Friday, August 31, 2012

1) Investigation Continues Into Attack on Trucks in Papua


1) Investigation Continues Into Attack on Trucks in Papua

2) Papuans rally in C. Java against violence
3) Defending West Papuan activism
4) Hillary Clinton expected in Jakarta on Monday

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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/investigation-continues-into-attack-on-trucks-in-papua/541353

1) Investigation Continues Into Attack on Trucks in Papua
Banjir Ambarita | August 31, 2012

Police in Papua’s Puncak Jaya district are investigating a shooting on Wednesday evening that left one truck driver fighting for his life. 

Two trucks carrying building materials and staple goods were stopped in the Tingginambut area of Puncak Jaya by armed men, who opened fire on the vehicles before setting them ablaze. 

One of the drivers, identified as Tilu, was shot in the neck and chest and is in critical condition at a Jayapura hospital. 

Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Johanes Nugroho Wicaksono said police officers working under heavy security had processing the crime scene . 

“The two trucks, which were carrying staple goods and building materials, were set on fire. We have taken them to Mulia, the capital of Puncak Jaya,” he said. 

The police are still gathering information from witnesses, he said, and are searching for the perpetrators with the assistance of the military. 

Johanes said the two trucks were part of a convoy, but he did not specify if they had become separated from the other trucks. 

“There was a convoy of 30 trucks crossing through Tingginambut from Jayawijaya, headed for Mulia. They were carrying staple goods and building supplies for Mulia residents,” he said. 

Authorities are beefing up security along the Wamena-Mulia route. 

“A joint team of military and police personnel has been dispatched to the area,” Johanes said. “But for the time being, it’s unlikely that any convoy will dare to cross through the area.” 

The spokesman declined to speculate on the identity of the attackers. 

“It’s true that Tingginambut is the territory of Goliat Tabuni, the OPM leader in Puncak Jaya, but the police don’t want to speculate,” he said. “We will only talk in facts. So, for the time being, we will call them [unidentified people].” 

OPM is the Free Papua Organization 

A witness said the attackers fired on the trucks from about three meters away. “They used an AK-47,” said the witness. 

The witness, who did not want to be identified, said the attackers were believed to be Goliat Tabuni’s men. The reason for the attack, according to the witness, was that the truck drivers had not paid the rebels to pass through the area.
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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/08/31/papuans-rally-c-java-against-violence.html

2) Papuans rally in C. Java against violence


Paper Edition | Page: 9
Dozens of Papuans in Semarang and Salatiga in Central Java and Yogyakarta rallied in front of Semarang Police headquarters on Thursday, urging the government to take steps to stop violence in Papua.

The Papuans, grouped under the aegis of National Solidarity of Papua (Napas), urged the government to withdraw Indonesian Military (TNI) troops from the province, set up a dialogue between Papuan leaders and the central government and form a team to investigate the violence.

“There have been some shootings in Papua. We are worried for the safety of our friends and relatives safety,” Otis, the coordinator of the rally, said on Thursday.

Four people, including police officer Brig. Yohan Kisiwaitoi, were killed during recent attacks by unidentified perpetrators in Papua.

“We are afraid that all the attacks are just parts of the strategy of some people who want to tear us Papuans apart,” Otis added.

Similar protests also occurred in some other cities such as Jakarta; Bandung and Bogor, West Java; and Malang and Surabaya, East Java.


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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-30/defending-west-papuan-activism/4234616

3) Defending West Papuan activism

Updated Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:27pm AEST
Australia has raised hackles in Jakarta over Canberra's response to an ABC report accusing an Indonesian counter-terrorism unit of human rights violations in West Papua. Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has called on Jakarta to investigate the killing of a West Papuan activist Mako Tabuni. Jennifer Robinson is an Australian lawyer best known for representing Julian Assange. But for a decade she was deeply involved in providing legal assistance to West Papuan activists.
Source: Newsline | Duration: 8min 17sec
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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/84264/hillary-clinton-expected-in-jakarta-on-monday

4) Hillary Clinton expected in Jakarta on Monday

Thu, August 30 2012 21:44 | 128 Views
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with her Indonesian counterpart Marty M. Natalegawa here on Monday to discuss bilateral and other issues, the foreign ministry office said. 

