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1) AJI: Police Target Foreign Journalists at Papuan Student Rally in Jakarta

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2) Indonesian police fire tear gas at pro-Papua demo

3) TNI Officer Killed by Armed Civilian Group in Papua: Spokesman
4) Indonesia’s Papua battles AIDS epidemic

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1) AJI: Police Target Foreign Journalists at Papuan Student Rally in Jakarta
By : Donny Andhika Mononimbar | on 12:30 AM December 02, 2015



Police detain a protester following a brief clash at a rally to commemorate a Papuan declaration of independence in 1961. (Reuters Photo/Darren Whiteside)

Jakarta. Two foreign journalists have reportedly become victims of police violence and intimidation in Jakarta on Tuesday while covering a rally by Papuan students.
Archicco Guilianno of ABC Australia dan Step Vaessen of Al Jazeera were covering the demonstration when police reportedly asked Archicco to erase his footage. When he didn't immediately comply, identifying himself as a journalist in the process, he was beaten by an officer.
An account of the incident was reported on the website of Indonesia's Independent Alliance of Journalists (AJI).
Vaessen recorded the incident but was also ordered to erase the images. Police at some point forcibly did so, the AJI account says.

The incident triggered an immediate condemnation from AJI, with its chief, Suwarjono, saying in a press release that officers had clearly violated the law.
AJI urged the National Police to investigate.
Issues surrounding Papua, the scene of a decades-long, low-level insurgency, remain very sensitive in Indonesia, despite promises by President Joko Widodo to open up the area to foreign journalists.

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2) Indonesian police fire tear gas at pro-Papua demo

Journalists at the scene saw demonstrators being put into police vehicles and driven away, but police did not confirm how many protesters had been detained.


JAKARTA: Police fired tear gas at a hundreds-strong crowd hurling rocks on Tuesday (Dec 1) during a protest in Jakarta against Indonesian rule over the eastern region of Papua, with a lawyer saying that over 100 demonstrators had been detained.
Several hundred protesters, mostly university students from Papua, took part in the demonstration to mark the anniversary of the region's declaration of independence in 1961, two years before Indonesia took control.
About 400 police in riot gear were standing guard at the protest by a roundabout in downtown Jakarta, which turned violent as demonstrators hurled rocks and police responded by firing tear gas and chasing protesters.
"They have no permit to stage a protest here, so we are dispersing them," said Central Jakarta police chief Hendro Pandowo, insisting the police had not used excessive force. Protest organisers insisted they had notified authorities.
Veronica Koman, lawyer from Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, speaking on behalf of the protesters, said at least 114 had been detained by police, with some stopped before even reaching the site.
Journalists at the scene saw demonstrators being put into police vehicles and driven away. Police refused to confirm how many protesters had been detained.
The remaining demonstrators were later driven from the scene in buses and trucks, but said they were voluntarily going to join the detained protesters at police stations to show solidarity.
A low-level insurgency has simmered for decades in Papua, where local groups are fighting on behalf of the mostly Melanesian population, who are a different ethnicity from most Indonesians.
Jakarta took control of the region, which forms half of the island of New Guinea, in 1963 from former colonial power the Netherlands.
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3) TNI Officer Killed by Armed Civilian Group in Papua: Spokesman

By : Jakarta Globe | on 2:55 PM December 01, 2015
Jakarta. The Indonesian Miliary has confirmed that an armed Papuan civilian group known as Cosmas Makabori was responsible for the shooting death of a military officer in Namuni Kampong, Papua, on Monday.
The victim, Maj. Inf. Jhon E. de Fretes, was accompanied by 2nd. Crp. Simon Sopakua and 2nd. Crp. Afan to monitor the area ahead of the Dec. 9 simultaneous regional election, according to Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen. Tatang Sulaiman.
They were traveling by boat and "came under attack immediately after disembarking. Maj. Inf. Jhon was shot in the abdomen,” Tatang told CNN Indonesia on Tuesday.
The surviving officers claimed they were surrounded by about 20 armed civilians who opened fire. Jhon was shot four times as they attempted to escape. His body was left at the scene and evacuated by TNI officers on Tuesday morning, after the crowd had dispersed.
Jhon's body will be flown from Papua to Magelang, Central Java, for burial, Tatang said.
Afan and Simon both suffered minor injuries in the skirmish.
The TNI and National Police are currently working together to locate members of Cosmas Makabori.
Indonesia is set to hold its first simultaneous regional elections on Dec. 9, which will see residents of more than 250 districts, cities and provinces across the archipelago heading to the polls to choose their next regional leaders.


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4) Indonesia’s Papua battles AIDS epidemic

December 1, 2015

Fifteen-year-old Adina curls up in bed under a sheet, her body ravaged by AIDS, one of many caught up in an epidemic sweeping Indonesia’s eastern Papua region.
The teen, who only gave her first name, contracted HIV from an infected boyfriend and is one of 10 AIDS patients receiving free care at a hostel run by Agustinus Adil, a Catholic brother.
The patients include children and adults, with some whose cases are less advanced still able to walk around but others skeletal figures, who are almost blind and confined to bed.
Some ended up in the hostel in Waena village after being thrown out of home when their relatives found out they had HIV, as the virus still carries a strong stigma in deeply poor Papua, which has the highest prevalence of infections in Indonesia.
On World AIDS Day on Tuesday, activists said that government efforts to fight HIV / AIDS in Papua are inadequate, and small, private facilities such as the Waena hostel cannot alone tackle the epidemic. 
"The approach to tackling HIV transmission is outdated," said Aditya Wardhana, from Indonesia AIDS Coalition, adding that official efforts focused on groups such as sex workers, but the virus had now spread through the whole population of Papua.
The  (HIV), which can lead to AIDS, is mostly spread through unsafe sex in Papua, in particular due to the growth of prostitution in major cities.
The prevalence of HIV in Papua is 2.3 percent of the population, compared to a national figure of 0.47 percent, health ministry data showed.
While the number of new HIV infections worldwide has fallen by 35 percent over the past 15 years, according to UN figures, in Papua the figure has remained stubbornly high.
Latest official figures show that around 18,000 cases of HIV have been reported in Papua, but activists believe the real number is far higher.

1) Activists Slam Police Action Against Papuan Student Rally

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1) Activists Slam Police Action Against Papuan Student Rally
3) Islands in focus: Stray  bullet hits civilian in  Wamena -

4) Freeport contract scandal biggest in country`s history: Kalla

5) Jakarta police secures demonstrators for raising morning star flag

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http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/activists-slam-police-action-papuan-student-rally/

1) Activists Slam Police Action Against Papuan Student Rally
By : Jakarta Globe | on 7:21 PM December 01, 2015


An activist shouts near a police line during a rally to commemorate a Papuan declaration of independence from Dutch rule, in Jakarta on Tuesday. (Reuters Photo/Darren Whiteside)



Jakarta. The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) has criticized police in the capital over the detention of several hundred Papuan students calling for independence at a rally in the city center on Tuesday.
Hundreds of members of the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) rallied near the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, from about 8 a.m. Police later used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The demonstration was meant to commemorate the establishment of a Papuan state independent from Dutch rule, with its own national anthem and the Morning Star flag, effective Dec. 1, 1961.
Indonesia has never recognized Papuan independence and later incorporated the entire region after a brief United Nations-led transition period and a much-criticized poll. Dec. 1 has since held great importance for Papuan separatists.
In Jakarta on Tuesday, demonstrators called on the national government to allow Papuans to decide their own fate via autonomous governance and a referendum on independence, besides limiting the role of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the region.
Police, however, said the protesters didn't have permission to stage their rally.
"The police efforts were lawful, because we have to also take into account the rights of other people," said Sr. Comr. M. Iqbal, a spokesman for the Jakarta Police.
Jalan Imam Bonjol, near the HI roundabout, was completely cut off because of the demonstration, creating severe traffic congestion in the area.
Police officers gathered in force at the scene before firing tear gas into the crowd as the group prepared to march to the State Palace around 10.30 a.m.

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Victor Mambor Des 02, 2015



Jayapura, Jubi –A lawyer for four activists of West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in Manokwari region, said the jail sentence of 1 year 6 months for them was too harsh because they simply expressed different views.
“Alexander Nekenem, Othen Gombo, Nopinus Humawak, Yoram Magay were convicted because of different views,” said lawyer Yan Christian Warinussy in a written statement received by Jubi in Jayapura on Monday (11/30/2015).
According to the Papuan human rights lawyer from the Institute for Research, Study and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH) Manokwari, on Nov. 27, as the legal team received a copy of verdict number: 107 / Pid.B / 2015 / PN.Mnk on behalf of Alexander Dekenem et al. The letter stated that the defendants were sentenced to prison, each for one year and six months, with their time in custody deducted.
Prosecutor Irna Indira Ruth sought two years  imprisonment for them.
That ruling, the Warinussy is still waiting for an official copy of the decision of the Registrar Court of Manokwari, in order to learn the basic consideration of the judges who had declared the four defendants were found guilty so that sentenced them.
According to the Secretary of the Regional Parliament, Rafael Natkime, the verdict will never confine their ideology.
“Be in Jail is one of the highest sacrifices for fighters,” he said.
He said four KNPB activists were detained on May 20, 2015 during a peaceful demonstration in Manokwari with three agendas, first, demanding the state to immediately open access to foreign journalists in Papua, according to a statement the president of Joko Widodo, second was to immediately open the democratic space for the people of West Papua. And the last was to support the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as representatives of Papuans in Melanesian Spread head Group(MSG). (Mawel Benny/ Tina)
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3) Islands in focus: Stray  bullet hits civilian in  Wamena -
The Jakarta Post, Jayapura | Archipelago | Sat, November 28 2015, 3:17 PM - 

JAYAPURA: A member of the military police in Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, Papua, is under investigation for allegedly shooting an 18-year-old student at an areca nut-eating party at the house of a local resident early on Friday.

The member, identified only as Pvt. FAN of the military police sub-detachment (Subdenpomdam) XVII – Wamena, allegedly took out his pistol and aimed at wood located some 5 meters away from him. Allegedly under influence of alcohol, he shot at the wood but the bullet passed through the wood and hit student Paskalis Marey on the back part of his waist.

“The victim is being treated at the Marthen Indey Hospital. He is conscious,” spokesperson for the Military Regional Command XVII/Cenderawasih, Col. Teguh Rahardjo, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Teguh, however, denied that FAN was drunk and blamed the incident on the soldier’s negligence. He also said FAN was currently detained at the local military police (Pomdam) headquarters in Wamena. 
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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/101784/freeport-contract-scandal-biggest-in-countrys-history-kalla

4) Freeport contract scandal biggest in country`s history: Kalla

Selasa, 1 Desember 2015 19:22 WIB | 592 Views

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President M Jusuf Kalla has termed the Freeport contract abuse scandal as the biggest in Indonesias history.

"When did corruption involving the president and vice president (ever happen)?" Kalla said in his remarks at the Indonesian Economic Outlook 2016 meeting here on Tuesday.

He said the House Speaker never handled a contract renewal case.

"Luckily, it does not happen. But it would (start happening) if the Parliaments Honorary Council (MKD) continues to maintain silence," the vice president added.

Kalla guaranteed that the Golkar Party would not be found involved in the scandal.

Freeport is now at the center of a controversy with the House Speaker Setya Novanto facing questioning by the MKD for allegedly asking for a stake in the US gold and copper mining company, using the name of President Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.(*)
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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/101782/jakarta-police-secures-demonstrators-for-raising-morning-star-flag

5) Jakarta police secures demonstrators for raising morning star flag

Selasa, 1 Desember 2015 18:14 WIB | 711 Views
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Jakarta Police have secured several demonstrators from the Papua Students Alliance (AMP) for raising the banned morning star flag, a symbol of the Papuan independence, during a rally around Hotel Indonesia, on Tuesday.

Operations Bureau Chief City Police Commissioner Pol Martuani Sormin revealed that the police had secured 127 people.

"The demonstrators were also carrying weapons," Martuani noted.

A total of 10 buses were used to transport the protesters to the Jakarta Police Headquarters.

Jakarta Polices Director General of Criminal Investigations Commissioner Krishna Murti remarked that the police will not detain the protesters.

He noted that the police will obtain information and record the identities of the students.

AMP spokesperson Abido confirmed that during the demonstration, the morning star flag was not raised. The demonstration was held to voice the aspirations regarding the expression of Papuan identity to mark December 1.

Abido urged the central government to grant freedom to the Papuans to live independently in determining their own rights as a democratic solution for the people of West Papua.(*)

1) 306 Papua Student Activists Detained at Jakarta Police

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4) Is Freeport stepping into  a political minefield?
5) Setya Mentioned ‘Papuan Palace in Conversation Recording 
6) The Knowmad’s Journey Along Indonesia’s Eastern Border
7) 50 years ago today, American diplomats endorsed mass killings in Indonesia. Here’s what that means for today.
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Victor Mambor Des 02, 2015


Student were detained at Polda Metro Jaya – Jubi


Semarang, Jubi – Dozens of Papuan students activists were arrested during a street rally in Jakarta to commemorate the political manifesto day that is regarded by many Papuans as their national day.
From Jakarta, the Alliance of Papua Students (AMP) chairman of Kota Semarang Committee, Bernardo Boma told Jubi he and other student activists were being detained at Polda Metro Jaya (Jakarta Police Headquarters).
“I am currently detained at Polda Metro Jaya with other AMP activists. We were headed by the police before the rally,” Boma told Jubi by phone on Tuesday (1/12/2015).
He explained, besides him, some activists who came from Cawang, Tangerang and Bandung to Jakarta also blocked by the police, so now their position was under the police’s control.
“The fact is the Central AMP has sent a notice to the police long before the rally. We did it to respect the Indonesian democracy and legal system. But before we run the rally, the police have deployed its full-equipped troop. We regret it,” explained Boma.
Meanwhile, the activist from AMP Kota Malang, Wilson Nawipa told Jubi the same thing but in more detail. “Today we were headed and suppressed by the police.
Now about two hundreds of student activists were detained at Polda Metro Jaya. Two activists were reportedly shot by the police,” he said. However, he could not provide more detail information about the shot activists.
“I will give the chronology and the names of arrested students soon after I get detail information,” he said.
Director of Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), Alghiffari Aqsa told Jubi the police have not only forced the crowd to disband, but also arrested them brutally.
In this case, the police had no warrant, so the arrest considered illegal by Law. 128 activists were reportedly detained.
This incident is not the first time to be happened, but has repeatedly occurred.
The police have violated the right of freedom of speech in the public. “While the right of freedom of speech in public for Papuans is guaranteed by the constitution,”Said Alghiffari Aqsa.
Similar with Aqsa, the Division Head of Case Handling Division of LBH Jakarta thought the forced dissolution, the arrest and repressive act by the Police is an abuse against the right of freedom of speech in public. “It’s regretful, the law enforcement authority should be respect, protect and fulfill the human rights without discrimination, including towards Papuans,” he said.
For that reason, LBH Jakarta demanded the Minister of Legal, Politic and Human Right Affairs, Indonesian Police Chief, and Metro Jaya Police Chief to release the activists of the Alliance of Papua Students of Java and Bali. “Respect, protect and fulfill the right of the freedom of speech in public!” stated Aqsa.
On Tuesday (1/12/2015) night, most students was released by police. But two students are still being detained for questioning. (Arnold Belau/rom)

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Victor Mambor Des 02, 2015
Jayapura, Jubi – Former political prisoner Filep Jacob Samuel Karma said he was concerned about the current situation facing indigenous Papuans. He said currently discrimination is not only being practiced by non-Papuans to Papuans or vice versa, but also among Papuans. He described the situation as a time bomb that is ready to explode at anytime.
Racism is not only coming from non-Papuans but also emerging among Papuans. We accuse the Indonesians of being racist, but the fact is we are also racist against them. It means we are doing the same thing. Instead of solving the problem, it will trigger a new problem. We don’t have to vengeful. Striking back with violence would not solve the problem but create a new one instead,” stated Karma at Kingmi Synod Office, Jayapura City on Monday (30/11/2015).
He said the state is racist towards Papuans. However, sometimes Papuans who are fighting for their rights also do the same. Rather stopping the racism, he said, Papuans promote it.
“I see this is like a time bomb. When Papua was succeed and Indonesia returns home, the time bomb would be exploded, but I don’t want it going to be happened,” he said.
Karma thought it is a trick played by the Indonesian Government to bring Papuans into a conflict among each other, including the regional extension that recently happened. It is a way to split Papuans.
He further said now the terms such as the highlander and the beach, north and south, or the valley and the coast are rising among Papuans.
“It is not different from the divide and rule politics used in Dutch era. Before I was put in jail, I have told this to Parjal activists whether they saw this situation. I am concerned, if Papua gained independence; there would be a tribal war. If Papuans killed each other, I would regret to fight for its independence,” he said.
Karma also thought the prison had been used to silence some activists, especially those who live in Papua. But he reminds them to not be afraid. They must turn on their voice even facing a prison. “If we are still together to build public awareness, we could even destroyed the prison,” he said.
Karma demonstrated his consistency when he was sentenced for 15 years in prison eleven years ago. Although he was behind the bar, he never stops to voice for the injustice against Papuans.
At that time, he said, he just spoke about his aspiration, not the intention of building a new State and yet to meet a criteria of treason. “I was confused why I was charged for treason. The article used to punish me wasn’t appropriate. I admit that I have an intention to it, just it. I am waiting the State to admit its mistake,” he added.
He also refused his release from the prison, but both authorities of Abepura Prison and the Legal and Security Affairs Papua Region forced him to accept this.
The Division Head of Legal and Security Affairs Papua Region, Johan Yarangga, said he was obliged enforcing Karma and everyone who declared officially free from the charge should take their freedom.

“We don’t have any rights to detain people without a legal reference. Mr. Filep Karma is currently free, there is no reason for us to detain him,” Johan Yarangga said during the day Karma was released. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)

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Victor Mambor Des 02, 2015
Jayapura, Jubi – Nabire Police arrested about 20 people who were preparing for a prayer gathering to commemorate the West Papua Anniversary.
A Nabire activist Gunawan Inggeruhi said they were arrested at 10:30 AM local time while gathering at Bunga Bangsa Park, Oyehee, Nabire.
“At that time, the police were doing raids. Their cars were driven into the field near the park. We were outside the park to prepare the place for worship event. Suddenly they were out of car and arrested us. They also beat us with rattan,” Inggeruhi said.
Until now, he said, he didn’t know the reason behind their arrest. He claimed they only wanted to do worship, raising the morning star flag wasn’t on their agenda.
On Saturday (29/11/2015), Antara News Agency reported the Nabire Police arrested and detained 17 residents.
The Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw said they were detained for raising the morning start flag. But not longer, he corrected his statement through the same media, said they were arrested for combatting the officers when disbanded while doing the activity at Lapangan Gizi Nabire.
Inggeruhi denied his friends attacked the police while being disbanded on Saturday morning. “We didn’t fight the police. They just come to arrest us. We only brought some bamboos to build a stage. We didn’t fight at all,” he said.
Seventeen residents  were released on 30 November. (Victor Mambor/rom)
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4) Is Freeport stepping into  a political minefield?
Winarno Zain, Jakarta | Opinion | Wed, December 02 2015, 4:39 PM - 

Freeport Indonesia is an enigma. The subsidiary of the US-based Freeport McMoran Gold and Copper Inc. owns the right to mine one of the biggest gold and copper deposits in the world located in the Grasberg Mountain in Papua, yet after nearly half a century of Freeport operations, Papua remains the poorest and the most backward province in Indonesia. 

Freeport has been a thorn in the pride and the consciousness of many Indonesians. It has been a source of resentment among Indonesian elites because after 70 years of independence, the country is not in control of its richest mineral resources.

Freeport operations have created constant questions among Indonesians about whether the government’s management of its natural resources has been in line with the spirit of the Constitution — providing utmost prosperity to the Indonesian people through its control over natural resources. 

Every talk and discussion about Freeport reveals how this giant mining company is perceived and misperceived by Indonesian elites. It is hard to have a clear and objective point of view regarding Freeport. Talk about Freeport is always accompanied with political undertones, prejudice and conspiracy theories.

Now Freeport is in the spotlight again after revelations that its CEO, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, the former deputy chief of the National Intelligence Agency, met with House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto, allegedly to discuss Freeport’s request to get a new license for its operation. 

Novanto’s action is considered to be unethical and the matter has been reported to the House ethics council by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said. 

According to the law, Freeport can only submit its request for a new mining license in 2019, two years before its current contract of works expires in 2021. As the time would be too short, this would create problems for Freeport’s long-term investment plan that includes a US$17 billion plan to develop new underground pits. 

The planned divestment by Freeport of 20 percent of its shares and how these shares are to be distributed among Indonesian elites were also discussed. 

In the transcript of the tape, the names of the President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the Vice President Jusuf Kalla were mentioned as being among the would-be beneficiaries.

Freeport is keen to get the green light from the government quickly to continue its operation beyond 2021. 

For Freeport the stakes are high. One estimate showed that its gold production in Papua accounts for 70 percent of its gold production worldwide. 

Understandably, Freeport would fight at any cost, would use any available venues to get the license as early as possible. Maroef might think the request of Setya to have a meeting in which he offered his help was such a venue. 

Although Maroef was likely a passive participant in the meeting, the public perceived the meeting as lobbying by Freeport to solicit support for their efforts to get a new mining license. 

The exposure of the meeting could pose a risk for Freeport as it could be considered as being complicit with the unethical conduct of Setya. 

Setya has been named in several corruption cases in the past, although he always escaped criminal prosecution. Mohammad Reza Khalid, who is a powerful oil trader who controls the oil import monopoly of Pertamina through its subsidiary, Singapore-based Petral, which has been recently disbanded by the government, was also present in the meeting. 
_____

 
Understandably, Freeport would fight at any cost, would use any available venues to get the license as early as possible.

Both men are cunning businessmen who could quickly spot and seize business opportunities.

The episode reinforced the belief in the public that during all these times mining licenses were issued through a corrupt system involving state officials, rent seekers and brokers and company owners. 

The resulting uproar from the meeting between the Freeport CEO and Setya would increase the pressure on the government to be more transparent and accountable in issuing mining licenses. It has also pushed Freeport into a difficult situation.

Although the decision to issue mining licenses is a discretionary power of the President, Jokowi should also consider the public sentiment about Freeport before he decides. 

If past actions were any guide, Jokowi’s decision on critical issues closely aligns with the direction of public sentiments. He also would listen to his ministers and his close advisers. 

