Monday, March 16, 2015

1) ‘Papua Itu Kita’ Movement Launches Campaign on Military Violence in Papua

2) PNG Citizens Are Rely on Indonesia
3) Donate for survivors of Cylone Pam in Vanuatu
4) Statement by Executive-Director of LP3BH on Support for the Papuan People

5) A special relationship  with sago 

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http://tabloidjubi.com/en/2015/03/16/papua-itu-kita-movement-launches-campaign-on-military-violence-in-papua/

1) ‘Papua Itu Kita’ Movement Launches Campaign on Military Violence in Papua


The public discussion on “Military and Impunity: A Cause Behind The Worse Papuan Women’s Life” – Jubi
Jakarta, Jubi – Indonesians remain unaware of violence towards Papuan people since 1963 by the Indonesian Military wasn’t aware by Indonesian citizens at other regions. The only news Indonesians in other parts of the country hear on Papua is related to PT. Freeport and armed conflicts. Therefore a campaign is needed to spread awareness about rights violations, an activist said.
“We should promote it to avoid bias. ‘Papua Itu Kita’ becomes a medium to promote awareness about issues in Papua,” Zely Arian from ‘Papua Itu Kita’ Movement said in the public discussion on “Military and Impunity: A Cause Behind The Worse Papuan Women’s Life” held in LBH Jakarta Office last week.
A resource person Sandra Mambrasar represented Elsham Papua said actually State’s violence against Papuan Women had been occurred before Papua becoming part of Republic of Indonesia through the people’s vote in 1969. Based on research, she said Elsham Papua have evidence about Papuan women at Bird Head region had been physically tortured in 1963. “Some had permanent disability,” she said during her presentation on violence against women in Papua.
Mambrasar said this situation is still happened until now. Papuan women are still experiencing the physical, sexual and psychological abuses as well as discrimination. A general abused pattern is stigmatization in which their husbands or family members who suspected rebels were terrorized, arrested and tortured. And it was impacted women.
“If their husband or family members were stigmatized involving with the rebel group, they automatically wouldn’t have any help from others, for example to be listed in the rice for poor program although the village apparatus was their clan,” she cited a case occurred in Biak Barat.
Meanwhile, the Monitoring and Investigation Coordinator on Human Right Violation Yones Douw from Justice and Peace Department of Papuan Evangelist Church said the local church’s assistance wasn’t enough to help the victims who continually growing that affect the Papuan women and children.
“A woman whose husband was shot will experience the physiological pressure facing the reality that her children have lost their father. Papuan women are still crying until today. I hope in the future no women would cry in this land,” he said.
According to The Jakarta Post Editor in Chief Arti Nurbaiti who as responder, Papuan issues are difficult getting attention from national media because of many reasons including the technical reason to value of issue occurred in Papua.
“It was like the military violence occurred in the 3rd Papua Congress in which military shot the civilians, that incident must be covered in the national media with the thought why this incident could be happened in this big democracy country?” she said.(Mawel Benny/rom)

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2) PNG Citizens Are Rely on Indonesia

Jayapura, Jubi/Antara – Jayapura Municipal Border Management Agency assessed the Papua New Guinea’s citizens at border area are highly dependent with Indonesia in the term of the supply of basic commodities.
“They are really counting on us (Papua) for their basic commodities,” the Head of Jayapura Municipal Border Management Agency, Amos Solosa told in Jayapura last week.
It was indicated with the number of PNG citizens who were shopping in Indonesia, especially in the boundary market at Skouw Village of Muara Tami Sub-district, Jayapura Municipality. It was contrary if compared with other border areas in Indonesia, such as Kalimantan where Indonesian citizens are more dependent to neighboring country, Malaysia.
“PNG’s citizens’ dependency is related to nine basic commodities. They come for shopping. They are coming not limited from Vanimo but also from other region,” he said.
The foreign citizens visit to Indonesia at market day is fairly high. It is a promising market opportunity. However, the condition of security must obtain serious attention to get attention from investors to do investment at border area. The conducive security at border area will encourage the economic grow within that area. “The most important is the border local community could increase their standard of living,” he said. (*/rom)

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3) Donate for survivors of Cylone Pam in Vanuatu
From Nic Maclellan 


Dear friends
 
Vanuatu has been hammered by Cyclone Pam – a category 5 cyclone. Please donate to agencies listed below to help the people of Vanuatu rebuild and recover from this disaster.
 
An estimated 260,000 people were in the disaster zone when the category 5 cyclone hit on 13 March, and continued over the islands on Saturday. This cyclone is one of the biggest to traverse the region and the biggest ever experienced in Vanuatu. It traversed the entire east coast of the island chain with the edge of the eye touching the areas to the east of Port Vila. Other Pacific countries, including New Caledonia and Tuvalu, have also been affected.
 