They will discuss strategic partnership between Indonesia and the United States and other issues of interest to both countries , P.L.E. Priatna, the information and media director at the foreign ministry, said here on Thursday. 

The two ministers will hold joint new conference after the meeting, a release from the foreign office said.(*)
Editor: Heru

Thursday, August 30, 2012

1) Academic says Indonesian anti terrorist group's range of activities ...‎



1) 

Academic says Indonesian anti terrorist group's range of activities ...

2) Jakarta worries about Papua not about asylum-seekers
3) NT leads push for stronger Jakarta ties

4) Australia’s West Papua bind



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1) 

RNZI Posted at 02:24 on 30 August, 2012 UTC
An academic at Sydney University says anti terrorist groups in Indonesia’s Papua region need to stick to their mandate and have their actions closely monitored.
Dr Jim Elmsie, from the Centre of Peace and Conflict Studies, says the special forces police group, Detachment 88, has extended its brief after being set up to counter the rise of Islamic terrorism following the Bali bombings.
He says while the group has been very effective in capturing terrorists in Indonesia, the recent fatal shooting of a Papua independence leader, Mako Tabuni, is alarming.

He says its outrageous that Australian Federal Police are involved in training groups like Detachment 88 and an independent investigation, perhaps by the United Nations, is needed.
“Any country today is potentially the victim of terrorism so you need units that are dedicated to countering that and to react when a terrorist act does occur. But that doesn’t mean that they can just spread their sort of brief, if you like, into assassinating domestic critics.”
Sydney University’s Dr Jim Elmsie.
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2) Jakarta worries about Papua not about asylum-seekers
            BY:
DEWI FORTUNA ANWAR From:
The Australian August 30, 2012 12:00AM
INDONESIA is edging back into Australia's foreign policy debate.
After a period of complacency that relations between Australia and Indonesia have never been better, there now seems to be a sense Indonesia has more to offer Australia, and that Australia is not making the most of the opportunity.
Partly this results from Australia's opposition searching for ways to differentiate itself from the government in foreign policy. Partly it stems from a realisation by both Labor and the Coalition that Indonesia must play a role in any solutions to the wave of asylum-seekers reaching Australia's outlying territories, most coming by boat from Indonesia.
And, increasingly, it derives from the growing sense among strategic thinkers, not just in Australia, that in the search for "counterweights" to the growing power of China, Indonesia cannot be ignored. With its huge population and fast-expanding economy straddling strategic choke points between the Indian and Pacific oceans, Indonesia is not only projected to become one of the major world economies, it is also regarded as a global swing state that will have increasing influence in international affairs. Many countries are courting Jakarta with trade and strategic interests in mind.

