2) The exclusion of indigenous rights in Papua autonomy era
3) Health workers are on demand in Papua
4) Indonesia targets deal with Rio Tinto in June
5) Back to the future in Southeast Asia
6) Jayawijaya Plane Skids Off Runway at Wamena Airport
--------------------
1) What is the most attractive thing to see in FDS 2018?
Illustration of traditional Papuan dance – Jubi / Engel Wally
Sentani, Jubi –Jayapura Regent Mathius Awoitauw stated traditional food produced from sago and cultural performances would be the two most attractive things to see in Lake Sentani Festival (FDS) 2018.
Furthermore, he said location, where the festival takes place, must be set attractively to avoid an impression of a night fair event or a regular traditional market.
“Those who will be directly involved in performances at the FDS, such as dancers, must wear cultural costumes. They are not allowed to wear anything else on stage,” he said.
The Second Vice Chairman of Jayapura House of Representatives Kornels Yanuaring said the FDS, which is an annual government agenda, should have a positive impact on the local community.
“Visitors should acquire clear information about this event; what would perform in this festival. So, we could see their interest on the event, and it could be an indicator of the income for the local community,” he said. (*)
Reporter: Engel Wally
Editor: Pipit Maizier
------------------------------------
2) The exclusion of indigenous rights in Papua autonomy era
Nabire, Jubi – After nearly a week, the Forestry Region VI Nabire (KCDK) Agency finally operates after the Head of KCDK Region IV Office open it since it was barred by former staff members of Nabire Forestry Agency due to the inauguration of officials and new structure in this agency by the Acting Papua Governor.
They thought the appointment of non-Papuans in the office structure is against the Law No. 21, 2001 on special autonomy, which mandates a priority should award to indigenous Papuan, particularly Nabire native. It moreover considers neglecting former civil servants of Nabire Forestry Office whose office currently merge into the provincial forestry office.
KCDK Region VI Nabire Agency was as a result of the enactment of the Law No 23, 2014 on the Regional Government and the Government Regulation No. 18, 2016 on the regional apparatus.
According to these two regulations, staff and authorities of the Regional Forestry Office transferred to the provincial office. Papua Province then opened a branch office in the district as an extension of the Provincial Forestry Office. However, the new office structure does not accommodate the former staff.
A former staff member of Nabire Forestry Office Tenni Sembor said Acting Papua Governor should refer to the Law No.21, 2001 on Papua Special Autonomy before a decision to appoint the head office and establish a new structure of KCDK Region VI Nabire. He must prioritise Nabire natives as mandated in the law. He moreover explained that none of the officers in the new structure come from Nabire District, which is the Saireri customary area, and its natives are the owner of the land tenure right in Nabire Municipality.
“So we think this humiliates the rights of indigenous Papuans, in particular, the customary people in Nabire, whereas the Special Autonomy Law is the basis of protection and alignment towards the rights and local wisdom of Papua indigenous people,” said Sembor on Tuesday (5/22/2018).
Another former staff member of Nabire Forestry Office Marthinus Taa thought it is very unfair because, in this special autonomy era, none of the Nabire natives gets a position in the new structure. “While the agency is to manage forests in Nabire which associated with the customary rights of indigenous peoples,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Customary Consultative Council (BMA) of Wate tribe of Nabire District Yohanes Wanaha expressed his concern on the inauguration. He asked Acting Governor and Papua Provincial Office to reconsider the inauguration occurred on Monday 2018.
“This is an insult to the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples in this land. The Special Autonomy Law is still ongoing, but for decades, the government hardly accommodates our rights as indigenous peoples,” he said. (*)
Reporter: Titus Ruban
Editor: Pipit Maizier
--------------------------------------
3) Health workers are on demand in Papua
Jayapura, Jubi – Papua Accelerating Health Development Unit (UP2KP) admitted Papua Province still need more permanent health workers said UP2KP team to a legislator of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the Electoral District of Papua. They asked the legislator to enforce a quota of health workers in civil servant recruitment in 2018.
