1) Britain reaffirms recognition of Papua as part of Indonesia
2) Students walk a rough road to secondary education in Papua province, Indonesia
3) Rights Groups Slam Continued Use of Force, Impunity in Papua
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/89893/britain-reaffirms-recognition-of-papua-as-part-of-indonesia
1) Britain reaffirms recognition of Papua as part of Indonesia
Wed, July 17 2013 11:50 | 73 Views
"We are here this time on a working visit to the Cendrawasih Regional Military Command," Millie Mc Devitt, Second Secretary in Political Section of the British Embassy, said in a news release issued here on Wednesday.
McDevitt and a group of other officials of the British embassy in Jakarta met with the regional military commander Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua and other regional military officials in this provincial city.
Zebua told the group that security situation in Papua is favorable, saying in general the situation is stable.
"There is a small group (of local people) having different perception of independence, but we do not see them as enemies. They are compatriots who happen to have different view of democracy," he said.
He acknowledged that stability in the region is attributable not only to the military or police but also to big role played by religious and community leaders and other government officials.
The military in carrying out it duty in the field gives priority to territorial development, he said.
"Currently we are cooperating with all components to create a conducive security," he added.
The regional military command is involved in various social activities such as in health care, teaching, farming,livestock raising and fishery to improve the welfare of the people, he said.
"Papua is currently is developing civil order with the military assisting the regional administration and police to accelerate regional development and to maintain public order," he said.
Indonesia had been angered by a British official attending a ceremony opening a Papua separatist representative office in that country recently.
(Uu.H-ASG/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
---------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/indonesia_69840.html
2) Students walk a rough road to secondary education in Papua province, Indonesia
| © UNICEF Indonesia/2013/Klaus |
| Markus, 18, and his housemates pose outside their honai, a big traditional hut that serves as a boarding home for 50 adolescents and young adults who attend classes or training during the day. |
By Michael Klaus
In a part of Indonesia in which the only way for children to attend secondary school is to leave home and live in large boarding homes, UNICEF, NGOs and the provincial government focus on youth like Markus in their programmes – and include them in their planning.
MEGAPURA, Papua province, Indonesia, 16 July 2013 – It has been four years since Markus last saw his parents, and it will be at least one more before he can go back to his village, Kalbok. But he knows he would not be in school today had he stayed home.
Eighteen-year-old Markus is in Grade 12. He has grown a lot during these four years. He is now the leader of his honai in Megapura. A honai is a big traditional hut that serves as a boarding home for 50 adolescents and young adults. They all attend either a secondary school or a professional training institution in nearby Wamena, in the heart of Papua province in Indonesia’s Far East.
Highland districts
According to Chief of the UNICEF Field Office that covers both Papua and West Papua Margaret Sheehan, “The Highland districts in Papua have the worst child indicators of the whole country.” In Jayawijaya district, for example, more than 120 out of every 1,000 children die in their first five years of life, more than three times the national average. Only a third of the population has access to safe drinking water, and less than one in four people can use a latrine.
Half of all young people are married before reaching 18 years of age. “We increasingly focus on adolescents in our work,” explains Ms. Sheehan. “And, wherever possible, we aim to involve young people like Markus directly in the development of programmes.”
Leaving home – and creating a home
Leaving their native villages remains the only option for most adolescents in this poor mountainous region to get into secondary school. In their new homes, like the one in Megapura, the ethnic groups often stay together and share one common honai. Leaders like Markus, who has been elected by the group, play a key role in transmitting the traditional values of their villages and ethnic groups, establishing and enforcing rules, ensuring that sick members see a doctor and negotiating with other honais, in cases of conflict.
| © UNICEF Indonesia/2013/Klaus |
| Markus left his village at the age of 14 to enroll in secondary school - the only option available for most adolescents in this area to attend secondary school. He is now leader of his honai. |
“We hardly ever have problems with our neighbors in the other honais,” Markus says. “And, if that happens, it usually has to do with money that needs to be paid back.”