But two of his coordinating ministers, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan and Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli, have been highly critical about issuing a new license to Freeport. The time when the government will decide Freeport’s fate in 2019 will be the election year. 

During the campaigns preceding the general election all hell could break loose, especially when it relates to the sovereignty of the state over natural resources. 

Would President Jokowi have the willpower to swim against the political currents? 

Between 1991 and 2014 government revenues from Freeport amounted to $15.8 billion, most of which (81 percent) was in the form of the company’s income taxes, while royalties and dividends were 10.1 percent and 8.9 respectively. 

However, total revenues from Freeport have dropped significantly from $1.9 billion in 2010 to only $500 million in 2014 because of the fall of commodity prices. President Jokowi might use the magnitude of these revenues as it relates to the size of the government budget as one of the considerations to determine the worthiness of issuing a new mining license to Freeport, but because nationalist sentiment will be at its highest pitch at the time of the election, rational analysis on the costs and benefits of the continuing presence of Freeport in Indonesia will be lost. 

As Freeport is facing its most critical time in its history in Indonesia, it is also facing an adverse political situation. 

The worst-case scenario for Freeport would be the dimming of its prospects to get a new mining license and that for Freeport getting the new license is not a foregone conclusion.
_

The writer is a commissioner at a publicly listed oil and gas service company. This is a personal view. - 


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WEDNESDAY, 02 DECEMBER, 2015 | 20:24 WIB
5) Setya Mentioned ‘Papuan Palace in Conversation Recording  
TEMPO.COJakarta - The House of Representatives' Ethics Council, has finally decided to play the controversial recording of a conversation between House Speaker Setya Novanto and businessman M. Reza Chalid during a meeting with Maroef Sjamsoeddin, a representative from PT Freeport Indonesia. In the recording, Setya was requesting for a 'Papuan Palace'.
In the recording, Setya claimed that the palace will be built for political purposes. Setya said that Papua needs its own palace to compete with Bogor, which has the Bogor Palace and Bali, which has the Tampak Siring Palace.
"I said buid a palace in Papua. 'I agree' said the President. They have the Tampak Siring [Palace] and the Bogor [Palace]. How can there be no palace in Papua. I scouted the area, there is an empty land, looking out to sea. So politically, we will head there in the future," Setya said in the recording.
In addition to the palace, Steya also mentioned several other things in the recording, including divestment, smelter construction, and increasing state revenue.
A complete one hour 20 minutes and 17 seconds recording of the conversation between Setya, Riza, and Maroef was made known to the public on Monday, November 30, 2015. Earlier, an 11 minutes short-version transcript of the conversation had been publicly published.
Although confirming that he had met with Freeport, Setya repeatedly denied that he had 'borrowed' President Joko Widodo's name.
ALI HIDAYAT

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6) The Knowmad’s Journey Along Indonesia’s Eastern Border

For the locals, the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border is so vague that they could not differentiate which part belongs to which country. Here is a story from Indonesian travel writer and photographer Agustinus Wibowo, who have spent a significant amount of time at the border area.



Students at Tais, a coastal village located at Papua New Guinea’s Western Province. (Photo source: Agustinus Wibowo)

Singapore, GIVnews.com – At one point of our life, we all question our identity. Agustinus Wibowo takes it a step further, as he makes it his quest. Many who are familiar with his works will agree that they are hardly classified as the typical travel writings like Lonely Planet guidebooks or reviews of glamourous hotels and establishments.
Instead, Agustinus travels to contemplate intrapersonal conflicts and writes about them, taking readers along to experience his physical and mental tribulations.
No doubt, he is a great storyteller and in Singapore, GIV had the privilege to sit down and listen to his adventure in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia’s closest, yet the furthest, neighbour.
“So how can they survive? So this is the reason of the anger. The injustice, economic wise, the opportunity to survive, is very unjust.”

Papua New Guinea or Papua Province?

Despite being neighbours, citizens of both Indonesia and Papua New Guinea know near to nothing about each other. When Agustinus was in Papua New Guinea, he was asked, “How is life in Indonesia as a communist country?”
He finds the borders intriguing, as it is created neither by Indonesia nor Papua New Guinea, but by another country during the colonization era.
“It is interesting to see how a straight and artificial line like this separates people from both sides,” said the writer. This triggers him to go and to explore along the line.
“In reality, the line does not exist: we cannot see the line as it is deep in the jungle,” Agustinus shared to GIV.
So, he went to the Western Province, the most isolated area in Papua New Guinea. Agustinus hitchhiked canoe, and travel along the river. There are not many public transportations in that country, so he waited at each village for a fisherman to come and hitchhiked in his canoe.
“All along 400 km of river, and it took me one and a half months,” he stated. The road on Indonesia’s side of border is more efficient and will only take eight hours. He mentioned it as one of the highlights of his journey, as he may be the first foreigner who hitchhiked canoe.
The knowmad told GIV that one of the most interesting part of his journey was staying with the OPM (Operasi Papua Merdeka or Free Papua Operation; people of Indonesia’s Papua who fight against the government of Indonesia for their freedom) rebels.
According to Agustinus, Indonesians referred to them as refugees, but actually many of those people migrated from Indonesia’s Papua to Papua New Guinea as part of their struggle against Indonesia’s central government.
“These people are forgotten. Nobody writes about their struggle. Nobody covers them. And they are full of fear of Indonesia and Indonesians so it was quite hard for me to get accepted by the people,” recounted the travel writer, mentioning that he eventually stayed with them at their camps.
Many of the OPM camps are located in the southern area of Indonesia’s border but they are hard to reach from the populated part of Indonesia. If you go there from Papua New Guinea, you need to cross three rivers; but from Indonesia’s side, you have to cross five deep rivers.
For the locals, the border itself is so vague that they could not differentiate which part belongs to which country. There is even a village of OPM members, with facilities such as schools, that was built on Indonesia’s land, but they put Papua New Guinea’s flag and the people go to Papua New Guinea’s market; because they did not realize that they are on Indonesia’s territory.
“Nobody knows where the border is,” emphasized Agustinus. He also explained the story of OPM people.
“These people are the children of people who are struggling. In the 1984, they moved to Papua New Guinea,” said the knowmad.
But that generation passed away and their children did not know about the struggle. “They don’t even know whether they are Indonesian or Papua New Guinean!”

“What will be their future?” Agustinus wonders while taking this photograph at Tais in Papua New Guinea. (Photo source: Agustinus Wibowo

Cultural Destruction and Responsible Travel

It was indeed a compelling story and a thrilling journey but do not pack your bag just yet, Agustinus may advise. Responsible travel is more important than the quantity of travelers, said the travel writer and photographer.
“Many places in Papua have been destroyed culturally by visitors, by outsiders especially,” he stated.
“I started to understand about OPM struggle after I live with them,” he added. After crossing the border from Papua New Guinea to Papua province (on the Indonesian side), within 30 km, you do not experience Papua or see the local Papuans anymore. You see mainly Javanese people, speaking Javanese, opening Javanese restaurants.
“Now many cities are drowned by outsiders. If you go to Merauke (the most Eastern outer part of Indonesia in Papua), about 80 percent are outsiders.”
Although, on the contrary, the more foreign culture has positive contribution where local Papuans pick up technology from them, evident from their ways of living. He noticed that the ways of cooking are different and food are more delicious on the Indonesian side of Papua.
Generally, Papua is less developed than other parts of Indonesia. The people in Papua are still living quite traditionally as compared to, for example, those in Java. So, as Agustinus put it, “How can these people compete with the outsiders?”
When these outsiders migrate to Papua, they prefer to hire outsiders as they are more educated and have more relevant working experiences. It causes inequality as Indonesians of other ethnic groups may find job anywhere in Indonesia while people of Papua is being discriminated.
“So how can they survive? So this is the reason of the anger. The injustice, economic wise, the opportunity to survive, is very unjust.”
However, Agustinus does not mean to discourage people from visiting Papua. “I encourage people (to travel) of course, when they are responsible to society, they respect the culture,” he argued.
The thing is, when some places in Indonesia open up to tourism, they offer their tribal culture and primitiveness, and yet some tourists may exploit and may not be responsible enough to respect the locals as fellow human beings.
“This is reducing the value of their culture, reducing the value of their humanity,” he urged travelers to treat local as how they would like to be treated, with dignity and respect.
GIVnews.com editor, based in Singapore.
About 
Tangerang-based journalism student specializing in written content. Manage a personal blog: jennifersidharta.com. Has published a digital short novel about stereotype titled “Ingatkah Engkau."

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7) 50 years ago today, American diplomats endorsed mass killings in Indonesia. Here’s what that means for today.

By Kai Thaler December 2 at 12:00 PM

Fifty years ago today, the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia sent a cable to the State Department asking for funding to help civilian groups that the United States knew were engaged in a violent effort to eliminate communist influence in Indonesia. At the time, these civilian groups and the Indonesian military, led by Gen. Suharto, were massacring and purging communists and suspected communists, in response to what the military alleged was an attempted coup on Sept. 30, 1965.
The ensuing civilian-military campaign resulted in the mass killing of about 500,000 people. Around 750,000 more civilians were imprisoned, tortured and discriminated against for decades. This marked the beginning of a shift to military rule in Indonesia. The highly repressive military has retained influence. Reforms have been slow and incomplete, even after Indonesia’s transition to democracy in 1998-99. Those responsible for the mass violence have never been punished.
The documentaries “The Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence” have brought greater attention to the massacres and the impunity their perpetrators enjoy. But Indonesian forces are not solely responsible for what happened.
As I explore in a forthcoming book chapter based on declassified government documents, U.S. officials were accessories to this mass murder. The United States helped create the conditions for the killings. It supported, rather than restraining or condemning, the perpetrators. The United States was not alone; British and Australian officials also supported the killings.
The United States has never officially apologized, though, for its involvement in what the CIA called “one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century.” America also continues to support the Indonesian military despite its culture of repression. In fact, during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit to the United States in late October, President Obama and he largely ignored human rights issues.
In the early 1960s, Indonesia had a left-wing president, Sukarno, and the third-largest communist party in the world, the PKI. The U.S. government believed that Sukarno and the PKI were threatening to make Indonesia the “next China,” endangering U.S. strategic and commercial interests. The United States took covert action against Sukarno in the 1950s and restricted aid in the 1960s, primarily funding military assistance programs. U.S. officials cultivated relationships with anti-Sukarno leaders. In February 1965, as tensions were rising in Indonesia, the United States approved a covert action plan to “chip away at the PKI” through “black letter operations” and support for anti-communist groups.
The political situation exploded Sept. 30, 1965, when a group of junior military officers killed six top generals. By the next day, the army, under the command of Suharto, had crushed the officers. There is no evidence that the Sept. 30 attack was organized by the PKI or part of a larger plot, yet Suharto moved quickly to smear the PKI and leftist organizations and painted the events as a communist coup attempt. The military sidelined Sukarno and immediately launched a campaign with student and Muslim organizations to “crush” the PKI.
U.S. officials had long hoped that the military would repress the PKI and moved to bolster the military. On Oct. 5, Ambassador Marshall Green recommended that the United States spread anti-PKI propaganda, and Secretary of State Dean Rusk wanted to encourage the military “to follow through against PKI.” By Oct. 12, aware that the army was organizing anti-communist attacks, the United States secured assurances that the British would stand down from their confrontation with Indonesia in Malaysia to allow the Indonesian military to “straighten things out” domestically.
Later that month, Green expressed approval that the military was “working hard at destroying PKI” through executions, and Rusk affirmed U.S. support for the “elimination of the PKI.” U.S. officials also provided detailed lists of thousands of PKI members for the military and anti-communist civilians, with American officials reportedly checking off who had been killed or arrested.
Amid reports of massacres throughout the country, in late October, Rusk and U.S. national security officials made plans to unconditionally provide weapons and communications equipment to the Indonesian military, while new U.S. aid was organized in December for the civilian anti-communist coalition and the military. By February 1966, Green stated approvingly that“the Communists…have been decimated by wholesale massacre.” U.S. support deepened in March 1966 as the military pushed Sukarno further off the scene, with the United States releasing economic aid that was frozen while Sukarno was in power, even as killings slowed but continued through 1968. In September 2015, the CIA released Presidential Daily Briefings from Lyndon Johnson’s administration confirming that Johnson was well aware of events in Indonesia and did nothing to halt the killings.
Suharto remained in power until 1998, retaining strong U.S. support. U.S.-Indonesian military ties likewise continued, despite Indonesia’s illegaldeadly 1974-1999 occupation of East Timor and its ongoing highly repressivecounterinsurgency campaign in West Papua. Research has shown that governments that commit one mass killing and remain in power, like those of Suharto, Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein, are likely to employ thesetactics again. Close allies are best positioned to pressure governments to avoid or halt mass atrocities. But in the Indonesian case, the United States assisted and encouraged the killing.
In a January 1966 speech, Sen. Robert Kennedy said, “We have spoken out against inhuman slaughters perpetrated by the Nazis and the Communists. But will we speak out also against the inhuman slaughter in Indonesia, where over 100,000 alleged Communists have been not perpetrators but victims?” Kennedy argued that the United States must speak out against all mass killings. If the United States explicitly acknowledged and atoned for its role in the violence that engulfed Indonesia in the 1960s, it could help Indonesia confront its past and move toward justice and reconciliation.
The survivors and relatives of victims still suffer from discrimination in Indonesia, and the alleged threat of communism is still used to justify political and social repression.
Half a century after the massacres began, Widodo and his ministers have refused to apologizeespousing the false narrative that the PKI bear equal responsibility for the violence, even though there was minimal PKI resistanceat the time. Perpetrators still hold positions of power locally and nationally.
If the United States were to pressure the Indonesian government and military to follow international law, it could help minimize or even prevent contemporary abuses in West Papua and elsewhere in the country. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) has twice proposed a ‘Sense of the Senate’ resolution seeking both a truth and reconciliation commission in Indonesia and further clarity on the U.S. role in the massacres, though this has not spurred further legislative or executive action. U.S. acceptance of responsibility for its own role in the massacres could reinforce American human rights rhetoric and bolster the claims of survivors and victims’ families in Indonesia.
Kai Thaler is a PhD candidate in the department of government at Harvard University, studying civil wars, political violence, and state building, and is on Twitter @KaiMThaler.
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1) LBH Pers concerned about frequent violence against journalists -

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2) Chiefs and churches maintain West Papua support

3) Casualties in West Papua on Flag Day
5) Govt Urged to Deal with Death of Dozens of Toddlers in Papua
6)  Jokowi to hold meeting  to discuss Papua
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1) LBH Pers concerned about  frequent violence against  journalists -


Anton Hermansyah, thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National | Wed, December 02 2015, 9:00 PM

The Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) has expressed concern over frequent incidences of violence against journalists, including in the latest incident on Tuesday during a Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) rally at the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta.
"During the past two months, there have been at least three cases of camera seizure and the erasing of photos by policemen," said Ade Wahyudin of LBH Pers' research and networking division during a media conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Journalist Archicco Giulliano of ABC Australia, Step Vaessen of Al-Jazeera and Chris Brumitt of Bloomberg were stopped by police officers and instructed to erase pictures they took and one was reportedly hit.
Wahyudin, who witnessed Tuesday’s incident, said two other incidents occurred in Papua to local journalists covering a prayer session.
Meanwhile, Triwibowo Santoso from the Jakarta Journalist Axis said violence against journalists also occurred during the recent final of the Presidents Cup soccer match between Persib Bandung and SriWijaya FC in Jakarta.
Wahyudin said that Article 18, paragraph 1 of Law No. 40/ 1999 on the press stipulated that anyone who intentionally prevented journalists from doing their job could face a two-year prison term or be fined Rp 500 million (US$36,224).
Wahyudin said his institution therefore demanded that National Police chief. Gen. Badrodin Haiti instruct the Jakarta Police chief and the Papua Police chief to investigate police officers who prevented journalists from doing their job.
He also called on the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to conduct an independent investigation and announce its results to the public.
Based on an investigation by LBH Pers, Archicco Giulliano was taking pictures of the chaos and was positioned in front of the Mandarin Oriental. Policemen approach him and told him to delete his photos. He refused and was reportedly hit by the officers. Step Vaessen witnessed the incident and photographed it on his cell phone. Police officers approach him and asked him to erase his photos. When he refused, the police reportedly grabbed his phone and did it for him. 
Chris Brumitt, who was nearby in the Halimun busway shelter, was taking photos of the violent protest. The police approached him when fellow officers were chasing the students and took him to the front of the Mandarin Oriental, near Giulliano and Vaessen. They asked him to delete the photos he took, and when he refused they grabbed his camera and asked if they could delete them themselves. (bbn)
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2) Chiefs and churches maintain West Papua support

Posted: Thursday, December 3, 2015 12:00 am
By Harrison Selmen | 0 comments

Members of the public including church leaders and chief leaders ready for the Parade yesterday in Port Vila with yong people holding flags and banners in support of West Papua


Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Port Vila, Ralph Regenvanu, the only political leader who attended the commemoration of the raising of the Morning Star flag at the chiefs’ nakamal in Port Vila yesterday thanked the chiefs and the churches in Vanuatu for keeping the spirit in support for the self determination for the people of West Papua.
The event began with a parade from the Saralana entrance right up to the Chiefs nakamal where speeches and activities were made.
President for the Malvatumauri National Council of chiefs, Chief Tirsupe Seni Mau welcomed all the members of the public and said Vanuatu with the support of all chiefs around the country will always stand in solidarity with the people of West Papua. Regenvanu who is a strong activist said all other Pacific countries will need to work together showing the international community that the injustice has to be eradicated and let the West Papuan people be free.
He said one of the issues that stand a stumbling block to allow Vanuatu’s continuous support into the West Papuan issue is political instability.
“Instability sometimes supports injustice. Vanuatu’s voice is sometimes low towards the West Papuan issue because of the instability,” Regenvanu said.
Regenvanu referred back to Vanuatu’s stand on the West Papuan issue this year when Prime Minister, Sato Kilman, made no clear stand on the issue but to send a representative to the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) because of the instability in the country.
The commemoration for the raising of the morning star flag to remember the struggle for the West Papuan people was headed by the President of Malvatumauri, Chief Seni Mau Tirsupe and Church leaders in Port Vila.
There was a very low turn out in yesterday’s celebration compared to last year’s event.
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3) Casualties in West Papua on Flag Day
Updated about 1 hour ago
A deadly response to West Papuan expression of independence aspirations puts the Indonesian security forces in the spotlight again as thousands of people across the world took part in demonstrations to mark the West Papuan declaration of independence, in 1961, when the Morning Star flag was first raised.
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Transcript

Reports are emerging from Indonesia's Papua region that up to four civilians were shot dead by police and military on West Papuan Flag Day.
This comes as thousands across Indonesia and around the world, including New Zealand, took part in demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the West Papuan declaration of independence, in 1961, when the Morning Star flag was first raised.
The flag remains banned by Indonesian authorities.
Johnny Blades has more.
Many West Papuans continue to mark the anniversary which has become a bruised footnote of history.  The bid for independence by the indigenous people of the former Dutch territory was subsequently ignored in the UN-sanctioned process by which Indonesia took control of the western half of New Guinea in the 1960s.  This year, like each year on the anniversary of the failed West Papuan independence bid, Indonesian security forces increased their presence across Papua's towns.  West Papuans tend now not to raise the flag at the ceremonies, but mark the day with prayer and togetherness.  However reports are emerging from Papua that up to four civilians were shot dead by security forces in the town of Serui on the anniversary.  The exiled West Papua independence leader Benny Wenda says dozens of people have been arrested, beaten and intimidated across West Papua for marking the day.
BENNY WENDA:  It's like a war is going on in West Papua. And this year alone heavily militarised and every corner, every street. I just received phone calls everywhere. This year really almost every corner in West Papua the military was building up.
It wasn't just in Papua where demonstrations took place.  Hundreds were subjected to teargas and many arrested by police after taking to the streets of Jakarta.  Two foreign journalists - Australian Brodcasting Corporation's Archicco Fuilianno and Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen - were heavied by police and forced to erase their footage of the rally.  A Morning star flag raising was held on the steps of New Zealand's parliament, attended by half a dozen local MPs.  Another who attended was a Victoria University student Emalani Case, who said that as a Hawaiian, she felt obligated to help fellow Pacific Islanders who cannot necessarily stand for themselves.
EMALANI CASE:  We were colonised and we have gone through a lot and we are still fighting for our sovereignty, but we can raise our flag and we can fight openly. And I look at the people there who are suffering all these injustices, who are abused, killed and imprisoned. You can be imprisoned for 15 years for just raising your flag whereas I can wear one if I want to. So I look at that as just a gross injustice.      
Meanwhile a big march was held in Vanuatu's capital to mark West Papua's Flag Day.  The Port Vila MP Ralph Regenvanu says support for their Melanesian kin in West Papua remains a constant for ni-Vanuatu.
RALPH REGENVANU:  Despite all the instability in government, the fact that governments get deposed and new ones come in, the important thing in Vanuatu is that the chiefs and the churches continue to be active in advocating to the leaders of the country and civil society in general to continue to put pressure on the government to continue to maintain our stand with regard to total support for the independence of West Papua.
 
This year's Flag Day comes two weeks after the West Papuan political prisoner Filep Karma left a Jayapura jail after serving eleven years.  His alleged crime: treason, for raising the Morning Star Flag.


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Jayapura, Jubi – Nabire Police arrested about 20 people who were preparing for a prayer gathering to commemorate the West Papua Anniversary.
A Nabire activist Gunawan Inggeruhi said they were arrested at 10:30 AM local time while gathering at Bunga Bangsa Park, Oyehee, Nabire.
“At that time, the police were doing raids. Their cars were driven into the field near the park. We were outside the park to prepare the place for worship event. Suddenly they were out of car and arrested us. They also beat us with rattan,” Inggeruhi said.
Until now, he said, he didn’t know the reason behind their arrest. He claimed they only wanted to do worship, raising the morning star flag wasn’t on their agenda.
On Saturday (29/11/2015), Antara News Agency reported the Nabire Police arrested and detained 17 residents.
The Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw said they were detained for raising the morning start flag. But not longer, he corrected his statement through the same media, said they were arrested for combatting the officers when disbanded while doing the activity at Lapangan Gizi Nabire.
Inggeruhi denied his friends attacked the police while being disbanded on Saturday morning. “We didn’t fight the police. They just come to arrest us. We only brought some bamboos to build a stage. We didn’t fight at all,” he said.
Seventeen residents  were released on 30 November. (Victor Mambor/rom)
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WEDNESDAY, 02 DECEMBER, 2015 | 14:10 WIB
5) Govt Urged to Deal with Death of Dozens of Toddlers in Papua
TEMPO.COJakarta - The Chairman of the Social Committee of the House of Representatives Saleh Pataonan Daulay urged the government to take immediate actions needed in dealing with the death of dozens of toddlers in Nduga Region, Papua. "This case is rather strange. Although there are 32 toddlers died, the cause itself is still unknown," said Saleh in his written release on Jakarta, December 2.
Even though this case is widely spread in media, it seems the government has not paid special attention to this case. This case can actually be dealt by any ministry, though. Besides the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health have the link with the issue directly.
Saleh claimed to fear the case will spread if the death of dozens of children in Papua is not dealt with immediately. The government needs to form a special team to investigate the case. This is to determine the root cause.
"The government should show concern over the future of the children of Indonesia, especially in Papua. Therefore, we are waiting for concrete steps to be taken by the government," said Saleh.
 
