chairman, Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen, commends Arndt’s deeply moving account of the sufferings of the indigenous people of West Papua.
“He shows how he has come to understand their indomitable desire for self-determination and to recognise how the Gospel calls him to walk beside his friends on their journey,” Bishop Long writes.
“That deep reflection on Gospel values and Church teaching is what makes this publication so inspiring. Peter places his friends’ experience in the context of the Scriptures and looks deeply into the Church’s teachings on justice and asks what he must do. He discerns the answer with clarity and courage.”
In the paper, Arndt notes that the vast majority of Papuans are Christians and their faith sustains them in their resistance to Indonesian occupation, with many public acts of resistance taking the form of prayer gatherings.
“It’s worth noting that, as much as their faith strengthens Papuans in their struggle, Indonesian soldiers and police often respond by denigrating and mocking their Christianity,” he writes.
The paper describes numerous examples over many years of the violence and cruelty perpetrated by the Indonesian police and military and the survivors’ stories of pain, humiliation and fear. Despite assurances that incidents of violence and killings would be investigated, “no Indonesian soldier or police officer has been held accountable for the dreadful deeds committed”.
“The survivors have not only been deprived of justice for the violence inflicted on them, but in the intervening years they have continued to suffer. “Those who have continued to speak out … are deprived of employment opportunities and pensions.
“Survivors are also subject to harassment and intimidation by various arms of the Indonesian security apparatus.
“This constant surveillance and repression induce a constant state of fear within the community. It’s a nightmare that never ends, an open jail you can never leave.”
The author relates the story of being stopped on the road by soldiers who collected an illegal toll from his group.
“The military and the police not only bring violence and the threat of violence to the Highlands and every other part of West Papua. They also exploit the land and its people for monetary gain.
“Our Papuan colleagues told us how the various arms of the security forces control the trade of every type of commodity in the Highlands, from rice to petrol. We were told that the various military and police units divide different types of commodities in particular districts between themselves and operate what is effectively a protection racket.
“They also operate their own businesses, including brothels, trade in pornography and alcohol and illegally sell wildlife, including West Papua’s iconic birds of paradise.”
In the aftermath of the killing of four young men following a pre-Christmas vigil, security officers approached family members offering large sums of money to settle the case and keep them quiet. “It was effectively blood money.”
Returning to that area some time later, Arndt found that the case was still being investigated by the National Human Rights Commission, Komnas Ham, and no-one had been held to account for killing the four boys. “That remains the case to this day, despite repeated assurances by the Indonesian Government that resolving the case is a high priority.”
The families have refused to take the money and when asked what they want if there is to be justice for their boys, one of the fathers spoke for them all: “The only justice we want is freedom!”
“It is clear to me that when they spoke of freedom, my Papuan sisters and brothers not only wanted an end to the violence that constantly surrounded them. They clearly wanted an end to Indonesian occupation of their lands and an opportunity to live as Papuans with their own languages, culture and religion rather than as Indonesians.
“Many Australians, Americans and Europeans seeking to support the people of West Papua baulk at any form of support for a political objective. I have heard people of good will who say that they cannot be involved in political action and so restrict themselves to human rights advocacy. Some advise Papuans that self-determination is an impossible dream and that lesser goals should be sought.
“I am immensely troubled by any approach that actively discourages Papuans from seeking freedom in the way they want it.”
The paper also describes the way Papuans are marginalised by the waves of Indonesians who have migrated from places like Java, Flores and Sumatra. In some cities, the indigenous Papuan proportion of the population is now a little over 36 per cent.
“In the more remote regions, Papuans still are in the majority, but the trend is clear: as more Indonesians arrive, Papuans are destined to become a smaller and smaller minority in their own land.”
At the same time, Papuans are discriminated against in the provision of education, health services and employment.
“We were told that nepotism by Indonesian employers and public service bosses meant that those Papuans who did have good qualifications often missed out on getting jobs. Papuan business operators complained that the military and the police would often squeeze them out of lucrative opportunities in order to make money for themselves.
“It is rare to see Papuan-owned businesses in the big cities like Jayapura. And those that support affirmative action are quickly stigmatised as ‘separatists’ by the Indonesian state, a label that can mean you wind up dead, dumped by the side of the road, one more ‘mysterious killing’.”
The authorities discourage the wearing of traditional dress and the performance of traditional cultural activities and the use of local languages is declining, while mosques are being erected in large numbers to cater for the rapidly growing population of mostly Muslim Indonesian migrants.
“In several places, we heard about the rising incidence of violent conflicts between Papuans and Indonesians. The police invariably favour the Indonesian participants in these disputes and brawls.
“There are claims that some Indonesian authorities are actively supporting and encouraging Indonesian migrants to attack Papuans and their property.”
Despite the danger of publicly campaigning for their self-determination, support is growing for the organisation formed in 2014 to advance the cause of West Papuan freedom internationally, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).
The leaders of seven Pacific nations spoke in the UN General Assembly in 2016 about human rights abuses in West Papua and supported a statement calling for a report on human rights abuses at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2017.
ULMWP leaders are now seeking support for their cause in other parts of the world and are aiming to get support for a self-determination referendum, beginning in September 2017 when ULMWP leaders presented a UN official with a petition from well over one million Papuans.
Papuans from every part of society, from customary leaders to the student movement, see the need to unite in support of their leaders in the ULMWP to capitalise on the gains that have been made since 2014.
Arndt emphasises the importance of solidarity with the people of West Papua, not with a view telling them what to do, “but rather with the desire to walk with them in their struggle to shape their own future as the First Peoples of their land”.
“My solidarity acknowledges that they are the true experts on their situation and it respects their leadership of the work to overcome their oppression.
“I am also being accompanied by my Papuan sisters and brothers on the journey to reconstruct my own understanding of the world and my life and my participation in cultivating a social order founded on love. Into the deep we are called, into deep solidarity with Christ crucified and risen, into deep solidarity with each other in our suffering, into the deep waters of Merdeka – Freedom!”
For more information:
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, email admin@acsjc.org.au, phone (02) 8306 3499.
Peter Arndt, Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Archdiocese of Brisbane, phone 0409 265 476
Into the Deep: Seeking justice for the people of West Papua (Catholic Social Justice Series No. 82) is available from the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council for $7.50. Phone (02) 8306 3499, email admin@acsjc.org.au.
With thanks to ACSJC.
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2) Foreign minister underlines PNG's regional leadership
From Dateline Pacific, 4:04 pm on 29 March 2018
Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister says his country has growing strategic importance as the link between Asia and the Pacific Islands region.
As PNG's longest-serving Foreign Minister, Rimbink Pato has for the past five years sought to help establish his country as a regional leader.
He says that leadership role is manifest in PNG's hosting of November's APEC leaders summit to which his government has invited Pacific Island nations to participate in for the first time.
Mr Pato spoke to Johnny Blades yesterday while in New Zealand on an official visit.
RIMBINK PATO: And at the same time we see our role as a player in some of the issues that affect the Southeast Asia and pacific region altogether, such as human trafficking, people smuggling and money laundering, and issues like that, which are impacting some of the economies in Southeast Asia. And what we want to harness in this (APEC) is trade and investment for us as a country, because of the resources we have, and how we can utilise that opportunity with the connections that we will build, or the connections that we have with the APEC economies to filter the connectivity to the smaller islands of the pacific, leaders of whom we have all asked them to visit, so that they have the opportunity to engage with 60 percent of the world's major trade and investment leaders.
JOHNNY BLADES: A lot of Papua New Guineans seem to be wondering what benefit do they get from their country hosting this big leaders summit. Where's the payoff for them?
RP: Well, Papua New Guinea is the leader of the Pacific. Papua New Guinea has a role to play in the South East Asia region, and of course the world is inter-connected. These are the world's economic leaders who will promote trade and investment in our country. And if we're going to have that linkage to the rest of the Pacific, as a big brother of the rest of the Pacific Island nations, then we want to showcase that by utilising this opportunity to grow our country, grow our economy, bring prosperity for our people, and then security and stability for our region by these leaders coming to our country. And I think there's a huge potential because we have the resources, where there must be feasibility. Our country needs to be seen, needs to connect globally, and here is an opportunity that is not to be missed. So if there's any misgiving, there shouldn't be, because the positives are yet to come.
JB: Can PNG afford to host this summit?
RP: Yes we can. We have a budget, we have a programme in place. All the preparations are underway. We will be able to look after the seven to ten thousand people who will visit our country during the APEC event. We are ready. And of course, if we need any help - as you will find in major APEC summit meetings - the APEC economies stand together. And of course our great friends, New Zealand and Australia, are making a contribution because this is an event for the Pacific. We're going to create a legacy for the Pacific because it's going to showcase our connectivity, our friendship, our brotherhood. Clearly, if there are any shortcomings in the area of security and all that, we've had the collaborations necessary because our interests are mutual.
JB: As a regional leader, PNG has an obligation to advance the interests of the pacific Islands, and one of those of course is action on climate change. Is enough being done, from your point of view, from the likes of Australia and New Zealand? Australia is still flirting with coal, and of course in your own country, deforestation is a big issue, it's a big driver of carbon emissions, isn't it?
