1) Sen Di Natale, Sen Madigan Questions Foreign Minister

1) Sen Di Natale, Sen Madigan Questions Foreign Minister
2) OPM office in Port Moresby will be inaugurated?
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http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/estimate/7024640c-4abd-47d5-9fb3-f32fb2986e2e/toc_pdf/Foreign%20Affairs,%20Defence%20and%20Trade%20Legislation%20Committee_2013_06_05_2001.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22committees/estimate/7024640c-4abd-47d5-9fb3-f32fb2986e2e/0000%22

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Proof Committee Hansard
SENATE
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Estimates
(Public) WEDNESDAY, 5 JUNE 2013
CANBERRA

CONDITIONS OF DISTRIBUTION
This is an uncorrected proof of evidence taken before the committee. It is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such. 

Pages 53-60
CHAIR: Senator Madigan also has some questions about Indonesia.

Senator MADIGAN: According to the human rights group Papuans Behind Bars, at the end of May 2013 they have released 76 political prisoners in Papuan jails. Are you able to inform the committee what steps DFAT has taken in the last 12 months to encourage Indonesia to respect the human rights of Papuans?

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Senator Bob Carr: At the highest levels the government continues to raise Australia's concern about human rights with the government of Indonesia. Prime Minister Gillard has discussed Papua with President Yudhoyono. I raised Papua with foreign minister Natalegawa when we met at our first meeting in April last year. It has been raised at every formal meeting I have had with the foreign minister of Indonesia since then. But in all of these meetings it is fair to say that the Indonesians take up the issue before we come to it. In my most recent meeting with President Yudhoyono in company with the Defence minister, Stephen Smith, it was notable that President Yudhoyono raised Papua before we got to it. We were intending to raise it, but he raised it first. He underlined his commitment to special autonomy. The fact is that our consistent message to the Indonesian government on human rights is clear. The rights of all citizens should be upheld and credible allegations of human rights abuses investigated. I underline, as I did in the Senate in answering a question from you, Senator, in the last sitting week, that we have long recognised the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including its sovereignty over the Papuan provinces. I issue a warning to those Australians—

Senator MADIGAN: Minister, I have not mentioned nothing about the territorial integrity of Indonesia in this question.

Senator Bob Carr: I accept that.

Senator MADIGAN: So it has nothing to do with the question I have asked you.

Senator Bob Carr: I accept that, but I just want to issue a warning to those Australians who play the dangerous game of giving encouragement to secessionists in the two Papuan provinces. The Australians who talk up secessionism go home to their beds safely at night, but they potentially encourage people in Papua to go out and take risks, and to take risks with the law if they are drawn into illegal activity. The Australians who wave the flag of Papuan secessionism sleep safely in their beds, but when they fly the flag outside council chambers or make reckless statements and hold out the possibility of an independent Papua, they are inviting Papuans to take risks with the law through flirtation with an insurgency. That is the behaviour of smug people secure in Australia with no thought for the consequences of their actions on foreign soil. I am not suggesting that Senator Madigan is anyone who deserves that description.

Senator MADIGAN: Does DFAT liaise with Papuans Behind Bars to obtain further information about political prisoners in Papua?

Senator Bob Carr: DFAT, through the embassy in Jakarta, maintains a dialogue with the Indonesians about human rights, police action and security action in the two provinces. Our people seek to visit the Papuan provinces. We continue to register with Indonesia the importance of access to the Papuan provinces of credible observers and journalists. I am advised that Australian officials routinely visit the Papuan provinces and last did so last month. I do not know about contact with the group you mentioned. I will seek advice.

Mr Cox: As Senator Carr has said, both the ambassador and members of the embassy staff are regularly visiting the two provinces. They are also closely in contact with Papuan representatives in other parts of Indonesia, including Jakarta, and having regular dialogue with them about the situation on the ground in the two provinces, including the human rights situation and including contact with people who are in contact with people who are held in detention in the provinces. So, yes, the answer is that there is certainly contact with people who have contact with people behind bars to check up on their situation.