At government level, Australia is considered to be a very close partner, but the relationship is still quite asymmetrical. Australians, particularly the media, pay more attention to happenings in Indonesia, especially negative ones, than the other way around. Except when there is high bilateral tension - over East Timor, Papua or perceived media insults to the Indonesian leadership - it is hard to think of a time when relations with Australia have become a contested issue or even a topic of discussion among Indonesian chattering elites.
At the same time there is still some wariness about Australia. Many people in Indonesia are still suspicious of Australians in general - not so much the government but elements of the Australian public that make critical comments, especially those questioning Indonesia's territorial integrity. This is a leftover of the East Timor issue.
There is still a strong belief in some Indonesian circles the separation of East Timor from Indonesia resulted partly from Australian pressures. To add to this, despite the 2006 Lombok Treaty between President Yudhoyono and then prime minister John Howard, there are continuing concerns about Papua. We know there are people in Australia who support the Free Papua Movement. When something negative happens in Papua it becomes an issue in Australia.
There is a sense in Jakarta that too much is expected of it around the ongoing issue of asylum-seekers. From the Jakarta perspective, Indonesia has naturally porous borders and a relaxed visa system to promote tourism. It is, therefore, quite easy for people from West Asia to enter as tourists or even illegally, then join the refugee underground.
The capacity of Indonesian authorities to monitor the many small ports and fishing boats, and pick out those engaged in refugee smuggling, is still limited. Corruption among officials has also made law enforcement more difficult.
For Indonesia, sustaining its economic growth in a global downturn and increasing competition is a priority to ensure political stability. After all, most of Indonesia's 240 million-plus population are young people needing gainful employment.
There is less preoccupation in Indonesia than in Australia about the possibility of a new cold war between the US and China. There is also no rush to draw the US in closer. Indeed, Indonesia believes it needs to engage China, just as it also engages the US, on its own terms. Thus the immediate reaction from Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to last November's announcement of the posting of US marines to Darwin was to express the hope that such a troop presence would not lead to increased tension or add to misunderstandings.
Within ASEAN Indonesia espouses the concept of a "dynamic equilibrium" for managing relations with the major powers.
There is also chatter among some Indonesian politicians, non-government organisations and students who see the Darwin positioning of the US marines not so much as a counterweight to Chinese influence but, rather, aimed at enhancing US leverage over Indonesia itself - even that the real target is Papua.
This reflects Indonesia's prickly sense of insecurity about its territorial integrity as well as its historical memories of US and Australian involvement in the Dutch attempt to separate Papua from the rest of the former Netherlands East Indies. The Indonesian government is paying serious attention to Papua. It is trying to accelerate its development, and with a rising level of violence everyone realises we cannot allow it to be business as usual in the handling of the region's politics.
As for the debate in Australia about neglect of Indonesia, it would be hard to find many Indonesians worried about being neglected. This is more a factor in the Canberra perspective.
The decline of Indonesian language study in Australian schools and universities has been raised during the visits of Indonesian leaders. With more Indonesians studying in Australia than vice versa, over time there will develop greater first-hand knowledge of Australia among younger educated Indonesians than is the case with knowledge about Indonesia among Australia's elite. This asymmetry in knowledge is not a good trend. Australia is not doing itself any favours by neglecting its knowledge bank on Indonesian culture and language, and its economic and social dynamics.
As ASEAN becomes more integrated, with Indonesia a key component, Jakarta will pull its weight more and more, not just in the regional arena but internationally.
Australia should have some comparative advantage in capturing Indonesia's potentials. Historically, it has put a lot of time and energy into developing the world's best corps of deep intellectual expertise about Indonesia. It should be able to leverage that expertise, not just for strategic security considerations but its own economic benefits.
The drop in interest in Indonesia, just at a time when Indonesia is rising up, is mystifying.
Dewi Fortuna Anwar is a senior adviser to the Vice-President of Indonesia. This is an edited excerpt from the latest Asialink essay. View the series free online at www.asialink.unimelb.edu.au/essays.

