1) Flotilla
Leaves Australia for West Papua Protest Voyage
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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/flotilla-leaves-australia-for-west-papua-protest-voyage/
1) Flotilla Leaves Australia for West Papua Protest Voyage
By Benjamin Soloway on 11:34 pm August 19, 2013.
Category Asia-Pacific, Featured, International, News
Tags: Australia, Papua, West Papua
Category Asia-Pacific, Featured, International, News
Tags: Australia, Papua, West Papua
Protestors set out for West Papua from Queensland, Australia. (Photo courtesy of Freedom Flotilla West Papua)
A flotilla carrying approximately 50 West Papuan and indigenous Australian protestors bound for the Indonesian territories of West Papua began its journey from Queensland, Australia this weekend. Two boats are currently at sea and a third will leave Australia on August 20.
The protestors, who hope “to reconnect two ancient cultures and to reveal the barriers that keep human rights abuses in West Papua from the attention of the international community,” according to their website, will make landfall in early September, if their voyage goes according to plan.
“This is just a publicity stunt by some elements trying to get attention,” Michael Tene, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, told the Jakarta Globe. “It will not affect Indonesia or any other country, and it will not affect our work in the Papua provinces.”
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Djoko Suyanto, has threatened to deploy the navy and air force. He has also criticized Australia for allowing the flotilla to depart in the first place.
“There should be no nation allowing its soil to be used as a departure point for the movement of a group aimed at disturbing other nations’ sovereignty,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said that any help Australia provided to the flotilla “won’t be good for our bilateral relationships.”
After Indonesian independence, West Papua remained a Dutch overseas territory until 1962, when Indonesia and the Netherlands signed the New York Agreement at the UN headquarters, formally ending the Dutch presence in Papua.
In 1969, the Papua provinces agreed to join Indonesia in a referendum of elders, the legitimacy of which has been questioned ever since by a contingent of separatists, some peaceful and some violent.
Human-rights abuses have been frequently documented. The government bars journalists from covering issues related to independence.
Australia was quick to reaffirm its support of Indonesian sovereignty in West Papua.
“[The flotilla's] action is not supported by Australia, it’s extremely ill advised,” Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr told Radio National, an Australian station, on August 19. “I think this activity by a fringe group of Australians offers a cruel hope to the people of the two Indonesian Papuan provinces; that is, a hope that, somehow, independence for the Papuan provinces is on the international agenda, when it’s not. The world recognizes Indonesian sovereignty as we do.”
Australia will offer the protestors nothing more than normal consular assistance if they end up on the wrong side of Indonesian law, he added.
“Bob Carr’s radio interview this morning represents the most recent comment from the Australian government — the embassy doesn’t plan to say any more on this issue today,” Ray Marcelo, a spokesman for the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, told the Globe.
Izzy Brown, a spokeswoman for the flotilla, refuted Carr’s view that West Papua is not part of the mainstream conversation.
“If he’s talking about it, that means it is on the agenda,” she told the Globe. “I hope that this action can really put West Papua on the world stage. I hope that both the Australian and the Indonesian governments pay attention, and that indigenous rights and indigenous privileges are respected.”
In recent years, protest flotillas have attracted widespread media attention, especially in 2010, when Israeli naval commandos killed nine protestors who were part of an effort to violate Israel’s embargo on the Gaza Strip.
Brown says the protestors hope for the best, but are prepared for the worst.
“The Indonesian navy is a force to be reckoned with,” she said. “If the Australian and Indonesian governments want to avoid a diplomatic incident, they should come to the table to talk about about the situation in West Papua. I hope this will be catalyst to wake up the world.”
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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/08/19/australia-does-not-support-free-papua-boats.html
2) Australia does not support Free Papua boats
Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | World | Mon, August 19 2013, 9:46 PM
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said on Monday his government did not support a move by dozens of pro-West Papua independence activists from Australia to attempt to enter Indonesian territory without permits.
“[The activists] have got to adhere to the laws of the country they’re seeking to enter, and Indonesia has made it clear that they’re breaching Indonesian law by going there without a visa, without a permit. We’ve advised them, through DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs], that their action is not supported by Australia, it's extremely ill-advised,” Carr said during an interview with Radio National.