RP: Well climate change is a major issue for the world, and it's a greater issue for the Pacific islands, because we are not the ones that have created the impact that it has on humanity. So what we want to do is in the APEC event we want to talk about climate change. It’s one of the key issues there, and what we're doing and how the world can connect. That's why we've asked the rest of the Pacific Island countries, their leaders to come so that each of them can tell their story in their own way to the leaders of the world. And I've been actually speaking to many of the leaders of the AEC economies and my counterparts around the world to ensure that they have that link so our message gets carried because the impacts of climate change are unique to each country. It's not the one and the same. Of course we will work with Australia and New Zealand, and we have supported for example New Zealand in its campaign for non-permanent security membership in the UN, because one of the key strategies of the New Zealand government then was climate change, and still remains.
JB: PNG has some of the biggest tracts of rainforest in the world, combined with the Indonesian side (of New Guinea), and it's a global concern that those forests are really being cleared at a great rate. There's a lot of unsustainability. Can't more be done, from PNG's side?
RP: Well, speaking for my country, REDD-Plus is a major issue, but our focus is there. We're intent on pursuing a policy which will protect our forestry resource. These are issues for example that Papua New Guinea can't deal with alone. We need multi-lateral frameworks, such as the WTO, or the United Nations systems, because globally and multi-laterally we can take steps which will align the activities of the member states of the UN and multi-lateral agencies to work together to find solutions which will serve not only individual countries, but also bring about sustainable development which will also ensure the conservation of the forest, the oceans.
JB: But isn't it really just in your government's hands, about how much forestry goes on in the country? There is much illegal logging, according to the Governor of Oro province and others; and there's the fraudulent SABL (Special Agricultural Business Lease) system... this has been going on for years and it hasn't been stopped.
RP: No, that is not entirely correct. The government has taken steps. There's been an inquiry into the SABL issuing of licenses and harvesting of logs, and the leases. So in terms of what we can do, government has taken proactive measures. There's a policy which has coming through the Minister for Forests which is specifically aimed at addressing those issues. And in some of these cases, we need the evidence, we need the specifics by those that have it to bring it forward. And some of these are very isolated cases where the statistics don't come out clearly, the data isn't available, yet individual politicians - because of the political points that they might score - they go on Facebook and make an issue where none exist. So if it is an issue, then it's taken out of context, and as a purpose which is not intended does more damage than good for the province or for the districts in which the issues arise.
JB: PNG is the current chair of the Melanesian Spearhead group. Are you concerned about the divisions that are spilling over between Fiji and Solomon islands over the West Papua /Indonesia issue?
RP: Well I'm not sure that there is such a major issue. The Melanesia Spearhead framework, the document which sets up the Melanesia Spearhead Group is very clear as to what it can and cannot do. And one of the restrictions, reservation of the Melanesia Spearhead Group constitution is non-interference with the sovereignty of sovereign states. And PNG's policy - and I cannot speak for Fiji or Solomon Islands - our position has always been that then provinces of Papua and West Papua are an integral part of the republic of Indonesia, and the Melanesia Spearhead Group is not the forum by which these issues can be raised. There are other mechanisms, such as the UN framework, where if there's an issue of concern it can be raised there. Clearly if it's to do with human rights, that's an issue that we can address together, and we will work with Indonesia to address it.
JB: Because a lot of grassroots communities in Melanesia are deeply worried about what's happening on the Indonesian side. What can PNG do about that?
RP: Well PNG is a constructive partner to Indonesia, and we're willing to work together, and Indonesia understands our position. If there are issues in relation to alleged breach of human rights, we need the evidence so this can be pointed out, and there are mechanisms for resolution of those concerns. Coming back to the issue of the Melanesia Spearhead Group, the MSG is not the forum in which those issues can be addressed. Our jurisdiction is limited in what we can discuss. But clearly it is a concern.
JB: But this membership issue - the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application for full MSG membership - has dragged on. Will it be resolved soon?
RP: There is a process and the application was the subject of recent discussions. And the criteria for membership is being worked on, and we the foreign ministers (of MSG) will look at it, make the appropriate recommendations to the leaders. The leaders will then make a decision as to what the outcome (will be). We will follow the process. And the competence of the MSG under its structure is very clear. They can only deal with those questions for which they have the authority to deal with. And at this point, there is no authority permitted by the MSG constitution which allows membership of non-sovereign states, or loose entities, as it were.
JB: But you've got New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanaks movement as MSG members already.
RP: When the constitution was framed, it was framed for that purpose, so that was a unique case in itself. They are already members in the organisation. But as to whether the constitution will be amended to permit other membership, because of the restricted nature of its language, that's something for the leaders to canvas.
JB: So you don't think the rift between Fiji and the Solomons is all that bad, you're not worried about the future of the group?
RP: Well these are typical of Melanesian peoples, they have their differences. But there's a time to party together and get together and shake hands and move forward. So I think those rumblings will come to an end. Of course we had those with Fiji, Australia and New Zealand at the Pacific Islands Forum some years back, but PNG was taking a role to resolve those issues, and see where we are, we are together now. So I can see a future where all these issues will be resolved and we'll be together as one united force in Melanesia.
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↧
1) 40 police deployed to secure Papuan student screening of film 'The First Grader’
2) Demo at Freeport office in Jakarta calls for self-determination for West Papua
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2 articles via reg westpapualist
Tempo - March 28, 2018
Nur Hadi, Surabaya -- Scores of police were deployed to secure a discussion and screening of the film "The First Grader" organised by the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) in Surabaya.
The event was held at the Papuan Kamasan III Dormitory on Jl. Kalasan in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on the evening of Tuesday March 27.
Tambaksari sectoral police chief Commissioner Prayitno said that the tight security was necessary because there were indications that the film was about black skinned people (kulit hitam).
"It was in anticipation of the Papuan people's ideology", said Priyatno when contacted by Tempo on Tuesday evening.
In addition to this, according to Prayitno, they believed that that the film is in conflict with Indonesian culture and the culture of the nation and state.
"The film conflicts with our culture, the national culture and the state", said Prayitno. Nevertheless, police eventually allowed the event to go ahead.
Prayitno added that based on an agreement between police and the organising committee, the discussion and screening of the film about an elderly person who wanted to get an education went ahead at 8am, two hours later than scheduled.
Prayitno said that around 40 officers were deployed to the location in North Surabaya, who have been guarding the screening since late afternoon. "They failed to notify us beforehand about the event", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Pemutaran Film Mahasiswa Papua di Surabaya Dijaga Polisi".]
Source: https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1073930/pemutaran-film-mahasiswa-papua-di-surabaya-dijaga-polisi
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2) Demo at Freeport office in Jakarta calls for self-determination for West Papua
Tirto.id - March 29, 2018
Tony Firman -- Calls for West Papuan self-determination were prominent during a demonstration in front of the offices of PT Freeport Indonesia in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta on Thursday March 29.
The action was held by around 70 or so protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) who held the demonstration to demand the closure of the Freeport copper and gold mine in Papua.
FRI-WP spokesperson Surya Anta said that the international community must take a position on the forced incorporation of West Papua into the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
"Since May 1, 1963 until now, West Papua's was removed from Holland's decolonisation list without the West Papuan people knowledge", said Surya.
Surya also accused Freeport of being an entry point for the colonisation of West Papua on the grounds that the first work contract between Freeport and Indonesia was signed in 1967.
Meanwhile the Act of Free Choice (Pepera) which resulted in the incorporation of West Papua into the NKRI was held in 1969. Surya said that the Pepera was manipulated and undemocratic.
Dorlince Iyowau, a resident of Timika who took part in the action, added that Freeport's presence in Papua has not brought prosperity or peace to the West Papuan people.
"Violence against the people and damage to the environment by waste tailings discarded into the Ajkwa River is a concrete form of Freeport's colonial presence", said Dorlince.
In a press release received by Tirto, the FRI-WP and the AMP made nine demands, three of which were the closure of PT Freeport, the withdrawal of the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (National Police) from Papua and self-determination for the people of Papua.
The release also stated that based on a report by the Papuan Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy (Elsham) in 2002, numerous cases of violence have been committed by security forces in Papua.
The report notes that thousands of people have died, scores have disappeared and hundreds more have been arrested and tortured. In addition to this, it also notes places of worship that have been burnt down, villages and other locations that have been destroyed, many of which have yet to be properly documented.
The demonstrators began leaving the Freeport offices at around 3.15 pm. Similar actions are planned to take place simultaneously on April 7 in several different cities including Yogyakarta and Semarang (Central Java), Bandung (West Java), Surabaya and Malang (East Java), Makassar (South Sulawesi), Palu (Central Sulawesi), Ternate (North Maluku) and Papua itself.
[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Demo di Kantor Freeport Juga Serukan Penentuan Nasib West Papua".]
Source: https://tirto.id/demo-di-kantor-freeport-juga-serukan-penentuan-nasib-west-papuanbsp-cGWN
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INDOLEFT News service
If you are not already subscribing to this news service, you can do so by sending a blank e-mail to <subscribe-indoleft@yahoogroups.com> and you will be automatically added to the list.
The INDOLEFT news service is produced by the People's Liberation Party (PPR) and the Asia Pacific Solidarity Network (APSN).
To view the archive of Indoleft postings since 2003 visit: http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/indonesia/indoleft/indoleft.htm.
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Tirto.id - March 29, 2018
Tony Firman -- Calls for West Papuan self-determination were prominent during a demonstration in front of the offices of PT Freeport Indonesia in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta on Thursday March 29.
The action was held by around 70 or so protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) who held the demonstration to demand the closure of the Freeport copper and gold mine in Papua.
FRI-WP spokesperson Surya Anta said that the international community must take a position on the forced incorporation of West Papua into the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
"Since May 1, 1963 until now, West Papua's was removed from Holland's decolonisation list without the West Papuan people knowledge", said Surya.