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3) NT leads push for stronger Jakarta ties
            BY:
AMOS AIKMAN From:
The Australian August 29, 2012 12:00AM
NEW Northern Territory leader Terry Mills will send a fulltime envoy to Jakarta and make Indonesia the destination of his first official overseas trip.
The chief minister-elect lashed the Gillard government for its "insult to our neighbour" over last year's ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia, which he said had "cost Australia dearly".
"It was making animals more important than people, not understanding what impact the denial or the disruption of food sources has on our neighbour," he told The Australian. "How threatening that is . . . how disrespectful to do that without consultation."
Mr Mills, a Bahasa Indonesia speaker, said Darwin's growing ties with Indonesia had been key in his decision to move from Perth in 1989.
But in the wake of the financial crisis and China's rise, Australia had "dropped our neighbour".
"The focus shifted and we lost the connection, and if you lose the connection you lose the understanding, so you are prone to making bad decisions," Mr Mills said.
"I want to establish Darwin as the meeting place between our two nations, so that issues like 'what does the deployment of US marines look like from our neighbour's perspective?' can be properly considered.
"I want to position the Northern Territory as the national leader in bilateral relations." He plans to enlist the help of Darwin-based architect and former Indonesian activist during the reformist era, Wahyu Dewanto.
Dr Dewanto said he and Mr Mills had travelled together to Indonesia several months ago, where they met key figures and had received a warm reception.
"They said they were happy to help us in the future," he said.
Dr Dewanto was second in charge of Indonesia's Hanuka party until about three months ago. He travels between Darwin and Jakarta regularly. In the melee following revelations last year by the ABC TV's Four Corners of acts of cruelty on Australian cattle at Indonesian abattoirs, Mr Mills said "things got all muddled up in the ideology of the Greens and the animal liberation movement".
"I think the Prime Minister just didn't understand how difficult it is for Indonesia to manage local unrest over disruptions in food supply and price rises."
The month-long ban turned food self-sufficiency from a "slogan to something of a political cause" in Indonesia, Mr Mills said.
Live imports of Australian cattle by Indonesia have not fully recovered in the wake of the lifting of the month-long ban.
Last month, The Australian revealed details of another dispute in which Jakarta had unexpectedly changed the implementation of rules governing pedigree, leading to further disruptions. Industry sources speculated at the time that the move was a form of retaliation.
Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association executive director Luke Bowen could not be reached yesterday. However, he has previously said all possible efforts should be made to improve relations with Indonesia.
Mr Mills said Darwin had natural connections with the country, being closer to it than to Canberra. He also pledged to strengthen ties with Western Australia.
Tony Abbott was a "strong supporter" of his ideas, Mr Mills said, and the federal Opposition Leader would extend talks on the new NT leader's vision on a forthcoming trip to Indonesia.

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Published on Deakin Speaking (http://communities.deakin.edu.au/deakin-speaking)