“We observe that Papua needs permanent health workers for more effective and efficient health services,” said the First Director of UP2KP Agus Raprap in the press release to Jubi on Sunday (20/5/2018).
He said many health problems such as exceptional condition (KLB) and outbreaks of diseases in Papua, in particular in remote areas, were occurred due to a crisis of health workers.
A member of the Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the Electoral District of Papua Roberth Rouw said he is ready to view the input on the health workers recruitment for Papua. He moreover said that health is the most critical sector of human development resources.
“I will learn the data related to the human resources demand (in the health sector). I will give it to the Minister of State Apparatus, but UP2KP should also provide data because this is very important to show a specific map about the existing of health workers in Papua and the number of health workers from outside of Papua that we need,” he said.
According to him, the lack of health workers in Papua becomes a very concerning issue. He agrees with the result of the monitoring and evaluation conducted by UP2KP which reveal that many health facilities in Papua, especially in districts, do not have permanent health personnel. (*)
Reporter: Roy Ratumakin
Editor: Pipit Maizier
----------------------------------------------------
4) Indonesia targets deal with Rio Tinto in June
News Desk The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Fri, May 25, 2018| 01:37 pm
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno has said the government is aiming at concluding its negotiations with Rio Tinto on the purchase of the latter’s interests in Papua’s Grasberg mine -- the world’s largest gold and second-largest copper mine.
She, however, was reluctant to talk about the negotiation involving state-owned mining company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), as a representative of the government and Freeport McMoran, the parent company of PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), and Rio Tinto.
“If we have signed the agreement, we will reveal it. God willing, the negotiation will be concluded in June,” said Rini in Jakarta on Thursday as reported by tribunnews.com.
Previously, London-based Rio Tinto confirmed it was discussing the sale with Inalum and Freeport McMoran. Rio Tinto said it noted reports of the potential purchase by Inalum of Rio Tinto's entire interest in the Grasberg mine for US$3.5 billion.
Rini also declined to comment about the price of Rio Tinto’s participating interests in mining, saying that it was under negotiation.
“No, we cannot reveal it. […] We are in the process of [document] finalization before we sign the agreement,” she stressed.
The government has appointed Inalum to buy PTFI’s shares, in line with a law that requires foreign mining companies to divest 51 percent of their shares to Indonesian entities.
Freeport McMoran and Rio Tinto established an unincorporated joint venture in 1995, which gave the latter control of 40 percent up to 2022 in certain assets and future production above specific levels in one of the blocks at Grasberg. (bbn)
---------------------------------------
SBS
5) Back to the future in Southeast Asia
It's been 20 years since the late Indonesian dictator Suharto was forced to resign amid deadly student protests and the country's worst economic crisis.
Updated
Updated 3 days ago
Former southeast Asian dictators are back in vogue at the moment.
At 92, Mahathir Mohamad became the world's oldest elected leader with a surprise win in the Malaysian elections, ousting Najib Razak from power a fortnight ago.
The pair were once allies but clashed over a graft scandal concerning allegations $6 billion was siphoned from a state fund including $932 million funnelled into Najib's bank account. Najib denies any wrongdoing.
Mahathir had a reputation as an authoritarian ruler during a previous stint in power between 1981-2003.
He's now considered a beacon of hope for democratic reform and anti-corruption after joining an alliance with opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, who has been pardoned and released from jail, for what many consider a politically motivated sodomy conviction.
There's a lot riding on how the unlikely partners will navigate Malaysia's political transition and a power handover as well as potential legal action against Najib.
If a similar journey in neighbouring Indonesia is anything to go by, the road ahead is unlikely to be smooth.
This week, on May 21, marked 20 years since the late Indonesian dictator Suharto was forced to resign amid deadly student protests and the country's worst economic crisis.
During 32 years in power, he amassed up to $47 billion through corruption and later avoided prosecution because doctors declared him medically unfit to face trial.
His three daughters and three sons built vast commercial empires from nepotism and government patronage.
Former Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said the past two decades had seen Indonesia become a democratic leader in southeast Asia, with genuine elections, a much freer press and active civil society.
"Indonesia is not a perfect democracy by any means," Farmer told AAP.