Surya also accused Freeport of being an entry point for the colonisation of West Papua on the grounds that the first work contract between Freeport and Indonesia was signed in 1967.
Meanwhile the Act of Free Choice (Pepera) which resulted in the incorporation of West Papua into the NKRI was held in 1969. Surya said that the Pepera was manipulated and undemocratic.
Dorlince Iyowau, a resident of Timika who took part in the action, added that Freeport's presence in Papua has not brought prosperity or peace to the West Papuan people.
"Violence against the people and damage to the environment by waste tailings discarded into the Ajkwa River is a concrete form of Freeport's colonial presence", said Dorlince.
In a press release received by Tirto, the FRI-WP and the AMP made nine demands, three of which were the closure of PT Freeport, the withdrawal of the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (National Police) from Papua and self-determination for the people of Papua.
The release also stated that based on a report by the Papuan Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy (Elsham) in 2002, numerous cases of violence have been committed by security forces in Papua.
The report notes that thousands of people have died, scores have disappeared and hundreds more have been arrested and tortured. In addition to this, it also notes places of worship that have been burnt down, villages and other locations that have been destroyed, many of which have yet to be properly documented.
The demonstrators began leaving the Freeport offices at around 3.15 pm. Similar actions are planned to take place simultaneously on April 7 in several different cities including Yogyakarta and Semarang (Central Java), Bandung (West Java), Surabaya and Malang (East Java), Makassar (South Sulawesi), Palu (Central Sulawesi), Ternate (North Maluku) and Papua itself.
[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Demo di Kantor Freeport Juga Serukan Penentuan Nasib West Papua".]
Source: https://tirto.id/demo-di-kantor-freeport-juga-serukan-penentuan-nasib-west-papuanbsp-cGWN
---------------------------------------------------------------
INDOLEFT News service
If you are not already subscribing to this news service, you can do so by sending a blank e-mail to <subscribe-indoleft@yahoogroups.com> and you will be automatically added to the list.
The INDOLEFT news service is produced by the People's Liberation Party (PPR) and the Asia Pacific Solidarity Network (APSN).
To view the archive of Indoleft postings since 2003 visit: http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/indonesia/indoleft/indoleft.htm.
Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/asiapacificsolidaritynet
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New paper highlights stories of pain, humiliation, fear of West Papuans
New paper highlights stories of pain, humiliation, fear of West Papuans
March 31, 2018 By Mark Bowling
Plea for help: Catholic social justice advocate Peter Arndt has delved into stories of pain, humiliation and fear that have indelibly marked generations of indigenous West Papuans and hardened their resolve for freedom and independence. Photo: Mark Bowling
THREE years ago, Catholic social justice advocate Peter Arndt joined an international Christian pilgrimage to West Papua and heard an impassioned plea from the survivor of an alleged Indonesian military massacre.
“I now realise that it was the moment when I began to enter into a deep solidarity with the people of West Papua and to understand the radical implications of Christian solidarity,” Mr Arndt, the executive director of Brisbane Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, said.
A young Papuan named Laurens told his story to Mr Arndt, quietly recounting horrific events he witnessed on the island of Biak on July 6, 1998.
According to Laurens, scores of Papuans were rounded up, forced onto navy boats, raped, mutilated, killed and dumped into the sea.
In the following weeks, more than 30 decomposed bodies were fished out of the sea or washed ashore.
Indonesian authorities claimed the bodies were those of victims of a recent tsunami that struck Papua New Guinea, but the corpses were dressed in clothes that clearly identified them as people from Biak island.
Laurens reached out to Mr Arndt with a simple plea: “Can you please help us to get our freedom?”
Mr Arndt has made several visits to West Papua, including a 2016 fact-finding mission after which he reported “there is clear evidence of ongoing violence, intimidation and harassment by the Indonesian security forces”.
However, in a new paper in the Catholic Social Justice series entitled Into the Deep, Mr Arndt delves into stories of pain, humiliation and fear that have indelibly marked generations of indigenous West Papuans and hardened their resolve for freedom and independence.
He searches to place events in the context of the message of the Gospel and Catholic social teaching.
To this day, no Indonesian soldier or police officer has been held accountable for the dreadful deeds committed on Biak, Mr Arndt wrote.
He said those who continued to speak out, like Laurens, were deprived of employment opportunities and pensions, and subject to harassment and intimidation by Indonesian security officers.
“While we were listening to their stories, our meeting was raided by a contingent of police, intelligence officers and immigration officials,” Mr Arndt wrote.
“It was as if our local hosts had prepared an experience of what they face routinely at the hands of Indonesian authorities.
“It appears that one of our drivers had tipped the officials off to our presence on Biak and they had come to arrest us and question us about the purpose of our visit.”
Into the Deep also recounts Mr Arndt’s 2015 visit to the West Papuan highlands, to a village, which had witnessed military shootings just two months earlier.
Trouble started when soldiers caught a 12-year-old girl and beat her with their riffle butts.
After hundreds of people gathered near a police station to express their anger, shots were fired from a nearby airfield tower and four youths were killed.
“Both in the village and in church gatherings we attended during our four-day stay, it was apparent that the local community was still gripped by a mixture of shock and fear,” Mr Arndt wrote.
“Our presence as foreigners was, more than once, a cause of tension – some openly criticised those who welcomed us because they feared it would bring the authorities into the village or to the meetings we attended.
“Indeed, on our last full day in the village, word had spread to the village that the police were on their way to find out what we foreigners were doing.”
When Mr Arndt returned to the highlands a year later, the case was still being investigated by Indonesia’s national human rights commission, Komnas Ham, and no one had been held accountable for the fatal shooting of the four youths.
“That remains the case to this day, despite repeated assurances by the Indonesian Government that resolving the case is a high priority,” Mr Arndt wrote.
“The families have steadfastly refused to take blood money for the death of their boys.
“When I asked them what they want if there is to be justice for their boys, one of the fathers spoke for them all in a clear and solemn voice: ‘The only justice we want is freedom’.
“It was as if Laurens was speaking again, this time in the highlands, but to me it was also the voice of the crucified Christ.”
Mr Arndt said many Australians were seeking to support the people of West Papua, but baulked at any form of support for a political objective.
“They hesitate when it comes to dedicating energy and resources to ending the Indonesian occupation and achieving political independence for West Papua,” he wrote.
“I have heard people of good will who say that they cannot be involved in political action and so restrict themselves to human rights advocacy.
“Some advise Papuans that self-determination is an impossible dream and that lesser goals should be sought.”
Into the Deep offers a detailed history of West Papua from colonial Dutch rule to Indonesian takeover. It is almost five decades since a rigged United Nations referendum, which legitimised Indonesia’s tenuous claim on West Papua.
Since then the history of political struggle against a brutal Indonesian rule has occasionally penetrated mainstream media reporting, but has seldom caused a ripple in Canberra.
Parramatta bishop and chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council Bishop Vincent Long has offered a glowing endorsement of Mr Arndt’s Into the Deep.
“That deep reflection on Gospel values and Church teaching is what makes this publication so inspiring,” Bishop Long said.
“Peter places his friends’ experience in the context of the Scriptures and looks deeply into the Church’s teachings on justice and asks what he must do.
“He discerns the answer with clarity and courage.”
Into the Deep – seeking justice for the people of West Papua is available by online download from http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/publications/series-papers
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1) Demo at Freeport office in Jakarta calls for self-determination for West Papua
2) The Other Country Crucial to Global Climate Goals: Indonesia
3) What will Jokowi's legacy be in climate change?
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Calls for West Papuan self-determination were prominent during a demonstration in front of the offices of PT Freeport Indonesia in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta on Thursday March 29 – tirto.id/Andrey Gromico.
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1) Indonesia says 1 soldier killed in Papua clash
2) Customary community welcomes Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship crews
3) Jayawijaya students held a protest asking for local government’s attention
4) Alleged misuse of village funds, four village chiefs in Manokwari become the police’s target
5) West Papua provincial Kesbangpol officer determined suspect by district attorney for corruption
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1) Indonesia says 1 soldier killed in Papua clash
JAKARTA, INDONESIA
Indonesia's military said Monday that one solider has been killed in an ongoing clash between security forces and Papuan independence fighters near the U.S.-owned Grasberg copper mine in the country's east.
Military spokesman Col. Muhammad Aidi said the soldier was shot in the head and died Sunday afternoon.
He said that a joint military and police force was hunting an "armed separatist criminal group."
Aidi denied a purported statement from the National Liberation Army of West Papua that numerous Indonesian soldiers were killed in the clashes and a 10-year-old boy had died in a fire caused by the Indonesian attack.
The liberation army said one of its fighters was killed.
Aidi said the dead Indonesian soldier's body has yet to be evacuated due to bad weather and difficult terrain in the mountainous area.
An insurgency has simmered in Papua since the early 1960s when Indonesia annexed the region that had remained under Dutch control following Indonesian independence nearly two decades earlier.
Attacks by rebels near the Grasberg mine have spiked in the past year after liberation army figures declared the area a war zone.
The Grasberg mine's vast gold and copper reserves have been exploited for decades by the U.S. mining company Freeport, damaging the surrounding environment while providing significant tax income for the Indonesian government.
But indigenous Papuans have benefited little and are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia.
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2) Customary community welcomes Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship crews
Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior’s Captain Hettie was fitted with the customary ornaments by a customary villager of Kampung Isiaman, Edera sub-district– Jubi/Frans L Kobun
Mappi, Jubi – The villagers of Kampung Isiaman of Edera sub-district, Mappi district welcomed the 15 ship crews of the Greenpeace’s Raibow Warrior in a cultural ceremony.