MAWARDAH NUR HANIFIYANI
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6)  Jokowi to hold meeting  to discuss Papua
thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National | Thu, December 03 2015, 9:56 AM - 
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will hold a limited Cabinet meeting to discuss Papua on Thursday at the Presidential Office.

Based on an agenda published by the Presidential press bureau, Jokowi will lead the meeting on Papua at 4 p.m.

Papua has been in the news recently with the ongoing investigation into contract negotiations of Papua's biggest copper and gold mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of US-based mining giant Freeport McMoRan. The issue has implicated top Indonesian officials including House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto.

Separately, an Indonesian Military (TNI) officer was shot by an armed group in the country's easternmost province earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is investigating a case surrounding the mysterious deaths of dozens of children.

Prior to that, the President is also scheduled to hold a meeting to talk about TNI primary weaponry systems at 1:30 p.m. (rin)(+) - 
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1) President criticizes ministries over Papua development

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1) President criticizes ministries  over Papua development 
2) Freeport Boss Arrives at MKD, Agrees to Open Hearing

3) Freeport Indonesia CEO: The Speaker of the House Asked for a 20% Stake

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1) President criticizes ministries  over Papua development 
thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | Thu, December 03 2015, 9:12 PM - 
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has criticized ministries for a lack of cooperation in implementing development in the easternmost region, accusing them of only focusing on their respective sectors.
The President stressed that development in the region should consider the aspirations of the Papuans.
“In recent years, the ministries work based on their respective sectors, not together,” said Jokowi when opening a limited Cabinet meeting to discuss development in Papua at the Presidential Office on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.
During the meeting, the President instructed the ministers to closely coordinate when implementing their respective development projects in Papua.
The President stressed that the government gave serious attention to the development of Papua by building infrastructure, including roads, bridges and markets, and improving healthcare services and education. 
Jokowi also instructed the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to coordinate when doing their jobs so that the benefits of their presence could be felt by Papuans.
“[We need] to speed up infrastructure development in the border areas, such as roads and bridges, to eliminate isolation in Papua. It will help ease the movement of people and goods. It will affect [lower] prices of commodities,” Jokowi added. (bbn)
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THURSDAY, 03 DECEMBER, 2015 | 14:50 WIB
2) Freeport Boss Arrives at MKD, Agrees to Open Hearing
TEMPO.COJakarta - Maroef Sjamsoeddin, president director of PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) arrived at the House of Representatives building around 1 pm, Thursday, December 3, 2015.
Maroef is there to testify before the House's Ethics Council (MKD) hearing for the case against House speaker Setya Novanto, who is accused of misusing the names of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla in negotiating for shares allocation with the US-based miner.
Escorted by a dozen officers, Maroef quickly went into the courtroom without saying a word, only smiling to the dozens reporters who have been waiting for his arrival.
The hearing, which was open to public, started after MKD chief Surahman Hidayat asked Maroef if he was willing to make the hearing public.
In yesterday's trial, the MKD summoned Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said as the person who reported Setya's alleged name abuse. The MKD also plans to summon oil and gas tycoon Riza Chalid.
Riza and Maroef were the two men whom Setya Novanto had the infamous conversation with, in which the House speaker allegedly claimed to represent the President and Vice President in asking for Freeport shares.
ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI l RR
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3) Freeport Indonesia CEO: The Speaker of the House Asked for a 20% Stake
By : Hotman Siregar | on 5:13 PM December 03, 2015

Jakarta. The chief executive of mining giant Freeport Indonesia has confirmed allegations that the speaker of the House attempted to shake him down for a 20 percent stake in the company, in what is shaping up to be the biggest corruption scandal in Indonesian history.
Maroef Sjamsoeddin made the statement during his sworn testimony on Thursday before an ethics tribunal convened by the House of Representatives into allegations that House Speaker Setya Novanto demanded that 20 percent of shares in copper and gold miner Freeport Indonesia – valued at an estimated $4 billion – be divested through him and prominent oilman Muhammad Riza Chalid.
“The speaker of the House and his associate, Riza Chalid, asked for a 20 percent stake [in Freeport Indonesia],” he said.
“I reported this to our principal,” he added, referring to Arizona-based parent company Freeport-McMoRan founder and chairman James R. Moffett.
Maroef, a former deputy chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), said Setya had sought him out ever since he became chief executive of Freeport Indonesia in January this year, but added he did not know why until later. He said that when it became apparent at the meeting what Setya and Riza were driving at, he tried to nip it in the bud.
“I tried to stop it. I said ‘Thank you for your time’ because it was getting out of hand. It was inappropriate for the speaker of the House and a businessman to be speaking like that,” Maroef said.
“I took the initiative to record [the conversation with Setya and Riza],” he added as quoted by Kompas. “I was worried because I was on my own, while Setya was with Riza.”
He said that the recording, which was played before the tribunal on Wednesday evening and broadcast live on television, was authentic. “I didn’t cut out any part of the recording. What we talked about and what you heard last night are exactly the same.”
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said last month submitted a portion of the recording and a transcript to the House Ethics Council, alleging that Setya had attempted to have the stake in Freeport Indonesia divested through him and Riza, and claiming that President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla would be the final recipients.
Kalla, who has denied any role in the alleged shakedown, on Thursday lashed out at what he called Setya’s “greed” and “corruption.”

1) Indonesia president wants co-operation in Papua development

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1)  Indonesia president wants co-operation in Papua development

2) House speaker has no authority to extend contract: Freeport CEO

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http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/291303/indonesia-president-wants-co-operation-in-papua-development
1)  Indonesia president wants co-operation in Papua development
Indonesia's president, Joko Widodo, has criticised government agencies for not co-operating in implementing development in the Papua region.

The Jakarta Post reports the president saying development has to consider the aspirations of Papuans.
He told a cabinet meeting on Papuan development that in recent years, the ministries' work has centred on their respective sectors, rather than working together.
The president stressed that the government must give serious attention to the development of Papua by building infrastructure, including roads, bridges and markets, and improving healthcare services and education.
Mr Widodo also instructed the Indonesian military and the police to ensure the benefits of their presence is felt by Papuans.
He says Jakarta needs to speed up infrastructure development in the border areas, such as roads and bridges, to eliminate isolation in Papua.
The president says this will help ease the movement of people and goods and ensure lower prices for commodities.

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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/101827/house-speaker-has-no-authority-to-extend-contract-freeport-ceo

2) House speaker has no authority to extend contract: Freeport CEO

Kamis, 3 Desember 2015 17:52 WIB | 583 Views




Jakarta (ANTARA News) - House Speaker Setya Novanto has no authority to extend the companys contract, PT Freeport Indonesias President Director Maroef Sjamsuddin stated here on Thursday.

"So, it was unethical and inappropriate for him to do it," he said while testifying at the House of Representatives Ethics Council (MKD) session.

Maroef explained that after the second meeting, his instinct told him that something unethical had been done by the house speaker with regard to his involvement in the contract extension of PT Freeport Indonesia.

Maroef admitted to have taken the initiative to use his cellphone to record the conversation with Novanto and businessman M. Reza Chalid during the third meeting.

"Based on the second meeting, I thought (I had to record it). No one ordered me to do it. I did it on my own (because) my integrity was at stake," he stated.

Maroef revealed that in the second meeting, he was surprised to find that Novanto was accompanied by Chalid whom he had not known before.

During the second meeting, he said that the smelter and contract extension had already been discussed.

"After the second meeting, I conducted a private analysis. I asked myself why the discussion veered from business to contract extension. Why it was done by the house speaker, and why he did not involve the members of the House Commission VII but only businessman Chalid," he pointed out.

Maroef admitted that after the second meeting, he received a text message from Chalid inviting him for another meeting and after crosschecking it with the staff member of Novanto, he confirmed that the invitation for the three to meet again was true.

"Finally, the meeting took place on July 8, 2015. The staff of the house speaker determined the location and time of the meeting," he noted.

Maroef said the recording he had submitted to Energy Minister Sudirman Said was exactly the same as the one heard at the MKD session on Wednesday.

The MKD heard Minister Saids explanation on Wednesday in connection with his complaint that Novanto had allegedly used the names of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to get a stake in PT Freeport for his personal gains.

The gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia is expected to extend its contract for two years before it expires in 2021.(*)
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1) Repression of Papuans could spell trouble for Indonesia

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2) Indonesia Gives Freeport Until January 12 to Propose Divestment Price
3) Freeport Indonesia Head Says Speaker Tried to Extort Shares
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1) Repression of Papuans could spell trouble for Indonesia
Crackdown will only strengthen resolve for independence
Ryan Dagur, Jakarta Indonesia December 4, 2015


Indonesian police in riot gear face hundreds of Papuan students during a Dec. 1 protest in Jakarta. (Photo supplied by Kontras)

Indonesian rights activists said the brutal response of police toward protesting Papuan students has incited hatred and could further strengthen the resolve among Papuans to demand independence.
"If this approach continues, it is possible that in a few years no more Papuans will claim to be part of Indonesia," Budi Hernawan, activist with the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, said at a Dec. 3 press conference in Jakarta.
Several hundred protesters, mostly Papuan students, rallied Dec. 1 in Jakarta to commemorate the anniversary of Papua's 1961 independence from Dutch colonial rule, in which the Morning Star flag was first unfurled. The Indonesian government has banned the raising of the Morning Star flag.
Police used tear gas and forcibly dispersed the protesters. At least a dozen students were injured, with one reportedly suffering a fractured skull. Some 306 students were arrested and later released.
In Nabire in Papua province, 32 people were also arrested during a simultaneous protest and later released.
Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters that the police responded with tear gas after students threw stones at police. Two police officers were injured in the melee, he said.
Hernawan — a former Franciscan missionary — said the tactics used by police against Papuan protesters was similar to what was done against the people of East Timor, when that country was still part of Indonesia.
"The pattern is similar. Brutality committed in East Timor made people angry, fearful and increasingly consolidated the opposition movement," he said.
Puri Kencana Putri from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence said repressive acts indicate that there is no good news for human rights in Papua. She also questioned the commitment of the government for peace in the restive province.
"Police should have behaved in a more humane way," she said.
Meanwhile, Frans Nawipa of the Papua Students Alliance who participated in the rally said Papuans should have the right to determine their own future.
"We want to live in a society without constantly being victims of violence and cruelty," he said. He also questioned why a struggle for self-determination was considered a separatist movement.
"What we understand is that separatist movements use weapons. What we did was peaceful," he said.
Divine Word Father Paul Rahmat of Vivat International-Indonesia said he lamented the lack of church support in Papua in addressing the repressive violence used by Indonesian authorities against the Papuan people.
"Efforts in education, health and others have been made. However, we also need the voice of the church as an institution to protest such violence," he said.
A low-level insurgency has simmered for decades in resource-rich Papua

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2) Indonesia Gives Freeport Until January 12 to Propose Divestment Price
By : Wilda Asmarini | on 1:40 PM December 04, 2015
Jakarta. Freeport McMoRan must propose a price for a 10.64 percent stake it is required to divest from its Indonesian subsidiary on or by January 12, a mining ministry official said, amid a parliament probe centering around the stake.
"They have 90 days after October 14," Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot said on Friday, referring to Freeport.
Once it has received the offer from the U.S. copper mining giant, Indonesia will decide within 60 days whether it will buy the stake or offer it to a state-owned enterprise or regional government, Gatot told reporters.
Reuters
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3) Freeport Indonesia Head Says Speaker Tried to Extort Shares
By : Fergus Jensen & Wilda Asmarini | on 2:37 PM December 04, 2015

Jakarta. The operator of one of the world's biggest copper and gold mines was at the center of a major political scandal in Indonesia after confirming that the speaker of parliament tried to extort shares from the company to ensure its contract extension.
Maroef Sjamsoeddin, head of Freeport McMoRan Inc's Indonesian operations, told the parliament's ethics panel he secretly recorded a meeting in which speaker Setya Novanto asked for a 20 percent stake, estimated to be worth billions of dollars, in the US-based company's Indonesia unit.
His remarks on Thursday came after Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported Setya to the ethics panel last month and submitted a transcript of the conversation recorded by Maroef.
In the recording, Maroef said, Setya indicated that a 20 percent stake be given to President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Setya allegedly told the Freeport executive that he could ensure the miner's contract would be extended from 2021 to 2041.
The Indonesian government already has a 9.36 percent stake in Freeport's Indonesian operations, and is due to take another 10.64 percent stake under existing regulations.
Freeport had asked for an extension of its contract to give it legal certainty before investing billions of dollars in an underground phase at its Grasberg gold and copper sites in Papua province. Freeport generated 8.4 percent of its revenue last year from Indonesia.
The contract extension and now the political scandal are more headaches for Freeport in Indonesia, where new rules have banned the export of unprocessed minerals, forcing mining groups to build local smelters.
 
'Tip of the iceberg' 
Joko is "monitoring and following this carefully," Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung told reporters on Friday.
"Some of it is hyperbole and some of it is fact. Let the ethics council investigate it," Pramono said, referring to the recording.
Vice President Kalla was quoted by Kompas newspaper on Friday as saying the Freeport case was just the tip of the iceberg and the government will pull out all stops to "clean up corruption no matter what happens."
Indonesia is routinely ranked as one of the world's most corrupt countries and the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International says its surveys show Parliament is perceived to be among its most corrupt institutions.
The allegations threaten to further erode investor confidence in Indonesia, analysts said.
"The multifarious affair surrounding Setya reeks of the sort of shady dealings and political conspiracy theories which makes investing and operating in Indonesia extremely precarious and challenging," Concord Consulting said in a note.
 
Suharto's Golkar
The parliament speaker is from Golkar, the party that the late and authoritarian president Suharto used as his political vehicle. Golkar supported Joko's opponent in the country's 2014 presidential election.
Freeport's Maroef told the ethics panel he met speaker Setya along with businessman Muhammad Reza Chalid at their request to discuss business at a Jakarta hotel in May and June.
"I took the initiative to record it ... because I was by myself and there was two of [them]," Maroef said, adding he'd used his phone to record the last meeting with the pair.
"The parliament speaker and his friend Reza told me they wanted a 20 percent stake and also asked for a hydroelectric power project," he said.
The pair said they were working with Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan and also wanted to be involved in Freeport's planned smelter project, Maroef added.
Luhut said earlier this week that Jakarta would not do an early extension of Freeport's contract because local regulations say negotiations can only begin two years before the contract ends in 2021, local media reported.
This was the parliament speaker's second brush with the ethics council in recent months. He was criticized after appearing next to US presidential candidate Donald Trump at a news conference in September in New York.
Reuters

1) Papuan women question Jokowi about promised market -

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2) Minister urged to revoke  letter to Freeport boss

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1) Papuan women question Jokowi  about promised market -

thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National | Sat, December 05 2015, 3:19 PM - 


People from Papua display traditional handicrafts on the grounds of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute in South Jakarta on Friday, to protest the sluggish progress of a market promised by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. 



When President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited Papua in December 2014, he led a ground-breaking ceremony to kick of the development of a market named Pasar Mama Mama Papua (Papuan Mamas’ Market), but no progress has been made on its construction nearly one year after the ceremony, except the stone laid by the President.
Six of the Papuan ladies visited Jakarta recently to convey their disappointment to President Jokowi, in the hope that he would give them a guarantee that the market's construction would begin immediately. They women are Mama Yuliana Pigai, Mama Martina Halitopo, Mama Yustina Arobaya, Mama Albertina Yapsenang, Mama Yohana Yumame and Mama Martha Basik Basik.
They said that the President had promised to complete the market development within one year. However, the fate of the market is similar to that of traders, who have to do business at a building formerly used as the Papua Information and Communications Agency office on Jl. Percetaan in the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura.
“We have met with Lenis Kogoya, a presidential staff member, who is also a Papuan. I have told him everything. I hope President Jokowi will immediately pay attention to the fate of us, Papuan mamas,” Yuliana said at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) on Friday, as reported by tribunnews.com.
Yuliana is one of the women who received a portion of a tumpeng (cone-shaped rice dish) from Jokowi during a party to celebrate the inauguration of Jokowi and Jusuf Kalla as the country's new leaders in October 2014.
They met with staff from the Presidential Office on Thursday and planned to meet with other related institutions in Jakarta to ensure that the market would be constructed. “It is not true that the Mama Mama Market has been constructed. What is being constructed is Pharaa Market in Sentani, not the market that is only for Papuan ladies,” Yuliana stressed.
As part of their protest, the women opened stalls selling Papuan handicrafts on the grounds of LBH Jakarta, on Jl. Diponegoro in South Jakarta on Friday. They called the event Pasar Noken, after a fiber used to create handicrafts.
Yuliana said that traders had been told to move from their initial site on Jl. Percetaan in Papua to the Yotefa or Hamadi markets, quite a distance from Jl. Percetaan, forcing the traders, who are mostly women, to spend much more money on operational costs, particularly daily transportation. They have to do business in front of shops, with only limited working hours.
Papuan women who come from mountainous areas need the market promised by President Jokowi to sell agricultural commodities like vegetables, fruits and spices. Most of them cultivate their own land to grow crops. (bbn)
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2) Minister urged to revoke  letter to Freeport boss
thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National | Sat, December 05 2015, 6:26 PM - 


Part of a letter sent from Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said to Freeport McMoRan’s chairman of the board James R. Moffet on Oct. 7 is pictured recently. Observers have said the letter could act as a green light for the extension of PT Freeport Indonesia’s contract. (Estu Suryowati/kompas.com


Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said has been advised to revoke a letter to Freeport McMoRan Inc. board chairman James R. Moffet, which was considered to have given a guarantee that the Indonesian government would extend a contract with PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) to manage its gold mining site in Papua.
The chairman of House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing mining affairs, Kardaya Warnika, said on Saturday that the letter sent by Sudirman on Oct. 7 had put the government in a difficult position in negotiating the contract extension with PTFI.
“It is not easy to revoke a letter. But it [should be done] for the bigger picture,” Kardaya said in Jakarta on Saturday as reported by kompas.com.
The fourth paragraph of the letter states: “The Indonesian government has a commitment to assure the continuity of foreign investment in Indonesia, but because of the need for adjustment of the existing regulations in Indonesia, the agreement on the contract extension with PTFI will be given soon after the result of the reorganization of the regulation on minerals and coal is implemented”.
In the letter, the government appeared to be giving a guarantee that PTFI’s contract would be extended, said the lawmaker, underlining the phrase “will be given soon”. Under the existing regulation, the contract extension could begin to be discussed in 2019, two years before the contract expires in 2021.
“Because there is a promise [in the letter], I propose the revocation of the letter in order to not shackle the Indonesian government,” Kardaya added.
Kardaya also questioned why the minister had sent such a letter to Moffet. According to the lawmaker, if such a letter had to be sent, it should have been directed to PTFI president director Maroef Sjamsoedin.
In relation to the contract extension of PTFI, Sudirman has reported House Speaker Setya Novanto to the House’s ethics council for allegedly claiming to have won the approval of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to secure shares and projects from Freeport in exchange for helping the company extend its contract and continue operating its gold mine in Papua, which is the largest in the world.
Sudirman and Maroef have given testimony at the council’s hearing, while Setya is scheduled to testify on Monday.(bbn)