Home > Blogs > Damien Kingsbury's blog > Australia’s West Papua bind

4) Australia’s West Papua bind
By Damien Kingsbury
Created 29/08/2012 - 12:09pm
Submitted by Damien Kingsbury [1] on Wed, 29/08/2012 - 12:09pm
    Community [2] counter-terrorism [3] diplomacy [4] human rights [5] reform [6] West Papua [7]
It seems that no matter how cordial Australia’s relationship with Indonesia is or how much it is desired to be so, perennial issues continue that call aspects of that relationship into question. Critically, the gap between how Australia official engages with Indonesia and how that engagement is more widely viewed within Australia continues to test the relationship.
This has again been illustrated with the continuing human rights problems experienced in West Papua, which have been the subject of a two-part ABC 7:30 Report story. That story highlighted the role of the Indonesian police anti-terrorist squad, Special Detachment 88 (‘Detasemen Khusus 88’, usually abbreviated as Den 88), which receives support from the Australian Federal Police.
The Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, said that official representation to the Indonesian government had been made about specific issues concerning Den 88’s activities in West Papua. But, as with foreign ministers before him, he has been caught between having to balance Australia’s often tricky relationship with its largest near neighbour with widely accepted fundamental values that inform Australian public life.
Den 88 was established in 2003 following the Bali bombing in which 88 Australians were killed. As well as Australian support, Den 88 is also supported by the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and is mostly trained by former US special forces members, under the CIA, at Megamendung, 50 kiloemtres south of Jakarta.
Part of the rationale for establishing Den 88 was that, at a time of growing Islamist terrorism in Indonesia, Indonesia’s key counter-terrorism unit, the army’s Kopassus (Special Forces) Group 5 (renamed Duty Unit 81 Counter Terrorism) had itself been deeply implicated in widespread human rights abuses and the employment of terrorist tactics. With Indonesia’s democratisation and a reduction of army control, it was regarded as more appropriate to ‘civilianise’ domestic counter-terrorism by handing it to the police.
However, Indonesia’s police, only removed from military control in 2000, has continued to have a paramilitary function. In regions such as West Papua it also continues to operate within the military chain of command. There is much evidence to implicate Den 88 in a string of serious human rights violations, including murder, torture and kidnapping.
Importantly, too, while Indonesia has undergone a process of democratisation and its conflicts elsewhere have been effectively resolved, West Papua remains quarantined from most of those changes. In this respect, the history of impunity by the army and police continues largely unaffected in West Papua.
The underlying problem has been that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono used up much political capital on the Aceh peace settlement and has since been stymied over West Papua. Military reform, and effectively reform of the police, has also stopped. Both continue to reflect many of the repressive characteristics of Indonesia’s pre-democratic period.
West Papua remains the most important source of significant ‘off-line’ income for both the army and the police, through legal business as well as ‘grey’ and illegal activities. As a result, they are both deeply reluctant to see the West Papua conflict resolved; repression and reaction in West Papua continue to serve the financial interests of the army and the police.
President Yudhoyono’s limited attempt at a political settlement in West Papua have been without any of the politically expensive concessions that were granted to help resolve the Aceh issue. West Papuan activists have, unsurprisingly, rejected such efforts as insincere.
That the West Papuan activists’ language is often couched in terms of ‘liberation’ and that the Morning Star flag continues as their primary symbol is seen as a provocation by Indonesian nationalists. This is all the justification the army, and the police, require to act in ways that would no longer be tolerated anywhere else in Indonesia.
Within Jakarta, the resource-rich West Papua is seen as a problem that does not require real efforts to fix while it continues to be hugely financially profitable to the Indonesia state. Similarly, knowing that even a reformist leader such as President Yudhoyono has little scope for movement in West Papua, Indonesia’s international friends, such as Australia and the US, continue to demure on the issue.
The problem is, however, that this diplomatically real politik position continues to be confronted by widely held competing views outside Indonesia. Until enough of Indonesia’s friends act strongly enough in concert to assist President Yudhoyono and other reformists to re-start the country’s reform process, organisations such as the US and Australian-supported Den 88 will continue to be implicated in serious human rights abuses which most Australians deeply oppose.               
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

1) Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call


1) Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call
2) Warinussy: Papuan leaders warned not to spread false information
3) OTSUS implementation not being felt by the people
4) WEST PAPUA: ABC report raises questions for region's leaders
5) End Indonesia anti-terror training: Greens
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http://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/indonesia-rebukes-carr-over-west-papua-call-20120829-250yb.html
1) Indonesia rebukes Carr over West Papua call
Date August 30, 2012
A SENIOR Indonesian legislator has hit out at Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr for having ''double standards'' after he called for an inquiry into the police killing of a West Papuan independence leader.
Mr Carr called for the inquiry after allegations that officers of the Australian-trained Indonesian anti-terror unit, Detachment 88, were involved in the killing of leader Mako Tabuni in June. Mr Tabuni, the deputy chairman of the independence group the National Committee for West Papua, was gunned down in the street by police who were trying to arrest him.
In an interview with The Age, the head of Indonesia's parliamentary commission for security, Mahfudz Siddiq, seemed to confirm that Detachment 88 was present in West Papua, partly because, he alleged, Mr Tabuni was ''one of the actors behind a series of violent actions'' there.
''That makes the presence of Detachment 88 and its involvement in some cases in West Papua as being very much about doing their job. Several cases in West Papua at that time were already seen as terror,'' Mr Mahfudz said.
Independence activists have denied that Mr Tabuni was involved in a series of killings in the lead-up to his death.
Mr Mahfudz also chided Mr Carr because he said he had never heard Australian politicians complaining about Detachment 88 killing Muslim terror suspects.
''In my opinion, it is too far for Bob Carr to mention human rights training to Detachment 88. Did Australia give any comment when Islamic activists got killed or injured by Detachment 88 while the anti-terror squad was raiding a house?'' Mr Mahfudz said.
''I think Australia must be careful about these statements because they could be seen as having double standards.''
Mr Mahfudz is a member of the PKS party, which is strongly Islamic, and part of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's governing coalition.
Detachment 88 has been trained by Australia and other countries for counterterrorism operations, but its use in the long-running independence struggle in West Papua is highly controversial.
While some rebel groups in West Papua are armed, activists say Mr Tabuni's group used purely political means to agitate for independence.