Senator MADIGAN: Can you enlighten the committee or confirm the amount of aid that was given to Indonesia last year and what the current figure is in the new budget?

Senator Bob Carr: Yes. Perhaps you could ask me that tomorrow. I will have the AusAID people here and we can talk about the scale of the increase and where it is being spent.

Senator MADIGAN: Finally, there were claims in the media some weeks ago about West Papuan children being removed from West Papua and taken to Indonesia for indoctrination, so to speak. Has DFAT made any inquiries as to these claims and their validity?

Senator Bob Carr: As I said in the Senate in answer to your question, Senator—and I was drawing on 
DFAT advice when I gave the answer—the embassy in Jakarta is not aware of the remotest evidence of this. If there is evidence, you might share it with us, but we have seen none.

Mr Cox: Beyond that journalist's article in the Sydney Morning Herald we have no evidence that this has occurred. There is no evidence from other sources and certainly no evidence that it is an official policy of the Indonesian government.

Senator DI NATALE: I want to follow up the questioning from Senator Madigan. I find it deeply offensive that somebody who is, as Senator Madigan is, concerned about the human rights abuses being perpetrated in the

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region—a region where there are mass killings, where people's right to protest peacefully is being suppressed—is somehow regarded as endangering the safety of the West Papuan community. It is a very deeply offensive inference to describe as smug our advocacy for people whose basic human rights are being deprived.

Senator Bob Carr: I did not say that at all. I did not say anything remotely like that. What I did say is something I stick to absolutely, and that is: we raise human rights. It is the Australian government position to raise human rights in Papua. Our ambassador does it regularly. Our ambassador has formal meetings with the Indonesian government to pursue our policy of talking about rights in the Papuan provinces. That is the first point. That is our policy. It is the Australian government policy, so do not attempt to arrogate it. It is the Australian government policy to pursue human rights issues in Papua. What I did say is that people who hold out to the people of Papua the promise of success in secessionism—

Senator DI NATALE: But who is doing that?

Senator Bob Carr: The people who fly Papuan flags and the people who talk the language of secession and independence. They are planting in the minds of people who actually live in the place the notion that this campaign has some kind of international resonance, and that is a cruel deceit by self-indulgent people safe in their own beds, safe in a democracy. It is a cruel deceit about the potential of a demand for secessionism. Australia and the world recognise Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua.

Senator DI NATALE: I suggest to you that it is incredibly patronising and incredibly arrogant that you would suggest that a movement within a nation of people who are able to make decisions for themselves are somehow being controlled by people externally. 'Planted the seed of secessionism'? This is not a seed that has been planted by anyone. This is—

Senator Bob Carr: This is the Greens Party cause of the day.

Senator DI NATALE: Can I finish my question, please?

Senator Bob Carr: It is cause de jour. That is what you would use it to, for fun. It is a game for the Greens Party. It is a little game.

Senator DI NATALE: Can I finish my question, Senator Carr?

Senator Bob Carr: But its implications on the ground for Papua can be very serious.

Senator DI NATALE: Again, I find the notion that somehow standing up for the democratic rights of a people is a cause for the day. That is, again, deeply offensive. I personally have never stood up for independence for the West Papuan people. I have stood up for the right of the West Papuan people to make decisions for themselves.
You talk about the Australian government raising the issue of human rights with the Indonesians. Let us talk about some specific examples. On 1 May, there was a peaceful protest to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indonesian control over the province. We had the Australian media reporting that police reacted violently to the protest. Two people died as a result. Many more were wounded. How did you raise those concerns with the Indonesians?

Senator Bob Carr: I will confirm to the committee in the next few hours but, to the best of my recollection, that was one of the cases raised by our embassy. Our embassy sought further information and continued to express Australian concerns about the behaviour of security forces, including police, in West Papua. But we do it routinely. That is the Australian government position. We do it in the context of accepting Indonesian sovereignty over the territories as a matter of international law.

Senator DI NATALE: You put to me that the Australian government stands up for human rights abuses. I am now putting to you that a number of human rights abuses have occurred. I seek documentation as to the response from the Australian government.

Senator Bob Carr: You give me the list and I will take it on notice.