The ceremony, in which the ship’s commander Captain Hettie, a crew Rob Taylor and Papua Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaign Officer Charles Tawaru who represented the Greenpeace, was took place on the board on Thursday (29/3/2018). Some representatives of local community gave them the traditional ornaments to be worn in the ceremony as a symbol of their acceptance.
The Vice Regent of Mappi District Jaya Ibnu Su’ud, the Mappi Regional Secretary in-charge Vincentius Dambayan and Mappi Police Chief the Adjunct Senior Police Commissionaire I Gusti Agung were also attended the ceremony.
“On behalf of all ship crews, I extend my gratitude to the government and local community who have welcomed us nicely in the Asmat water,” said the ship’s commander Hettie, which translated by Achmad Saleh Suhada, the Deputy Head Forest Indonesian Campaign.
On this occasion, the vice regent said every new comer would be customarily greeted. This is a commitment of Mappi people in welcoming those who come to their area, including these ship crews who come from 30 different countries. Further, he explained about the vision of local government towards the investment of oil palm plantation, especially when the investment in a large scale is not needed. The local government has an initial commitment to protect and maintain some part of green areas in Mappi District, and this will keep well maintained.
In addition, he said, the local government has worked together with the Peatlands Restoration Agency to restore the 12 thousand hectares of peatlands forest that was burned in 2015. “We have the same commitment as Greenpeace to protect the environment,” he said. (*)
Reporter: Frans L Kobun
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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3) Jayawijaya students held a protest asking for local government’s attention
Jayapura, Jubi – Dozens of Jayawijaya students, the occupants of Nayak Dormitories and Woman Dormitory in Jayapura City held a protest at the Abepura traffic light. The protest that was lasted about 30 minutes was to obtain the attention of Jayawijaya local government.
“We have to go on the street in order to raise funds, as well as to criticize Jayawijaya local government,” the protest coordinator, Wempi Asso, told reporter in Abepura on Wednesday (28/3/2018).
He said the protest was held because students dormitories, including Nayak I, II, III and woman dormitory, no longer have the electricity power and clean water. “The National Electricity Company has cut off the electricity power and the water bill has not been paid to the Regional Water Supply Company since 11 years,” told Asso.
The students accused the Jayawijaya local government for not paying attention to the students who live in the dormitories. It is noticed that both electricity and water bills reach Rp 15 million.
“Officer has cut off the water pipe due to the debt that has not been paid since 2011. It’s similar with the electricity bills for Nayak II and Nayak III dormitories,” he said.
According to him, this problem has been discussed several times with the representative of Jayawijaya local government, but there is no fixed answer. They even have tried to talk with the Head of Public Service of Regional Secretariat. Unfortunately, the head is currently on vacation to Biak.
The Chairman of Jayawijaya Students, Jonni Alua, warned that the students would do a rally and block the cargo service to Wamena in the Sentani Airport if the local government does not response this issue.
“We are just like a ping pong ball. The Regional Secretariat of Jayawijaya told they have budgeted some funds and distributed it through their representative in Sentani, but there is no transparency from them,” he said. (*)
Reporter: Abeth You
Reporter: Abeth You
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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4) Alleged misuse of village funds, four village chiefs in Manokwari become the police’s target
Manokwari, Jubi – Four village chiefs in Manokwari District, West Papua Province have targeted by the police due to the allegation of village funds misuse.
The Manokwari Police Chief the Adjunct Senior Police Commissionaire Adam Erwindi declared the police have targeted four village chiefs who are alleged misusing the budget. “Four village chiefs have been investigated because they use these funds as much as they like,” said the Police Chief Adam Erwindi on Friday (23/3/2018).
He said it is the duty of the police in the villages through their Bhabinkamtibmas (division for community and security division) members to conduct escort and assistance to the community as an order to watch the utilization of state’s funds that distributing through rural budget program by the president.
“Bhabinkamtibmas members are always ready to provide monitoring, therefore the use of village funds is on target. This is what we’ve done in order to prevent the misuse of funds,” said the chief. However, he further said, if the village chiefs ‘lose their track’, they should be ready for the punishment.
“I always remind my member staffs in the villages about it. Those who are ‘out of track’ should be legally processed,” he said. But he is still reluctant to reveal the identity of the four chiefs.
Meanwhile, the Head of Community and Village Empowerment of Manokwari District, Teguh Budi Prakoso, said he already knew about the police target over the four village chiefs. “We already knew it. Beside them, there are actually some village chiefs who violated the procedure. But the most severe violation was conducted by these four,” said Prakoso to Jubi in Manokwari.
He further said, related to the police investigation over the four village chiefs, his office will review their cooperation because they have still been given a spare period to return the money back to the state after the audit.
“There is a target indeed, but we’ll see their cooperation. If the inspectorate and the Indonesia’s National Government Internal Auditor (BPKP) as well as the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK) already complete their audit, and those village chiefs can return the state’s money within 60 days, therefore we will close this case. But if they cannot, we will continue the case because it’s related to the loss of state,” explained Prakoso. (*)
Reporter: Hans Arnold
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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5) West Papua provincial Kesbangpol officer determined suspect by district attorney for corruption
Manokwari, Jubi – Manokwari District Attorney determined a member of the National Unity and Political Office (Kesbangpol) of West Papua Province as a suspect of the alleged corruption case on the publication budget of special-provincial regulations and the establishment of selection committee of candidates for West Papua People’s Assembly for 2017/2022 period. The suspect, known as WW, was alleged to corrupt his office budget for 2016 that worth of Rp 1.9 billion.
Muslim, the Head of the Special Crime Section of Manokwari District Attorney, said after today final investigation, six persons, including WW who were previously examined as witness, have determined as the suspects.
“Five witnesses have been examined since 10.00 a.m of Papua time, while WW was questioned after that. His status then changed from the witness to be a suspect,” said Muslim on Monday, (26/3/2018).
He further explained the attorney office estimated that the state has lost Rp 600 million of Rp 1.9 billion Kesbangpol office budget for 2016 in this corruption case.
WW is known as the Head of Sub Division for the Cultural and Political Education and Electoral Facility in Internal Politics Division at West Papua provincial Kesbangpol office. He was also the secretary of selection committee of candidates for the West Papuan People’s Assembly for 2017/2022 period.
Jubi observed that WW has been questioned since 13.00 to 17.30 p.m of Papua time. Then he was taken to the Correctional Institution Class II B Manokwari as a prisoner of the district attorney office. (*)
Reporter: Hans Arnold
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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1) Shootout in Papua Kills TNI Soldier, Civilian
1) Shootout in Papua Kills TNI Soldier, Civilian
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A shooting broke out between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the WestPapua national freedom army in Banti, Mimika, on Sunday, April 1. The event caused a TNI member died.
Private First Class Vicky Rumpasium, member of TNI`s Infantry Battalion (Yonif) 751/Raider died as a result of the shootout. “Vicky Rumpasium from Sorong Papua was killed in the shootout,” said Colonel Infantry Muhammad Aidi today, April 3.
Before the shooting began, Aidi said that the armed group had allegedly set fire to a hospital in Utikini and an elementary and junior high school building outside of several resident’s houses that were also targeted to the arson.
"This might be the realization of the armed group’s ultimatum that was broadcasted throughout several news outlets where they declared war against the TNI and the National Police," Aidi said
However, when Tempo reached the member of the West Papua national freedom army for confirmation, the member said that the shootout broke out because TNI members were preventing them to enter Freeport.
Other than one casualty from the Indonesian armed forces, a 10-year-old civilian was also killed in the shootout.
Muhammad Hendartyo
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APRIL 3, 2018 / 4:38 PM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
2) Indonesia says soldier, separatists killed in clashes near Freeport mine
Reuters Staff
JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian soldier was shot dead and two separatist rebels killed in clashes with security forces near the giant Grasberg copper mine in Papua operated by Freeport McMoRan Inc, an Indonesian military spokesman said on Tuesday.
A separatist group, however, said that only one of its members had died and that dozens of Indonesian troops were killed in clashes that began on Sunday.
Papua has suffered a simmering separatist conflict since it was incorporated into Indonesia after a widely criticized U.N.-backed referendum in 1969 and foreign media access to parts of the province is often difficult or, at times, restricted.
Papua Military spokesman Muhammad Aidi said the soldier was killed during a joint military and police operation to “reclaim villages controlled by armed criminal separatists”.
“It appears (the separatists) were ready for the security forces and so there was a gun fight with the military,” Aidi said in a statement.
Six villages were still occupied by separatists and indigenous Papuans after more than 1,000 residents were evacuated in November following a string of shootings, he said.
Drone footage showed two separatists were killed and dozens wounded in the clash, he said. No civilians were hurt, but separatists torched a house, a school and a hospital, said Aidi.
According to the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), a separatist group, one of its members was shot dead in a clash with Indonesian special forces near Banti village early on Sunday morning.
Hendrikus Uwamang, a spokesman for the group, said at least 28 Indonesian security personnel and several guides were also killed in the clash. Fighting continued on Monday and a 10-year-old boy was also killed, when his house was hit by a shell and caught fire, he said.
Papua Police chief Boy Rafli Amar was quoted in state media last week as saying attacks by “armed criminals” had become more frequent lately near the Grasberg mine. Amar could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.Members of Indonesia’s security forces have been accused by rights activists of abducting and torturing Papuans and using deadly force to quell protests.