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from Tapol
2) Warinussy: Papuan leaders warned not to spread false information
Statement by Yan Christian Warinussy, Executive Director of LP3BH in Manokwari on 24 August 2012

News has recently been circulating that the Political Status  of the Land of Papua has been placed on the agenda of the General Assembly of the United Nations to be held in September in New York.
This information has been circulating  through SMS messages on mobile phones to Papuan communities throughout West  Papua. This information has raised many questions and  feelings of concern  among Papuan people.
 Warinussy said that as the Executive Director of the LP3BH, the news which was being circulated is completely false.
The truth is that it is the session of the UN Human Rights Council  that has on its agenda  the problem of the Structural and Systematic  Violation of Human Rights in West Papua at its session in Geneva, Switzerland which involves the Indonesian army and police force.
The fact is that the Indonesian government has been confronted by very strong criticisms  from almost all the members of the UN Human Right Council. Altogether 179 important recommendations have been directed against Indonesia and Indonesia has been given time to consider these recommendations in relation to its overall policy and urged to find an approach to handle the various social, cultural, economic and political problems in West Papua.
The UN General Assembly is the top-level institution of the United Nations, while it is at the UN Human Rights Council  that facts about human rights violations will be  an important item on its agenda. It is hoped that this important agenda item will lead to a decision calling on the Indonesian Government to deal with the problem of human rights violations.
This makes it quite clear that the matter that has been placed on the agenda is the question of Human Rights and has nothing to do with the question of political status but relates to the question of human rights.
It was at the Second Papuan Congress held in May 2000 that the question of  the revision of Papuan history was raised and it was the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban ki-Moon who said in Auckland, New Zealand on 7 September 2011 that such a matter would have to be discussed by the Decolonisation Committee which is an organ under the authority of the UN General Assembly.
In other words, the Papuan political elite, whether they like it or not, must understand that  the question of being a non-self-governing territory must be handled by the UN in accordance with its established mechanisms.
I would like to remind all Papuan leaders that not a single country around the world has expressed political support for the independence of West Papua and this has not been placed on the agenda of the UN. Why is this so? Such a move would have to be made by an independent country such as Australia, New Zealand, Timor-Leste, the  Philippines, the United Kingdom, PNG or Vanuatu.
In my opinion, the best thing would be for  we Papuans, especially our political elite, to unite behind a single vision and to learn from our fellow Melanesians on how they struggled  to fight around the question of their political status, so that we would achieve the right to self-determination and hold a referendum by 2014. [Translated by TAPOL]
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3) OTSUS implementation not being felt by the people
Bintang Papua, 28 August 2012
Timika, West Papua
The central government has acknowledged that implementation of Special Autonomy for Papua, known as OTSUS, is not being felt by  all the people living in West Papua.
This was stated by the deputy minister for security, law and human rights, Judy Harianto when addressing a mass meeting that had been convened by the Forum of Concern for Development in the district of central Papua which was held in the area around the Ene Mene Yaware building  in Timika, the capital of  of the district of Mimika.
The deputy minister said that  implementation of the provisions of OTSUS was not yet  meeting with the basic needs of  the people, in particular, the people at the very bottom of society.
He (the name could be a male or female) said that this was why the government is looking for the best way to solve the problems  so as to ensure that the disappointments  felt by the people would not go on accumulating. He also expressed the  hope that  the regional government  would be pro-active in engaging in dialogue in order to find the best solution. He said that one of the moves in this direction had the creation of UP4B (Unit for Development of Papua and West Papua).
According to the deputy minister, the government needed to find the solution so that the impact of OTSUS  could be felt by the people down to the lowest levels of society, because the approach currently taken was the security approach.
OTSUS was intended to be 'a gift from God' - a special endowment - meaning that implementation should be as effective as possible which means that not enough had been done to pursue the development approach.
During the meeting,  a letter was delivered to the deputy minister from the family of Anthon Uamang who is at present incarcerated in Cipinang Prison (Jakarta), asking that he be moved to Papua. In response, he said that he did not have the authority to do this but he would pass it on to the relevant authorities.
The rally was attended by about four hundred people. Others due to address the rally included 12 speakers, among others Dr J. Kristiadi, a political commentator, the priest Dr Neles Tebay, and the chairman of the Papuan Caucus in the national parliament, Paskalis Kosay. The gathering was planned to continue until 29 August.
[Translated by TAPOL]
[It should be noted that the law known as OTSUS was adopted more than ten yers ago, in 2001.]
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http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/west-papua-abc-report-raises-questions-regions-leaders-8075
4) WEST PAPUA: ABC report raises questions for region's leaders
A photo provided to West Papua Media Alerts after the violence at the Abepura dormitory yesterday. Photo: West Papua Media Alerts
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Item: 8075
AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): Fresh allegations of human rights violations in West Papua implicating Australia on ABC's 7:30 Report series this week have opened up multiple questions for leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum on Rarotonga.
As new reports have emerged from West Papua Media Alerts of new violence at a school dormitory in Abepura, the 7:30 Report series - screened on Monday and Tuesday nights - shone new lights on the ongoing accusation that the Australian government is responsible for the training and financing of the anti-terrorist group Detachment 88, or Densus 88, as it is known in Indonesia.