1) Māori TV Investigates Indigenous Issues in West Papua

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3) Govt Urged to Quickly Buy Freeport Share Divestment
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Jayapura, Jubi/ Asia New Zealand Foundation – Assisted by an Asia New Zealand Foundation media travel grant, Māori Television’s Native Affairs producer and cameraman Adrian Stevanon and freelance photojournalist Karen Abplanalp travelled to West Papua, Indonesia in August. They were the first New Zealand television crew to visit the province in 50 years.
In the days leading up to our assignment to Papua, a lot of my work colleagues were asking where I was going and why.  My reply was generally met with a confused look followed by “Papua? Is that in Papua New Guinea?”
The lack of knowledge and public awareness about a territory so close to Aotearoa is actually quite remarkable.
If you don’t know where Papua is, it’s located just north of Australia – the province occupying the western side of the island of New Guinea. The region is largely referred to as ‘West Papua’ by western countries, although the area is actually divided into two separate provinces of Papua and West Papua.
It’s a resource-rich land that has been governed by Indonesia since 1969. The province boasts the world’s largest goldmine, and one of the world’s largest rainforests. There has also been a bloody struggle for independence since Indonesia took over governance of the territory from the Dutch.
Since the Indonesian takeover, West Papua has also tainted by allegations of wide-spread human rights abuse, and environmental destruction.
For more than 50 years, West Papua has largely been a no-go zone for foreign journalists, and after three years of trying our Native Affairs team was finally granted a visa to enter. This was a unique opportunity that had to be accepted.
Flying into the capital of Jayapura, the thing that hit us first is the size, and the beauty of the place from above. On the ground, one of the first things I noticed was the fusion between Asia and the Pacific. The number of indigenous faces at the airport was dwarfed by those from other parts of Indonesia who now call West Papua home.
Jayapura itself is bustling metropolis, with a population of over 300,000. The level of development was not unexpected, but the size of the city sprawl was, as was the quality of the infrastructure – which was certainly better than we had anticipated. The military presence was noticeable, as too the interest from locals to our presence on the street with a TV camera.
For a place that has a somewhat violent and dangerous reputation, our experience was safe and enjoyable.
Jayapura is a great place with great people, but it’s also a place that’s grappling with some challenging social dynamics.
West Papua has an indigenous population of around two million people who speak more than 270 different languages.
We travelled to the highlands, where the vast majority of indigenous Papuans live. Our aim was visit some villages involved in a New Zealand aid project that’s focused on the growth and commercialisation of crops, in particular kumara or ‘ubi jalar’ as they call it in the Highlands.
There are many traditional and cultural similarities between Māori and the Dani people we connected with. From the way they greet guests, and cook their food, to the traditional gods they worship, the cultural parallels are clear to see.
The concerns around colonisation felt by the locals we met echo the sentiments felt here by Māori. The loss of traditional knowledge and culture was by far the greatest concern for the village elders we spoke to.
Adrian Stevanon and Karen Abplanalp describe their trip to Papua.
“As youth from the villages get educated and migrate to the cities in search of work, few are willing to return to the hard graft of village life. So much of the village way of life operates around working the land and their crops. The Indonesian influence of rice is strong, with free rice delivered to villages by the government; many villagers don’t see the value in continuing to grow their traditional crops,” said Adrian.
“We were told this can lead to a break down in the functioning of the village, and lead to issues of alcohol abuse and domestic violence.   Traveling to the highlands and connecting with some of the indigenous people of West Papua was such an incredible experience. Their hopes and dreams and dreams for their kids are the same as ours, so too are the dreams of the kids. One teenage boy we spoke to said he wanted to be a pilot, another girl wanted to be doctor so she could help the sick in her village. Both spoke about the struggles of life living in a poor community. The irony is, theirs is a resource-rich land, with a third of Indonesia GDP coming from Papua alone. Its promising to see the Indonesian government loosen their grip on the province and allowing foreign journalists to enter, we hope this continues,” Karen added. (*)
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Jayapura, Jubi – The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI – Indonesia) in strongly criticizing the actions of local police in Indonesia, in two separate incidents where journalists were harassed and attacked. The IFJ and AJI demand an immediate investigation into both incidents.
On December 1, Topilus B Tebai, editor of majalahselangkah.com, was covering the preparations to commemorate the declaration of West Papua independence in Nabire in West Papua. Topilus was taking pictures of police vehicle inspections at the Heroes Cemetery. A police officer, allegedly claiming to be a police leader, kept distracting Topilus. Shortly after two other officers came over to Topilus and stopped him, asking for his camera. The officers continued to question Topilus and one officer tried to kick the journalist. Topilus told the officers he was a journalist and showed his press card, however the officers then started yelling and demanded to speak with the editor-in-chief of majalahselangkah.com.
Topilus protested against the officers’ actions, telling them that they were violating Indonesia’s press law. Officers told Topilus to delete the photos and that he shouldn’t be photographing the police operations. Five more officers approached Topilus and forcibly removed his camera. Police officers then kicked Topilus and forcibly removed him from the Heroes Cemetery.
On the same day, Archicco Guilianno of ABC Australia and Step Vaessen of Al Jazeera were covering a rally organized by Papuan students in Jakarta when they were attacked and intimidated by local police. According to AJI police asked Guilianno to erase her footage of the rally, however when she didn’t immediately comply but identified herself as a journalist, she was beaten by an officer. Vaessen recorded the incident and was then requested by police to delete the footage, when she didn’t comply police forcibly removed the footage.
Suwarjono, AJI president said of the incident in Jakarta that: “The violence suffered by the two journalists in the demonstration is evidence that the police have not been fully aware of the duties of journalists. Indonesia has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, police must understand the Convention, in order to avoid such an event again.”
Victor Mambor, AJI Papua chairperson said of the incident in West Papua that: “The police chief must educate their officers to understand Indonesia Press Law. Most violations against journalist in West Papua happen to Indigenous Papuan journalists. This incident is a case of police discrimination.”
The IFJ said: “The situation for journalists in Indonesia remains a key area of concern. These incidents highlight the environment that journalists in Indonesia operate within. Following the International Partnership Mission to Indonesia (IPMI) it is clear that journalists across Indonesia continue to be targeted for their work, which is a clear threat to press freedom. We call on the Indonesian government to investigate the situation and engage the local authorities to better understand the rights of journalists and media workers in Indonesia.”
In November, the IFJ participated in the second IPMI, which visited Jayapura in Papua, Makassar in Sulawesi and Jakarta. The mission met with local journalists, civil society groups and government ministers to discuss the challenges for press freedom in Indonesia. Read the IPMI statement here, with a full report to published soon.  (*)
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SUNDAY, 06 DECEMBER, 2015 | 12:32 WIB
3) Govt Urged to Quickly Buy Freeport Share Divestment

TEMPO.COJakarta - Director of Indonesian Resources Studies (IRES) Marwan Batubara said that the government should buy share divestment of PT Freeport Indonesia.
"The government should buy it now when the prices are low. Imagine, in 2011, the price was US$ 60, now it is only US$ 7,85 per share," Marwan said in Jakarta on Saturday (5/12).
He also said that the government should not make excuses because the government can look for funding from foreign loans.
Marwan also believed that in Freeport case, the public will not opposed to the reason the government seeks foreign loans to buy shares of the US mining giant.
Besides, he added, the reason is to maintain the government’s sovereignty in accordance with the mandate of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution.
According to Marwan, if the government does not take action, in the next three months, Freeport will sell its shares through the initial public offering (IPO).
 
MAWARDAH NUR HANIFIYANI

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1) Indonesia: Jakarta’s Change of Strategy Towards West Papuan Separatists

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2) Indonesia too big to get scared by Freeport`s threat: Observer
3) View Point: Freeport imbroglio:  Sanctity of a contract  should not always be honored 
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1) Indonesia: Jakarta’s Change of Strategy Towards West Papuan Separatists
A new approach by President Joko Widodo may force the separatists to change direction.

By Ned Talbot December 07, 2015


                                                              Image Credit: Matt Brown

In the middle of last month, in a surprising move by Indonesian authorities, high-profile West Papuan separatist leader Filep Karma was released after more than a decade behind bars.
Karma has been sentenced to 15 years in jail following a peaceful ceremony in West Papua’s provincial capital Jayapura, in which he raised the Morning Star flag, a symbol of the pro-independence movement. Human rights groups and representatives from the United Nations condemned his detention and designated Karma a prisoner of conscience.
The decision to release Karma four years early represents a substantive change in Jakarta’s political strategy towards the unsettled region.
Since West Papua’s transfer to Indonesia in 1969, West Papuans have been engaged in a long and bloody insurgency to establish an independent state. The Free Papua Movement grew rapidly in the late 1970sm with fighters joining its ranks in all major provinces of West Papua. Small-scale hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian patrols were favored by the movement’s leaders, together with targeted attacks on Indonesian and foreign mining companies. These attacks prompted a retaliation effort by Indonesian military forces, with official estimates putting the death toll among West Papuan separatists at more than 100,000 .
In an attempt to highlight the movement overseas, separatists soon adopted a more peaceful strategy of non-violence and a strong emphasis on diplomacy in lieu of an internal violent struggle. These changes had a major impact on support from human rights groups and foreign governments, and made it difficult for the Indonesian government to justify the use of force against peaceful protesters.
President Joko Widodo’s approach is starkly different from that of his predecessors. In his first move as president, Widodo lifted a 40-year ban on foreign journalists travelling to the region. He also appears to be taking a more conciliatory approach to the Free Papua Movement by seeking to regain their trust, addressing issues of inequality, underdevelopment, corruption and violence. The effort appears to be having an impact on international perceptions.
Widodo’s apparent emphasis on peacefully resolving the problem in West Papua places considerable pressure on West Papuan independence leaders, whose reliance on the violations of human rights has largely formed the basis of support for an independent state. A more conciliatory and approachable Jakarta is likely to be an effective handbrake on support for the independence campaign.
Respect for Indonesia’s sovereignty also comes amid strategic maneuvering within the South Pacific community, in which a number of Melanesian nations recently threw their support behind Indonesia’s sovereignty in West Papua at the 20th Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting in June 2015.
Widodo’s peaceful strategy towards West Papua therefore appears to be an extremely effective tool in destabilizing support for the Free Papua Movement, at least in terms of foreign government and civil society support. A strong and effective independence movement will likely have to change tack if it is to continue to raise awareness and support for the political campaign.
Ned Talbot is a postgraduate university student currently completing the Juris Doctor at the University of New South Wales. He recently completed an undergraduate honors thesis in 2014 on the independence movement in West Papua.
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2) Indonesia too big to get scared by Freeport`s threat: Observer

Senin, 7 Desember 2015 10:00 WIB |


Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is just too big to be bluffed by U.S. mining company PT Freeport Indonesia with threat of international arbitration, an observer said.

"What is to be afraid of. It is not a big thing. A mere company would not shake a nation. We are a big nation and we are not fools," political communication expert Hendri Satrio from the University of Paramadina said.

Indonesia and the United States would not going to war only because of Freeport, he said here on Sunday.  

"That possibility is too remote. The United States would not attack Indonesia if the contract of Freeport is not extended. That is a foolish thinking," he said. 

He said the government could reject extension of the contract in 2021 if the contract is considered not fair for the country, but dont terminate the contract before that year.

The US mining company which has large copper and gold mines in Papua is seeking to renew its contract which will expire in 2021. 

Call for the termination of the contract is growing after the company exploited almost at will the abundant mineral reserves in Papua since 1967.

Observers have said not wanting to get mired in international dispute the government had allowed itself to be dictated by Freeport in contract negotiations.

President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia Maroef Sjamsuddin was quoted as saying the US company might file a lawsuit against Indonesia with an international court of arbitration if extension of its contract was rejected. 

Maroef made the statement in a transcript of conversation with House Speaker Setya Novanto, who is facing charge of gross violation of ethical code.

Novanto, according to the transcript, allegedly asked for a share in Freeport Indonesia in exchange of support to secure approval for its bid for contract extension.

He allegedly used the name of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to convince Freeport.(*)


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3) View Point: Freeport imbroglio:  Sanctity of a contract  should not always be honored 
Vincent Lingga, Jakarta | Opinion | Sun, December 06 2015, 2:38 PM -

Should the sanctity of an investment contract always be honored and should business contracts be held sacred? Not always, assert Louis T. Wells and Rafiq Ahmed, business management experts, in their book Making Foreign Investment Safe: Property Rights and National Sovereignty. 
They argue that the “magic” of property rights in industrialized countries comes not from being absolute, but rather from a balance between individual or corporate rights and fairness, and, especially, overall economic benefits. 

When circumstances change after a contract is signed, making it impossible or impractical, or uneconomic or inefficient, to comply with contractual obligations, courts may relieve a party of its commitments.

Consequently, Wells and Ahmed further argue, a nation may be excused from honoring a treaty if, first, the existence of the circumstances that changed constituted an essential basis of the consent of the parties to be bound by the treaty and, second, the effect of the change radically transforms the obligations that are to be performed under the treaty.

Even courts in industrialized countries may excuse parties from fulfilling contracts if they were entered under compulsion (duress) or corruption or if one party is not competent, the book states. Sometimes in such cases, a high standard of proof is not required as courts may simply assume that something is amiss when there are at least substantial hints of compulsion or corruption and the terms of investment arrangements seem imbalanced.

The book contains real case stories on a telecommunications and power generation contracts the Indonesian government awarded to foreign investors in 1967 and 1992-1994, respectively, under Soeharto’s authoritarian rule, when corruption, collusion and cronyism were considered to have been rampant.

Wells was one of the foreign advisers hired by the Indonesian government to renegotiate the contract with International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) and nationalize the ITT subsidiary in 1980 into a state firm now renamed PT Indosat Ooredoo. 

Ahmed, an experienced manager, worked for Exxon Corporation for 20 years, including five years in Indonesia in the 1980s.

The ITT subsidiary was nationalized in 1980 without causing any damages to Indonesia’s credibility and reputation because the deal seemed to have been based on a greedily lucrative contract that gave the US company an annual rate of return on equity of over 80 percent.

But how are these points of argument relevant to PT Freeport Indonesia (FI), the local unit of US-based mining giant Freeport-McMoRan, which has mined the world’s largest gold deposits in Papua since 1972? 

The first Freeport contract was signed in 1967 and its renewal was made in 1991 for another 30-year tenure also under the authoritarian government of Soeharto. 

Right or wrong, the public has perceived even until now that most major mining companies that obtained their concessions during Soeharto’s rule in 1967-1998 had bulldozed their way through the corrupt licensing 
system to obtain all the necessary permits for their operations in collusion with corrupt officials.

As Denise Leith observes in her book The Politics of Power: Freeport in Suharto’s Indonesia, in the early years of Soeharto’s New Order regime, the government used the vast mineral riches of Papua as collaterals on foreign loans aimed at holding the archipelago together. 

In the government’s eagerness to steer the country toward economic stability and international credibility, generous concessions were granted to FI in its first contract of work in 1967. This contract of work had been portrayed by many analysts as a blank check for Freeport to operate in any way it chose with little regard for the consequences. 

By 1991, when the contract was extended for another 30 years, Leith argues, FI had become an integral part of Soeharto’s patronage system, an integral cog in the politico-business machinery of the New Order. 

None of the allegations made against the New York-listed mining company have ever been proven in court. But blatant unfairness could be easily seen in the terms of the renewed contract that were mostly to the disadvantage of the Indonesian people.

Being just and fair is even more crucial in FI’s case because mineral resources involve national patrimony. 

Certainly FI, which has invested hugely in Papua but has also reaped whopping profits there over the past 45 years, will fight at any cost to get its contract another 30-year extension because it plans to invest another $17 billion in its mining expansion. 

The problem, though, is that the 2009 Mining Law stipulates that negotiations for extensions can start only two years before a mining contract’s expiry, which in FI’s case is 2021. Hence, FI can start contract negotiations only in 2019, which will be an election year when nationalist sentiments usually peak. 

The dilemma facing the government is that the FI 1991 contract allows the American company to ask for contract negotiations any time and it has implicitly threatened to bring any dispute to international arbitration.

But the public has demanded that the government stand firmly by the 2009 Mining Law and start negotiations only in 2019 and make good preparations to gain a fair share of the benefits from the huge Ertsberg and Grasberg gold deposits in the next contract extension. 

Historian Greg Poulgrain of the University of Sunshine Coast in Brisbane suggested in a recent article in this paper that during the upcoming negotiations on the FI contract extension, the government should demand clarification about the gold concentration of the copper concentrate FI extracts in Papua. 

Poulgrain, who has interviewed Jean Jacques Dozy, the Dutch geologist who discovered the Ertsberg and Grasberg gold reserves, says in his article that “the Ertsberg gold concentration was stated to be around 2 grams/ton yet the concentration in official Dutch reports and confirmed during my interview with Dozy was 15 grams/ton”. 

“This discrepancy needs to be clarified […] The Ertsberg and the Grasberg, it should be stated, have geologically developed from the same subterranean source,” Poulgrain says.

The government, therefore, should force FI to build a smelter in Indonesia, as required by the 2009 Mining Law, so that the government will be able to ascertain the difference between official and unofficial FI gold production. 
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The writer is a senior editor at The Jakarta Post - 
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In Shadows of Propaganda and Complicity, Truth About 1965 Massacre Still Glows
By : Nivell Rayda | on 5:50 AM December 07, 2015

Jakarta. Tumiso Lukas still remembers the morning of Dec. 19, 1965, when hundreds of armed soldiers marched onto the campus of Res Publica University in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-biggest city.
The school, established three years earlier by Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, was placed under lockdown and taken over by the military because of its affiliation with the president, who by then was already under house arrest on orders from Maj. Gen. Suharto.
Troops quickly rounded up hundreds of students, in particularly the 500 or so members of the Concentration of Indonesian Student Movement (CGMI), which the military accused of being linked to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
Tumiso, now 76, says virtually all the students and faculty at the university were arrested by the military, leaving the campus deserted the following day. They were taken to a military base, where they would be interrogated and beaten.
The military, Tumiso says, took a particular interest in him. As well as being a member of the CGMI, Tumiso was also affiliated with the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), led by a man named Subandri, whom the military accused of being a communist sympathizer.
Tumiso says he was tortured nearly daily while in prison, sometimes in a bid to make him rat out his friends, other times when the military had made new arrests and obtained fresh information – but often simply for the guards’ own amusement. By the time the guards were done each time, Tumiso and the others could barely walk.
“Have you ever heard the expression ‘barely alive’?” Tumiso asks me while describing his days in military detention. “That was one way to describe us prisoners. We were given just enough food to keep us from dying but they starved us so that we were so weak we wouldn’t revolt.
“We were given leftover vegetables, waste from vendors at the market; bug-infested cabbages and half-rotten water spinach. That’s what we ate.”
One day, after months of incarceration, the students were taken out of their cells and told to line up in a single row in front of the military compound.
Under the watchful eye of dozens of armed guards, they were told not to speak a word to each other or to their loved ones, who had gathered at the gates, waiting to see them.
The military simply wanted to show the families that their sons, husbands and fathers were still alive and not among the hundreds of thousands of suspected communist sympathizers killed between 1965 and 1966 in what has been dubbed one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century.


‘Lying or a puppet’
It was a hot September day when I first met Tumiso, who now cares for about a dozen survivors of the 1965 purge, most of them women many years his senior for whom the Waluyo Sejati Abadi retirement home in Central Jakarta is their sole refuge.
Tumiso had just returned from a meeting with fellow human rights activists earlier in the day; his silence, deep stare, and the frown hiding beneath his thick mustache hinted at a sense of anger and disappointment.
The outcome of the discussion was that the long-awaited justice promised them by President Joko Widodo during his election campaign in 2014 remained elusive; the government had refused to issue an apology to the survivors of the massacres, and Joko’s ministers had suggested that no one would face justice for the countless lives lost, proposing reconciliation rather than prosecution.
“There are several possibilities: either Jokowi is lying and he wasn’t sincere about his promises of resolving past human rights abuse; that the whole thing was just a campaign strategy to beat his opponent,” Tumiso says.
“Another possibility is that Jokowi is indeed a puppet as many people suspect.”
Tumiso is a thin and slender man but with an imposing look that commands respect and fear. The anguish that roils him manifests itself in sudden outbursts of rage, a temperament often provoked by the most trivial of reasons, as the people around him can attest.


The women at the retirement home can understand, or at least tolerate, Tumiso’s occasional tantrums.
Although they too were detained without trial, tortured and treated inhumanely for years by the military, they know that Tumiso’s past was far darker, his pain more unbearable. That’s why they afford him the utmost respect, even though he’s the youngest in the group.
During our conversation, Tumiso gave clues to the origin of his temper, the fire deep inside that kept him going through the years of hardship until his release 14 years later: pride.
“Over time, the physical agony and the inhumane condition of our time in prison became just a part of the daily routine. Some couldn’t bear the pain and chose to end their lives, but many people like me held on with the conviction that we did nothing wrong,” he says.
After four years in prison, Tumiso found himself on a boat, in his first voyage at sea. His destination: the now infamous Buru Island in Maluku, where he would become one of thousands of political prisoners subjected to forced labor.
“There were a thousand prisoners from across Java cramped into that one Navy ship. We were locked inside the ship’s hull, sleeping on a makeshift floor made of planks covered with sheets of plywood. We could hardly breathe from the heat and sweat. The stench was unbearable. Below us was seawater mixed with urine and feces,” Tumiso recalls.
It was in Buru that he realized the military hadn’t just targeted those with direct links to the supposed murder of six Army generals on Sept. 30, 1965, which Suharto’s forces had used as a pretext for the eventual slaughter of between 500,000 and a million civilians accused of being communist sympathizers.
With Tumiso on the 9,505-square-kilometer island – one and a half times the size of Bali – were the likes of the preeminent writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer; renowned wayang master Terstuti Resmadi; an aging professor named Soeprapto; a 14-year-old boy named Asmuni, who had volunteered to go in his father’s place; and Bronto Kusumoatmojo, the composer of the song “Garuda Pancasila” – the national symbol and ideology that, ironically enough, the military claimed it was protecting from the nefarious communists.
“There were future pastors [in Buru]; there were also graduates of Al Azhar University [in Cairo]. So it wasn’t true that we were a bunch of godless atheists,” Tumiso says.


Propaganda
Yet the majority of Indonesians still believe that men like Tumiso were evil, thanks to more than three decades of propaganda by Suharto’s military-backed government, which portrayed communism as an existential threat to national security and the military as the heroes who quashed it.
The most powerful piece of propaganda ever produced by the regime was the four-hour-long docudrama “Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI,” or “The Treachery of the September 30th Movement/PKI.” Riddled with inaccuracies and over-dramatization, the film served as the sole source of history for millions of Indonesians – even those who were alive in 1965.
Literacy rates were low back then, and few people had radios in their homes; television sets were only found in big cities like Jakarta. News traveled through word of mouth, in bits and pieces, getting distorted and exaggerated with each telling. So it was no surprise that people accepted the narrative depicted in the film as the historical truth.
Suharto was so enamored of the film – and its portrayal of him as the hero who single-handedly destroyed the PKI “down to its roots” – that he organized public viewing in schools as well as the only television station at the time, state-owned TVRI, on the anniversary of the supposed communist coup attempt.
In the film, the communists torture the kidnapped generals, stab them repeatedly and burn them with lit cigarettes. They even gouge out the eye of one of them out with a sickle. In another scene, the generals’ lifeless bodies are thrown into a hole while the Communists dance in celebration.
At the time of the film’s release in 1984 no one disputed its accuracy, for fear of drawing the ire of the military, which since the massacre ruled the country with an iron fist.
No one criticized the film for failing to mention that hundreds of thousands of innocents were slaughtered in the ensuing military-sponsored anti-communist purge, their bodies clogging up major rivers so badly that no one dared to eat freshwater fish for months.
No one questioned the litany of holes in Suharto’s version of history, most importantly: if the PKI had been plotting a coup against Sukarno, then why was the country’s founding president declared an enemy of the state a year later? And why did the military, in its campaign of murder and imprisonment of millions, encounter no resistance from a group of supposed armed insurgents?


