1) Vanuatu's PM unhappy at deferral of West Papua MSG bid.
4) THIS IS THE DECISION OF
THE LEADERS OF PAPUA MSG
5) Indonesia: the need for
peaceful dialogue in West Papua
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1) Vanuatu's PM unhappy at deferral of West Papua MSG bid.
Posted at 17:44 on 21 June, 2013 UTC
Vanuatu’s Prime Minister has told fellow leaders at the Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders summit in Noumea that history will judge them poorly if they display a lack of leadership on the West Papua issue.
Moana Carcasses’ address to the summit’s plenary session on Friday focussed on self-determination rights of West Papuans and the indigenous Kanaks of New Caledonia.
While the MSG has committed strong support for New Caldeonia’s indigenous FLNKS movement’s preparation for independence, the group is divided over how to help the West Papuan cause.
Mr Carcasses was a strong supporter of the application for MSG membership made by the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation which has been deferred.
“History will judge us for the decisions that we make here now and in the future, our failure today to take decisive decision....will be exposed by future generations. Our motive .... will be laid bare by our future generation.”
Vanuatu’s prime minister Moana Carcasses.
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Posted at 17:43 on 21 June, 2013 UTC
A West Papua independence activist says the clashes and vandalism at the Freeport mine in the Indonesian province was sparked by locals who were starving.
Witnesses said about 70 people vandalised facilities at the world’s biggest copper and gold mine.
Yasons Sambom says five buses were burnt along with two cars, and a 29-year-old man died of starvation.
Alex Perrottet reports.
“Early this week a crowd of local residents descended on the mine facility in the remote Papua town of Tembagapura. They set fires and destroyed vehicles. An activist, Yasons Sambom, says their motivation was that people were starving. He says the fact that the mine is not operating means people have no money or access to food and are going hungry. Mr Sambom says the residents depend on the work at the mine for a living and it has been closed for weeks due to the tunnel collapse on May 14 that killed 28 workers. He says a man named Jemi Beanal died last Tuesday of starvation, and something needs to be done urgently. The government says their report into the disaster could be completed this weekend. Several of the vandals were arrested and taken into the custody of the Tembagapura Police, and it’s still not known how much damage was sustained by the mine company.”
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Posted at 17:44 on 21 June, 2013 UTC
The Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders summit has concluded with a range of initiatives being approved for greater regional co-operation between member states in the areas such as security, governance and trade.
The leaders approved the draft revised MSG Trade Agreement as the basis for negotiations of a new legal framework for broader and deeper trade relations amongst members.
They also acknowledged a presentation by the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo on the concept of a MSG parliament and have tasked the Secretariat with scoping the idea’s applicability.
Meanwhile, the revised Humanitarian and Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre concept has been endorsed and preparations for allocating resources in each member state towards this planned centre are already underway.
Furthermore, in the areas of security and policing, the MSG leaders have endorsed the concept of creating a Department of Peace-Keeping Operations, and have approved an agreement on greater police co-operation.
Leaders have noted that the MSG has the potential to provide police and security in Solomon Islands after the withdrawal of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.
The MSG has also appointed Fiji’s Kaliopate Tavola as the first in a newly created role, the MSG High Level Representative to work as a type of roving ambassador, engaging with other regions of the world, governments and international agencies to promote MSG interests and secure new development partnerships.
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A google translate of article in Jubi. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa at
4) THIS IS THE DECISION OF THE LEADERS OF PAPUA MSG
Author: Admin Jubi | 16:55
Editor: -
| June 21, 2013 |
Dr.. Vice Chairman John Otto Ondawame WPNCL when delivering a statement in the plenary WPNCL MSG Summit in Noumea (Jubi)
Noumea, 21/06 (Jubi) Application West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL), was officially accepted by the MSG. However WPNCL status requested by the application will be determined in the next six months.
The MSG leaders of countries comprising Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and have decided FLNKS results MSG Leaders Summit which is the final outcome of the 19th meeting of the leaders of the Melanesian countries. Decision called joint communiqué consists of 44 points that such a trade agreement, technical capacity building, finance, climate change, the exchange of knowledge and application WPNCL.
The communiqué was signed by the leaders of the five countries of Melanesia, respectively Tutugoro Victor (FLNKS), Veroqe Bainimarama (Fiji), Leon Dion (Papua New Guinea), Gordon Darcy Lilo (Solomon Islands) and Moana Carcassas Kalosil (Vanuatu). The signing of this is done in Escapade Resort, Noumea, June 21, 2013.
Representations about the application WPNCL as West Papua, the communiqué has been decided as follows (points 20 and 21 of the Communiqué):
The Leaders noted with respect to the application roadmap West Papua National Coalition of Liberation (WPNCL) for membership should be based on clear and measurable schedule. The Leaders acknowledged that human rights violations need to be highlighted, and to progress the application WPNCL important to continuously engage with Indonesia. The leaders agreed to establish a process of dialogue and consultation with Indonesia. ParapPemimpin noted and welcomed the invitation from Indonesia to invite the Minister of Foreign Missions (FMM) which will be led by Fiji which is a confirmation of the mission time is still awaited. Decisions on applications will be determined by the WPNCL / after a report of FMM mission.