The group was originally trained to combat terrorism in Indonesia following the deadly bombing in Bali in October 2002, which claimed 88 Australian lives.
But in recent months media reports have spread, mainly from West Papua Media Alerts, that the anti-terrorist group was being deployed in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, supressing insurgents as well as peaceful demonstrators.
Presence confirmed
The ABC interviewed Constant Karma, who is the secretary of the province of Papua. He said: "I don't really know about West Papua but in the Papuan Police (Polda Papua) there [is] also Detachment 88 on duty."

Apart from the reports from within West Papua by reporters Hayden Cooper and Lisa Main, ABC presenter Leigh Sales put questions to Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr, who confirmed the Australian government had raised its concerns with human rights abuses in the two West Papuan regional provinces as recently as earlier this month.

Senator Carr said the Australian training included training in respecting human rights, but the ABC reports featured a number of eye-witnesses to violence in West Papua at the hands of police as well as Detachment 88 troops, including in the recent killing of independence leader Mako Tabuni.
Senator Carr told the ABC: "We train Indonesians in counter-terrorism. We do that because it's in Australia's interest. We do it because we want the Indonesians to have a strong, a formidable, anti-terrorist capacity. It is absolutely in Australia's interests that we have this relationship.

"But we don't train them in counter-insurgency - it's counter-terrorism."
'No distinction'
However, the ABC also sought comment from the Australian Federal Police, which made this admission in their responses:
"Detachment 88 is a specialist counter terrorism unit within the Indonesian National Police, however it should be noted that Indonesian law does not differentiate between terrorism, separatism and insurgency."
In response to the reports, political parties and human rights groups have released statements urging leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum to take notice.
The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation, based in Vanuatu, said the violence was nothing new.

"Violence has always been Indonesia’s policy regarding the land of Papua over the past 49 years. Being an occupying power, violence is their only means of enforcing their authority in the Papuan society," said spokespersons Rex Rumakiek, Dr John Ondowame and Andy Ayamiseba.
"For almost half a century since Indonesia annexed West Papua, our people have been subjected to terror and trauma."
Political reaction
The Democratic Labor Party in Australia said the situation was "genocide happening on our doorstep".
Senator John Madigan and Democratic Labor Party federal secretary Mark Farrell said: “Indonesia is not being transparent with the Australian people or the Australian government.