Also conveniently overlooked was the fact that one of the slain generals had once court-martialed Suharto on suspicion of corruption. And the fact that the man accused of kidnapping and killing the generals, Col. Untung, the commander of the presidential guard, had been close to Suharto, serving alongside him in many campaigns.
Had they been brought to light, these and other important points would likely have bred suspicion that it was Suharto, and not the PKI, who was responsible for the murder of the generals.
But even after the strongman was forced from power in 1998, attempts to challenge Suharto’s take on history continue to meet with resistance.
On Oct. 18 this year, authorities in Central Java seized and burned hundreds of copies of Lentera Magazine, a campus-based publication at Satya Wacana University in the town of Salatiga, because the issue in question featured in-depth coverage of the murder of thousands of suspected PKI members and sympathizers in the area during the purge.
Later that month, the highly regarded Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali was forced to cancel three panels and discussion events exploring the massacres, as well as a photo exhibition and the screening of a documentary on the subject, after authorities threatened to shut down the festival.
Many public screenings and discussions of two award-winning documentaries on the subject – “The Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence” by US filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer – have also been broken up by the authorities or Islamist groups since the films were released in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
“The main reason why is that these people are still in power,” Human Rights Watch Indonesian researcher Andreas Harsono says of those who were linked to or benefited from the purge and the New Order regime that it spawned.
“Indonesia is the only country which has not reconciled with its own past.”


Foreign complicity
Much of the truth about what happened in 1965 is still shrouded in mystery and systematically kept hidden from public view, including the extent to which the United States, Britain and Australia were involved, supported or at the very least condoned the mass killings.
International scholars as well as former US and British intelligence officers have written extensively on the subject, linking the massacres to then-US president Lyndon B. Johnson’s concerns about the growing influence of the PKI in a part of the world where communist forces had already seized power, in neighboring Vietnam.
The PKI at the time had three million members, making it the third-largest communist party in the world after those of the Soviet Union and China.
The West was also concerned about Sukarno’s socialist bent and his refusal to stop strikes, demonstrations and the occupation of businesses and plantations by workers and farmers.
Those industrial actions affected Western companies operating in Indonesia, and the West soon began to look for someone more amenable to supporting Western interests – someone like Suharto.
In a letter to the Washington Post in 1990, Robert J. Martens, who from 1963 to 1966 was a political officer at the US Embassy in Jakarta, admitted to having provided a list of 5,000 names to the Indonesian military. Everyone on the list was later presumed killed by the military.
Whether it supported it or not, the West certainly benefited from the purge. Suharto, in his new role as president, opened up Indonesia to Western businesses. He also declared communism illegal, and any attempt by farmers or workers to unionize or go on strike resulted in them being labeled communists.
“After the anti-communist massacre, Indonesia became very pro-Western,” historian Asvi Warman Adam of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences wrote in The Conversation recently.
“The destruction of communism in Indonesia benefited capitalist countries such as the United States and Japan.”
Under Suharto, people like Tumiso were sent to places like Buru, where they were forced at gunpoint to work long hours without pay, cutting wood, tapping rubber and growing produce, which the military sold to foreign-owned companies.

Back to Buru
Tumiso describes the island as a remote wasteland. Except for a few military buildings and houses along its coast, it was untouched by modern civilization. It was virtually uninhabited, except for a few indigenous communities who traveled into and out of the jungle in their traditional garb hunting for wild animals with their bows and arrows.
The prisoners could easily have escaped their camps and hid in the jungle, but no one did because they knew that those left behind would be punished for it.
The prisoners were distributed to various parts of the islands, some for farm work, others for logging.
But the labor camps meant for agriculture were surrounded by thick brush, and the guards, paranoid that the prisoners might attack them, refused to provide sickles to clear the land.
So the prisoners had to uproot all the thorny shrubs, grass and weeds with their bare hands, returning to camp at the end of each day with ghastly blisters on their hands.
Having grown up in a big city, Tumiso had never touched a shovel or a plow in his life. He was not used to the intense labor associated with farming.
But what he lacked in skills and muscles he more than made up for with his wile.
He quickly realized that the guards weren’t all that sharp. So he tricked them into thinking that the 100-by-100-meter lots that each prisoner was supposed to plow each day was the same as two 50-by-50-meter lots – which amounted to just half of what they should have been plowing.
He spread the word among the other prisoners.
Over the years, Buru became more and more developed thanks to the prisoners. The once illiterate indigenous communities were taught to read and write by former ministers, public officials and teachers like Tumiso. The prisoners built roads and dams for irrigation, which helped the locals and, later, transmigrants to grow their own crops.
Finally, in 1979, after years of international pressure, the government released the prisoners. But by then Tumiso’s parents were long dead, his wife had remarried, and his own son didn’t recognize him.
To this day he refuses to acknowledge Tumiso as his father.
The survivors endured discrimination and stigma even after they were free. Those accused of being communists were barred from joining the civil service, and many businesses were too afraid to hire them.
Many like Pramoedya sought political asylum abroad, while those like Tumiso survived by doing odd jobs, while still under constant monitoring from Suharto’s security apparatus, which treated them like second-class citizens.
Some returned to Buru, having found little left for them back home except pain and anguish.

‘Impunity on the grandest of scales’
But for those who led the purge, and Suharto’s hangers-on, the opposite was true. They grew wealthy on business concessions, and powerful on political appointments. They thrived, seemingly without a pang of guilt for the lives lost or fear that they would one day have to face justice.
Fifty years on, they and their families continue to dominate Indonesia’s political landscape, using their influence and power to stop the truth from coming out.
“The administration of Jokowi and Megawati is surrounded by people who were involved in the massacres in one way or the other,” HRW’s Andreas says.
With the impunity it enjoyed, the military grew more brazen in its actions, committing more massacres and human rights violations across the breadth of the country.
Since 1965, it has been responsible for the bloody occupation of East Timor between 1975 and 1999; displaced thousands from their homes to make way for oil exploration in Aceh and copper mining in Papua; slaughtered protesters in Lampung and North Jakarta; and orchestrated the forced disappearance and torture of student activists in 1997-98.
“This is impunity on the grandest of scales. Because of what happened [in 1965] and the impunity they enjoyed, history repeated itself, albeit on a smaller scale [than in 1965],” Andreas says. “What happened in Aceh, East Timor, the killing of protesters would not have occurred if the [1965] perpetrators were brought to justice.”
With Indonesia reluctant to acknowledge the massacres, human rights activists are turning to the international community to uncover what truly happened.
Several activists took the issue before an International People’s Tribunal in The Hague recently, while in the US pressure is increasing for the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department to fully declassify files showing just how much of a role Washington played in the atrocity.
For Tumiso, these moves are important for the thousands of survivors 1965 still alive today.
“What we want is not vengeance. What we want is recognition. For the state to acknowledge that what happened in 1965 is not what the New Order wanted people to know. We don’t want to open old wounds, like people accuse us of doing,” he says.
“At least [with formal acknowledgment] our kids can hold their heads high knowing that their families were not criminals.”

1) West Papua railway master plan to be completed by December-end

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1) West Papua railway master plan to be completed by December-end
2) Papua aims to increase  investment by 20-30%
3) Setya Novanto Denies Freeport Extortion Allegation
4) Jokowi condemns Freeport  fiasco
5) House may force oil tycoon’s  attendance at Freeport  scandal hearing 
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1) West Papua railway master plan to be completed by December-end

Senin, 7 Desember 2015 18:50 WIB |
 
Map of transportation in Papua (red color for railway). (indonesia.go.id)
Manokwari (ANTARA News) - The master plan of a railway project in east Indonesias West Papua province is expected to be completed by the end of December 2015, according to local Transportation and Communication Department spokesman Bambang Heriawan Soesanto.

"The railway system should be available soon as this program is important for large-scale economic development in West Papua," Soesanto remarked here on Monday.

He stated that the consulting and technical teams from the West Papua Department of Transportation and Communication had been on the field to survey, assess, and seek inputs on the districts and cities that will be covered by the railway network.

According to the spokesman, the teams will return to Manokwari on Monday to finalize the preparations of the master plan.

Soesanto stated that the construction of a railway network in West Papua is a great program with a long-term vision.

He believes that the existence of a railway network in West Papua will be able to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the distribution of mining, agricultural, and plantation commodities to support the regional economy.

"With the existence of a railway network, oil, gas, minerals, coal, and agricultural and other natural resources can be distributed more quickly and at relatively low costs," he pointed out.

He expressed hope that the people and all public elements in the area would support the railway network, which has been launched by the central government.

In the near future, PT SDIC Papua Cement Indonesia will operate in the region of Maruni to mine quartz sand at the Botak Mountain Region in Momiwaren, South Manokwari District.

"The transportation of quartz sand materials will be easier and cheaper if done by train," he said.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/F001)

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2) Papua aims to increase  investment by 20-30%

Prima Wirayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Mon, December 07 2015, 6:15 PM 

The administration of Papua, Indonesia’s poorest and most remote province, is working to attract more domestic and foreign direct investment to the region to develop its untapped resources.

Papua Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Muhammad Musa’ad has said the administration aims to increase investment in the region by 20 to 30 percent next year.

“Our mid-term regional development plan [RPJMD] has set 2016 as the year to increase investment in the province,” he said recently. 

He did not mention the province’s investment target for this year.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) data said that Papua recorded domestic direct investment (DDI) realization of Rp 995.82 billion (US$71.95 million) in the first nine months of the year, while foreign direct investment (FDI) realization reached $831.39 million.

Papua Governor Lukas Enembe said, in his speech read by Musa’ad, that his administration had drafted several policies to develop the region’s investment potential. 

The policies included encouraging the establishment of new local potential-based economic zones, simplifying licensing procedures and involving people and commodities in economic activities.

To set a guideline for investors planning to invest in Papua, the administration has divided its area into five economic development zones (KPE). The zones are Mamta, Saereri, Mee Pago, La Pago and Anim Ha, where potential activities from plantations, mining, fisheries to manufacturing.

The administration also provides One-Stop Integrated Services (PTSPs) at all government levels to ease license issuance procedures. It has also developed the Simtaru spatial information and management system to ensure potential investors can attain comprehensive information about land.

Lukas said such measures were taken to ensure openness in investment procedures and to create a conducive business climate.

“The administration, along with all Papuans, guarantee that the region is safe and convenient for investment,” he wrote.

BKPM economic zones subdirectorate head Noor Fuad Fitrianto said during the event that problems faced by potential investors in Papua revolved around land ownership disputes, fishery license issuance, contract renegotiations, gas allocation and pricing.

To weather such obstacles, the government had offered several facilities for investors, such as tax and other area-based incentives, and reduced several bureaucratic obstacles, he said.

“The government relies on Papua and its neighbor West Papua to boost investment in the country,” he said, adding that Papua had around Rp 120 trillion worth of investment potential, as stated in investment principle licenses submitted to his office. However, only 40 percent of the amount had been realized.

To accelerate investment in Papua, Fuad said, the government had formed a team to supervise the region. It also plans to establish the Teluk Bintuni industrial estate in West Papua and two special economic zones (KEK) in Papua’s Merauke and West Papua’s Sorong as part of its plan to establish 14 industrial estates and seven KEKs in eastern Indonesia by 2019 to spread investment and economic development.
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3) Setya Novanto Denies Freeport Extortion Allegation

TEMPO.COJakarta-The speaker of Indonesia's parliament on Monday denied seeking to extort shares in the local unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc to ensure a contract extension for the mining firm, a member of the assembly's ethics panel said.
Freeport, which operates one of the world's biggest copper and gold mines, is at the centre of a major political scandal after the head of its Indonesian operations told the panel last week he had secretly recorded a meeting in which speaker Setya Novanto asked for a 20 percent stake.
The panel summoned Novanto for questioning on Monday, but the speaker - a senior member of Indonesia's second-biggest political party, Golkar - asked for a closed-door hearing.
"What is clear is that he denied the accusations or reports, including the contents of the recording that became the basis for the ethics council to hear this case," council member Akbar Faisal told reporters after the hearing.
Journalists thronged the parliament on Monday, but a row of security officers kept them out of the room where the hearing was held.
Novanto dodged the journalists, entering by a side entrance.
His assistant did not respond to telephone calls seeking comment.
"We have to respect the process," President Joko Widodo told reporters. "But if it is said that there is profiteering, asking for shares, that is not done. This is about decency, morality, and the authority of the state."
Analysts say the allegations could further erode investor confidence in Indonesia, which is routinely ranked as one of the world's most corrupt countries.
Anti-corruption group Transparency International says its surveys show the parliament is perceived to be among Indonesia's most corrupt institutions.
The contract extension and now the scandal are more headaches for Freeport in Indonesia, where new rules have banned the export of unprocessed minerals, forcing mining groups to build smelters.
The Indonesian government already has a 9.36 percent stake in Freeport's Indonesian operations, and is due to take another 10.64 percent stake under existing regulations.
U.S.-based Freeport had sought the contract extension to give it legal certainty before investing billions of dollars in an underground phase at its Grasberg gold and copper sites in Papua province.
In the recording, said Freeport's Indonesia head, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, Novanto indicated that a 20 percent stake be given to Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Novanto allegedly told the Freeport executive that he could ensure the miner's contract would be extended from 2021 to 2041.
Golkar, the parliamentary speaker's party, supported Widodo's opponent in the 2014 presidential election.
REUTERS
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4) Jokowi condemns Freeport  fiasco

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has expressed his anger about his name allegedly being misused by House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto, adding that such misconduct dishonored state institutions.
Jokowi said on Monday in regard to the hearing into Setya at the House' ethics council that he respected the council’s process but he was firmly opposed to institutions of the state being misused.
Jokowi said he accepted any abuse thrown at him but it would be misconduct if it was aimed at undermining a state institution.
"I am okay being called a crazy president or stubborn president. But if it relates to integrity, [allegedly] asking for an 11 percent share, I don't want that."
"This is a matter of appropriateness, ethics, morality and the state's dignity," he said as quoted by newsportal kompas.com
Setya, a Golkar lawmaker, and oil and gas businessman Muhammad Riza Chalid are alleged to have asked for a 20 percent share of mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia. In a meeting with Freeport's president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin, Setya and Riza allegedly invoked Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's names without their approval to ask for 11 and 9 percent shares for the state leaders, respectively, in return for helping Freeport extend its mining contract. An audio recording of the conversation was made public last week at a House ethics council hearing. 
Setya requested a closed hearing of the ethics council on Monday, despite public demand for an open hearing, as had been the case with the two previous hearings involving Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, who reported the matter to the council, and Maroef. The ethics council chaired by Golkar lawmaker Kahar Muzakkir approved the request.
Setya told the hearing he committed no wrongdoing and refused to comment on the recording produced by Maroef saying it was illegal. He defended himself and said his conduct was in the best interests of Indonesia's investment climate.
Council member Akbar Faisal confirmed that Setya had denied all allegations made against him.
"He has the right to deny but we have all the evidence that we [the council] need to discuss," he said.
Teguh Juwarno, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party, condemned the conduct of the hearing, which focused on legal technicalities. He said the council should have aimed only at Setya's alleged misconduct.
"Even the fact that Setya asked Freeport's boss to have an eye-to-eye meeting without concern for other House members is a violation," he said. (anh/rin)

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5) House may force oil tycoon’s  attendance at Freeport  scandal hearing 

Ayomi Amindoni, thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National | Mon, December 07 2015, 9:11 PM 

The House Representatives ethics council (MKD) is considering summoning oil and gas businessman Muhammad Reza Chalid to a council hearing in connection with his involvement in the PT Freeport Indonesia scandal.
“We could call him by force if necessary,” Akbar Faisal, a member of the House Representatives and of the MKD, said on Monday.
Reza was involved in an informal meeting with House speaker Setya Novanto and the president director of Freeport Maroef Sjamsoeddin, in which he apparently requested shares in Freeport in exchange for favorable government treatment.
In that meeting, which was recorded in whole by Maroef, Setya reportedly misused the names of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla in asking for the shares.
“We are going to hold an internal meeting first, and I will ask that we summon him,” MKD deputy chairman Junimart Girsang told thejakartapost.com
The MKD has already examined Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, the Freeport president director and the House speaker.
The scale and scope of Reza’s political tentacles were hinted at during the hearing at the House’s ethics council last week, during Maroef’s testimony on Setya’s alleged misconduct.
A majority of the council members agreed to make public the recorded conversation between Setya, Reza and Maroef. (dan)
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1) WEST PAPUA WARRIORS TO PLAY OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED INTERNATIONAL MATCH

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2) Freeport contract should be renewed: Academician

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1) WEST PAPUA WARRIORS TO PLAY OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED INTERNATIONAL MATCH
                           The West Papua Warriors – Jubi
Jayapura, Jubi/ABC – The rugby league team set up in PNG to promote the West Papuan Freedom Movement, the West Papua Warriors, are going international with a match lined up against the Philippines Tamaraws in the New Year.
The game will be played in Brisbane on January 16th and organisers say it will mark the first time that West Papua is represented on the international sporting stage.
The contest has been officially sanctioned by the Rugby League International Federation, and Warriors’ captain Tala Kami says that was a massive surprise for the team.
The West Papua Warriors made up of local players and two with a direct connection to West Papua, the team have set out to promote the West Papuan Freedom Movement through sport.
Wearing shirts bearing the Morning Star, they’ve already featured in a Rugby League 9s tournament in Port Moresby, but an invitation to participate in a Rugby 7s competition was rescinded, apparently for political reasons.
The Warriors’ manager is Tala Kami, who also plays for Port Moresby Vipers in the Digicel Cup, and he says the new team’s message has struck a chord. (*)

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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/101928/freeport-contract-should-be-renewed-academician

2) Freeport contract should be renewed: Academician

Rabu, 9 Desember 2015 17:50 WIB | 274 Views
Manokwari, W Papua (ANTARA News) - Head of the Environmental Research Center of the University of Papua (Unipa) Professor Charly Heatubun believes that the working contract of PT Freeport Indonesia should be continued.

The mining, conducted by PT Freeport in Papua over several years, has significantly affected the local ecology, he stated here, Tuesday.

The ecological damage would be felt by the local people for the next 200 years, he added.

The exploitation by PT Freeport will eventually end. Hence, PT Freeport should be urged to invest part of its earnings for post-mining rehabilitation and restoration activities.

"Particularly for rehabilitation and restoration of the ecosystem and ecology in the Freeport mining location," he remarked.

He said Freeport is a national issue that concerns the Indonesian nation, in general, and the people in Papua in Timika District, in particular.

It is in the hands of the central government to renew the contract of the US gold and copper mining company, and either decision will have positive and negative consequences, he pointed out.

He hoped the government would take the best decision for Papua.

The professor called on the central government to involve the authorities and traditional leaders of Papua while negotiating the contract renewal.

PT Freeport has not only exploited the natural resources of Papua but has also altered its landscape, he stated.

"This is related to the traditions as well as the spiritual and cultural values of the local people," he noted.

He said it would be justified if PT Freeport pays a bigger royalty to Indonesia. 

The royalty, however, should not be misused by individuals, including politicians, he remarked.

Besides this, the indigenous people should be more involved in the operations of mining companies in their regions, he added.(*)
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1) ARREST AGAINST PAPUAN STUDENTS HEAT UP PAPUA ISSUE

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2) THREE MUSLIM WITNESSES IN TOLIKARA CASE SAY SUSPECTS NOT INVOLVED IN ARSON, STONE-THROWING

3)  CHURCH LEADERS CALL FOR PEACE IN PAPUA

4) PAPUA PRIORITIZES NINE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR 2016

5)  MONI TRIBE CHIEF ASKS FREEPORT FOR TENURESHIP COMPENSATION

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1) ARREST AGAINST PAPUAN STUDENTS HEAT UP PAPUA ISSUE


Jayapura, Jubi – Papuan legislator Laurenzus Kadepa addressed the arrest over hundreds of members of the Alliance of Papua Students by the Jakarta Police when planning a long march towards the State Palace on Tuesday (1/12/2015).
He said the Police’s act is even more increasing attention on Papua issues, in particularly from the international community. Moreover, two foreign journalists were reportedly hit by the Police in the incident.
“The international community will question about what was exactly happening in Papua? Why the students were forcibly dispersed, tortured and arrested in the peace rally of Papua issues. It would increasingly heat the Papua issues,” Kadepa said on Thursday (3/12/2015).

Further he said upset against Metro Jaya Police Chief Tito Karnavia. He said as former Papua Police Chief, Karnavian knows Papua very well. He should instruct his officers to escort the students for being anarchist during the rally.
“I saw him to show his bad attitude. I could appoint him as a thug. It is the State’s capital. He burned down the situation, and now it turns an international’s spotlight. He heated up the Papua issues,” he said.
According to him, Karnavian get his current position because he was considered success on duty in Papua. He must appreciate it. “I am upset because he was former Papua Police Chief. He should warn his officers for not acting brutal that ultimately leading to the arrest of hundreds of Papuan student activists,” he said.
Other Papuan legislator Emus Gwijangge said he also deplored the arrest. He said if the Police wanted arrest the students, they must comply with procedure, not at random. “To express the opinion in public is guaranteed by Law. Bring the evidence to prove the Police is nurturing and protecting the people,” he said. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)
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2) THREE MUSLIM WITNESSES IN TOLIKARA CASE SAY SUSPECTS NOT INVOLVED IN ARSON, STONE-THROWING

Jayapura, Jubi – Three witnesses from Tolikara presented by the Public Prosecutor in the trial over the Tolikara incident held at Jayapura District Court were praised by two defendants and their attorney after they testifed that they did not see Jundi Wandikbo and Arianto Kogoya at the scene, contrary to prosecutors’ charges.
The three witnesses who have lived for 10 years in Tolikara are Sarno, Usman and Ali Mukhtar. The testimony of the three witnesses, who were also victims of the rock-throwing and arson incident on 17 June is a breath of fresh air for the defendants.
The suspect’s attorney Gustaf Kawer said their testimony relieved the charges over his clients. “Their testimony didn’t point to the suspects, but help my clients,” Kawer told Jubi on Thursday (3/12/2015) after the hearing on Wednesday (2/12/2015).