Senator DI NATALE: A second rally on 30 May was called to protest the events where people had died. During the rally, we saw local groups claim that security forces arrested four protesters, including Victor Yeimo, who is the Chairman of the West Papuan National Committee. What was the response of the department to those arrests?

Senator Bob Carr: I will give you a response when we have them. Again, I underline the fact that we have regularly responded by pursuing cases like those. I would suspect we would have raised precisely those cases.

Senator DI NATALE: I would prefer more than suspicions. I would like some documentation, thank you. Senator Bob Carr: You will get them. I will take it on notice.

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CHAIR: The minister has given that undertaking. Are there other issues you are pursuing?

Senator DI NATALE: There are. I would like to know if you are aware of the current status of Victor
Yeimo? Do you know where he is being held and does DFAT have any specific concerns for his welfare?

Mr Cox: We are aware of a variety of reports of the incidents you cite—the 1 May shootings and reported deaths. We have not confirmed those yet. We have been seeking confirmation of them. We do not have advice yet on the specific whereabouts of those people. We are seeking that advice. The Australian government is not in a position independently to investigate them, but we are in a position to ask questions. We are asking those questions through our embassy in Jakarta. When we get answers, we will provide them to you.

Senator DI NATALE: Can I confirm that you are not aware of the whereabouts of Victor Yeimo, who has been arrested?

Mr Cox: No. I am not specifically aware of that at this time. But I shall find that out.
Senator DI NATALE: But have you asked the question?

Mr Cox: Yes. I am sure the post, as part of its regular dialogue, is seeking advice about the circumstances of a range of people who have been listed on various lists. But we will find that out specifically.

Senator DI NATALE: Thank you. I also draw your attention to reports about a number of killings in the Puncak Jaya region since April, with up to 11 people dead and 40 people missing. The West Papuan National Committee is alleging that Kopassus troops were involved in reprisals against civilians from the 1 May protests. We have also seen some photographic evidence that has been provided. Has DFAT raised specific concerns about that issue?

Mr Cox: Again, we are aware of reports of those 11 deaths. At this stage, we do not have verification of that information. Our post is seeking further details, but we are aware of those reports. We can get that further advice to you in the context of the other report that I just said we will try to get for you.

Senator DI NATALE: The report from the NGO Papuans Behind Bars, during the period 30 April to 13 May indicated that three Papuan activists were killed in Sorong and that there were 36 arrests in Timika and a number of other regions, with 30 remaining in detention. A number of injuries resulted from those attacks. Has DFAT raised those specific concerns with the Indonesian government?

Mr Cox: Again, they fit into a pattern of cases that we would need to get you further advice about. These are raised by our embassy in Jakarta through their contacts both in the provinces and in Jakarta. We will need to get specific advice back through them. This is not something that DFAT does in Canberra. This is done through our post in Jakarta.

Senator DI NATALE: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns over what she described as a crackdown on mass demonstrations across Papua. She described in particular the protests on 1 May as an unfortunate example of the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression, and excessive use of force in Papua. She urged the government of Indonesia to allow peaceful protests and hold accountable those involved in abuses. Those concerns were also expressed by Amnesty International and a range of other academics. Has DFAT expressed those concerns to the Indonesian authorities?

Mr Cox: Yes. As the minister has said, the Australian government—from the Prime Minister and the minister himself to the ambassador and others—continues to raise our concern about evidence of the cycle of violence in the Papuan provinces. This is something we are concerned about. We want to encourage President Yudhoyono's program of special autonomy to give the Papuan people a greater sense of autonomy and ownership in their own provinces. The issues that the Special Rapporteur raised are issues we share. Indeed, they are issues that the Indonesians themselves share. President Yudhoyono shares them. This is why, as Senator Carr says, the Indonesians raise these issues with us themselves. The answer is yes, we do share those concerns: they are part of our regular dialogue on human rights and human rights conditions in the Papuan provinces.

Senator DI NATALE: On that point, do you think that Indonesia has made any progress in this area? Are we seeing any progress in the area of allowing peaceful protests in West Papua?