“It is difficult to understand how the government of a democratic country like Australia can ignore the oppressive behaviour of a neighbouring country.”
The Green Party of Australia also voiced their concern, with Senator Richard Di Natale drawing comparisons with East Timor.
“Australians are now becoming more aware of these atrocities being committed on their doorstep," he said.

"They know what happened in East Timor under Indonesian rule and they know that we, as a nation, cannot sit idly by while it occurs again in West Papua."
Joe Collins of the Australian West Papua Association said the PIF should take up the Indonesian government's offer to encourage research and balanced journalism by sending a fact-finding mission from the Forum.
He also encouraged Pacific leaders to raise the matter with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
"The Leaders’ retreat is supposed to provide an opportunity for private and frank discussions at the highest level and we hope that the PIF leaders will question Julia Gillard on Australia's involvement in the training of Detachment 88 which is accused of targeting West Papuan activists," he said.
"We also hope that concern for the situation in West Papua will be mentioned in the official Forum communiqué".

The Democratic Labor Party statement also argued for observers to visit.
“If Indonesia is seriously expecting us to believe it is not engaged in the oppression of the West Papuan people then they must allow human rights observers and international journalists in to the country.”
The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation is pushing for more, calling on the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the PIF, as well as the US, the UK, the European Union and others "to sponsor a resolution at the UNGA(United Nations General Assembly) to re-inscribe West Papua on the UN List for Decolonisation.
"We also call on MSG and PIF to admit the West Papuan Independence Movement as an observer of these bodies as a sure way of encouraging peaceful solution to the conflict."

One confirmed dead
The violence in Abepura yesterday was confirmed by West Papua Media Alerts, who reported one student being killed, and others badly wounded.
The news agency said the violence was carried out at the Liborang Asrama (dormitory) by a joint force of Army (TNI) and Police.
"The students were allegedly targeted because they come from the same tribal group as many members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), who have been consistently engaging in peaceful civil resistance in protest at the increasing terror tactics of the Indonesian security forces, which has escalated significantly since May 2012."

West Papua Media Alerts confirmed today that 35 people had been arrested and 11 remained in custody after being subjected to beatings and torture.
The Indonesian embassy in Canberra, in response to questions from the ABC said the government was taking action.
The statement said the loss of life "is regrettable and is receiving attention from the Indonesian people, the media, and the President of the Republic of Indonesia himself".
"The Indonesian government has taken steps to restore law-enforcement in the Papuan provinces."
Just how it is doing that is the focus of the media attention that West Papua is receiving, and as in previous years, the Pacific Islands Forum is so far remaining silent on the issue.
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5) End Indonesia anti-terror training: Greens
The Greens say Australia should look at ending anti-terrorism training for Indonesian troops if they are found to be involved in human rights abuses in West Papua.
Greens senator Richard Di Natale has been concerned for some time about the level of accountability in Australia's funding and training for Indonesian forces. "The fact that Australian dollars are training Indonesian military, particularly counter-terrorism operations, that are contributing to human rights abuses in West Papua is a real concern to me," he told ABC television on Wednesday. The ABC's 730 program reported on Tuesday that West Papuan separatist leader Mako Tabuni was killed by Detachment 88, a counter-terrorism police unit trained by Australian forces. Senator Di Natale said if this was found to be the case, "there's a very strong argument that we should be withdrawing our support of those operations immediately. "If we're in fact fuelling that conflict, the onus is on us to ensure that we stop doing that and we get much better accountability in terms of our relationship with the Indonesians." He called on Foreign Minister Bob Carr to show leadership and "make it very clear to his counterpart in Indonesia that what's going on in the region is unacceptable". On Tuesday, Senator Carr said Australia wanted to see a "full airing of all the circumstances" surrounding Mr Tabuni's death. The Australian embassy in Jakarta has raised the issue, while Prime Minister Julia Gillard has discussed human rights in the provinces of Papua and West Papua with the Indonesian president, as Senator Carr has done with his counterpart. The foreign minister said it was in Australia's interests to help Indonesia achieve a formidable anti-terrorism capability.