TPNPB, which is linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM), says it is at war with Indonesian authorities and wants to “destroy” Freeport in an effort to gain sovereignty for the region.
President Joko Widodo, after coming to power in 2014, had pledged to speed up development of Papua and ease media restrictions.
But while investment has risen and efforts made to address some human rights concerns, activists say foreign journalists continue to be blocked or face obstacles when trying to report there.
Jakarta is currently in talks with Freeport over ownership of Grasberg, and hopes to gain a majority stake in the world’s second-biggest copper mine this month, with the Papua government and a local regency jointly gaining rights to a 10 percent stake.
Reporting by Fergus Jensen and Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Editing by Ed Davies and Manolo Serapio Jr.
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1) Villagers flee with Papua rebels after Indonesia attack
2) TNI on hunt for armed assailants after exchange of fire in Tembagapura
3) How BP got it right in Indonesia
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1) Villagers flee with Papua rebels after Indonesia attack
BY NINIEK KARMINI AND STEPHEN WRIGHT Associated Press
Updated 3 hours 42 minutes ago
JAKARTA, INDONESIA-A commander of rebels in Indonesia's easternmost Papua region said Tuesday that as many as 100 villagers have taken shelter with them in a mountainous jungle following an Indonesian military attack.
The military and Papuan independence fighters have given starkly different accounts of the clashes that began Sunday near the U.S.-owned Grasberg copper and gold mine in the remote region. The number of combatants killed is at least two based on each side's statements.
A National Liberation Army of West Papua commander, Hendrik Wanmang, said indigenous Papuan villagers, mostly women and children, fled into the jungle after Indonesian soldiers set fire to their homes.
"Their condition is now safe in the jungle with us although they only eat whatever they find in the forest," he said.
The Indonesian military spokesman for the Papua region, Col. Muhammad Aidi, said a joint force of soldiers and police has freed six villages in the mountainous Tembagapura area from separatist control and accused the rebels of burning homes.
An insurgency has simmered in Papua since the early 1960s when Indonesia annexed the region that had remained under Dutch control following Indonesian independence nearly two decades earlier.
The giant gold and copper mine, owned by Freeport-McMoran Inc., is a lightning rod for Papuan grievances. Its rich mineral reserves have been shipped abroad for decades by the U.S. company and provided significant tax income for the Indonesian government. But indigenous Papuans have benefited little and are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia.
Tembagapura, a district near the mine, was the scene of a standoff between the military and rebels in November when the military said rebels, which it refers to as an armed separatist criminal group, were holding hundreds of villagers hostage. That claim was denied by the liberation army. Villagers who were migrants from other parts of Indonesia left, but indigenous Papuans remained in the villages.
Aidi said drone observations showed the Indonesian force of 50 had killed two rebel fighters and injured dozens in the "shootout" Sunday.
The rebels "burned some houses before they fled," he said.
Wanmang said 28 soldiers and two of their local guides were killed in the fighting and a 10-year-old boy burned to death after his village was shelled by the military. Both sides deny most of the other's claims.
Wanmang admitted that rebels had earlier burned down a hospital and a school in the area. He said the hospital was owned by Freeport but did not help Papuans while the school was used by Indonesia to indoctrinate young Papuans.
"We have never and will not burn villagers' houses," he said. "We also strongly deny the TNI (Indonesian military) statement saying that they have managed to free the villages previously held hostage by us. It is not true, since those villages were our villages, our own homeland."
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2) TNI on hunt for armed assailants after exchange of fire in Tembagapura
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua | Tue, April 3, 2018 | 04:38 pm
Members of the Indonesian Military's (TNI) Cendrawasih Military Command XVII are hunting down an armed group of civilians in Tembagapura, Mimika regency, Papua, following an attack that claimed a soldier’s life.
“A group of soldiers are still in pursuit and also making inventory of the damage caused by the armed group. But all residents are safe and there were no civilian casualties, Cendrawasih Military Command spokesman Col. M. Aidi said in a statement on Tuesday.
A soldier, Private First Class Vicky Irad Uba Rumpaidus, was killed in a shooting exchange between the military and the group in Utikini village, Mimika, on Sunday. He died after allegedly being shot in his right temple.
The shootout also claimed lives and injured some of the armed assailants.
“From drone monitoring, we saw that two members died and others were injured before escaping into the woods,” Aidi said.
Before the incident, the group allegedly ran amok by setting locals’ houses, a hospital and a school building on fire.
The group had allegedly taken control of several villages in Tembagapura district, namely Utikini, Longsoran, Kimbeli, Banti 1, Banti 2 and Opitawak, Aidi claimed, adding that the authorities feared that it was part of the group’s warning to the TNI and the police that it wanted an open fight.
To take back the villages, TNI had deployed groups of soldiers to targeted areas.
“They apparently have been ready to welcome security personnel, hence the shootout,” he said.
Attacks from armed assailants in the area were rampant last year, when assailants allegedly held 1,300 residents hostage in several villages while launching attacks against security personnel. (rin)
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3) How BP got it right in Indonesia
British energy giant launches US$8 billion Tangguh gas project expansion as other multinationals come under nationalistic, regulatory and even insurgent fire
JAKARTA, APRIL 3, 2018 4:49 PM (UTC+8)
Situated in the so-called Bird’s Head region at the western end of Papua, British oil company BP’s Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) project has never generated the same controversy as that of US mining giant Freeport McMoran, its distant neighbor hundreds of kilometers to the east.
Tangguh has a far smaller footprint than Freeport’s Grasberg operation, the world’s largest gold and second largest copper mine, and is dealing with a more manageable resource. But BP decided from the launch of the project 14 years ago that it needed to avoid many of Freeport’s historic mistakes.
Apart from bringing in an independent monitoring team, BP has succeeded in keeping the police and army at a distance and generally established an atmosphere of trust with the local indigenous community in a region free of separatist rebels.
More than 50% of BP’s 980-strong staff is already Papuan, a significantly higher percentage than at Freeport, and the firm’s three-year apprenticeship program is designed to increase that number to 85% by 2029.
New security and social challenges lie ahead, however, as BP embarks on a US$8 billion expansion on the shores of remote Bintuni Bay that will increase production from 7.6 to 11.4 million tons per year, 75% of the third LNG production train’s output destined for the domestic market.
The expansion, involving two new offshore platforms, 13 production wells and an expanded LNG loading facility, will enable Indonesia to meet projected annual demand of 12 million tons by 2020, with some of the LNG being supplied to small power plants around Papua and other parts of eastern Indonesia.
It will also go some way towards restoring confidence in the gas sector after the government compelled joint-venture partners Inpex and Shell to build an onshore rather than an offshore terminal for its Masela block in the Arafura Sea, 900 kilometers south of Tangguh.
Progress on that US$15 billion project appears to have stalled, despite the government urging the two companies to complete a preliminary engineering design by this month to exploit a field with proven and possible reserves of 40 trillion cubic feet of LNG.
Indonesia’s second biggest LNG plant after East Kalimantan’s eight-train Bontang facility, Tangguh draws on proven reserves of 17 trillion cubic feet – a field BP shares with the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), Mitsubishi and four other Japanese companies.
It has delivered 900 LNG cargoes to customers in South Korea, China, Japan and Mexico since it first went into production in 2009. In recent years, it has also supplied state power utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and Nusantara Regas, which operates a floating re-gasification terminal in Jakarta Bay.
Former US South Dakota senator Tom Daschle, head of the Tangguh Independent Advisory Panel, calls the current expansion a critical time in the project’s development, saying it presents “additional complexities at a time of a greater terrorist threat.”
Wary of human rights issues, the panel advises against any closer cooperation with the army and police, instead suggesting more training for the firm’s all-Papuan security force and upgrading its equipment from simple batons to non-lethal pepper gel guns, pepper spray, rubber bullets and stun guns.
The panel’s latest recommendations also include strengthening Tangguh’s perimeter fence and increased use of CCTV, radar, drones and patrol boats as BP ramps up its labor force to more than 7,000 to work on the three-year expansion now being undertaken by Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem.
“Rapid response procedures for high-level threat scenarios should be clearly distinguishable from procedures used for fire, explosion or other safety emergency,” Daschle and his team said in its report handed to BP last month.
Although BP’s process control network is already disconnected from the Internet, it has also introduced procedures to guard against the increasing danger of cyberattacks and global hacking.
Security is not BP’s only concern. Relations with local authorities have become more complicated with the euphoria over autonomy and financial decentralization measures leading to an explosion of new sub-districts and villages across West Papua and in neighboring Papua province.
For example, increasing the number of sub-districts in Teluk Bintuni regency from 24 to 28 over the past year has seen the 14 villages in Tangguh’s project area suddenly divided into 37 — including one kampung with a headman and only one other person.
It is not immediately clear how this will affect distribution of the country’s nationwide Village Fund, under which 60 trillion rupiah (US$4.5 billion) is shared among 75,000 rural villages, or what amounts to about 50% of the total population.
Apart from a lack of progress on a government plan for a Tangguh-related industrial zone, BP is struggling to interest state utility PLN in building a grid for the 200 million cubic feet of gas it has allotted to provide power to 50,000 households — more than the regency’s entire population.
BP executives and local officials hope they can get the central government to weigh in on the electrification issue, but they say there is a more immediate need for PLN to assist in expanding the use of solar and diesel generation in Babo, the site of a small airport, and other nearby villages.