At least 6 people have been confirmed dead in Port Vila, but there are concerns for many more deaths in the north of the country.
The Vanuatu Humanitarian Team (VHT) is an excellent collaboration between the Vanuatu government, National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), local NGOs and international agencies with staff already working together on the ground (Red Cross, Oxfam, CARE and others) – but they need resources!
 
Footage from downtown Vila, taken by ni-Vanuatu climate activist Isso Nihmei
 
The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) in Vanuatu has made an initial assessment of the damage and it is clear that the people of Vanuatu will need significant help in the coming weeks. First observations from the NDMO include:
– Serious damage in Port Vila
– Airport is closed and runway flooded- public works clearing airport now
– Roads blocked from debris
– Some bridges down in places
– Power is out, national broadcasting service out, power to town is out
– NDMO emergency comms radio room working and still sending broadcasts
– Hospital damaged
– 26 evacuation centres registered and operational and a few additional informal ones open @ last minute –expecting these to be open for 2 weeks
– Red alert still in place as there are still heavy rains and high winds
– Communications to outer islands down – access to information limited
 
Please donate generously… (and remind the Australian government that the IPCC has predicted more intense cyclones as one of the adverse effects of climate change)
 
Red Cross appeal for Cyclone Pam
 
Oxfam appeal for Cyclone Pam
 
UNICEF appeal for Cyclone Pam
 
NDMO Vanuatu
 
 


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 4) Statement by Executive-Director of LP3BH on Support for the Papuan People
As a practising lawyer and Defender of Human Rights in the Land of Papua, I believe that the decision taken by the Papuan people to unite
their forces in a single organisation called the United Liberation Movement for West Papua [known in its Indonesian version as the
ULMWP] is a wise decision, proportionate to the current situation. It
is also in conformity with international laws and can be fully justified within the United Nations.

  The decision was adopted in December last year at a meeting in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, by three political organisations of the
Papuan people, which at the same time made an application to become a member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

  This led to the signing of Saralana? Declaration by the leaders of three  Papuan organisations: Buchtar Tabuni representing the National
Committee of West Papua (KNPB), Rex Rumakiek representing the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation, and Edison K. Waromi
representing the State of the Republic of West Papua (NRFPB).

  I would like on this occasion to express my conviction that what these three organisations have achieved is  an important step to
reinforce the political rights of the Papuan people as a community of traditional people, and is in full accord with the International
Declaration on Human Rights.   All this is clearly a radical step in favour of the promotion of the
political and democratic rights of the Papuan people who have for the past fifty years suffered the violation of their basic political
rights by the Indonesian Government.  This is a movement that deserves the full support of all components
of the Papuan people everywhere throughout the Land of Papua.

 All this is very much in accord with international  legal mechanisms. This was clarified by Ban Ki Moon the Secretary-General of
the United Nations  in Auckland New Zealand several years ago when he said that the solution of the West Papuan problem can be achieved by
one of two methods,  In his opinion, if the problem is regarded as being a question of
basic human rights, the Papuan people should first bring their problem before the UN Human Rights Council which holds its meetings in Geneva,
Switzerland.

 But if the problem is a political one, the correct mechanism would be to bring it before the UN Decolonisation Commission which has its
headquarters in New York.

  I therefore believe that the action taken by the ULMWP  conforms with the mechanisms and international legal procedures  as recognised
by the United Nations.   When the next meeting of the MSG takes place in June this year and
the membership application of the ULMWP is accepted, this would represent a major step towards the peaceful solution of a political
conflict that has been on-going for the past fifty years.This would make possible a solution to the problem that is peaceful, transparent,
impartial which would be in accord with the universally accepted principles.

 I would therefore call on the Indonesian Government under the leadership of President Joko Widodo not to take a confrontational
approach but to try resolve the problem by peaceful means.

  I believe that my colleague Octavianus Mote and all those who are gathered together in the ULMWP would be fully prepared to go ahead and
seek a solution that is carried out peacefully. This would surely be possible once its application for membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group has been accepted.

[Translated by Carmel Budiardjo]

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5) A special relationship  with sago  

Markus Mardius and Yohanis Kaize, Contributors, Merauke, Papua | Feature | Mon, March 16 2015, 6:54 AM


Although members of the Marind tribe of Woboyu village in Papua’s interior cultivate rice, sago still holds an important place in their diet — and culture.
Woboyu is one of 23 villages in Okaba district, about 100 kilometers north of Merauke City at the most eastern tip of Indonesia.

It takes one-and-a-half days to reach Woboyu by motorcycle — or longer, depending on road conditions.

For generations, the Marind have been traditionally growing and processing sago into what they call sago sep — steamed sago wrapped in banana leaves.

“We know that a few tribes in other places have been eating rice rather than sago,” according to Martin, a community leader in Woboyu. “In contrast, our community still has been consuming sago, though we also often keep eating rice.”...............................

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