In answering the prosecutor’s question, the witnesses justified the stone throwing towards approximately 400-500 Muslims who were doing Eid prayer at Karubaga Military Command yard at 06:20 AM. They heard a voice screaming “Dismiss! Dismiss! from megaphone to the Muslims. But they confessed they didn’t see both suspects among the GIDI at that morning.
The first witness to testify was Sarno. He said,” There was screaming after fifth takbir. I thought it was not too long, about ten minutes, I heard screaming “Dismiss’,” Sarno told in the trial answering the Judge. His hand was bleeding due to stone throwing in that incident.
He also confessed he didn’t see the suspect’s face to answer the prosecutor’s question whether he saw who was behind the megaphone screaming to disperse the Muslims. “Yes, there was someone hold the megaphone, but I don’t know who is he because there were about 50 or 70 people out there. But yes, there it was (holding megaphone),” he said.
He admitted recognize Jundi Wadimbo because the suspect shopped at his kiosk, which was burned in the incident for several times. But, he just knew Arianto after the trial. “I didn’t see, I was panic at that time. When I say Arianto at the scene, but I didn’t see him throwing the stone,” he said.
Two other witnesses Ali Usman and Ustadz Ali Mukthar said the similar thing. “It’s right there was fire on houses, kiosks and stone throwing, but they were not involved at all. And the most important of their testimony, they talked about peace agreement that the problem out there has been settled,” said Kawer.
Arianto Kogoya expressed his gratitude to Sarno who were his former teacher at Karubaga Junior High School to come in the trial though he should come from distance, from Karubaga to Jayapura.
‘Thank you to this old man for coming and want to present in this court. I must thank him for clearly testifying in this court, and furthermore, he was my former teacher at Junior High School. He was one of my parents and now he was testified over me, spoke the truth about what I did with Jundi, and the police also knew both I and Jundi were to secure the situation at that time. We were to calm down the crowd,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor Gloria Sinohaji didn’t bother whether the testimony of three witnesses to relieve the charges. According to her, the witnesses are both victims and witnesses based on what they have seen and heard.
“The incident is truly occurred, there was creaming, incitement. That’s we want to prove, that both suspects did the incitement, fire and violence. That’s we want to prove,” Prosecutor told Jubi at the court.
Related to the testimony considered to be relieved the suspects, she said she want to prove something. “When we want to prove a case, we had a strategy. Look, I was the victim, I was beaten, but we can prove it through other witnesses about who was beat people, who was threw the stones. When you were the victim, you got beaten you might don’t know who did it. We can not force the victims to tell but at least they can hear the screaming,” she said.
The trial will continue on Thursday (10/12/2015) with the agenda of hearing the witness from the Public Prosecutor. (Yuliana Lantipo/rom)


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3)  CHURCH LEADERS CALL FOR PEACE IN PAPUA



Jayapura, Jubi – The General Chairman of the Communion of Baptist Churches in Papua, the Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman for an end to injustice, discrimination and murder against Papuans perpetrated by the Indonesian government through the military and police in Papua.
“Do not kill Papuans on this land for the sake of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The murder case of four students and a citizen on 8 December 2014 in Enarotali, Paniai Regency has not yet been resolved while the perpetrators are at large,” said Yoman in a speech at the Christmas praise of the Central Service Agency (BPP) of the Communicon of Baptist Churches in Papua held in Jayapura City on Friday (04/12/2015).
The shooting perpetrator in Tolikara has not revealed, but GIDI members are undergoing the trial,” he said.

Further he said the shooting of a pastor in Mamberamo, the shooting of five civilians in Serui, the shooting of a student in Jakarta and other murders must be terminated. Because they are all human beings, the God’s creatures, nobody has right for taking their life. He also said do not kill people in the name of the Republic of Indonesia or Free Papua Movement.
“Talking about Free Papua is not prohibited by the Bible or the Baptist Church. Go ahead talking about Free Papua,” he said. “Once again, do not take human’s life as God’s creature for any kind of reasons. Stop the colonial injustice and discrimination,” he said.
The Chairman of Kingmi Church Synod in Papua, the Rev. Benny Giay reminded all Christians would celebrate Christmas 2015 in a grieve over the killing everywhere, the everlasting injustice, the death of 32 children in Nduga, the series of shooting in Serui, Paniai, Dogiyai, Tolikara and Jakarta.
“Do not fill Christmas with decorations and lights only, but decorate and lighten our hearts with interpretation that Jesus was born to safe the human’s life,” said Giay. Further he said creating peace on this land is accordance with the national Christmas theme, that is Jesus the King of Peace, Magic Advisor (Isaiah Chapter 9:1-6).
“When Christmas comes, there is always a murder in Papua. Let’s change this paradigm. We must create peace among us, Papua must be the land of peace,” he said.(Abeth You/rom)
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4) PAPUA PRIORITIZES NINE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR 2016


Jakarta, Jubi – Papua Provincial Government prioritize nine development programs for 2016, ranging from the fulfillment of basic needs to disaster management.
Based on the data received from the Papua Regional Planning and Development Body (Bappeda Papua) in Jakarta on Saturday (05/12/2015), the first priority in the Regional Development Work Plan (RKPD) for 2016 is the reduction of poverty and the fulfillment of basic needs. It includes the improvement of market development and intra-village transportation, improvement of social aid service, improvement of access and education quality of nine years basic learning, the development of appropriate housing and entrepreneurship development.
The second priority is the improvement of quality and competitiveness of human resources through creative economic development on local wisdom base, labor skills training, the eradication of illiteracy, endemic disease control and the improvement of maternal and infant health.

The third is the empowerment of economic community on competitive base and the increased investment in respective customary areas. And fourth, the acceleration of underdeveloped, outermost, foremost and post-conflict regions’ development through provision of basic infrastructures such as clean water, housing, sanitation and electricity.
The fifth is the accelerated development of infrastructure and basic need connectivity, regional development and competitive commodities. The implementation would include the development of irrigation, raw water, clean water, sanitation, electricity and communication networks in 200 villages as well as the development of 2 thousands of appropriate housing in five regions.
Sixth is the bureaucracy and governance reform.
Seventh, improving performance and familiarization of sports, arts and culture.
Eight, improving the safety and security as well as legal assurances through facilitating the harmonious relations between religious, ethnic and social groups, as well as increasing the role of law enforcement officials.
Ninth, strengthening the implementation of spatial planning, environmental and disaster management. The Papua Provincial Government held Papua Investment Year 2016 in Jakarta on Friday (4/12) to attract the investors to invest in Papua. (*/rom)
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5)  MONI TRIBE CHIEF ASKS FREEPORT FOR TENURESHIP COMPENSATION


Jayapura, Jubi – Moni Tribal Chief of Intan Jaya Regency, Agustinus Somau asked PT. Freeport Indonesia to pay 10 percent in compensation to his tribe because the company’s mining area has crossed their customary territory.
“Moni tribe asked Freeport to pay 10 percent compensation. We have officially written to Papua Legislative Council concerning our demand. We submitted the letter to the Commission IV of the Papua Legislative Council for mining affairs,” Somau said last week.
According to him, he rejected a contract extension of PT. Freeport Indonesia before discussing with the customary landowners. There should be a Memorandum of Understanding between PT. Freeport and the customary landowners.
“Customary people have right to ask compensation. During the time the landowners of Freeport’s mining area are always deprived. Freeport is not open about the boundary of their operation area. Now their operation area has crossed to Moni tribe area,” he said.

He said this condition deprives the Moni tribe. Now it’s their time to speak because they do not want to be sacrificed for the sake of Freeport. PT. Freeport is currently attempting to get assurance on their contract extension that would be ended in 2012.
The Director of PT. Freeport Indonesia, Maroef Sjamsoeddin when testifying before the Honor Council Court mentioned there would be a problem if the Freeport’s contract of work does not be extended. He said it would be huge. Freeport is not only about business but also connected with the social aspect.
“The termination of Freeport’s operation would also give impact to the environment. The mining area should keep be maintained. From the security side, there would raise a conflict between seven tribes of landowners if Freeport exit from Papua,” said Maroef as cited by media.
According to him, Freeport’s operation area at seven customary areas could raise a dispute. The seven tribes might possibly claim the status of tenureship over this area, in spite of disturbing the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the United States.
The Papua Provincial Government earlier gave disapproval sign on contract extension if 17 points of proposed agreement have not been approved, including the provincial government proposed to gain 10.46 percent of share divestment. But, lately it turns ‘to be soft’.
After attending the closed meeting with the Director of PT. Freeport Indonesia, Maroef Sjamsoeddin in Tembagapura, Papua on Wednesday (11/2/2015), the Papua Governor Lukas Enembe said the provincial government agreed on Freeport’s contract extension until 2041, since it has contributed to the prosperity and development in Papua. The Papua Provincial Government also want the mining sector could assist the Bank Papua to become the foreign exchange bank.
Freeport is the one that could support the Bank of Papua driven into foreign exchange bank. The other reason is the Papua economic situation. Freeport is considered to give contribution of 46 percent to Papua from mining sector. And for Mimika Regency, 91 percent of its regional revenue (PAD) is from Freeport.
Meanwhile the Papua legislator Ruben Magay said during the time the Papua Provincial Government impressed to walk alone. Before deciding to extend the Freeport’s contract, the provincial government, Papua Legislative Council, the Papua People’s Assembly and Papua Customary People, in particular seven tribes of land tenure owners should be deliberated. He said deliberation would result a recommendation to be transferred to the Central Government and Freeport’s management about what is expected by all stakeholders in Papua.
“All stakeholders should be united. It needs a political bargain. If not, the condition would remain the same like this. The landowners would be harmed, as well as the Papua Provincial Government,” said Magay. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)

1) KNPB: “CHRISTMAS GIFT” FOR PAPUANS CALLED VIOLENCE

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2) FREEPORT MCMORAN ANNOUNCES FURTHER REDUCTION AND SUSPENSION OF COMMON STOCK DIVIDEND
3) Home  Infrastructure  Freeport’s Contract Extension to Not Undermine Autonomy Law

4) HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FAILS IN PANIAI CASE, SAYS LEGISLATOR
5) HIV/AIDS CASES IN MANOKWARI ON THE RISE


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http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/knpb-christmas-gift-for-papuans-called-violence/

1) KNPB: “CHRISTMAS GIFT” FOR PAPUANS CALLED VIOLENCE
Victor MamborDes 09, 2015





Protest held by West Papua National Committee on this year – Jubi
Jayapura, Jubi – Every year Christmas in Papua is a meaningless and profane event for Christians, as people turn the festivities to cheer upon sorrow and tears of others, the he Secretary General of Central West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Ones Suhuniap, said.

Suhuniap said people would talk about peace in Christmas, but it has never been materialized in Papua.
“There is still murder, oppression and massacres towards the people, while Jesus was born only for one reason, that is to save the entire humans on the earth from being destroyed,” Suhuniap told Jubi in Jayapura on Monday (07/12).


He asserted every year; the Military and Police personnel always play a game for Christmas. “There is a game behind Christmas celebration which played by Indonesian apparatus. On 2 December 2015, for greeting Christmas, the Manokwari Military Regional Command held the Christmas carnival in Manokwari,” he said.
While on 1 December 2015, Cenderawasih Military Regional Command also held the Christmas worship event with Jayawijaya residents in Wamena. “It’s only a political game of colonialism,” he said.

Because at the time of the Military personnel was celebrating the Christmas carnival and prayer in Manokwari and Wamena, the Military personnel of Yapen (Serui) Military District Command and Serui Police have killed and massacred the civilians by accusing them as Free Papua Movement’s members.

The Central KNPB spokesperson, Bazoka Logo, said every year the Indonesian Government always gives a ‘Christmas gift’ to the people of Papua. Such a violence leading to killing is always happened every year before Christmas.
“On 16 December 2009, General Kelly Kwalik was killed at Kali Kopi, Timika for the safety of the Republic of Indonesia. In December 2011, the National Liberation Army/Free Papua Movement Headquarters in Eduda, Paniai was brutally burned using the helicopter,” Logo said.

He continued that on 16 December 2012, Hubertus Mabel was killed in Wamena, while on 8 December 2014, four students and a citizens were shot dead by military personnel. And this current year, on 1 December 2015, the Police and Military personnel shot civilians in Serui caused one death and seven were in critical condition. And the last, the Police arrested and shot the Papua students in Jakarta during the peace rally.


“Papuans must be aware, that there is no peace on this land. We oppose the oppression and murder perpetrated by the Indonesian Government against Papuans in Christmas occasion this year, for there is no more ‘gift’ for Papuans in 2016,” said Logo. (Abeth You/rom)



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http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/freeport-mcmoran-announces-further-reduction-and-suspension-of-common-stock-dividend/

2) FREEPORT MCMORAN ANNOUNCES FURTHER REDUCTION AND SUSPENSION OF COMMON STOCK DIVIDEND

Victor MamborDes 10, 2015
Jayapura, Jubi – Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) today (9/12/2015) announced additional actions in response to market conditions, including further revisions to its oil and gas capital spending plans, additional curtailments in copper and molybdenum production and the suspension of its common stock dividend.

Oil & Gas Review. As previously reported on August 5, 2015, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas (FM O&G) is deferring investments in several long-term projects in response to oil and gas market conditions. Following an ongoing review, capital expenditures for 2016 and 2017 have been reduced further from $2.0 billion per year in 2016 and 2017 to $1.8 billion in 2016 and $1.2 billion in 2017, including idle rig costs. The revised plans, together with initiatives to obtain third party financing or other strategic alternatives, will be pursued with the goal of achieving funding for oil and gas capital spending within its cash flows and resources.

The revised plans incorporate a reduction in rig utilization from three Deepwater Gulf of Mexico drillships to one drillship while increasing production from third quarter 2015 rates of 150 barrels of oil equivalents per day (MBOE/d) to an average of 159 MBOE/d in 2016 and 2017. FM O&G expects to bring eight wells on line in late 2015 and 2016 from its successful tie back drilling operations at the Holstein Deep, Horn Mountain and King Projects in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. These projects, combined with other initiatives, are expected to add low cost oil production, enabling cash production costs to decline from $19 per barrel of oil equivalents (BOE) in 2015 to less than $16 per BOE in 2016 and 2017. Under the revised plans, FM O&G’s cash flows would substantially fund its capital expenditures at $45 per barrel of Brent crude oil in 2017.

FM O&G is engaged in ongoing discussions with its rig vendors and other service providers to obtain reductions in costs and to evaluate opportunities to market idled equipment to third parties.

As previously reported on October 6, 2015, the FCX Board is engaged in a strategic review of its oil and gas business to evaluate alternative courses of action designed to improve FCX’s financial position, enhance value to FCX shareholders and achieve self-funding of its oil and gas business from its cash flows and resources. FM O&G’s high quality asset base, its substantial underutilized Deepwater Gulf of Mexico infrastructure, its large inventory of low risk development opportunities and its talented and experienced personnel and management team provide alternatives to generate value.


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http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/freeports-contract-extension-to-not-undermine-autonomy-law/

3) Home  Infrastructure  Freeport’s Contract Extension to Not Undermine Autonomy Law





Victor MamborDes 09, 2015


Jayapura, Jubi – The controversy over Freeport’s requested contract extension has sparked reactions in Papua, including from the local legislators.

A member of the Commission I of the Papua Legislative Council for terrestrial, legal and human rights, government and politic affairs, H. Syamsunar Rasyid questioned whether the contract extension would benefit the people of Papua in general and customary landowners in particular.

“It needs to be considered whether could it benefit the Papuans, in particular the landowners. During the time they have been scarified,” said Rasyid on Monday (7/12/2015).


He also asked the Central Government to read the Papua Autonomy Law carefully. He said the Law has provided authorities to the Papua Provincial Government to manage everything, including the natural resources.
“I question the rights of Papuans, especially after the Special Autonomy Law. We should remember that the Central Government provides the Special Autonomy Law for Papua in the Article 4, that the authority has given to the Provincial Government, except for foreign political policy, security and defense, monetary, fiscal, religion and Judicial Court,” he said. According to him, before negotiating with the Freeport, the Central Government must consult with all stakeholders in Papua, not only with the Provincial Government but also involved the Papua Legislative Council, Papua People’s Assembly and customary landowners.

“Papua has special authority, including the right of tenureship. Is the tenure right of the customary people has been solved? It should be reminded. Do not just argue about the shares, but forget the people’s tenure right,” he said.

He said the current situation is different with the situation before the Special Autonomy Law. He also reminded the Papua Provincial Government to involve the entire relevant stakeholders in solving the Freeport’s issue.

“The purpose is for the welfare of Papuans. I asked the governor, vice governor, Papua Legislative Council, Papua People’s Assembly and the land owners to sit together to discuss about the Freeport’s issue that is now a headline issue in Jakarta,” he said.

Separately, a member of Commission IV of the Papua Legislative Council for mining affairs, Thomas Sondegau said the Central Government should not only think about the distribution of royalties. Now the Moni tribe also demanded compensation. They thought the Freeport’s mining area has crossed their customary land.

“Do not ignore the rights of customary people. The representative of Moni tribe has submitted their aspiration in written to us. We will forward their aspiration to the Chairman of Commission to be submitted to the Chairman of Papua Legislative Council,” he said.

He said before the Freeport’s contract was discussed; the issue of the border of Freeport’s mining area should be clarified. According to him, the area is not belonging to a tribe but several tribes. Moni tribe Chief of Intan Jaya Regency at Papua Provincial level, Agustinus Somau asked PT. Freeport Indonesia to pay 10 percent compensation to his tribe because the Freeport’s mining area has crossed their customary area.

“Moni tribe asked Freeport to pay 10 percent compensation. We have written an official letter to the Papua Legislative Council related to our demand. We submitted it to the Commission IV for mining afffairs,” Somau told on last week. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)


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http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/human-rights-commission-fails-in-paniai-case-says-legislator/

4) HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION FAILS IN PANIAI CASE, SAYS LEGISLATOR
Victor MamborDes 09, 2015

Jayapura, Jubi – Sounds of gunfire on a Tuesday morning last year will not be forgotten by Paniai residents. Bullets flew and and killed four high school students at Karel Gobai Ground, Enarotali. At least 17 people were injured.

Speculations were raised following the incident. Some thought the perpetrators were the Military/Police personnel, while the Military/Police authorities said the perpetrators were the rebels in the area who attempted to provoke a riot. But until now neither speculation has been proven, although the investigation teams of the Indonesian Military/Police Headquarters, the National Human Right Commission and other team from Papua Legislative Council have come to Paniai.

Now, people in Papua insisted Jokowi to fulfill his promise to solve this case. Papua legislator Laurenzus Kadepa stated the president only said empty promise that until now the case has not yet been resolved.
“Jokowi’s statement and promise to resolve the human right violation in Papua, in particular Pania, is only a promise. It’s not proven because the Paniai case has not been settled,” Kadepa told on Monday (7/12/2015).


He also considered the National Human Rights Commission has been failed to conduct its duty. According to him, the Papua Police Chief previously stated the Paniai case is the jurisdiction of the National Human Rights Commission, but it failed to do its job.
“I am not sure the National Human Rights Commission will stand and solve the case. A discourse on the establishment of investigation team on human right violations by the commission was impressed as an attempt to divert the Paniai case.”

Other legislator Decky Nawipa said until now Jokowi has not fulfilled his promise to reveal the human right violation cases in Papua, including Paniai case, while the Paniai residents gave 100 percent of vote for Jokowi in the presidential election.
“Approaching 2016, Paniai people expected the Paniai case resolution could become a Christmas and New Year’s gift. When could Jokowi reveal that case?” said Nawipa.

He further said the Paniai Regional Government could not only depend to the Central Government, but it should take its own step to push the case settlement. “The local government should invite all local figures and discuss this problem with them to determine further step,” he said.

He urged the president, the Paniai Regional Government, Papua Police Chief and Regional Military Command to pay attention to this case. Furthermore, the Papua Police Chief is Papua native. “As Paniai native, I ask this case to be resolved. Now the Christmas atmosphere in Paniai is not the same. There’s no activity. People are still trauma. They demanded this case to be resolved,” he said. Furhter, he reminded the alteration of Police Chief could not be a reason to stop or divert the case.

Separately, the Paniai Regional Customary Council Chief, John R. Gobay said the case was a State’s lie towards the people. The Military/Police team has conducted investigation to Paniai. They must have sketch, but they made it unclear. If the Military or Police culprits were involved, it would remain uncovered. There is no transparency in the two institutions.
“On the other hand, the Police/Military also intervene the National Human Right Violation that reportedly has established an ad hoc team, but until now it remains unclear who the members are. When it was established, it should be a meeting but it’s not clear when it was occurred. There’s certainly an intervention,” Gobay told Jubi by phone.

He further said the National Human Right Commission also asked approval from the victims’ families to conduct autopsy to ensure whose bullets were. But he thought it was the Police/Military’s statement as they cover each other.
“It is clear the National Human Right Commission has been intervened by the Police/Military in the Paniai case. The result of investigation from the first day must have the finding. My question is why the police/military didn’t announce their findings,” he said.

According to him, if they wanted to work, the National Human Right Commission must have coordination with other parties who have already done the investigation. So, they can apply the findings to determine the suspects.
“But they have nothing. It’s because of the State’s intervention. The State must responsible. The President Jokowi stated he would solve the case thoroughly. But what is it? It’s because of the intervention of the Police/Military towards the Human Rights Commission. Their independence in this case should be questioned,” he said.

The human rights commissionaire Natalius Pigai when contacted by Jubi didn’t answer the phone as well as the short message. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)


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http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/hivaids-cases-in-manokwari-on-the-rise/
5) HIV/AIDS CASES IN MANOKWARI ON THE RISE
Victor MamborDes 07, 2015

Manokwari, Jubi – The number of HIV / AIDS cases in Manokwari, West Papua Province, continues to increase from year to year, said Program Manager Health Care Association of Manokwari Denny Nepa.

“Manokwari Department of Health recorded, from 2002 to 2015 the HIV-Aids cases continues to increase, between eight to164 cases per year,” said Denny in Manokwari on last week.

This year, HIV / AIDS cases in Manokwari reached 1,183 cases, an increase of 113 cases from last year’s 1,070 cases.
“Of the 1,183 cases, 628 cases of which have been positively identified as AIDS,” he said.


He further said this cases like an iceberg phenomenon with a number ratio of 1: 100, in which the cases have a tendency to pass the virus to 100 people.
“If the current number is1,183 cases, how many thousands of people who may have been infected, and it is they who have not been identified,” he said.

He also mentioned that until now the profession housewife is still ranked first from other professions with 325 cases where 179 of which are already suffering from AIDS, and the rest is HIV.

He added, this cases also are experienced by children under one year to 14 years. As many as 15 children infected, six of them living with HIV and the other nine are already infected with AIDS.
“23 children, aged one to four years old are living with HIV- Aids, 16 of whom are already infected with AIDS. While, eight children aged 5 to 14 years old have infected with AIDS,” he said.

This case is also experienced by a group of Civil Servants, members of the military and police, commercial sex workers (CSW), the private sector, labor, and student.
“There are 150 civil servants infected, seven military, eight police,154 commercial sex workers, 75 private employees, 70 workers, 37 students, 40 college students and other 317 cases,” said Denny.

