1) New Strike Hits Freeport’s Indonesian Mine
2)Rocks
of Papua hope
3) Audit Agency Probes Causes of Persistent Papua Poverty
4) International support for West Papua grows with push to include the
occupied nation in regional body
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1) New
Strike Hits Freeport’s Indonesian Mine
By Agence France-Presse on
1:15 pm May 1, 2013.
Category Corporate News, Featured, Law & Order, News
Workers from Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold arrive
in the town of Timika in Indonesia’s Papua province to join a mass strike in
this September 15, 2011 file photo. Hundreds of workers at Freeport-McMoRan’s
Indonesian mine have gone on strike demanding better pay, the US firm said
Wednesday, in the latest industrial action to hit the operation. (Reuters
Photo/Muhammad Yamin)
Hundreds
of workers at Freeport-McMoRan’s Indonesian mine have gone on strike demanding
better pay, the US firm said Wednesday, in the latest industrial action to hit
the operation.
Some
1,100 workers, employed by contractors and not directly by the company, downed
tools on Tuesday at the Grasberg mine in eastern Papua province, one of the
world’s largest gold and copper mines, Freeport’s Indonesian unit said.
A
three-month strike over wages by thousands of workers directly employed by
Freeport crippled production at the mine in 2011 and only ended once the firm
agreed to a huge pay hike.
Workers
from contractors Jasti Pravita, Osato Seike and Srikandi Mitra Karya, were
involved in the latest action, according to Freeport.
They
were mostly construction workers hired to work on an expansion of the mine,
their union said.
“The
strike of course could slow down Freeport Indonesia’s activities, but we don’t
anticipate any direct impact to the overall mining operation and production,”
the company said in a statement.
Mining
union Mimika, which represents those involved in the strike, said the action
“would hurt the firm’s operation”.
Union
official Virgo Solossa said the workers were threatening a month-long strike.
“But we hope the workers and the firm can reach a deal on pay before that,” he
added.
An
official from the union representing workers directly employed by Freeport said
none of them was involved in the action and had no plans to strike.
Industrial
action is on the rise in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, with foreign
companies in particular targeted, as the cost of living increases and workers
demand a greater share of the nation’s economic success.
Agence
France-Presse
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2)Rocks of Papua hope
Rocks
of Papua hope
Padre James Bhagwan
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
AT next
month's Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting in New Caledonia, leaders from
Melanesia will be asked to respond to the cry for liberation by their brothers
and sisters in West Papua.
For the past
half century the people of West Papua have struggled for their call for
self-determination to be heard and responded to.
When Dutch colonial rule ended on December 1, 1961, they agreed to grant West Papua self-rule.
When the
Dutch left, they handed West Papua over to the United Nations and then to
Jakarta, in a transfer agreement which stipulated that West Papuans would be able
to decide within six years whether to accept incorporation into Indonesia.
Many West
Papuans saw the Dutch departure as a chance for complete independence. But
within a year, forces from Jakarta had annexed the region and claimed it as
part of Indonesia
This opportunity came and went — and many Papuans, as well as human rights groups, have questioned why the region has still not been allowed a vote for independence.
From the
time Jakarta first annexed the province, there have been sporadic clashes between
poorly armed independence supporters and Indonesian security forces. Over the
years there have been serious abuses committed by the Indonesian security
forces. Accusations of torture and rape persist.
The Free
West Papua Campaign website claims: "Over 500,000 civilians have been
killed in genocide against the indigenous population. Thousands more have been
raped, tortured, imprisoned or 'disappeared' after being detained. Basic human
rights such as freedom of speech are denied and Papuans live in a constant
state of fear and intimidation."
Last year,
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill broke with tradition and
publicly admonished the Indonesian government's response to continuing state
violence, human rights violations and failure of governance in West Papua.
Moved by 4000 women from the Lutheran Church, O'Neill said he would raise human
rights concerns in the troubled territory with the Indonesian government.
The Pacific Media Centre notes "Melanesian support for a free West Papua has always been high. Travel throughout Papua New Guinea and you will often hear people say that West Papua and Papua New Guinea is "wanpela graun" — one land — and West Papuans on the other side of the border are family and kin.
Earlier this
year politicians in Papua New Guinea also were heard to lend their voice to the
cause of a free West Papua.
According to the Pacific Media Centre in Auckland, Powes Parkop, Governor of the Papua New Guinea's National Capital District, recently insisted that "there is no historical, legal, religious, or moral justification for Indonesia's occupation of West Papua".
Governor
Parkop, who is a member of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua,
which now has representatives in 56 countries, then went on to formerly launch
the free West Papua campaign.
In April,
West Papua National Coalition for Liberation visited Noumea and presented its
official application for full MSG membership to Victor Tutugoro, the executive
of the FLNKAS and the incoming MSG chairman.
According to Radio New Zealand, "New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS has pledged its full support for the cause of the West Papuan people for freedom and independence".
Mr Tutugoro
said the MSG is only for Melanesia and Liberation Movements within it, and the
FLNKS leadership would be happy to welcome West Papua as a new member in the
Melanesian family.
Last week,
Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo met officials from the West
Papuan National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) in Honiara.
According to the Solomon Star newspaper, during the meeting Mr Lilo "expressed his support for the West Papuan agenda to be discussed at the MSG level. He said this would be included in the next Melanesian Spearhead Group Summit". Mr Lilo said he was aware of the West Papuan struggles, which is now more than 50 years.