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1) Over 1,000 civilian lives at risk: Papua Liberation Army
2) Papuan political prisoner freed
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1) Over 1,000 civilian lives at risk: Papua Liberation Army
Evi Mariani, Sita Dewi and Nethy Dharma Somba
Jakarta/Jayapura | Wed, April 4, 2018 | 10:23 am
Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers hold the coffin of their friend, Private First Class Vicky Irad Uba Rumpaidus, in Sorong, West Papua province, on Wednesday, April 4. Vicky was killed when shots were exchanged between the military and the Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM) in Utikini village in Mimika regency, Papua province, on April 1. He died after being shot in his right temple. (Antara/Olha Mulalinda)
The Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM), which is linked to the Free Papua independence movement, said on Wednesday morning over 1,000 civilian lives were at risk amid Indonesian Military (TNI) and liberation group armed conflicts in Tembagapura district, Mimika regency, Papua, near copper mine Freeport.
TPN spokesperson Hendrik Wanmang said they had gathered civilians in Kampung Opitawak and TPN fighters had retreated and left the kampung to avoid civilians being mistaken for armed fighters.
“There are women and children among the 1,000. We have told them if the Indonesian Military comes, don’t run; show yourselves with your hands up,” Wanmang told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta via phone.
Previously, the TNI said the armed assailants had taken control of several villages in Tembagapura district, namely Utikini, Longsoran, Kimbeli, Banti 1, Banti 2 and Opitawak. The authorities feared that it was part of the group’s warning to the TNI and the police that it wanted an open fight, the TNI said.
On Tuesday, Cendrawasih Military Command spokesman Col. M. Aidi said the assailants had set locals’ houses, a hospital and a school building on fire. The attack set the TNI to move and hunt down the armed assailants. The TNI said the military had kept the civilians safe.
One TNI soldier, Private First Class Vicky Irad Uba Rumpaidus, was killed when shots were exchanged between the military and the group in Utikini village on Sunday. He died after being shot in his right temple.
The TPN has a different account. Wanmang said on Sunday the shootout happened after the TNI passed a line set by the TPN as the border of the war zone.
On Wednesday, 270 personnel members from the TNI and the National Police entered Banti 2, and 31 personnel members from the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) entered Banti 1, the place where a shootout had happened earlier, the TPN claimed. “People are in danger,” Wanmang said.
Wanmang also accused the TNI of having fired mortars at people’s houses. “I saw one had cracked a window and the mortar set fire to the house,” Wanmang claimed on Wednesday.
The TNI said the TPN took the civilians hostage, but the TPN said the villagers were with them. “The villagers were all natives and they were with us throughout this fight against the TNI and the police. The TPN belongs to this society.
“Villagers can’t take up arms, so we fight [on behalf of the villagers] with their support,” he said on Tuesday evening.
“We, the TPN and the villagers, will continue to fight against injustice. We want Freeport to be shut down. [Freeport] is the root of the problems [here]. We are natives; we own the land, the mountain and the gold. We demand what belongs to us,” he said, referring to United States-based mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia, which has been operating in Papua since 1970.
The incident marks a long-standing armed conflict between Indonesia’s security personnel and Papuan self-determination groups.
Last year, a member of the National Police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) stationed in Timika, Papua, was killed in a shootout between security personnel and unidentified gunmen on Utikini bridge, Tembagapura, Mimika regency.
Papua’s “problematic” integration into Indonesia in 1962 and the exploitation of Papua’s natural resources by private companies have often been touted as the main sources of native Papuans’ grievances.
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2) Papuan political prisoner freed
9:44 am today
A member of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee has been freed from prison having completed his jail term.
Yanto Awerkion was given a ten-month sentence for treason by an Indonesian court.
Mr Awerkion was arrested in May 2017 in Timika because of his involvement with a petition calling for West Papuan independence from Indonesia.
After 17 court appearances, trial delays and over nine months in jail, the political prisoner was sentenced mid last month.
With time already served, Mr Awerkion was due to be released by the end of the month.
Mr Awerkion had been facing a potential 15-year sentence, the maximum in Indonesia for treason.
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Indonesian forces detain dozens at West Papua university
Indonesian forces detain dozens at West Papua university
Helen Davidson Wed 4 Apr 2018 17.31 AEST
More than 40 people taken into custody at the University of Cenderawasih in Jayapura
Dozens of West Papuan students and activists have been detained by Indonesian security forces at the University of Cenderawasih campus in Jayapura. Photograph: Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images
Dozens of students and activists have been detained by Indonesian security forces at a West Papua university.
It comes amid fatal shootouts in the region and the release of a high-profile activist from prison.
More than 40 people were taken into custody at the University of Cenderawasih campus in Jayapura on Wednesday morning, according to the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), and were still being questioned on Wednesday afternoon.
The university is considered one of West Papua’s top institutions and has a history of student activism and violent clashes with Indonesian authorities.
Gustaf Kawer, who is part of the Association of Human Rights Lawyers for Papua, told Guardian Australia three women and 41 men had been detained and taken to mobile police (Brimob) facilities where his team was able to meet with them, and then transferred to police headquarters in Jayapura.
“No formal charges have yet been issued. Usually in cases like this they use the ‘makar’ provision of the law for rebellion – a broad allegation the state can make,” Kawar said through a translator.
“This detention happened without proper warrant or any proper documentation of any kind. Normally there is a clear legal procedure but those procedures were not followed in this case.”
Kawar said it was not clear when they would be released and alleged some people were hit by Indonesian officers during the raid.
Wednesday’s raid involved officers from Indonesian police, military, mobile police (Brimob) and the national intelligence agency, the KNPB chairman, Victor Yeimo, said.
“The police, with full force, came suddenly to the student dorm room, and to our office which is near the student dormitories,” Yiemo said. “They ripped down all the things inside, they ripped down the door and the window.”
Yeimo said he believed the raids related to unsourced propaganda distributed earlier in the week, which said there was a West Papuan independence event scheduled for Thursday.
“My secretary general in KNPB he already met with the journalist and made a press conference yesterday … to clarify that there was nothing planned for tomorrow,” Yeimo said.
Yeimo said he thought the police believed the misinformation came from KNPB but it did not.
KNPB had been calling on West Papuans not to vote in upcoming elections.
Yeimo also suspected the raids were a distraction from separatist conflict elsewhere in the province, including in Timika, where at least two people were killed on Tuesday.
“We want to tell the people on the outside to take a close look in West Papua because I think this is related to the Timika fighting,” he said.
There were conflicting accounts about the number of people killed and injured.
Reuters quoted an Indonesian military spokesman who said one Indonesian soldier and two separatists were killed in a shootout near the Grasberg mine, during a joint Indonesian military and police operation to “reclaim villages controlled by armed criminal separatists”.
He accused the West Papuan separatists of burning homes, a school house and a hospital.
However, the West Papua National Liberation Army said just one of their members, but dozens of Indonesian security personnel, were killed in the firefight. They said a 10-year-old boy was killed when his village was shelled by the Indonesian military.
Guardian Australia is unable to verify the claims of either side.
West Papuan separatists and Indonesian forces have been in conflict for decades. The region was annexed by Indonesia in 1963, an act that was formalised by an internationally discredited UN-supervised vote six years later.
Last year activists smuggled a pro-independence petition signed by more than 1.8m West Papuans out of the country and delivered it to the United Nations but was rebuffed by its decolonisation committee, which said West Papua was outside its mandate.
Earlier this week a West Papuan activist and organiser of the petition was released from prison after 10 months of incarceration.
Yanto Awerkion, deputy chair of the Timika branch of the KNPB, was put on trial for treason for his involvement in the petition. In January the Free West Papua campaign raised serious concerns about his health in detention.
Free West Papua said Awerkion was sentenced last month to 10 months in prison, despite facing up to 15 years. With time served he was released this week.
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1) Fatality reported in shootout near Freeport in Papua
2) KNPB categorically denies distributing leaflets announcing the formation of a “Declaration Committee”
3) Adventist missionary killed in Papua, Indonesia
4) Love but Distrust Thy Neighbor: A Glance at Indonesia-Australia Relations
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1) Fatality reported in shootout near Freeport in Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba and Evi Mariani The Jakarta Post
Jayapura/Jakarta | Wed, April 4, 2018 | 06:23 pm
Security personnel secure a baby found in a 'honai' (traditional hut), while hunting down an armed group in the village of Banti in Mimiki regency in Papua on Tuesday. The baby was handed over to the village head. (Cendrawasih Military Command /-)
A clash between the Indonesian Military (TNI) in cooperation with the National Police and the Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM), a Papuan independence group, resulted in at least one fatality in Tembagapura district, Mimika regency in Papua on Wednesday, near the copper mine operated by Freeport.
The TNI said it could not confirm whether the victim was a civilian or a member of the TPN-OPM, which is referred to as an armed separatist criminal group by the TNI. The TPN-OPM claimed the fatality was a civilian.
Both the TNI and TPN-OPM confirmed the identity of the dead man as Timotius Umabak.
The TNI said the clash left two others injured, the victims were identified as Ruben Kupugau, in his 30s, and Kapin Wamang, a 15-year-old boy. Once again the TNI could not confirm whether the two injured were civilians or TPN-OPM members.
Cendrawasih Military Command spokesman Col. M. Aidi said on Wednesday that a shootout happened at 10:15 a.m. local time during a hunt for the armed group in the village of Opitawak.
“The clash lasted for 30 minutes and when the shootout ended, our soldiers entered the village and found one dead and two injured,” Aidi said.
“This group usually uses civilians as shields,” Aidi said. The military said they seized an F-16 rifle in the village.