Mr Cox: I think the situation—and this is something that the Indonesian government itself recognises—in the Papuan provinces remains less than satisfactory. President Yudhoyono, the foreign minister and others in the government of Indonesia recognise that as a fact. This is why they have formed organisations to promote autonomy and economic development to try to improve the situation on the ground—the rights of people on the ground—in the Papuan provinces. Yes, it is correct to say that the situation is not adequate yet. The Indonesians themselves recognise that, including on issues of freedom of expression and so forth. I think if you ask any of the

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Indonesian officials and people concerned with this policy area they will say, 'Yes, it is not yet where we want it to be.

Senator DI NATALE: Is the department aware of any successful prosecutions of Indonesian soldiers for human rights abuses in West Papua?

Mr Cox: No. I am not aware of any specific prosecutions recently, but it is quite possible that such cases have taken place. I will certainly take that on notice. We can ask our post. Indonesia is, as you know, now a democracy. Indonesia has military and civilian courts where those who have been found guilty of crimes, including in the military, have been brought before military tribunals and tried. So, yes, it is quite possible. I will get a specific answer for you on that on notice.

Senator DI NATALE: I suppose what I am getting at is that we have repeatedly raised concerns about many of these allegations and it appears that we are having no discernible impact. It does not appear that there is any significant progress being made in the region. It does not appear that there are—at least we are not aware of—any successful prosecutions for human rights abuses, but I will await that information to confirm that. What are the other options for the Australian government and for the department that might allow us to exert some influence over the hugely concerning situation in the region?

Mr Cox: I do not agree with you that there has been no progress. Consider the situation in the Papuan provinces now compared to the situation in, say, the nineties. The recognition by the Indonesian government that there are significant problems of the economic, social and political marginalisation of people is significant. The fact that the government has brought in a special autonomy package is a recognition—and President Yudhoyono and others are fully cognisant of that—that there are significant problems in those provinces. So there has been a qualitative shift in the Indonesian perception of the fact that there is a problem on the ground in the provinces. This is very different from the time under the New Order government of President Suharto. So I do not agree with you that there has been no change. Sure, there are still human rights problems on the ground. There are still problems where people seek to raise political issues and there are problems between local security forces and people who support some sort of process for political separatism on the ground. But if you look at the broad swathe of development—political, social and economic—and the recognition of those problems in Indonesia, it is quite different. So I do not agree that there has been no improvement.

Senator DI NATALE: It is one thing to recognise the political dimension of the problem, but what if that recognition leads to the deaths of two people in the 1 May protests? Many more wounded. There has been the arrest of the Chairman of the West Papuan National Committee and four others, the welfare of whom is unknown at this stage. Eleven people have died and 40 people are missing in the Puncak Jaya region. There were 36 arrests and three killings in Sorong and surrounding areas. If that is the response to recognising the autonomy of the West Papuan people, that is not progress.

Mr Cox: First of all, I would have to say that all of those cases are reports from a variety of people on the ground that are not fully verified. I am not disagreeing that there are elements of such incidents that may have happened. But the first thing I would say is that we need to find verification for you. I am getting you those answers on notice. The second point to make is that, yes, I did say that there are still human rights problems on the ground. I think the Indonesians themselves would recognise that. But looking at the situation today in 2013 and comparing it with the situation 20 years ago—say, in 1993 or even 10 or 15 years ago—the situation is quite different in terms of—

Senator DI NATALE: How about 60 years ago? Sixty years ago?

Mr Cox: There is the need for change and there is a special autonomy package which gives the people of the Papuan provinces the ability to run their own affairs. It is not easy to implement. It is a long way from the centre in Jakarta. There are a lot of socioeconomic and other complex issues to work out. But there has been a change. I am not saying that it is all fixed. The Indonesians themselves do not say that. That is why, as Senator Carr mentions, the Indonesians themselves raise this issue with him and with the Prime Minister, because they themselves know that there is a job to be done. They want to do it. We would like to work with them to make that effective. As you say, you support Indonesian territorial sovereignty over Papua. So do we, and we want to make that effective in the interests of the people of the two provinces.