Leaders' decision:
(I) AGREED that MSG fully supports the rights of the West Papuan people to self-determination as set out in the preamble of the constitution MSG;
(Ii) AGREED that MSG concerns about human rights abuses and other forms relating to atrocities against West Papuans will be filed along with the Indonesian government on a bilateral basis and as a group
(Iii) NOTES that the application of WPNCL to be a member of MSG has been accepted and the application will be reviewed after the filing of the report FMM, and
(Iv) AGREED roadmap as recommended by FMM include:
a) that the MSG mission sent the foreign minister-level FMM, led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fiji to Jakarta and then to West Papua in 2013 and received an invitation from the Indonesian government.
b) foreign minister's mission will present its report to the leaders on the occasion of the first msg in the next six months.
c. WPNCL will be formally notified of the decision regarding the application of MSG leaders, and
d. mission will be part of the process of determining the membership application WPNCL. (Jubi / Adm)
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http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/06/21/indonesia-the-need-for-peaceful-dialogue-in-west-papua/
5) Indonesia: the need for peaceful dialogue in West Papua
Author: Hipolitus Yolisandy Ringgi Wangge, Northwestern University & Agustinus Kambuaya, Cenderawasih University
The Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka or OPM) has opened an office in the city of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
This has been met with mixed reactions. Within Indonesia two camps have emerged. One camp is calling on the Indonesian government to take decisive action toward the British government, even if it means freezing diplomatic relations. The other camp is calling for the right to freedom of expression. Looking at the issue closely, two trends are apparent. First, the Indonesian government has been unable to counter the second-track diplomacy undertaken by West Papuan tribal leader and international lobbyist Benny Wenda. Second, and more importantly, relations between the Indonesian central government and the Papuan people are deteriorating, risking the future of peaceful dialogue.
The recent opening of the OPM office in Oxford is consistent with what Wenda has been doing for more than decade since he left Papua for the United Kingdom in 2002. Most notably, in 2008 Wenda established the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP), a cross-party political group of politicians from around the world who support West Papuan self-determination. He also travelled to Melanesian countries in the South Pacific (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea) to garner support. These efforts have internationalised the Papua issue and shone a spotlight on this eastern province of Indonesia. One of the objectives of Wenda’s diplomatic actions has been to pressure the Indonesian government to abandon its current security approach toward solving problems in Papua.
Wenda’s success highlights the weakness of the Indonesian government in exercising its diplomatic instruments. Indonesia seems unable to project an image of sovereignty over Papua. The Indonesian government has responded by strengthening its efforts to cooperate with the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) since this group of countries has spoken frequently about human rights conditions in Papua. But this growing Indonesian diplomatic effort in the region cannot prevent these countries from supporting the expressions of Papuans toward obtaining independence. The Papuan goal was fortified by the MSG giving Papua observer status in their leaders’ meeting on 20 June in New Caledonia. Meanwhile, human rights conditions in Papua have also become a main concern for international agencies, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and famous figures, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and MIT Professor Noam Chomsky, who have urged the Indonesian government to respect Papuan indigenous rights.
Wenda’s efforts to internationalise the Papua issue, such as through the opening of the OPM office in Oxford, and the weakness of the Indonesian government’s diplomacy impacts the future of peaceful dialogue.
Initially, the idea of peaceful dialogue was launched by the Papuan intellectual Neles Tebay in accordance with The Indonesian Institute of Sciences. This effort culminated in an initiative to use active dialogue to rectify ongoing historical, political, cultural and economic grievances in Papua. By holding workshops and public discussions throughout the province as well as lobbying the national government for support for the enterprise, this strategy pushes for a positive environment under which dialogue can take place through both top-down and bottom-up approaches. However, the challenges are still numerous, including the fragmentation of the large number of parties.
One of the biggest obstacles for consolidating a dialogue is bringing all the relevant parties together for discussion aimed at finding a mutually acceptable solution. Looking back at Papua’s history, there have been many initiatives, spearheaded by central and local government as well as non-governmental organisations, to arrange an active dialogue. But these efforts have faced similar obstacles related to political fragmentation among Papuans. Benny Wenda’s international actions aimed at achieving Papua’s independence jeopardise any potential role the OPM could play in fostering peaceful dialogue between the national government and the Papuan people.
The existence of the OPM’s office in Oxford also makes the road to peaceful dialogue more complex. On the one hand, Wenda will almost certainly refuse to participate in any dialogue conducted under the auspices of the provincial authority of Papua. On the other hand, the British government can do little to disband the activities of the OPM’s Oxford office due to its national laws that respect and guarantee its citizens’ rights—and Wenda is a British citizen. In this situation, ignoring the existence of the OPM office is impossible. All the British government can do is to make a public statement at a diplomatic level affirming its respect for the sovereignty of Indonesia over Papua. For the time being, Wenda and his group look set to continue to campaign internationally for the secession of Papua. But ultimately, constructive communication, including with those who have been exiled, is necessary for peaceful dialogue to forge any meaningful solutions.
In the meantime, until a long-term solution can be agreed, the consternation over the opening of the OPM’s Oxford office must not be used as an excuse to incite an escalation of conflict in Papua. This concern is especially grave considering the recent military shooting and killing of several Papuans on 1 May, which coincided with the peaceful commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the handover of Papua to the Indonesian government by the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority.
Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi Wangge is Visiting Scholar in the Equality Development and Globalization Studies Program at the Buffet Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University.
Agustinus Kambuaya is a faculty member in the department of politics at Cenderawasih University, Jayapura, Indonesia.
A version of this article was published here in the Jakarta Post.
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