“If all the people in Manokwari willing to check up, surely we will find how high incidence of HIV / AIDS in this region,” he said again. (*/ Tina)

1) PAPUAN STUDENTS REJECT PRESENCE OF PALM OIL COMPANY IN NABIRE

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2) Setara Institute: Approach to Papua Must Change
3) Jokowi will be given a list of human rights cases Papua
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1) PAPUAN STUDENTS REJECT PRESENCE OF PALM OIL COMPANY IN NABIRE


Jayapura, Jubi – Papuas Students joined Yerisiam–Gua tribe in rejecting the oil palm company Nabire Baru, which allegedly never fulfills the rights of indigenous peoples, cthe hairman of Independent Students Forum, Teko Kogoya, said.
The students held a demonstration in front of the Administrative Court in Waena, Jayapura, Papua on last week.
“One hundred percent, we support the demand of the tribe to revoke the company’s license issued by the Governor of Papua, Barnabas Suebu No. 142 in 2008 for PT Nabire Nabire,” Kogoya said.
According to him, the revocation of the license is a necessity because the company caused deforestation, making unproductive land and taking away the rights of local communities.
“Palm trees absorb water. The soil becomes dry. The Company started to not recognize the rights of the community, ” he said.

Secretary of the Forum Peduli Papua, Soren Kiriho, said that the company had damaged the natural resources which is the source of life.
“The destruction of the ecosystem, break the chain of life,” he added.
Therefore, the government must suspend its licenses and carry out reforestation program.
“We ask for reforestation,” he said.
People of Yerisiam -Gua have suing the decree of the Governor to the Administrative Court of Jayapura since last month. Until this news was written Jubi has not managed to get clarification from the company. (Mawel Benny/ Tina)
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THURSDAY, 10 DECEMBER, 2015 | 17:16 WIB
2) Setara Institute: Approach to Papua Must Change

TEMPO.COJakarta - Setara Institute National Council secretary Benny Susetyo or known as Romo Benny said the military approach towards the Papuan must be changed into dialogue approach. “Sincere and honest dialogue must be built to end violence,” said Benny on Wednesday, December 9.
 
Benny said dialogue is the only way to end separatism in Papua. He continued that the central government always fears that if the government established dialogue with the people of Papua, it would seem like Papua wanted to be independent [from Indonesia].
 
According to Benny, Papua issue is complicated because it concerns with the emergence of global capitalism and interests of those who have access to natural resources in Papua.
 
There are also attempts from the people of Papua to conduct peaceful dialogue with the central government. “There are negotiators from each tribe,” said Benny.
 
Setara Institue deputy chairman Azas Tigor Naipospos said Papuan’s dignity must be restored through recognizing and awarding them. “If you think about when Jokowi came to Papua, why was Papua Governor not present?”
 
Benny added that there have been attempts from President Joko Widodo to solve Papua conflict. “However, there seems some people, either from the military or those who have access to natural resources, who are trying to sabotage what Jokowi is doing in Papua”.
 
DIKO OKTARA


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A gogle translate of article in Suarapapua.com.be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.

3) Jokowi will be given a list of human rights cases Papua
By: Elisa Sekenyap | Thursday, December 10, 2015 - 21:37 pm |

Wamena, SUARAPAPUA.com --- Commemorating the world human rights day, December 10, 2015, Human Rights Care Team Central Mountains of Papua convey some important notes regarding the human rights situation in Papua Mountains, which until today has not been revealed, including the omission by the parties should resolve the human rights violations ,

This was stated by Chairman Concerned HAM Central Mountains, Theo Hesegem accompanied by Father John Jonga, Julian Ivan Simamora, Cyrus Simalango, Papua Traditional Council (DAP) Lapago, Engelbert Surabut, a female character Maria Wetipo and cultural Niko Ricard Lokobal and a number of activists humanitarian Thursday (10/12/2015).

According to Theo, these things will be presented to the public, but also to the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ir. Joko Widodo. Especially about the violation of Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC), such as fuel shortages and high prices of Nine Staples (groceries) are strangling society in the region in the Central Mountains.

"The impression is no discrimination compared to other Indonesian society. Including, poor conditions and health services and education is still poor, "said Theo told reporters in the House of Wamena Catholic Bina, Thursday afternoon.

He revealed this fact for not a few health workers and teachers who are not at home in the place of duty. In addition, health centers and schools without adequate facilities.

"As a result of that, our society is still in a state far behind," he said.

Another problem, said Theo, a program of the Central Government, as Raskin and housing for people in Papua is not transparent and accountable. The programs were not clear who penanggungjawabnya and how the systems and procedures that should be.

"Almost all of them are not well targeted, it is not cost effective, no exact number, not timely, inaccurate and does not match the quality of the culture," he said.

More about the village fund, which in essence fund governance, the implementation of development, social development and community empowerment, said Theo, realization is not much give sustainable benefits for the people of the village.

"As it turns out exhausted evenly divided between the public and even some village officials diverted funds for personal gain," tudingnya.

Not only that, further Theo, small and medium-sized business opportunities for the indigenous people of Papua are not supported and facilitated by the government.

"OAP allowed to compete with non-Papuan traders who have the capital, experience and a strong network. Including, the facilities provided for the indigenous Papuan traders was made without proper planning, so redundant, "he said.

Theo also highlights the rise of the proposed expansion of the New Autonomous Region (DOB) that continue to roll without any direction from the local government. It is thought, could potentially trigger horizontal conflict between supporters and opponents.

Concerning civil and political rights, he said, such as the existence of some cases of violence carried out arbitrarily by law enforcement officials and many cases of violence that caused the death of the state apparatus.

"As yet the settlement of cases from 2008 to the present and the perpetrators are allowed to remain free," said Theo.

Various cases of arrest against OAP done with separatism stigmatization or criminalization of indigenous peoples without any checks beforehand, which turns upon inspection found no faults, so then released again.

"Society can not freely embody democracy and express their opinions because of obstructed, threatened and arrested."

"Local journalists who cover violence intimidated by the authorities in order to proclaim the apparatus as desired. While foreign journalists still complicated to cover in Papua, "said Theo.

Moreover, the persistence of the detention and arrest by officials who often ignore legal procedures as well as threats, torture and even shooting. Some legal issues that occur among people not immediately enforced, so as to let people continue fighting, including cases of violence against women and children.

Like, still goes on violence in Karubaga, Tolikara, July 17, 2015, now followed by legal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators of the attack and burning kiosks.

However, ironically, the shooter from the authorities to the people who caused one dead and eleven wounded just left.

"The cases that occurred in Enarotali (December 8, 2014), Yakuhimo (March 15, 2015), Timika (28 August and 28 September 2015), and other regions in Papua until now ignored, even though many parties have often questioned and urged completion fair."
 
"Negligence cases of violence committed by these state officials give the impression that violence is condoned or even carried out by the state," he concluded.

Editor: Mary

1) West Papua Warriors Set to Make History

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2) ’The Look of Silence’  breaks censorship with  free download3) Jokowi Calls for Settlement of Past Human Rights Cases4) Mining Deal Scandal Grips Indonesia
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1) West Papua Warriors Set to Make History


video


By Jaylee Sapias – EM TV Sports, Port Moresby
Local rugby team the West Papua Warriors are set to make history next month when they play their first ever international fixture in Brisbane, Australia against the Philippines Tamaraws.
West Papua Warriors is a group of young Papua New Guineans who use the tool of sport to promote and raise awareness about the on-going genocide in West Papua.
This contest will be the first time the West Papuan name is to be represented on an international stage.
Team official, Richard Marjen, believes the team’s biggest strength is their passion for the West Papuan Cause. He says, unlike other rugby reams, the management has a different approach towards the players to keep them motivated.
The Warriors are a week into training and are looking forward to representative duties come January 16.
Captain, Tala Kami, has appealed to the public that if they wish to sponsor their game next month, to contact the team on the ‘West Papua Warriors’ Facebook page or email westpapuawarriors@gmail.com
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2) ’The Look of Silence’  breaks censorship with  free download - 
Yuliasri Perdani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Fri, December 11 2015, 6:33 PM - 

It will be hard to prevent people from watching Joshua Oppenheimer’s second groundbreaking documentary on the 1965 Indonesian communist purge, The Look of Silence (Indonesian title: Senyap), because the film is available for online viewing and downloading as of Thursday.

Oppenheimer, the film’s director and producer in cooperation with Final Cut for Real, VHX and Drafthouse, said the documentary was a present to the Indonesian audience.

“As a present, the film should be given for free to the Indonesian audience,” he said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

The documentary can be downloaded at thelookofsilence.vhx.tv or watched on Youtube at youtube.com/watch?v=RcvH2hvvGh4.
The film is the American filmmaker’s further exploration into the 1965 massacre that is estimated to have claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people thought to be members or supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In 2012, he released The Act of Killing (Indonesian title: Jagal).

The new documentary follows a middle-aged optician Adi Rukun, who confronted the men that brutally murdered his brother during the communist purge. The film made it onto the Oscar Documentary shortlist for 2016.

Since being released in Indonesia in November last year, The Look of Silence, similar to its predecessor, The Act of Killing, has sparked controversy across the country.

In December 2014, the Film Censorship Institute (LSF) banned the public screening of Senyap, reasoning that it “leads the viewers to sympathize with the PKI and communism”.

A month later, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) issued a letter in support of Senyap, calling it one of many films that unfolded the gross human rights abuse “from the victims’ perspective”.

In December last year, hardline groups intimidated the film screening held at Gajah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.

And this year, authorities clamped down on Senyap screenings held at campuses and other places, including the planned screening at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) in Bali.

The pressure has failed to dampen the spirit of student organizations and communities to spread the documentary.

Indonesia Menonton Senyap (Indonesia Watching Senyap), an initiative to facilitate public screenings, has distributed 1,700 DVD copies of Senyap for screening in 118 cities and regencies across the archipelago, estimated to reach 70,000 viewers in total.

Oppenheimer expressed his hope that Senyap could reach a greater audience than Jagal, which has been watched and downloaded for more than 1 million times since being made available online in September last year. Senyap is expected to open discussions and propel reconciliation in Indonesia.

Komnas HAM commissioner Muhammad Nurkhoiron said the film’s availability online proved that the authorities could not shackle people’s desire to know more about the tragedy.

“We have a problem where the decision makers, particularly the government, nurture fear. The more they spread fear and issue bans, the more youth will grow curious and use their creativity to learn about the tragedy,” he told the Post on Thursday.

The film was also screened on Thursday and free digital copies were offered at an event at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Central Jakarta called the Temporary Museum of Memory
Recollection.

“We invite those who are interested [to have the film] to bring their flash disks, so that we can give them the film files,” event committee member Qory said.

“We don’t seek the approval from the authorities for the event as we believe we don’t need permission to spread knowledge.”

Initiated by Komnas HAM, Partisipasi Indonesia and the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), the event hosted discussions and film screenings related to the 1965 massacre to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy and also Human Rights Day, which falls on Thursday. The event ran from Nov. 30 until Thursday.

The Jakarta Police issued a letter pressuring DKJ to cancel a discussion on the 1965 tragedy amid protests from another group of artists. DKJ Irawan Karseno responded to the ban by holding a press conference on Tuesday, in which he criticized the police’s decision to bow to the opposing group’s pressure.

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FRIDAY, 11 DECEMBER, 2015 | 15:38 WIB
3) Jokowi Calls for Settlement of Past Human Rights Cases

TEMPO.COJakarta- President Joko Widodo has instructed all government officials in all levels to expedite the settlement of past human rights violation cases as many cases are still unresolved.
“I hope all government officials to solve the cases quickly,” said Jokowi in his speech during Human Rights Day commemoration at State Palace on Friday, December 11.
Besides past human rights violations, there are also agrarian conflicts, indigenous people’s rights, health and education and rights of the marginalized.
The president said to solve past human rights cases, the government must have the courage to make reconciliation through judicial or non-judicial means. Jokowi also stressed that there must be no more criminalization against freedom of expression. “However, democracy also has its rules and they must be enforced,” he said.
In solving human rights cases, Jokowi said coordination between the National Commission on Human Rights and law enforcement agencies must be improved. “Regional governments also have responsibility for the accomplishment of human rights,” he said.
ANANDA TERESIA



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4) Mining Deal Scandal Grips Indonesia
Dewi Safitri 2015-12-09
A corruption scandal linking the speaker of Indonesia’s parliament to the renegotiation of a lucrative gold and copper mining contract has infuriated Indonesians and dominated headlines in recent weeks.
A parliamentary ethics committee and Indonesian authorities have now finally opened investigations into the scandal.
It surrounds House Speaker Setya Novanto and allegations that he was tape-recorded asking for a combined 20 percent-stake on behalf of Indonesia’s president and vice president, in exchange for guaranteeing a new contract to PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), the Indonesian subsidiary of the U.S.-based mining giant Freeport-McMoran.
This week, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo vented his anger while addressing the public about the scandal for the first time.
“I am okay with being called a crazy president or stubborn president. But when it comes to [misuse of] authority, profiteering, asking for an 11 percent share, that I don’t want,” Joko told a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta late Monday, referring to the percentage of PTFI shares that Setya had allegedly demanded on the president’s behalf.
Indonesians have been clamoring for Setya, a member of the opposition Golkar party, to resign although he proclaimed his innocence in testifying before a parliamentary ethics hearing earlier on Monday.
According to a written statement he reportedly read at the closed-door hearing, Setya said he had been “defamed” by Sudirman Said, the minister of energy and mineral resources who reported his alleged wrongdoing.
“I strongly object that this tape was unlawfully obtained,” he went on to say.
Big deal
Freeport, which has been in Indonesia since the 1960s, operates the Grasberg mine complex in the far eastern of province of Papua. It is one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines.
In 2014, Freeport made nearly U.S. $2 billion in copper sales from its Indonesian operations and U.S. $1.4 billion in sales of gold mined in the country, according to a calculation of figures culled from the firm’s last annual report.
The firm’s contract for the Grasberg mine is set to expire in 2021. Under Indonesian law, companies can renegotiate contracts two years before they expire, but officials with Freeport’s Indonesian subsidiary evidently have already been discussing the 20-year extension.
PTFI officials are worried that 2019 is too late, because the company has a long-term plan to invest U.S. $17 billion in developing new underground pits at Grasberg Mountain, according to an op-ed piece in the Jakarta Post.
Accountability
The recording – which has now been made public – is from a June 7 meeting attended by Setya, PTFI Indonesia Director Maroef Sjamsoeddin, and Muhammad Riza Chalid, an Indonesian oil and gas tycoon, who left Indonesia earlier this week.
In testimony to the parliamentary ethics panel, Maroef said he had recorded the conversation because of the controversy surrounding PTFI operating practices over the years, Reuters reported.
“The parliament speaker and his friend R[i]za told me they wanted a 20 percent stake and also asked for a hydroelectric power project,” the PTFI chief testified, according to Reuters.
Sudirman later reported the case of alleged extortion to a parliamentary ethics committee, and handed it a transcript of what was said in the secret meeting.
The House Ethics Council declined to investigate the complaint immediately, saying he lacked the authority to lodge a complaint.
But, amid mounting public anger over the scandal, the council finally opened an investigation. It convened its first hearings on the matter last week, when Sudirman and Maroef testified before the council in sessions that were open to the public.
The ethics council has yet to decide whether the house speaker will be sanctioned for an alleged ethical breach.
Separately, authorities say they have opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
Attorney-General H.M. Prasetyo has questioned Maroef Sjamsoeddin and Sudirman Said, and entered the mobile phone that was used to record the secret meeting into the body of evidence.
Good for Indonesia?
Meanwhile, some Indonesians are questioning whether Indonesia should award a new contract to Freeport, and whether this would be in the best interests of impoverished Papua and the rest of the nation.
In the op-ed published in the Post, Winarno Zain, a commissioner at a publicly listed oil and gas service company, argued that the time had come for Indonesia to take control of its precious metal deposits, including the gold and copper deposits at Grasberg Mountain.
“Freeport has been a thorn in the pride and consciousness of many Indonesians,” Winarno wrote. “It has been a source of resentment among Indonesian because after 70 years of independence, the country is not in control of its richest mineral resources.
“Freeport operations have created constant questions among Indonesians about whether the government’s management of its natural resources has been in line with the spirit of the Constitution – providing utmost prosperity to the Indonesian people through its control over natural resources,” he added.
More bitter voices have come from Papua, where activists and lawmakers alike complain that the company has disregarded the welfare of local people, while dredging trillions of dollars from their land and despoiling the environment.
Papua Gov. Lukas Enembe told BenarNews he wanted the central government to involve the local government in every discussion of the PTFI contract.
“Many people now know about Papua, but are very clever at talking …. We don’t want to be like Jakarta people who speak only for their own personal interests,” he said.
Victor Mambor contributed to this report.

Photos-Thousands of protesters gather for ‘red line protest’

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Saturday 12 December
Thousands of protesters gather in central Paris  a ‘red line protest’
















1) Indonesia: Meet Paul: Restoring the human rights of indigenous Papuans amid on-going conflict

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2) POLICE: POLICE PAPUA AND WEST PAPUA DEPLOYED IN CONFLICT-PRONE AREAS
3) DECREE ON PANIAI AD HOC TEAM JUST ISSUED 10 MONTHS AFTER SHOOTINGS
4) RIGHTS GROUP CRITICIZES JOKO WIDODO’S POOR HUMAN RIGHTS PERFORMANCE
5) WE KNOW WHO PANIAI’S SHOOTING PERPETRATORS ARE
SAYS HOUSE SPEAKER

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1) Indonesia: Meet Paul: Restoring the human rights of indigenous Papuans amid on-going conflict
10 December 2015, Manokwari, West Papua (Indonesia) — Even in West Papua, the easternmost and least populous province of Indonesia, is torture used to crush and silence. Even there people like Paul Mambrasar have dedicated their lives to fighting it.

 Home to the world's largest gold and third-largest copper mines, West Papua has abundant natural resources including timber and palm oil that make it a coveted region. This has generated continuing conflict and made it one of Asia’s sorest spots in terms of human rights violations. From the 1960s on, Indonesia has maintained heavy military presence, resorting to extrajudicial killings, torture and abuse to crack down on activists in an attempt to crush the Papuan independence movement, whether peaceful or violent, leaving locals deeply resentful and suspicious of the national Government.
 Indigenous Papuans marginalized in their homeland, suffer state violence and stigma, while their natural resources are exploited by others and compromise their ancestral way of living. The on-going conflict with separatists merely exacerbates discrimination against Papuans, who have been repressed by decades of institutional racism and Indonesian occupation. This is the vicious cycle of violence that Paul has to deal with in his daily fight for the respect of the human rights.
 “Torture worsens the distrust West Papuans have in the State which, by failing to uphold the rule of law, merely fuels more separatist sentiments,” sums up Paul, Secretary of the Institute of Human Rights Studies and Advocacy (Elsham), a non-governmental organization defending human rights in Wet Papua.
 
Decades of abuses, layers of grievances

Paul’s challenging working environment is the result of decades of quasi-institutionalized abuses resulting in many layers of deep-felt and pervasive grievances of West Papuans against the Indonesian Government. He is, however, gradually managing to build networks in his country, also thanks to support from organizations such as OMCT, and gradually drawing attention to the regular violations committed.

 
When the Dutch Government granted independence to Indonesia in 1949, Papua was not part of it. At the end of the Dutch colonial rule, Papua was first administered, and then absorbed, by Indonesia in 1969, following a sham “referendum” requested by the United Nations

 
This so‑called “Act of Free Choice” was in fact a vote by just over a thousand selected Papuans (out of a population of 800,000 at the time) who had been pressured to agree to integration within Indonesia.  

 
This vote has been the bone of contention between Papuans and the Republic of Indonesian. Papuans have ever since agitated for independence, and have been conducting a still ongoing, low-level guerrilla warfare against Indonesian forces, in turn engaged in bloody repression and unpunished human rights violations. 

 Papuans – who are Melanesian and whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region tens of thousands of years ago – do not identify culturally with the Asians. They see their Papuan identity and indigenous culture based on customary subsistence-based agriculture threatened by the arrival of migrants who, in turn, see the traditional Papuan way of life as backward.
 
Discrimination and marginalization of Papuan have therefore worsened the situation. According to the West Papua 2000 census, its population consisted of twice as many indigenous Papuans as non-indigenous migrants from other parts of the archipelago, but economic injustice and disadvantage limit the indigenous population’s access to wealth. Poverty rates in West Papua are twice the national average, and between 2002 and 2013, income inequality increased by 24 per cent, according to UNDP.

 
Government policies have also contributed to the problem. The arrival of migrants, fostered by transmigration programmes, has upset the demographics and social and cultural heritage of the people of West Papua and exacerbated competition over land and resources. Compounded with the socially and environmentally destructive development projects pushed in the region by Indonesia, this has caused widespread social disruption and environmental damage, forcing Papuan tribal groups to relocate, according to researchers from Yale Law School cited by Elsham in a 2003 Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights session.

 
Persevering to fight silence and impunity 

Unreported exactions keep occurring as foreign eyes and independent international observers are barred from West Papua. It is therefore only thanks to the work of local organizations and human rights defenders such as Paul, who runs Elsham’s office in West Papua and attends international advocacy meetings at the Human Rights Council in Geneva communicating regularly with donors, that the world can know what is happening there. 

“Impunity has allowed the security force, the police and the army, free access to inflict fear and terror through torture and other physical abuses,” Paul explains his motivation. “In order for torture to end the Indonesia State must take a strong action to punish those involved in its practice.” 

 Despite these odds and the many challenges of his job including being under Indonesian intelligence surveillance being as an “independence sympathizer”, Paul, 51, trusts that the human rights conditions in West Papua will improve.
 “It will come although things will change one at a time,” he says. “Perseverance with good strategies in work will yield results.” 
-- by Lori Brumat in Geneva

  
To know more about the "10 December, 10 Defenders" campaign, click here. 