Senator DI NATALE: I support the West Papuans having a right to determine the future that they see for themselves.

CHAIR: Thank you, Senator Di Natale. At this stage, we are due to go to a break. Do you have further questions?
Senator DI NATALE: I have a couple more. I can try and be quick.

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CHAIR: If you could be quick, we will delay our break by five minutes.
Senator DI NATALE: In an answer to a question on notice to Defence last estimates, I was advised that over the past financial years, Defence has spent approximately $38 million on our defence engagement with Indonesia. It seems to be that none of this money has been conditional on human rights improvements in the region. Is there any impediment to attaching some conditions to that money and essentially asking our Indonesian neighbours to comply with the bipartisan recommendations of the JSCOT report, which were essentially allowing human rights monitors into the region and allowing access to independent media?

Mr Cox: Let me answer the second part of your question first, Senator. Certainly in our dialogue with the Indonesian authorities, we continue to argue to them that part of the special autonomy package and part of their policy should be an openness to the media and to independent human rights monitors. We say to them that the more openness and the more capacity there is for outsiders to observe what is going on, the better it would be for them. So certainly we continue to advocate for that. I think that the Indonesians hear that argument, but there are different views within the Indonesian system about that. But certainly we continue to advocate for that.

Senator DI NATALE: This is a final question to Minister Carr, who called for a thorough and open inquiry into the shooting of independence leader Mako Tabuni. At supplementary estimates last year, I asked about progress on that investigation. Could I have an update on the status of that investigation? DFAT had asserted that the Indonesian police had launched an investigation into Mako Tabuni's death. What is the status of that investigation? Has the department raised the matter with the Indonesian authorities since I last asked those questions?

Senator Bob Carr: I will have to take that on notice.

Mr Cox: I can answer some of that question. Certainly we understand that that investigation has been underway. It may now have finished. It is a question of whether the Indonesian authorities, the police authorities, are prepared to make the details of that public. But at this stage we are still seeing whether that process is finished and what the status of it is.
Senator DI NATALE: But can I expect an answer to that, or at least a response on notice, to any further details?

Mr Cox: Yes. We will bring you further details.

CHAIR: Thank you. We will take our break now, but we will resume at a quarter to four. Thank you.
Proceedings suspended from 15:35 to 15:45

CHAIR: Mr Varghese, just for the information of your officers, we have Senator Xenophon, Senator Rhiannon, Senator Eggleston, Senator Fawcett and Senator Ludlam all still pursuing questions in the South-East Asia area, so I imagine that we will be in this space for quite some time. I am going to give the call now to Senator Xenophon.
Senator XENOPHON: Maybe my eyesight is failing me. I cannot seem to see the minister.

Mr Varghese: He is on his way.

Mr Cox: Perhaps in the interim I could answer Senator Madigan's earlier question about the 1995 agreement on maintaining security. I am advised that in 1999, after our intervention in East Timor leading INTERFET, the Indonesian government advised us that they considered the treaty no longer to be valid or that they were no longer observing it. We never received formal notice of abrogation or any other formal notice that the treaty was not operative. But they did notify us in 1999 that they no longer considered themselves bound by the agreement on maintaining security. That was the position until the time in 2008 that we entered into the Lombok treaty, which is the new treaty on security cooperation between Australia and Indonesia. So it was never formally abrogated, Senator Madigan.

CHAIR: But it has been reasserted in the Lombok treaty?

Mr Cox: In the Lombok treaty, the concept, the ideas that were embodied in the agreement on maintaining security, which was, of course, done during the time Paul Keating was Prime Minister. The key themes and ideas of meeting shared security challenges were addressed in the Lombok treaty of 2008.
CHAIR: Thank you very much, Mr Cox.
Senator XENOPHON: I have some questions, firstly, in relation to Indonesia and then in respect of Malaysia. I know Senator Carr has been waiting for those questions from me in relation to that. I go back to your response, Mr Cox. I am grateful to the line of questioning of Senator Madigan. On 30 April 2007 during the

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JSCOT, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, hearings on the Lombok treaty, Gillian Bird, the deputy secretary of DFAT, in her evidence at page 43 said in relation to the Lombok treaty, and I quote:
It does not in any way infringe upon freedom of expression or freedom of association.So is the department agreeing that Papuans retain their right to express their demand for independence?