The explosion of conservative Islam since 1998 is shaping Indonesia's democracy before the 2019 presidential elections.
For decades Suharto's rule had banned most expressions of Islam and generally kept a lid on extremists.
But religious tensions are on the rise, exemplified by a family of suicide bombers targeting Christian churches in the second largest city Surabaya last week and the jailing in 2017 of Jakarta's former Christian governor known as Ahok on blasphemy charges.
While democracy had allowed people to exercise their rights to freedom of religious expression, at the other end of the spectrum there is a growth of extremist sentiment, Farmer said.
This includes instances of Islamic vigilantes cracking down on promiscuity and homosexual behaviour and some groups trying to stop shop assistants wearing Santa hats at shopping malls in the lead up to Christmas.
Deakin University professor Damien Kingsbury said repression from the Suharto days had largely lifted.
"While economic conditions aren't necessarily wonderful, people are now free to talk about it, complain about it and protest," he told AAP, adding that the range of media coverage is much broader than 20 years ago.
Suharto had centralised corruption so everyone knew their place in the pecking order, Kingsbury said, but since his political demise corruption hadn't diminished - it had just spread out.
"There's no longer this pyramid with the king at the top, it's really a much flatter structure," he said.
Farmer acknowledged that in some quarters in Indonesia there was still nostalgia for "strong man" leadership and the "good old days" when rice was heavily subsidised for the poor.
There are some frustrations Indonesia's economy is not living up to its potential and the rupiah has recently weakened.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts Indonesia to be the fifth largest economy in the world by 2030.
Farmer believes that estimate is "a bit far-fetched" because of shortages of basic elements such as energy and infrastructure investment have been a handbrake on economic growth.
Kingsbury said there was a perception in Indonesia the presidency of Joko Widodo had not lived up to high expectations.
"He's probably not a shoe-in for re-election," Kingsbury said.
Widodo, a former governor of Jakarta and furniture businessman, was the first Indonesian president not to have hailed from the political elite.
Suharto's youngest son Tommy - a former racing car driver, who served four years in jail for ordering the murder of a supreme court judge - has announced he's running for president.
"I have done my term and according to the laws I now have the same rights as anyone else. I have the right to vote and the right to be elected," Tommy told Al Jazeera TV.
Farmer said the Suharto name has drawbacks linked to some of the excesses of the past - human rights violations and the army's role in disappearances.
"(Tommy) has a history of shady business accomplices and dealings, so I personally wouldn't rate him highly as a prospect for high office," Farmer said.
Kingsbury predicts an even tighter presidential poll next year compared to 2014 when Widodo netted 53 per cent of votes to ex-general Prabowo Subianto's 47 per cent.
Subianto, Suharto's son-in-law, polled well despite a chequered history of alleged human rights abuses in East Timor and Papua.
Former army chief Gatot Nurmantyo, who briefly suspended military ties with Australia last year, is emerging as a potential dark horse candidate.
Kingsbury said written into Indonesia's DNA was a "militaristic and authoritarian tendency".
"There's a theory that countries tend to reflect the stamp that was put on them at the time that they achieve independence," he said.
"The simple fact that (Gatot and Subianto are likely to be) competitive shows that many Indonesians see that as a viable alternative to a more liberal model," Kingsbury said.
Even after 20 years of democracy, it can be hard to shake off the past.
Source: AAP
-------------------------------
6) Jayawijaya Plane Skids Off Runway at Wamena Airport
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- Jayawijaya Dirgantara Air cargo plane bearing flight number PK-JRM skidded off the runway while landing at Wamena Airport, Papua, on Thursday, May 24, at 14:08 local time.
The plane, which was carrying rice and cement, slips on the airport's runway 15.
Papua Police’s spokesman Sr. Comr. Ahmad Kamal has confirmed the incident and and said there was no casualty.
The report suggested the airliner slipped off the runway strip as its left engine was detached and fell off. The plane then landed on the left side of the runway.
“There was no casualty in the incident and the airport's operation resumes as usual because the aircraft’s position is on the outside of the runway,” said Kamal.
-------------------------------