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2) POLICE: POLICE PAPUA AND WEST PAPUA DEPLOYED IN CONFLICT-PRONE AREAS

Jakarta, Jubi – Reinforcements have been sent to 10 areas to secure simultanous elections, which were held on Wednesday (9/12/2015).
“Based on our mapping, reinforced regional police are located in areas prone to electoral conflicts,” said Eddy in Jakarta on Tuesday (08/12/2015).
The ten of the Police Headquarters were Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, East Java, North Sumatra, Jambi, Central Sulawesi, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua, and West Nusa Tenggara.
According to him, about 100 to 900 personnel Brigade (Brimob) have been deployed to secure in each region.
Eddy explained that the ten areas are in the vulnerable category based on the history of the conflict, the existence of multiple political party officials, and potential conflicts of the candidate.
“In addition, border disputes, community characteristics, and the level of vulnerability to security and public order disturbances also into consideration the police to tighten oversight,” he said. (*/Tina)
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3) DECREE ON PANIAI AD HOC TEAM JUST ISSUED 10 MONTHS AFTER SHOOTINGS

Jayapura, Jubi – Ten months following the Tolikara shooting incident, the decree on the formation of an ad Hoc team on the case has been finally issued by the National Human Rights Commission.
“It’s such an irony. It’s just yesterday when the commission, through Ansori Sinugan said the Ad Hoc team has been formed since October 2015,” PapuaItuKita Coordinator, Zely Ariane told Jubi by phone from Jakarta on Wednesday (9/12/2015).
She said the decree included several names that were announced to the crowd in front of the Human Rights Commission Office.
“Of several mentioned names, we recognize them. We can have high expectations of this independent process,” she said.

She also said the case will continue to be monitored.
“This is only the one stage. The next step is to ensure the team work promptly and appropriately, call upon the suspects immediately, enable the human rights tribunal as well as to fulfill the justice for the victims,” she said.
Separately, the human rights commissionaire Natalius Pigai promised to resolve the Paniai Tragedy. Pigai who joint into Ad Hoc team is ready to work as much as possible.
“Resolution of Paniai case may not be intervened by anyone. It is the severe human rights violation,” he said.
According to Pigai, to prevent the case treated like the kidnapping case of Theyis Eluay, which is the perpetrators only got light punishment, he encouraged the victims’ families to allow the autopsy towards the dead victims. Pigai thought the State has enough capacity to complete the Paniai case appropriately. This case is the severe human right violation perpetrated by security force, but the Central Government has not serious attention to resolve it.
“The State intends not to settle the Paniai case. It doesn’t want to resolve the severe human right violation of Paniai case, because –except to the National Human Rights Commission, the Military and Police as State’s apparatus were involved,” he said.
Paniai Regional Customary Council Chief, John NR. Gobai who is persistent in voicing the settlement of Paniai case, asserted the case indicates the State’s dishonest. Paniai case likes a ball kicked by the Military and Police to protect the perpetrators. A lot of information has received by the National Human Rights Commission when it came to Paniai.
“Military and Police Headquarters should immediately announce the result instead of being silence. I also see the National Human Rights Commission is protecting the perpetrators. If not, as the customary council chief, I will ask the international community to intervene the case settlement,” he said. (Abeth You/rom)
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4) RIGHTS GROUP CRITICIZES JOKO WIDODO’S POOR HUMAN RIGHTS PERFORMANCE


Jayapura, Jubi – Human rights activists said President Joko Widodo has not been able to resolve cases of human rights violations in Papua a year after he took officer. 
Acts of violence by security forces are still happening in Papua, said the Coordinator of Solidarity for the Victims of Human Rights Violation in Papua (SKP HAM Papua), Penehas Lokbere.
SKP HAM Papua said it recorded 11 incidents of violence that occurred after Jokowi assumed office, killing ten people and injuring 39.

Security forces arrested at least 268 people, Lokbere said during peace rally to commemorate the International Human Rights Day in front of the Papua’s Parliament office, Jayapura City on Thursday (10/12/2015).
In front of hundreds of crowd, Lokbere revealed the list of violence that occurred in Papua since November 2014:
1.  1 December 2015, shooting incident occurred in Serui, 1 dead, 1 in critical condition at hospital, up date condition of 2 victims has not clarified yet.
2.  8 October 2015, dissolution over peace rally in front of the Catholic Church Gembala Baik Abepura held by SKP HAM Papua. 18 were arrested.
3.  09 October 2015, three KNPB activists were arrested in Sentani.
4.  28 September 2015, shooting incident occurred in Mimika, 1 dead, 2 injured.
5.  28 August 2015, shooting incident occurred in Mimika, 1 dead, 4 injured.
6.  17 July 2015, shooting incident occurred in Tolikara, 1 dead, 11 injured.
7.  25 June 2015, shooting incident occurred in Dogiyai, 1 dead, 1 in critical condition.
8.  22 June 2015, 14 members of Student Independent Forum were arrested in Jayapura.
9.  28 May 2015, 47 KNPB members were arrested in Jayapura.
10. 21 May 2015, dissolution over peace rally in Biak, 25 arrested.
11. 20 May 2015, KNPB activists were arrested in Biak.
12. 30 April to 1 May 2015, the arrest against 178 Pro-Democracy activists.
13. 14 April 2015, the arrest against 4 delegations of Papua Independent Committee.
14. 08 March 2015, shooting incident occurred in Yahukimo, 1 dead, 5 injured and 11 arrested.
15. 08 December 2015, shooing incident occurred in Paniai, 5 dead (4 high school students and 1 civilian), 17 injured.
16. 19 November 2014, the arrest against 8 KNPB activists in Nabire.
“The data shows that the Jokowi’s government is still carrying the security approach in tackling the situation in Papua. It indicates the new ruler is making the same mistake of former SBY’s administration for a decade. The promise to build the peace dialogue between Jakarta and Papua and to realize the Peace Papua is nonsense that merely used as the polish imagery tool,” said Lokbere.
With many actors involving in security situation in Papua, instead of protecting the civilians, the fact is they used their power and improper discretion excessively.
In order to materialize peace dialogue that he promised during the presidential election campaign, Jokowi’s Government must take a promptly action in tackling the violence and human rights violation issues given those could not only resolved through a promise but clear instruction towards the State’s instrument to act.
Pastor of St. John and Peter Parish of Jayapura Diocese, Father Paulus Tumayong read the joint statement before hundreds of crowd and parliament’s members. “We are from Solidarity for the Victims of Human Rights Violation in Papua (consisting of SKPKC Franciscan Papua, BUK-Papua, KontraS Papua, FIM, FPP, AMPTPI, PMKRI, GMKI, Catholic Youth, SEMA STFT Fajar Timur, BEM USTJ, BEM Uncen, Gempar, KPKC Kingmi Papua, KPKC GKI, and Marinus Yaung (Academician of Cenderawasih University Papua), urge the President of the Republic of Indonesia to fulfill his promise to Papuans as stated in the National Christmas Celebration event on 27 December 2014 at Mandala Stadium, Jayapura to solve the human rights violation case occurred in Paniai, 8 December 2014. The President of the Republic of Indonesia to immediately instruct the National Human Rights Commission to endorse the the Human Rights Investigation Team to lead the legal process against the shooting perpetrators in Paniai,” said Father Tumayong getting applause from the crowd.
He said the Indonesian Government must immediately open the space of democracy for Papuans and open the access for international media to come in Papua. “Papua Legislative Council to escort the Ad Hoc team that already formed on 15 October 2015 to work in revealing the shooting perpetrators in Paniai on 8 December 2014,” he said.
He further said the parliament also must immediately invite the Papua Police Chief and Cenderawasih Regional Military Commander to conduct an official evaluation on the security situation in Papua and to terminate the impunity of security forces who commit the human rights violation in Papua. (Abeth You/rom)
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5) WE KNOW WHO PANIAI’S SHOOTING PERPETRATORS ARE
SAYS HOUSE SPEAKER
Jayapura, Jubi – The Chairman of Papua Legislative Council, Yunus Wonda said he would risk his life to solve cases of violence in Papua, especially the incident which killed four students in Paniai on 8 December 2014.
He said the parliament would not stay silence and would contunue to push for a thorough  investigation into those cases, including the Paniai shootings.
“As the chairman, I will risk my life for Paniai case. It could be a gate to reveal the all cases in Papua. We also have some data. We knew who are the perpetrators, but we don’t have authority to reveal it. We expected those who have authority could reveal this case. We do not remain silence, we will keep fighting for all cases in Papua,” Yunus Wonda said in front of the Papua human right activists who conducted rally in the parliament office’s yard on Thursday (10/12/2015).
According to him, if the Indonesian Government does not care about Papua, there are some parties who care and listen the voice of Papuans. “Thank you for supporting us. We hope the president’s visit to Papua that planned in this month would have an answer for Paniai case. We never remain silence,” he said.

The activist of Student Movement for People (GempaR), Samuel Womsiwor said if the state was not able to solve the cases in Papua, GempaR would endorse the Pacific Islands Forum to come to Papua to conduct investigation whether human rights violations had occurred or not. “It’s one of solutions. Indonesia must accept the way of the international community to resolve the cases in Papua,” said Womsiwor.
Meanwhile the General Secretary of West Papua National Committee, Ones Suhuniap said the Paniai case is one of many cases in Papua that never been revealed until now.  Indonesia doesn’t want to responsible towards many incidents occurred in Papua during the time. “If this country has no ability to reveal the cases, we certainly don’t need it. We will appealed to the international community,” said Suhuniap.  (Arjuna Pademme/rom)

1) HUMAN RIGHTS SETTLEMENT NEEDS CENTRAL GOVERNMENT’S POLICY

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2) House pushes back against  Freeport
3) MEMBERS OF SECURITY FORCES ALLEGEDLY SELL ALCOHOL IN MUARA TAMI
4) GOVERNMENT TO BUILD FOUR FOOD WAREHOUSES IN PAPUA
5) PRESIDENT’S STAFF MEMBERS MUST LISTEN HIS ORDER
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1) HUMAN RIGHTS SETTLEMENT NEEDS CENTRAL GOVERNMENT’S POLICY


Jayapura, Jubi – The chief representative of the National Human Rights Commission in Papua, Frits Ramandey, said on Thursday (10/12/2015) that resolution to human rights cases cannot be delegated to the local government, saying policies need to come from the central government.
He said based on the commission’s record, 22 operations resulted in human rights violations, while 9 incidents of human rights violations occurred in the reform era since the implementation of special autonomy.
“Therefore what should be solved by the state is some cases that have been a concern of the international community, because if it’s allowed to happen, the target wasn’t the perpetrator but the State, and needs to remember that Papua has political vulnerabilities and the human rights issues have implications towards the political condition in Papua,” he said.
Ramandey said the cases must be prioritized by the central government are Wasior case and Wamena case that occurred in the reform era, Uncen case, Biak case, Paniai case and the cases of land reform. He added with the president’s attention, those case should be resolved immediately, if the State will be in complicated position and under pressure of the international community.

“The theme of current human rights celemberation is “Our Rights Our Freedom”. It is chosen to give enough space to the State to embrace its citizens and to resolve the cases of violence,” he said.
Earlier, the Papua Governor Lukas Enembe appealed the entire government officials to create development policy on human rights basis. “Development should involve and has value to the community,” said Enembe. (Alexander Loen/rom)


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2) House pushes back against  Freeport
Fedina S. Sundaryani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Sun, December 13 2015, 2:08 PM - 

The plot has thickened in the ongoing controversy surrounding mining giant Freeport as Fadli Zon, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, has proposed the House set up a special committee to probe alleged irregularities within the gold and copper mining firm. 

Fadli’s statement followed a recent case involving House Speaker Setya Novanto who allegedly pushed his personal agenda in talks with PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsuddin and business tycoon Reza Chalid. 

Fadli, who is also deputy chairman of the Gerindra Party, said on Saturday that the controversy was merely the tip of the iceberg of problems surrounding Freeport’s operations in Papua. 

“Freeport’s existence [in Indonesia] does not only concern mining activities, but there are many political implications. With this special committee, we will be able to see exactly who is involved in Freeport. We will also be able to see how much the state should receive [from Freeport’s operations] because many have said that we have received too little all this time,” he said. 

Fadli said Freeport’s operations, among the largest in the world, had not benefited local communities in the region, let alone the rest of the country.

Freeport was thrust into the spotlight recently following a report filed by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said with the House’s ethics council (MKD), alleging that Setya had claimed to have approval from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to accept shares from Freeport in exchange for the government’s assurance that it would grant a contract extension for Freeport’s mining operations after the current contract expires in 2021. 

A copy of a recording of the conversation, which took place on June 8, was also submitted to the ethics council.

Fadli said he understood Freeport might have pursued such talks to maintain its existence in Papua even though Government Regulation (PP) No. 77/2014, which revises PP No. 23/2010 on mineral and coal mining businesses, dictates that an extension request can only be submitted to the government a maximum of two years and a minimum of six months before a contract is due to expire.

“However, we are a lawful country and must abide by existing regulations,” he said. 

National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker Yandri Susanto backed Fadli’s proposal for setting up a special committee to investigate the mining giant.

“The quicker we set up the committee, the better. It will help us discover whether or not there have been conspiracies, markups, pollution and other issues [related to Freeport]. We will uncover everything,” he said.

The House earlier formed a similar committee to launch a probe on state-owned port operator Pelindo II, following allegations of graft involving its executive RJ Lino.

Paramadina University political expert Herdi Sahrasad, however, urged the House to focus on the current council hearings to decide whether Setya’s actions should be deemed a breach of ethics.

Herdi said the House’s reputation hinged on whether the council members took the hearings seriously.

“All political parties must agree to continue with the MKD hearings because the public is currently paying close attention. The Freeport conspiracy issue is also a priority, but Setya’s [ethics hearing] must reach its conclusion,” he said, adding the ethics council must also commit to holding transparent hearings. 

Herdi said a special committee on Freeport would be ineffective if the council hearings turned out to be only a ruse. 

The council is also scheduled to hear testimony from Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan when the hearings resume on Monday.
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3) MEMBERS OF SECURITY FORCES ALLEGEDLY SELL ALCOHOL IN MUARA TAMI


Jayapura, Jubi – Based on research conducted by the Institute for Women and Children in Papua (LP3AP), excessive alcohol is one of the main drivers of the rise in domestic violence in Papua.
Many cases are reported and handled by LP3AP as an advocacy organization for women and children. The majority of domestic violence cases that occur is due to alcohol.
This fact was confirmed by Sofie Ayomi Sonata, one of the residents of Muara Tami District in the discussions held by the Women’s Movement Anti Alcohol and Drugs last Thursday.

She continued from year to year, there are Muara Tami people who died from consuming liquor.
“We asked the mayor to step down and curb the practice of selling alcohol in Muara Tami as we know that liquor is not sold haphazardly in the stalls, “she added.
It should be acknowledged that the Regional Regulation concerning the control and supervision of the alcohol made by the government of the city of Jayapura in 2014 has not been effectively implemented.
Separately, Sefnat B. Layan, head of Rehabilitation of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Papua said BNN has complained to the government of the city of Jayapura.
“The sale of alcohol is also limited but not in the stalls because there are special places that are reserved for the sale of alcoholic drinks. If the liquors are sold in kiosks, the Jayapura city government should ban i because it has violated the existing legislation, “he said.
A resident of Muara Tami who refused to be named said that the circulation of alcohol in Muara Tami is always done by security forces. “Here a lot of armed forces and the police who sell liquor freely to the public. I ask their leaders to to curb their members, “he said.
Earlier, chairman of the Legislative Body of Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) Jayapura, Kristian Kondobua said regulations on alcohol regulation is different from Papua Province.
“If these cases are true then the circulation of alcohol must be stopped ,” he said. (Roy Ratumakin/Tina)

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4) GOVERNMENT TO BUILD FOUR FOOD WAREHOUSES IN PAPUA


Denpasar, Jubi  – The government will build four food warehouses in the province of Papua, especially in regions affected by the snowfall, to ensure residents are not experiencing food shortages.
“The four logistics warehouses will be in Nduga, Puncak, Puncak Jaya, and Lanny Jaya,” said Minister of Social Affairs, Khofifah Indar Parawansa in Denpasar, Bali on Monday (07/12/2015).
The Minister said she had communicated with the four regents in the region about the plan.

Warehouse logistics is required because the actual citizens have tubers that constitute their staple food that can be stored. So that the current can not harvest because the plants die due to snowfall. They will have a stock of food.
Previously, the Ministry of Social Affairs has distributed logistical support such as rice to 32 Nduga residents. In Lanny Jaya government has prepared 100 tonnes of rice reserves (CBP).
“I also have coordination with provincial social affairs and Lanny Jaya regent,”she said.
She continued, the incident actually happened last July when snowfalls hit parts of Puncak, Puncak Jaya, and Lanny Jaya. The death of 32 people in Nduga regency were allegedly caused by malnutrition. (*/Tina)
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5) PRESIDENT’S STAFF MEMBERS MUST LISTEN HIS ORDER

Jayapura, Jubi – Pastor of St. Johannes and Petrus Parish, Argapura, Jayapura Diocese, Pater Paulus Tumayong said he and President Joko Widodo attended the National Christmas event held in Mandala Stadium, Jayapura on 27 December 2014. In his speech, the president promised to solve the Paniai case thoroughly.
“If a president, the number one person in the Republic of Indonesia said so, therefore his staffers must take actions on it,” said Pater Tumayong to Jubi after the prayer to commemorate the 1st Anniversary of Paniai Blood case at St. Joseph Hall, Fajar Timur Philosophy of Theology Institute (STFT) on Tuesday (08/12/2015).
However, he wondered why it still couldn’t be settled while it has passed for a year? Is there an extraordinary power causing a deadlock on this case?
“It’s not only occurred to Paniai case, but many violence cases in Papua have not thoroughly revealed. There is an impression that those cases are deliberately forgotten and gone at the end. So, this event is our attempt to solve the case, to fight against forgetting,” he said.

He said his participation to voice the revelation of Paniai Blood case with other humanitarian organizations is to fight the truth and justice that is the mission of the creator, the God’s mission.
“It made me taking part in this humanitarian event. Because of the Church through the priest was asked to fight for truth and justice and must dare to voice the injustice occurred among the people,” he told Jubi on Tuesday (08/12/15) in Jayapura.
Therefore, he said, sometimes ago he and his colleagues of Franciscan Order and some from other organizations conducted a rally, it was because they were driven to the fact they are living in comfort in the rectory.
“My heart was driven because I live in comfort with luxurious facilities in the rectory. So, I asked myself, the call upon me to become a pastor, whether it is only a call to speak on the altar? Or should I come to ground to voice the silenced people? Therefore, I come out of the rectory and join into this activity,” Tumayong said.
The Coordinator of SKP HAM Papua, Peneas Lokbere said SKP urged the President Joko Widodo to immediately enforce the Ad Hoc team to resolve the Paniai case (8/12/2014).
He stated the National Human Right Committee to not use the autopsy and lack of funding as the reason for not revealing the case. “State is responsible to the recent and past human right violation cases that occurred in Papua.”
Jubi observed that in the event, some students performed a short play of the story on the killing of 4 high school students in Paniai and the brothers from Franciscan Order recited poem of tragedy.
Lokbere added that SKP HAM would conduct a peace rally on Thursday (10/12/2015). They would do long march from the front of the Catholic Church Gembala Baik in Abepura to Papua Parliament Office in Jayapura.
“We already sent a letter to the Police for permit. And after the rally at the Parliament Office and continue to light the candle at Taman Imbi, Jayapura City as a symbol of mourning,” he said. (Abeth You/rom)

1) 3,000 Papuans to get PNG citizenship

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1) 3,000 Papuans to get PNG citizenship
2) PNG citizens get visa-free access to Indonesia
3) Ethics Council to Send Police After Oilman Riza if He Misses Monday’s Hearing
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1) 3,000 Papuans to get PNG citizenship

Indonesian and West Papuan girls play in a market in Jayapura.Photo: RNZ / Koroi Hawkins
Updated at 6:42 am today
Papua New Guinea's deputy chief migration officer says processes are underway to grant citizenship to about 3,000 West Papuan refugees.
Esther Gaegamin says there are about 3,000 West Papuan refugees in camps in the Western Province, near the Indonesian border, that have been registered with the government.
She says most of them are qualified for PNG citizenship and her office has commenced a registration and naturalisation project with them.
Ms Gaegamin told the newspaper, The National, that some of the West Papuans have been in PNG for decades and it's appropriate that they are given a home and legal rights.


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2) PNG citizens get visa-free access to Indonesia
Updated at 3:56 pm today

Indonesia's government has relaxed tourist travel requirements to allow Papua New Guineans visa-free access to Indonesia.


The newspaper, The National, reports the Indonesian Ambassador in PNG, Ronald JP Manik, as saying that ordinary PNG passport carriers wanting to visit Indonesia as tourists do not require a visa to enter.
He said the relaxing of the travel requirement was agreed to recently between the two governments.
Mr Manik said the arrangement should allow more Papua New Guineans to visit Indonesia since there would be a flight connecting Mt Hagen's Kagamuga airport to Indonesia from next year.
The ambassador also said that as PNG was the only country that shared a land border with Indonesia, the visa-free arrangement would help ease the flow of trade traffic through the main border access point between Jayapura and PNG’s Vanimo.

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3) Ethics Council to Send Police After Oilman Riza if He Misses Monday’s Hearing
By : Jakarta Globe | on 5:38 PM December 13, 2015
Jakarta. The House of Representatives’ Ethics Council has threatened to sic the police on oilman Muhammad Riza Chalid if he fails to testify in a tribunal into an alleged shakedown attempt by House Speaker Setya Novanto.
Riza was scheduled to testify on Dec. 4 in the case, which is quickly unfurling as one of the biggest corruption scandals in Indonesia’s history, but failed to appear. The police chief said earlier this week that he had left the country, but his current whereabouts are unknown.
With one summons snubbed, Ethics Council member Sukiman said the council could enlist the help of the police to bring Riza in if he fails to appear again on Monday.
“If we can't summon [Riza] the first and second time around, then the third time we can ask law enforcers to summon him by force,” he said on Sunday as quoted by Detik.
Riza and Setya are accused of trying to shake down Freeport Indonesia chief executive Maroef Sjamsuddin for a 20 percent stake in the copper and gold miner, valued at an estimated $4 billion.
Maroef secretly recorded the conversation during a meeting in June, but it was only last month that Sudirman Said, the energy minister, submitted a copy of the recording, along with a transcript, to the House Ethics Council when filing a complaint against Setya.
Both Sudirman and Maroef have testified at the tribunal, corroborating each other’s claims that Setya and Riza demanded shares in both Freeport Indonesia and in a power plant that it plans to build.
In exchange, the recording indicates, Setya and Riza promised to speed up the miner’s contract extension negotiations with the government before the 2019 start date
National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti has said that Riza was likely “hiding in an Asian country.”
He added that it would be difficult for Indonesia to seek extradition of Riza from wherever he had fled, given that the ongoing inquiry was an ethics tribunal not a criminal investigation, and thus he could not be formally charged with any crime.
“If [Riza] is still here [in Indonesia] we can force him to testify but we can’t do that after he already left the country,” Badrodin said on Tuesday.
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