The hunt was a follow up to an earlier clash on Sunday, in which one TNI soldier, Private First Class Vicky Irad Uba Rumpaidus, was killed. Before the incident, the group allegedly set houses, a hospital and a school building on fire.
The group had reportedly taken control of several villages in Tembagapura district, namely Utikini, Longsoran, Kimbeli, Banti 1, Banti 2 and Opitawak. On Wednesday, the TNI declared they had retaken all six villages.
TPN-OPM spokesperson Hendrik Wanmang told The Jakarta Post via phone on Wednesday afternoon that there was no shootout with the group in Opitawak on Wednesday morning. "The [Indonesian Military] shot the villagers," he claimed.
Earlier, at about 7:30 a.m. Jakarta time, or 9:30 Papua time, Wanmang said, the TPN-OPM had gathered all villagers in Opitawak for their own protection. He claimed the TPN-OPM fighters had retreated and left the village to avoid civilians being mistaken for armed fighters.
“There were women and children among the 1,000. We told them if the Indonesian Military came, not to run, show yourselves with your hands up,” Wanmang told the Post in Jakarta on Wednesday morning.
The TPN-OPM also denied accusations that it had set locals’ houses on fire, saying it was the TNI that launched mortars on people’s houses. The TNI’s Aidi denied that the soldiers carried mortars or rockets.
“We have 300 civilian witnesses. Ask them, did we use mortars or rockets?” Aidi said. “They were the ones who set the houses on fire before running into the woods,” Aidi went on.
Aidi said that on Tuesday soldiers had found a crying baby in one village, abandoned in a honai, a traditional Papuan house. “We gave the baby to the village head,” he said.
Wanmang of the TPN-OPM said his group had received information from villagers that besides Timotius, a woman, identified as Nataro Omaleng, and a child, named Aprion, also died in Wednesday’s clash. (swd)
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2) KNPB categorically denies distributing leaflets announcing the formation of a “Declaration Committee”
General secretary of West Papua National Committee, Ones Suhuniap (middle) after the meeting with High Commisioner of Human Right, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on February 2018 – Supplied
Jayapura, Jubi – The Central Leadership of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), denied having circulated leaflets inviting the people of Papua to be involved in the preparation of a Declaration Committee for the creation of a West Papuan state.
This outright denial was made by Ones Suhuniap, Secretary of the KNPB.
“The appeals or leaflets that were spread on social media and further distributed in the communities did not officially come from the Central Leadership of KNPB”, Suhuniap told a number of journalists, at the Waena Expos Complex in Jayapura, on Tuesday (3/4/2018).
Suhuniap said his organization was not involved in the formation of any such a “declaration committee”.
He also stated that the group calling itself the “Preparatory Committee for the State of the West Papuan Republic” which will hold its declaration on 5 April 2018, was not part of the organization he leads.
“I reiterate that no single component of the Papuan independence struggle has set up such a preparatory committee for a West Papuan state,” Suhuniap said.
He claimed not to know the group that circulated the leaflets, furthermore, his organization was not given a mandate for such an undertaking, so he was not responsible for any such movements in the land of Papua or abroad. In relation to the emergence of these leaflets by that organization, Suhuniap felt obliged to declare that the Central Board of the KNPB categorically rejected any responsibility if casualties were to arise from this event.
“And by this way we officially convey to the people of Papua that the appeal letter about the declaration was not issued by the KNPB,” he said.
Suhuniap also stated that he did not know if one of the Committee members was a former member of KNPB. With regard to its content, the leaflet in question was an invitation to the people of Papua to attend a declaration by the “Preparatory Committee for the creation of the State of the West Papuan Republic” on 5 April 2018, at the Kalmowker field outside the Waena Housing Complex (Perumnas III) in Jayapura. (*)
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3) Adventist missionary killed in Papua, Indonesia
Life of 24-year old remote-region health worker inspiring young people to serve
Apr 04, 2018 Manilla, Philippines Teresa Costello with additional reporting by Darron Boyd and Wesley Szamko
Berni Fallery Kunu, a 24-year old health worker, serving as part of a two-man team in a remote area of the Star Mountain regency in Papua, Indonesia, was killed on March 29, 2018.
Kunu was a medical missionary serving with Adventist Aviation Indonesia (AAI), a service of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SSD). A nursing graduate of Mount Klabat Adventist University near Manado, Indonesia, he intended to devote his life to serving unreached people in remote areas without health care access.
It has been reported that Kunu was violently killed on Thursday, March 29, 2018 by a group believed to be from an area more than a three day walk away. It appears to be a case of mistaken identity. His body was found the next day in a shallow grave near the river where he was thought to be bathing when attacked.
His fellow health worker was unharmed and accompanied Kunu’s body to the AAI headquarters a day’s journey away. Other Adventist medical missionaries and teachers in the region were evacuated on Friday. At this time, work in the region is halted.
According to those who knew him, Kunu had a passion to serve God in the most challenging and remote areas. He was engaged to be married in January, 2019. He and his fiancée, a nurse currently serving as a teacher in another area, planned to serve as a medical missionary team in a remote area after their wedding.
He understood the dangers of working in remote areas, but trusted his life to God and planned to dedicate his future to such service. Known for his laughter and good humor, “he loved his job [and was] full of his love for his Lord,” according to his family. When they expressed concern for his safety, he would reassure them “with words of faith”.
Police are currently investigating the incident. It has garnered widespread attention up to the highest levels of national government. "We are deeply sorry for the death of our child, Berni Fallery Kunu," said Indonesian Minister of Health, Nila Moeloek, in a written statement in Jakarta.
An overflowing crowd attended Kunu’s funeral, which was was on Sunday, April 1. Condolence messages continue to flood in with an emphasis on how Kunu’s life of whole-hearted service to God is inspirational. “An exceptional devotion, [such an ]…example for anyone when calling for God's work. Don't just find a comfortable [place]. …Bern is an example to follow,” posted one commenter on social media. A “life and death for God,” wrote another. “Truly noble and valuable life and death,” added another.
In a message to the family, SSD President Samuel Saw wrote,” Through inspiration, Ellen White mentioned that Christians are set as light bearers on the way to heaven. They are to reflect to the world the light shining upon them from Christ (Steps to Christ, 116). Berni, who was inspired to light the world in Papua, committed his life, his gifts and his knowledge for this ministry that he fully believed in. He believed fully that life is not about discovering yourself for your own sake, but to be who God created you to be.
This tragic and sudden death of Berni might cause many of us to wonder, “WHY LORD!” As human beings, we must admit that we have no control over our lives nor can we fully comprehend what happens in our lives sometimes. But we have the assurance that God is not unjust as Paul mentioned in Hebrews 6:10 and we have the providence of the “Blessed Hope”. I know that the Lord will reward Berni on the day of His return.
Berni Kunu will be always be remembered by us and Southern Asia-Pacific Division as a young man who lived with a sense of mission and purpose.
Thank you to the Kunu family for raising this precious son, who was young but mature in spirituality, who responded to God’s love with his whole life.”
At first glance, it may seem that this incident would discourage people from serving as Kunu did. Instead, numerous young people and others have stepped forward since his death to say that they also want to serve God and wish to commit their lives to Him in the most challenging areas of service.
Most touchingly, Kunu’s father commented that this, “death is very big burden for us as parents, but we know that Berni died as a martyr in the glory of God. I would like also to follow God [with my whole heart and life] in the way that Berni did.”
Due to the current unrest in the area, it is uncertain when Adventist workers will return there. However, when they do, it would seem they will include a number inspired by Berni Fallery Kunu.
AAI leaders ask for your prayers for the Kunu family and the ministry to which their son devoted his life.
*Note: Due to the ongoing investigation, certain details such as locations and names are not available for publication.
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4) Love but Distrust Thy Neighbor: A Glance at Indonesia-Australia Relations
Jakarta. It should be natural that close neighbors, like Indonesia and Australia, seek to forge strong relations and mutually beneficial cooperation. Geographic proximity, however, does not always guarantee this.
Indonesia and Australia established diplomatic ties in 1949, and have had rather steady relations in politics, economy, security and education. In recent years, the ties have been tested by unfavorable public opinion, misunderstandings and governmental tensions, especially after Australia reportedly spied on former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2013, and when Indonesia executed two Australian nationals for drug smuggling in 2015.
According to experts, distrust and anxiety regularly emerge in the bilateral ties.
During a seminar on Indonesian public diplomacy toward Australia in November, Evi Fitriani, head of the Miriam Budiardjo Resource Center (MBRC) at the University of Indonesia, said the relations, which she likened to a rollercoaster ride, have historically been dependent on the attitudes of the countries' leaders.
Riefqi Muna, a senior researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said, however, that all crises between Indonesia and Australia tend to normalize quickly.
"Australians have yet to understand Indonesia's development throughout the years, especially in terms of democracy. They still assume it is authoritarian and militarized, though this [presumption] is increasingly less common," Riefqi said during the seminar.
So far, according to Evi, the relations have been the best under President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, although strong cultural differences and limited understanding of Islam in Australia often strain them.
Latest Developments
The improvement in bilateral ties is illustrated by the high level of engagement between top officials, such as the recent meeting between Jokowi and Turnbull during the Asean-Australia Special Summit on March 17, and the fifth "2+2" meeting of foreign and defense ministers ahead of the summit.
While Jokowi and Turnbull discussed stepping up cooperation in education and industrial development, the ministers signed an action plan on maritime cooperation to strengthen maritime security, combat transnational crime and maritime pollution.
