1) PNG MILITARY URGES CAUTION IN REPORTING SENSITIVE BORDER ISSUES

1) PNG MILITARY URGES CAUTION IN REPORTING SENSITIVE BORDER ISSUES

2) Indonesia speaks out on  boatpeople amid Australia  tension

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http://tabloidjubi.com/en/?p=2075

1) PNG MILITARY URGES CAUTION IN REPORTING SENSITIVE BORDER ISSUES

Jayapura , 20/4 ( Jubi ) – Journalists should exercise caution and care when reporting on sensitive issues between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, a PNG defense chief said.

“Sensitive issues should be reported carefully because they can put civilian lives in danger,” Papua New Guinea Defense Force Officer Peter Waiaki, who is Commanding the base in Vanimo, said on Wednesday (16 /4).

Waiaki urges reporters to seek confirmation with the authorities first before releasing sensitive stories. He has also banned  some 50 Vanimo residents from entering Indonesia-PNG border.

The border reopened after being closed several days but Waiaki said he could not guarantee safety on the border. As reported by EMTV on Wednesday (16/4 ), Indonesia and PNG border officials held a meeting at a neutral territory on the border. The meeting was later moved to on the Indonesian part of the border with a military escort. Each side was represented by delegates from the two border provinces, military personnel and counsels representing the two countries.

This meeting did not discuss the shooting incident that occurred between an armed group and Indonesian security forces on April 5 but focused on the reopening of the border between the two countries and the security of civilians.
“The safety of PNG civilians who enter the border for trade is guaranteed,” head of the Border and Foreign Cooperation of Papua province, Susana Wanggai said.

Wanggai also called on the cooperation of PNG security forces. She  said urges PNG security forces to hand over people who fight for West Papua independence to Indonesia to face a legal process.

The meeting ended by the opening the border by the acting deputy governor of Sandaun province, Paul Negai.
“PNG understands that West Papua is an integral part of Indonesia. We want Indonesia to rein in troops as the Border Authority development project is currently under construction on the PNG side, ” Negai concluded . ( Jubi / Victor Mambor/ Tina).

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/04/21/indonesia-speaks-out-boatpeople-amid-australia-tension.html

2) Indonesia speaks out on  boatpeople amid Australia  tension

Agence France-Presse, Jakarta | World | Mon, April 21 2014, 1:37 PM

Jakarta called on governments Monday to stop "shifting responsibility" for asylum-seekers, in veiled criticism of Australia's hardline policy of towing boatloads of would-be refugees back to Indonesia.

The military-led operation has caused anger in Indonesia, which has been forced to take back seven boatloads of asylum-seekers turned around by the Australian navy since December.

At the opening of an international meeting on asylum-seekers in Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said countries should stand by commitments to cooperate on the issue made at a conference last year.

Those commitments "confirmed our shared responsibility -- shared responsibility, not (the) shifting of responsibility. Shared responsibility that requires coordination and cooperation," Natalegawa said at Monday's meeting.

"For Indonesia the message is crystal-clear -- the cross-border and complex nature of irregular movement of persons defies... national solution."

Asylum-seekers have for years used Indonesia as a transit point to cross to Australia, usually on rickety fishing boats. More than 1,000 asylum-seekers have died at sea in recent years attempting the perilous journey.

Tony Abbott came to power last year at the head of a conservative government in Australia on the back of a pledge to stem the flow of asylum-seekers, and has implemented the tough border protection policies.

His government says they are working, claiming that no asylum-seekers arriving by boat have set foot on Australian soil since December.

The UN refugee agency said last week the number of asylum-seekers registering in Indonesia had dropped dramatically since December, from around 100 a day to 100 a week.

The Abbott administration retained the policy of the former government of sending all asylum-seekers arriving by boat to Papua New Guinea or Nauru -- for permanent resettlement there if judged to be refugees.

Natalegawa acknowledged Monday the policies may have helped reduce the loss of life at sea between the two countries, but reiterated his opposition to them.

"We need to take the politics out of this whole endeavour," he said, adding there must be alternative ways of stopping the flow of asylum-seekers.

Australia was represented at the meeting by officials from its Jakarta embassy, but they made no comment at the opening.

The two-day International Workshop on the Protection of the Irregular Movement of Persons at Sea, attended by senior officials from 14 countries, is co-chaired by Indonesia and the United Nations refugee agency. (***)