1) Watchdog Calls on Indonesia to Open
Access to Papua
2) Tension with OZ escalates as RI
deploys warships
1) Watchdog Calls on Indonesia to Open
Access to Papua
2) Tension with OZ escalates as RI
deploys warships
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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/watchdog-calls-on-indonesia-to-open-access-to-papua/
1) Watchdog Calls on Indonesia to Open Access to Papua
By Hariet Conron on 9:29 am January 23, 2014.
Category Featured, News
Tags: Papua, Papua human rights abuses, West Papua
Category Featured, News
Tags: Papua, Papua human rights abuses, West Papua
Papuan students take part on a rally in Surabaya, East Java on December 2, 2013, demanding the freedom of West Papua province. (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)
At the launch of its 2014 World Report on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch called on the government to lift the ban on foreign journalists entering the volatile provinces of Papua and West Papua.
The report details multiple acts of violence between state security forces and Free Papua Organization (OPM) activists that occurred in the two provinces last year that left at least 11 dead.
Speaking at the report’s launch i nJakarta, HRW Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsono said the police and military continued to commit human rights abuses with relative impunity in Papua.
In the last year, peaceful Papuan independence activists have been subjected to excessively violent — and sometimes fatal — treatment from state security forces, he said.
According to the New York-based organization, there are currently 70 Papuans in prison for their peaceful involvement in the Papuan independence movement, despite the government’s claims there are no political prisoners in Indonesian jails.
In his statement, Andreas called for the release of these political prisoners, as well as a group of Maluku activists imprisoned for peaceful dissent in the nearby Maluku islands.
HRW asked political parties running in the upcoming national elections to consider changing the policy of restricted access to Papua and West Papua for foreign journalists, questioning what the Indonesian government had to hide from the outside world.
In the past two years, just three international news organizations were granted access to the Papuan provinces under the watch of official minders.
International pressure is mounting for the government to open the doors to Papua, release political prisoners and put a stop to violent clashes between state security forces and suspected OPM rebels.
The European Parliament will met in Brussels today for a hearing on the human rights situation in Papua and West Papua.
Papuan activists scaled the wall of the Australian Consulate in Bali during the APEC Summit last year, when world leaders from around the Asia-Pacific region were in the country, in a bid to consult with leaders about their cause.
However, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott rejected their pleas and vowed instead to stand by the Indonesian government. Harriet Conron
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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/01/23/tension-with-oz-escalates-ri-deploys-warships.html
2) Tension with OZ escalates as RI deploys warships
Bagus BT Saragih and Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Thu, January 23 2014, 9:35 AM
With Canberra pressing ahead with its hard-line policy of turning back asylum seekers to Indonesian waters, Jakarta told its neighbor on Wednesday the policy could lead to violations of Indonesia’s sovereignty and that it had increased security on its borders to prevent incursions.
A number of Indonesian Navy warships have been deployed and four Air Force defense radars have been programmed to closely monitor the southern border, military officials told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
“We are watching four radars in Timika, Merauke [in Papua], Saumlaki [Maluku] and Buraen [East Nusa Tenggara], which all face Australia,” Air Force chief spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto said.
“If we notice any border violations, our air base in Makassar will be ready. Australia is reachable from there.” Hadi was referring to the Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base in the South Sulawesi provincial capital, which is the base of the 11th squadron, consisting of 16 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flankers.
The Flankers have a maximum range of some 3,000 kilometers. The sea border lies some 1,000 km from Makassar. At Mach 1, or the speed of sound, the Flankers would reach the border in little over an hour.
Navy chief spokesman Commodore Untung Suropati confirmed that a number of warships had moved toward the Australian border. He said these included frigates, fast torpedo craft (KCT), fast missile craft (KCR) and corvettes as well as maritime patrol aircraft. He declined to reveal the precise number and location of the assets.
“All the ships are on the move, patrolling the waters,” he said.
Tension between the two neighbors reached a new height Wednesday after Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that stopping the boats was “a matter of sovereignty” and Jakarta should understand Canberra was taking the issue seriously.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who suspended cooperation with Australia following allegations that it attempted to spy on him and members of his inner circle, skipped the Davos meeting to oversee the handling of recent nationwide flooding and the eruption of the Mount Sinabung volcano.
Abbott’s statement came only days after Australia admitted that its naval ships had entered Indonesian waters. It later apologized to Indonesia for the incursion.
Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said it was Australia that should respect Indonesia’s sovereignty, “which was violated by the Australian navy.”
“Asylum seekers that have entered a country, including Australia, must be managed according to the UN Convention on Refugees,” he asserted in a written statement.
Australia is a signatory to the convention. He added that the country concerned must also handle the problem in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Yudhoyono’s foreign affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said, “A violation of our national territory for any reason cannot be tolerated.”
“If Prime Minister Abbott asks President Yudhoyono and the Indonesian people to understand Australia’s seriousness with regards to its sovereignty, in the same vein, Indonesia also asks Australia to understand our firm commitment to our vital interests.”
Novan Iman Santosa contributed to the story.
A number of Indonesian Navy warships have been deployed and four Air Force defense radars have been programmed to closely monitor the southern border, military officials told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
“We are watching four radars in Timika, Merauke [in Papua], Saumlaki [Maluku] and Buraen [East Nusa Tenggara], which all face Australia,” Air Force chief spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto said.
“If we notice any border violations, our air base in Makassar will be ready. Australia is reachable from there.” Hadi was referring to the Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base in the South Sulawesi provincial capital, which is the base of the 11th squadron, consisting of 16 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flankers.
The Flankers have a maximum range of some 3,000 kilometers. The sea border lies some 1,000 km from Makassar. At Mach 1, or the speed of sound, the Flankers would reach the border in little over an hour.
Navy chief spokesman Commodore Untung Suropati confirmed that a number of warships had moved toward the Australian border. He said these included frigates, fast torpedo craft (KCT), fast missile craft (KCR) and corvettes as well as maritime patrol aircraft. He declined to reveal the precise number and location of the assets.
“All the ships are on the move, patrolling the waters,” he said.
Tension between the two neighbors reached a new height Wednesday after Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that stopping the boats was “a matter of sovereignty” and Jakarta should understand Canberra was taking the issue seriously.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who suspended cooperation with Australia following allegations that it attempted to spy on him and members of his inner circle, skipped the Davos meeting to oversee the handling of recent nationwide flooding and the eruption of the Mount Sinabung volcano.
Abbott’s statement came only days after Australia admitted that its naval ships had entered Indonesian waters. It later apologized to Indonesia for the incursion.
Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said it was Australia that should respect Indonesia’s sovereignty, “which was violated by the Australian navy.”
“Asylum seekers that have entered a country, including Australia, must be managed according to the UN Convention on Refugees,” he asserted in a written statement.
Australia is a signatory to the convention. He added that the country concerned must also handle the problem in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Yudhoyono’s foreign affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said, “A violation of our national territory for any reason cannot be tolerated.”
“If Prime Minister Abbott asks President Yudhoyono and the Indonesian people to understand Australia’s seriousness with regards to its sovereignty, in the same vein, Indonesia also asks Australia to understand our firm commitment to our vital interests.”
Novan Iman Santosa contributed to the story.
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