Meanwhile, pending are the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) and an agreement on common foreign policy priorities in the Indo-Pacific region.
"Right now, many countries are starting to mull over how the Indo-Pacific region can be a peaceful, prosperous and stable. Indonesia has some thoughts on this, and we have been sharing them with our friends in Asean, but also with the United States, India, China, Japan and Australia," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi Retno said after a meeting with her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop prior to the "2+2" session.
Indonesia and Australia will also soon revisit the 1997 Perth Treaty on Maritime and Law of the Sea and are going to discuss their maritime boundaries, following Australia's recent deal with East Timor to resolve similar disputes.
In 2002, the two countries initiated and have since been co-chairing the Bali Process, an international forum with 48 members comprising of countries and international agencies, to facilitate discussion and information sharing about issues relating to human trafficking and transnational crime.
Education Nurtures Friendship
Cooperation in education is one of the main highlights of the relationship between Indonesia and Australia.
In January, Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education Muhammad Nasir said Indonesia will open its doors to foreign universities. Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, business and management were identified as priority subject areas.
The minister said the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland were among the institutions that expressed interest in opening their Indonesian branches.
According to data from Unesco's Institute for Statistics on the global flow of tertiary-level students, in 2016 there were 10,676 Indonesians studying in Australia, significantly more than in other countries, with 8,922 in the United States, 8,039 in Malaysia and 2,761 in the United Kingdom.
Florischa Ayu Tresnatri, an Indonesian student pursuing her master's degree at the Australian National University in Canberra, said she liked the culture and the fact that Australia is not that far from her country.
"The culture is good, here they really appreciate one another … I think [in Australia] the courses taught are more practical, compared to other countries where they seem very theoretical," she told the Jakarta Globe.
In 2018, more than 2,100 Australian students will come to Indonesia to live, work and study under Australia's New Colombo Plan mobility program.
According to the Australian embassy, from 40 destinations in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Philippines, Fiji, South Korea and Nepal, Indonesia is the students' top choice.
Lachlan Haycock, a recipient of the 2016 New Colombo Plan scholarship, who studied at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and interned at the Jakarta Globe, explains this in the following way:
"The decision to choose Indonesia made a lot of sense, considering Australia's geographical proximity and strategic links with Indonesia. ... However, it was mostly of high personal value for me as a student, traveler and individual."
Challenges Now and Then
Looking at Indonesian-Australian relations, one needs to consider the role each country played in the history of East Timor.
In 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor and made it become one of its provinces. The move was not opposed by Australia, which proved to be quite controversial, especially as five Australian journalists were killed during the annexation.
Later, Australia was one of the countries that supported East Timor's will to become an independent nation in 1999. This sparked tensions with Indonesia.
Riots, which followed the 1999 independence referendum, claimed the lives of 1,500 civilians, while a quarter of East Timor's population, nearly 250,000 people, were forced to leave their homes until the arrival of the International Force East Timor (Interfet), multinational peacekeepers led by Australia.
East Timor officially became independent in 2002, after a decades-long struggle to secede from Indonesia.
Another critical moment in the relations between Indonesia and Australia came in October 2002, when 209 people, including 88 Australians, were killed in a bomb attack in Bali. The tragedy was, however, followed by increased security cooperation, with Australia helping Indonesia to establish the National Police's counterterrorism unit, Densus 88, and the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) in Semarang, Central Java.
In 2004, the relations were strained when an Australian beautician, Schapelle Corby, was arrested on drug smuggling charges and sentenced to 15 years in jail. In 2012, her prison term was reduced by five years by President Yudhoyono. The decision was reportedly linked to the release of Indonesian minors convicted of human trafficking in Australia.
In 2013, the president and Vice President Boediono were allegedly targeted by Australian intelligence. In order to ease the situation, both countries agreed to set up a hotline to improve communication.
In 2015, despite pleas by Australia's top officials, Indonesia executed Australian citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
It appears that tensions between the two countries have also been used by politicians from both sides as means of gaining popularity, especially during election seasons.
Over the years, one of the key problems has been the issue of asylum seekers transiting from Southeast Asia to Australia. Food has also been at stake, with Australia banning live cattle exports to Indonesia in 2011.
Additional reporting by Dhania Putri Sarahtika
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Arrests in Papua capital seen as diversion tactic
Arrests in Papua capital seen as diversion tactic
2:01 pm today
A leading West Papuan pro-independence organisation suspects the arrests of dozens of its supporters by Indonesian police was a diversion tactic.
Photo: Tabloid Jubi
Yesterday, police raided the office of the West Papua National Committee, or KNPB, in Waena, a sub-district of Jayapura, the capital of Indonesian-ruled Papua province.
Police claimed pro-independence advocates were planning to declare independence for Papua at an event today in Waena.
Following the raid, police confirmed that 45 people were arrested. These include KNPB members and students from the adjacent University of Cenderawasih.
The chairman of the KNPB, Victor Yeimo, said it was not involved in the alleged plan.
"My organisation already clarified to the public that we're not involved, and we never had that event," he said.
"But I think the police already know about this. I think this is black propaganda to move the people's opinion from Timika to Jayapura."
According to Mr Yeimo, Indonesian security forces were trying to divert attention from their ongoing confrontation with the Papua Liberation Army around Timika in remote Mimika regency.
"There's a very, very brutal operation still going on in Tembagapura (district of Mimika regency) now," he said.
He said Indonesian security forces had also increased their targeting of the KNPB since it committed to the United Liberation Movement for West Papua as the main representative body advancing independence aims.
The KNPB chairman said neither his organisation nor the wider Liberation Movement were involved in the purported declaration plan.
"That is why there are other people used by Indonesia to make black propaganda where they can blame the event (on) KNPB so they can easily criminalise our activities," Mr Yeimo said.
Earlier, Indonesian military personnel assisted the police in their raid of the KNPB office. Items seized included the Papuan nationalist Morning Star flag.
Mr Yeimo said the raid caused significant damage to the KNPB's offices and property. The KNPB's secretary-general, Ones Suhuniap, was among those arrested.
Initially, police linked their raid of the KNPB office to the reported distribution of leaflets and messages on social media about a planned independence declaration.
Before the arrests, the KNPB released a statement distancing itself from the planned declaration.
However, subsequent to the arrests, police said the majority of the arrests were related to allegations of motorcycle theft.
In February, Mr Suhuniap met the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, in Jakarta during the UN representative's official visit to Indonesia.
Mr Al Hussein said he was concerned about "reports of excessive use of force by security forces, harassment, arbitrary arrests and detentions in Papua".
He said that Jakarta had invited him to visit West Papua, although it's not known when a team from the commissioner's office would be taking up the invitation.
Meanwhile, as of early Thursday morning, most of those arrested had been released, but police were reportedly holding on to around twenty of those affiliated with the KNPB.
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1) Hundreds of villagers seek refuge after shootout in Papua
2) Eight people die from bootleg liquor in Papua
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1) Hundreds of villagers seek refuge after shootout in Papua
News Desk
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Thu, April 5, 2018 | 06:28 pm
The recent clash between Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel and a local armed group at the Sinai Opitawak Church in Tembagapura, Papua, has forced hundreds of villagers into hiding in nearby forests. One person was killed while three parishioners were injured in the violence.
Parishioner Timotius Umabak was shot dead in a raid conducted by TNI and National Police personnel at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. He was buried in Opitawak on Wednesday afternoon.
Sinai Opitawak Church reverend Deserius Adii said Timotius, along with other parishioners, had been standing on the church's front porch when the shooting happened.
“All of them were waving the Red-and-White national flag and raised their hands to show the Army personnel that they are not involved with the armed group, but they shot them anyway,” Deserius told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview on Thursday.
Deserius said he still did not know what had happened to the rest of the parishioners, because they dispersed as they tried to hide from the Army. “I haven’t been able to contact any of them since last night,” he said.
In response to the shoot-out, Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) secretary-general Rev. Gomar Gultom said the communion expressed its condolences. It also urged the armed forces to start using a cultural approach instead of military force to solve issues in Papua.
He urged the military and armed groups in Papua not to take out their hostilities on civilians. (dpk/ebf)
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2) Eight people die from bootleg liquor in Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua | Thu, April 5, 2018 | 05:31 pm
At least eight residents of Keerom and Lanny Jaya regencies in Papua died of consuming unlicensed alcohol (oplosan) in the past week.
“In the latest case, two people died after consuming oplosan in Lanny Jaya. Previously, six people died in Keerom in a similar incident,” said Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. M. Kamal on Thursday.
The two Lanny Jaya residents, Lapis Wenda, 26, and Yondiron Tabuni, 28, died after they, together with several other residents of Kampung Popome in Mokoni district, consumed six bottles of a highly alcoholic drink called cap tikus.
“Lapis died on the scene while Yondiron passed away at Tiom Regional General Hospital (RSUD), which he had been taken to for medical treatment,” said Kamal.
Two other residents, Malik Tabuni, 35, and Obed Murib, 42, are still undergoing medical treatment at the same hospital.
Meanwhile, the six Keerom residents died of bootleg liquor ostensibly containing brandy and whiskey of global brands, which they consumed on Sunday.
Keerom Police’s criminal investigation head, Second Insp. Hotma Manurung, said nine other residents were receiving medical treatment.
Indonesia Papua Female Journalists Forum head Yuliana Lantipo said alcohol misuse in Papua had grown to an alarming rate.
"The government and security authorities must take tougher measures to ban the distribution of alcoholic beverages and sweep suspected locations of bootleg liquor manufacturing." (ebf)
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