A transcript of the interview was made available to The Jakarta Post by the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.
More than 100 activists calling themselves “Freedom Flotilla” departed from Cairns in northeastern Australia on Aug. 17, Indonesia’s 68th independence anniversary, according to the websitewww.freedomflotillawestpapua.org.
They boarded two boats, but claim additional vessels will join the flotilla as it sails through Australian waters. Their intention is to “highlight abuses faced by West Papuans under Indonesian rule”, according to The Guardian.
Carr said the activists, whom he called “a fringe group of Australians”, offered false hope to Papuans.
“A hope that, somehow, independence for the [West Papua and Papua] provinces is on the international agenda when it’s not. The world recognizes Indonesian sovereignty as we do through the Lombok Treaty, and both sides of Australian politics support this position,” he said.
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Security Coordinating Minister Djoko Suyanto has also protested to Australia that the flotilla has been allowed to sail with the announced intention of illegally entering Indonesian territory.
"I told the Australian ambassador (Greg Moriarty) it would be better if no country became the departure point of anybody who wants to disturb another country's sovereignty,'' Mr Djoko said in a note circulated to Jakarta journalists on the weekend.
The flotilla began sailing from Cairns on Saturday. It is planned to reach Daru, Papua New Guinea at the end of this month and from there try to land in Indonesia's Papua province.
The flotilla, organised by Aboriginal activist Kevin Buzzacott, so-called Federated Republic of West Papua foreign affairs minister Jacob Rumbiak and Papuan refugee Amos Wainggai, among others, is described by them as "an unprecedented event of creative resistance to the Indonesian occupation of West Papua''.
"I told the Australian ambassador (Greg Moriarty) it would be better if no country became the departure point of anybody who wants to disturb another country's sovereignty,'' Mr Djoko said in a note circulated to Jakarta journalists on the weekend.
The flotilla began sailing from Cairns on Saturday. It is planned to reach Daru, Papua New Guinea at the end of this month and from there try to land in Indonesia's Papua province.
The flotilla, organised by Aboriginal activist Kevin Buzzacott, so-called Federated Republic of West Papua foreign affairs minister Jacob Rumbiak and Papuan refugee Amos Wainggai, among others, is described by them as "an unprecedented event of creative resistance to the Indonesian occupation of West Papua''.
The Australian embassy in Jakarta yesterday released a statement repeating that "Australia recognises and supports Indonesia's sovereignty'' over the two Papuan provinces.
Indonesian police have already warned they will arrest anyone who has a criminal record or is on their wanted list.
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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/90322/indonesia-australia-relations-getting-better
4) Indonesia-Australia relations getting better
Mon, August 19 2013 15:04 | 157 Views
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia are now getting better, said Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and Vanuatu Nadjib Riphat Kesoema in Canberra on Saturday.
"In fact, bilateral relations between the two countries are considered the best in history," said Nadjib at a function to observe the 68th anniversary of Indonesia`s Independence Day on August 17.
In a press release, made available to ANTARA News on Monday, Nadjib noted that both the countries are working hard to improve inter-community and business relations to boost cooperation.
Besides, the Indonesian envoy added that the commemoration of Indonesia`s Independence Day this year was more special because it took place during Idul Fitri.
Najib pointed out that Indonesia faces challenges in the following areas: economy, politics, and social culture.
"The hard work of Indonesians has paid off, and today, Indonesia is considered one of the world`s economic powers," he said.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR)
"In fact, bilateral relations between the two countries are considered the best in history," said Nadjib at a function to observe the 68th anniversary of Indonesia`s Independence Day on August 17.
In a press release, made available to ANTARA News on Monday, Nadjib noted that both the countries are working hard to improve inter-community and business relations to boost cooperation.
Besides, the Indonesian envoy added that the commemoration of Indonesia`s Independence Day this year was more special because it took place during Idul Fitri.
Najib pointed out that Indonesia faces challenges in the following areas: economy, politics, and social culture.
"The hard work of Indonesians has paid off, and today, Indonesia is considered one of the world`s economic powers," he said.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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