Life is far from easy in these boarding homes. There are no latrines, and the young people use the nearby river for their personal hygiene. The older boys work as rickshaw drivers in Wamena. “They earn the money for our food,” Markus explains. “We eat once a day, in the evening. Whoever comes late has to wait until the next evening. That helps – usually all are here on time.”
Awareness-raising in the honai
The NGO Yasumat, which stands for Social Foundation for Isolated People, supports the young people by providing health education and running discussion groups on life choices and HIV in the boarding homes.
Talking about reproductive health and safe sex is not easy in this very conservative region, but, nonetheless, it is necessary. Unlike the rest of the country, HIV has become a generalized epidemic in Papua and West Papua, having spread beyond high-risk groups, and young people are particularly affected. The prevalence among 15- to 24-year-olds stands at 3 per cent. In a knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) study on adolescents conducted in Papua in 2011, less than 10 per cent of those aged 10 to 18 had a comprehensive knowledge of HIV required to adopt preventive and protective behaviours.
Comprehensive youth policy
The risk of HIV infection is only one of the many problems children and adolescents in this region face. In 2012, when UNICEF and the provincial governments conducted an assessment of youth policies and programmes in Papua and West Papua, young people were invited to speak about the many challenges they are facing in the areas of health, education, employment and protection.
Based on the findings of the study and responding to UNICEF advocacy, on 25 June, at a high-level event in provincial capital Manokwari, the government of West Papua committed itself to develop a comprehensive youth policy – the first of its kind in Indonesia.
“The West Papua government is leading the way towards a coordinated and comprehensive approach for young people,” said UNICEF Representative Angela Kearney during the event. “Young people need to be involved when it comes to developing the details of this policy. We at UNICEF stand ready to also assist Papua province and other provinces in following suit and developing their own youth policy.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/rights-groups-slam-continued-use-of-force-impunity-in-papua/
3) Rights Groups Slam Continued Use of Force, Impunity in Papua
Indonesian and international human rights groups have called questioned Jakarta’s commitment to finding a peaceful resolution to the decades-long insurgency in Papua, following a discussion on the issue at the United Nations.
In a joint statement released on Monday, the groups noted that the review by the UN Human Rights Committee from July 10-11 of Indonesia’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights had highlighted the ongoing violence in Papua and excessive use of force by government security forces.
“Since there is no effective mechanism available to hold military members accountable, the committee sees re-occurrences of such violations as likely until Indonesia takes measures to develop effective complaint procedures,” the statement said.
“The committee referred to the high number of extrajudicial killings that have occurred in Papua over the last two years and deplored the use of violence in dispersing peaceful protests in Papua.”
The statement was issued by Franciscans International, Human Rights and Peace for Papua, Imparsial, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and Tapol, among others.
“The discussion about Papua at the UN Human Rights Committee shows that ongoing human rights violations in Papua continue to be a key concern for the international community,” said Poengky Indarti from Imparsial.
The groups also denounced what they called the Indonesian delegation’s false claims about the openness of military tribunals for those involved in rights abuses.
The statement described Indria Fernida from London-based Tapol as being shocked to notice the “level of denial of institutional shortcomings that prolong the culture of impunity in Indonesia.”
“Victims are disappointed about the failure of Human Rights Courts in Papua and badly need an effective complaint mechanism for violations perpetrated by the military,” she said.
The rights groups also said that while the Indonesian delegation claimed to the committee that local media in Papua were free to publish any news, “cases of intimidation, threats and violence against local journalists in Papua continue.”
“In recent years, the international community had to witness the extrajudicial killing of journalist Ardiansyah Matrais and the violent attack against journalist Banjir Ambarita,” the statement said.
Banjir is a contributor for the Jakarta Globe, who was stabbed by unknown perpetrators in March 2011 shortly after reporting on the sexual abuse of a female detainee by local police. No one has ever been arrested over the stabbing.
Concerns were also raised about the delegation’s insistence that expressions of Papuan secession would continue to warrant criminal charges, which Budi Tjahjono from Franciscans International warned “implies a prolongation of the detrimental security approach in Papua.”
The UN committee is expected to publish its concluding observations and recommendations by the end of this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.