Mr Cox: Senator, I think the answer to that question is that Australia recognises the territorial integrity—

Senator XENOPHON: Not the question.

Mr Cox: But that is one of the key elements of the Lombok treaty.

Senator XENOPHON: One of the elements of the Lombok treaty is to recognise the territorial integrity of Indonesia. Correct?

Mr Cox: That is right. The Lombok treaty does recognise the territorial integrity of Indonesia. That is correct, Senator.

Senator XENOPHON: Yet the deputy secretary of your department back in 2007, at the parliamentary hearing into the Lombok treaty, said:
It does not in any way infringe upon freedom of expression or freedom of association. You do not?

Mr Cox: That is correct. The treaty does not deal with those issues in Indonesia. It is not about freedom of association. It is about shared security challenges and addressing them between Australia and Indonesia.

Senator XENOPHON: But article 2 part 3 of the treaty says 'Consistent with their respective laws and domestic obligations'. Is it not your understanding, given what Ms Bird said back in 2007 before the joint standing committee, that it is consistent with the Lombok treaty that freedom of expression is a part of that treaty on the part of Indonesians and Indonesian citizens?

Mr Cox: People in Indonesia are free to express their opinion, and they do so with great alacrity. Indonesia is a democracy.
Senator XENOPHON: Yes. I acknowledge that, although my understanding is that people from West Papua are getting 15-year jail terms for displaying red, white and blue flags. That is the case, is it not?

Mr Cox: Well, they are matters for Indonesia.

Senator Bob Carr: Encouraged by reckless Australians.

Senator XENOPHON: Senator Carr, I have enormous regard for you—I think you know that—but you are either conflating or diverting the issue. The fact is that West Papuans who are residents of West Papua have gone to jail for the crime of displaying a red, white and blue flag. That is the case, is it not?

Mr Cox: Well, they are matters for Indonesia and Indonesia's criminal law. Under Indonesia's criminal law, there continue to be a range of articles that provide for various penalties in response to such crimes as this. So, consistent with their laws, that is exactly right. There are laws, including the criminal law of Indonesia, that continue to have crimes on the books that relate to these sorts of matters.

Senator XENOPHON: Mr Cox, I am very grateful for your answers, but is not the jailing of people in Indonesia for displaying the West Papuan flag in itself inconsistent with the Lombok treaty?

Mr Cox: No.

Senator XENOPHON: You do not see it as an inconsistency?

Mr Cox: No.

Senator XENOPHON: Article 2 part 6 of the Lombok treaty states:
Nothing in this agreement affects Australia, Australia's or Indonesia's obligations under international law.

Mr Cox: No. There are articles in the Indonesian criminal law that cover these sorts of acts. They are Indonesian laws. They are not Australian laws. That does not mean we necessarily agree with those articles in Indonesian laws, but they are Indonesian laws. As you said, in the reference to the other article, we respect each other's laws. They are different legal systems. They are different countries and different cultures.

Senator XENOPHON: There is no question of that, but the Lombok treaty signed between the two nations gives certain mutual rights and obligations. You do not see that there is a breach of that treaty when West Papuans are jailed for 15 years for displaying a flag?

Mr Cox: No.

Senator XENOPHON: You do not?

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Mr Cox: No. The Australian government does not.

Senator XENOPHON: Well, I just cannot take it. So that means that Ms Bird was wrong back when she gave
evidence on 30 April 2007 before the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties?

Mr Cox: No. She was perfectly correct.
Senator XENOPHON: Because what you are saying now is quite inconsistent with what Ms Bird said back in 2007.

Mr Cox: No. She was perfectly correct. In the normal course and with freedom of speech as commonly understood, yes, that is quite right. But there are certain laws in Indonesia with relation to these sorts of political matters where the Indonesians have a different legal system from ours. But, no, Ms Bird was perfectly correct in her evidence.

