1) State must end impunity, says Elsam

1) State must end impunity, says Elsam

2) Population problem in Papua is serious, says acting governor

 3) Call for NZ to pursue West Papua peace role

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/11/23/state-must-end-impunity-says-elsam.html

1) State must end impunity, says Elsam

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Fri, November 23 2012, 8:43 PM

During the commemoration of International Day to End Impunity on Friday, the human rights watchdog Institute for Research and Advocacy (Elsam) had once again urged the government to prosecute unfinished human rights violation cases.

According to Elsam executive director Indriaswati D. Saptaningrum, most of the perpetrators involved in human rights violations still walk free, as the government has kept silent.

“Seven human rights cases are stuck in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO),” Indriaswati said, citing unsolved cases like the 1965 communist purge and the 1998 Tanjuk Priok massacre.

“Those crimes that happened in this nation’s past are so gross and unacceptable, but remain unsolved until today,” she said. “Recently, we also witnessed the rampant violence against journalists”

Elsam urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to evaluate the performance of AGO in taking steps to resolve pending human rights violation cases.

“We must keep reminding the government that neglecting means giving impunity and protection toward the perpetrators of human rights violations,” she said.

The International Day to End Impunity was launched Nov.23 of last year to observe the 2009 Ampatuan massacre in the Philippines, where 32 journalists and media workers were murdered.

Through the commemoration of the day, human rights activists call on governments to bring justice for those who were killed or kidnapped when they tried to defend their freedom of expression. (cor/lfr)

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from Tapol

2) Population problem in Papua is serious, says acting governor

JUBI, 20 November  2012

Jayapura: The acting governor of Papua, Constan Karma, has called for serious attention to be paid to the population problem  in Papua because of the rapidity with which it has been increasing. He said that the problem was causing a number of social problems.

'In the competition for jobs, the people with better qualifications always succeed. Indigenous Papuans are not yet able to compete with people who have come from elsewhere because they have better qualifications. The result is that more and more  indigenous Papuans are unemployed and this is causing social tensions.'

The address by the acting governor was read out on his behalf by the administrative secretary, Elia Loupathy, at the commencement of a seminar at which a draft regulation on the control and supervision of population was to be drawn up.

The acting governor said that the adoption of the Special Autonomy Law (OTSUS) was intended to advance the position of indigenous Papuans in various sectors so that they could become more independent and  enjoy a better level of welfare. ' The province of Papua is part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia - NKRI -  and indigenous Papuans are citizens of this province. They are entitled to enjoy equal treatment in the implementation of development programmes of the central and local governments. to improve people's welfare,' he said.

'OTSUS which was enacted in 2001 stipulates in article 61, para (3)  that there is need for a population policy that promotes the capabilities, and participation of indigenous Papuans in all sectors of the development programme.'

He went on to say that this means that a regulation on control and supervision of population growth is necessary  which would need close collaboration between all the stakeholders.

'I call on all those who hold leading positions in the SKPD(?) as well as all those attending this seminar to draft such a regulation, and to share their thoughts  in reaching a solution to the problems that are being confronted in the province of Papua because of the population problem, and to help create a more orderly, secure and peaceful situation in the province.'

[Translated with slight abridgements by TAPOL]

[Apologies for the delay in posting a translation of this item.]

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 3) Call for NZ to pursue West Papua peace role

http://www.odt.co.nz/campus/university-otago/236108/call-nz-pursue-west-papua-peace-role

By John Gibb on Fri, 23 Nov 2012

Frederika Korain

New Zealand could improve the "critical" human rights situation in West Papua by pursuing the peacemaking role that proved successful during the earlier Bougainville conflict, human rights advocate Frederika Korain says.

Miss Korain, a West Papuan undertaking university postgraduate study in Canberra, spoke in Dunedin recently about human rights and associated gender issues in West Papua.

After her talk at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, she said New Zealand enjoyed a "very good reputation" in the region.

And she believed offering to help resolve issues would not harm New Zealand's "very good relationship" with the Indonesia Government, andIndonesia would also benefit from resolving conflicts.

New Zealand could host Indonesian representatives and people from West Papua on neutral ground, and act as mediators, as had happened successfully during the Bougainville conflict, beginning in 1997.

Some peaceful demonstrations in West Papua had recently been broken up violently by the authorities, and some civil rights leaders had been killed.

A "horrible situation" had developed and positive action was needed, she said.

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