Vice
chairman of the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation, Dr Otto
Ondawame, expressed his delight after the assurance by PM Lilo. Dr Ondawame
said given the important role that MSG plays in regional politics it is vital
that the West Papuan issue is discussed at the leadership level.
He said they
were also rallying for support in Melanesia and beyond to ensure that their
West Papuan issue was discussed at all opportunities available at the regional
and international level.
Support from
the Solomons and Kanaky seem to be part of a changing tide of political
engagement within Melanesian countries on the issue of independence for West
Papua.
In Vanuatu, opposition
parties, the Malvatumari National Council of Chiefs and the Anglican bishop of
Vanuatu, Reverend James Ligo have been urging the Vanuatu government to change
its position on West Papua.
Last month Vanuatu PM Moana Carcasses and Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nipake Natapei pledged Vanuatu's support for the West Papua request to grant and admit West Papua as an observer status to the MSG.
The issue of
West Papua's Independence was also on the agenda of this year's Pacific Conference
of Churches General Assembly in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The PCC Assembly
resolved to address human rights abuse and independence in West Papua. It will
incorporate the human rights situation in West Papua as a strong focal point of
PCC's programmatic work on self-determination for non-self-governing
territories and communities and peoples who yearn to be free. Pacific churches
will designate an annual Freedom Sunday to pray for island countries and people
who are not free.
Given our
nation's close bond with Papua New Guinea and leadership role in Melanesia, yet
at the same time, its recent strengthening of ties with Indonesia, Fiji's
leadership may have to look beyond the short term and the government's own
interests to support the cause of West Papuans who only ask for the same rights
that the current draft constitution aims to provide for Fijians.
The late Father Walter Lini, Vanuatu's first prime minister, once said "Melanesia is not free until West Papua is free". The cry of West Papuans continues to be, if not now, when?
As the
people of Oceania — Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia to continue struggle
for control of their destiny, the plight of West Papua and Maohi Nui (in what
is known as French Polynesia) are reminders that liberty, justice and peace are
not just ideals but are non-negotiables for every human being. They are rocks
from which islands of hope grow.
Those who
physically or spiritually join in the weekly Peace Vigil at Suva's Holy Trinity
Cathedral every Thursday between 12.30pm to 1.30pm may wish to spend some time
reflecting on West Papua as we reflect on our own political journey.
For more information on West Papua visit: http://freewestpapua.org/info/human-rights/ or visit the "Free West Papua Campaign Fiji" Facebook page.
"Simplicity,
serenity, spontaneity."
* Reverend
JS Bhagwan is a Masters in Theology Student at the Methodist Theological
University in Seoul, South Korea. The views expressed are his and not of this
newspaper.
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3) Audit Agency Probes Causes of Persistent Papua Poverty
Papua has received some Rp 40 trillion in funds since
integration, but the region remains one of the poorest in Indonesia
By Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Carlos
Paath on 10:43 am May 1, 2013.
Residents walk through a street market in Timika, Papua. (JG
photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)
The Supreme Audit Agency has announced that it will soon conduct
an audit on the special autonomy funds channeled to Indonesia’s two easternmost
provinces, Papua and West Papua.
The central government has disbursed more than Rp 40 trillion
($4.1 billion) since the two provinces were granted special autonomy status in
2001, but both provinces remain among the poorest and most underdeveloped
regions in the country, fueling social unrest and calls for secession.
“We will conduct [the audit] this year,” said Hadi Purnomo, the
chief of the audit agency known as the BPK, said during a hearing with the
Regional Representatives Council on Tuesday.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), both
provinces have high rates of unemployment with a combined total of 77,000
people of working age currently without work.
Is it acceptable for provinces rich in natural resources to have
such poverty rates?
Puan Maharani, PDI-P
Poverty is also common, the latest BPS figures show, with 30
percent of people in resource-rich Papua and 27 percent in West Papua, which is
also rich in natural gas and currently enjoying a tourism boom, living below
the poverty line.
Western New Guinea came under interim Indonesian administration
in accordance with a UN-ratified agreement 50 years ago today.
Full integration with Indonesia was completed in 1969 through
the controversial “Act of Free Choice” vote of Indonesian-picked Papuan elders.
Puan Maharani, a politician with the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI-P), said that in those 50 years, the region was largely
ignored by Jakarta, which nevertheless enjoys its vast wealth, including
revenue from the nation’s biggest taxpayer, the Freeport Indonesia copper and
gold mine.
“Is it acceptable for provinces rich in natural resources to
have such poverty rates?” Puan said on Tuesday.
She called for tighter monitoring of the special autonomy funds
to ensure that they were used for the development of the provinces and the
benefit of Papuans.
During a meeting with Papua Governor Lukas Enembe on Monday,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he was considering providing Papua with
even greater autonomy, calling it a solution for the unique problems facing the
province.
Yudhoyono said the so-called “Special Autonomy Plus” would be
implemented in Papua by August.
Priyo Budi Santoso, a deputy speaker of the House of
Representatives, said the government must first discuss the plan with
legislators, adding that an amendment to the Special Autonomy Law would be
needed before the proposal could be formally implemented.
---------------------------------------------
4) International support for West Papua
grows with push to include the occupied nation in regional body
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
By Duncan Roden
West Papua has been gaining international
support recently, especially in its pursuit of inclusion in the Melanesian
Spearhead Group (MSG), a regional intergovernmental organisation that has
supported the independence movements of its members...............................................
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