Senator XENOPHON: She said that it does not in any way infringe upon freedom of expression or freedom of association. So is the department now agreeing that Papuans retain the right to express their demand for independence?

Mr Cox: Papuans do have a right to express their concern about the situation in the provinces, and they do regularly. There are many people who express concern about the economic, social and political situation in Papuan provinces, including leaders in Papua themselves. Papua is an open province where there are many people—Papuan leaders, the governor—who are advocating for the full implementation of the special autonomy system, effective management of the province and a greater degree of economic and social development.

Senator XENOPHON: I need to finish on this soon because I want to ask the minister some questions about Malaysia. There is specific mention of human rights in the Lombok treaty because Ms Bird, on questioning by the committee, said the rights were already there. You said in the normal course of events that West Papuans are free to express their opinion. However, it seems that if you display the West Papuan flag, that is in the abnormal course of events and you could get 15 years in jail. You would agree with that proposition?

Mr Cox: Well, you would have to look at the specific circumstances of each flag raising. Often these incidents are occasioned by other demonstrations or other actions. You have to look at the specific circumstances of each case. I cannot comment specifically on the circumstances of each incident where that might have occurred and the related incidents around it that led to a violent action. Certainly there are people who get very hot under the collar about these sorts of issues on both sides of the debate in the Papuan provinces.

Senator XENOPHON: Thank you. I will not take it any further. I will ask the minister questions about Malaysia. I hope you will not say that Malaysia is a cause de jour for me, Minister.

Senator Bob Carr: It is not a game for you and it is not a game in which—

Senator XENOPHON: I do not think West Papua is a game for the Greens either.

Senator Bob Carr: They are encouraging people to do reckless things. I recognise your seriousness. 

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A google translate of article in Bintang papua. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic. 

Original bahasa at

http://bintangpapua.com/index.php/lain-lain/k2-information/halaman-utama/item/5324-kantor-opm-di-port-moresby-akan-diresmikan?

Friday, June 7, 2013 05:50

2) OPM office in Port Moresby will be inaugurated?

KNPB Demo Plan June 10

Jayapura - Once in Oxford UK representative office inaugurated the Free Papua Movement (OPM), OPM now turn to the office representative will be established in the neighbor Papua New Guinea (PNG), which is in Port Moresby. Representatives of the news agency disclosed OPM Chief Commissioner KNPB Diplomacy Center, Warpo Wetipo.

 He said that on June 18, 2013 will be unveiled at the State Office OPM neighboring Republic of Indonesia (RI), the Papua New Guinea (PNG), or rather in Port Moresby. "So, on the next June 18 will be held the inauguration of the Representative Office of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), in Port Moresby," said Warpo Wetipo accompanied by Assa Asso and Chairman KNPB Asmat region, Donny when held a press conference, at Café Prima Garden Abepura, Wednesday (5/6) approximately at 13:00 CET.

With the establishment of the Representative Office of OPM, in Por Moresby, then KNPB plans to demo next week on June 10 in order to enroll in a West Papua Melanesian Spearhead Group join (MSG). "Next week or the exact date of June 10, we held a demonstration to demand support for West Papua register to MSG as a sovereign nation native Melanesians, this action would be mediated by KNPB but in charge of the National Parliament of West Papua (PNWP), the Chairman PNWP Buchtar Tabuni, "he explained.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Asmat region KNPB Donnie said, the action taken is open for anyone to be able to take part in it, and even he confirmed again that there is rejection of the action with PNWP KNPB will do. "Mau and do not want to, we of KNPB at the ready for this, so we'll keep doing it, whether like it or not, whether rough or smooth however the situation remains we do this, because it is the mandate of the people entrusted to us," he said.

According to him, the management action KNPB already set, even tidakn exist in their settings to make tidankan - actions which anarchists.

"We must be vigilant Cuman no third party on the ground that we should be wary, therefore we ask the authorities should not make the situation and there are others - such as that we saw on the field today itukan there are many officers who chased, at friend - Our friend, "Donny Pungkas. (Mir/don/l03)

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