1) Indonesia Cancels NZ Police Training
Program in Papua Over ‘Hidden Motives’
2)
PAPUA GOVERNMENT MUST EXPLAIN CURRENT CONDITION OF PAPUA FOREST
3) TEACHERS WORK ONLY FOR TWO
MONTHS
4)
Prabowo ‘ordered by Soeharto to kidnap activists’
5) Community
pushes PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera to keep its promises.
--------------------------------------
1) Indonesia Cancels NZ Police Training Program in Papua Over ‘Hidden Motives’
Police officers on patrol near the Freeport-McMoRan copper and gold mine in Timika, Papua province, on May 15, 2013. (EPA Photo/Spedy Paereng)
Jakarta. Indonesia has axed a multimillion dollar police training program in West Papua because police intelligence reports suggested there were “hidden motives” behind the New Zealand-funded program.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) confirmed late last month that the $5.4 million project, which was scheduled to start early this year, had been put off, but refused to answer specific questions about the issue.
On Tuesday, however, the deputy chief of the Indonesia National Police, Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, cited concerns about the program’s motives as the reason for its cancellation.
“We refused it based on the input from head of [the] Police’s Security Intelligent agency, Comr. Gen. Suparni Parto, that there could be a hidden motive behind the aid,” he said.
The three-year program, funded by the New Zealand Aid program and run by the New Zealand Police, followed a pilot project in Papua and West Papua in 2009-10.
It would have seen two full-time New Zealand police staff deployed to the Indonesian National Police office in Jayapura for three years, as well as short-term specialists, and aimed to provide training for up to 1,000 Indonesian police officers.
In October last year, New Zealand foreign affairs minister Murray McCully said the training program would help support the Indonesian National Police to improve community policing skills in the Papua, West Papua and Maluku.
But the supposedly political nature of the aid was said to have caused concern among the Indonesia National Police, who have faced persistent criticism for their human rights record in the country’s easternmost regions.
Badrodin said that New Zealand had insisted on training police in the restive provinces, and had rebuffed offers to train members of Indonesia’s police force elsewhere.
“They refused when we offered to change the training location to our training center in Makassar or in Java island. So what is going on?” he said.
When approached by the Jakarta Globe for comment, New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministry declined to say anything beyond a limited three paragraph statement.
The statement said that the future of the program, or whether funding would be reallocated, would depend on “priorities for development assistance” agreed upon by New Zealand and the incoming Indonesian Government.
The New Zealand Police would continue to work with their Indonesian counterparts in other areas, the statement said, including the provision of trainers to the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation.
News of the training’s cancellation has been met with relief in some quarters.
One member of New Zealand’s Parliament has said the country should never have been providing aid that perpetuated “an oppressive status quo.”
“We need to have a positive relationship with Indonesia and engage with them respectfully on the West Papua issue, challenging them to negotiate for peace,” Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty said.
She said the community policing model — which emphasized community engagement — was successful in countries where the government had a “robust and genuine commitment to human rights” and communities that could trust police.
“The opposite situation exists in West Papua where the rhetoric of human rights is undermined daily,” Delahunty said.
Andreas Harsono, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Indonesia, said the training program had “sent the wrong message,” because widespread impunity among security forces in the provinces persisted.
He cited two examples of alleged police abuses in Papua: the possible use of unnecessary lethal force by police against rock-throwing protesters in Papua in September 2013, and the crackdown of the Papuan People’s Congress in October 2011, where at least three people were killed and dozens injured.
“We repeatedly asked the Indonesian government to investigate abusive police officers in Papua but there’s no positive response from Jakarta,” Andreas said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) PAPUA GOVERNMENT MUST EXPLAIN CURRENT CONDITION OF PAPUA FOREST
Jayapura, 9/6 (Jubi) – The Papua provincial government should inform the public about the conditions of forests, an environmental group said.
When Barnabas Suebu served as governor he dedicated 90 percent of Papua’s forests to efforts to mitigate climate change, but illegal logging has continued, said the director of Resource Management Development (RMD) Institute, Robert Mandosir, in Jayapura on Monday
Many permits have been issued for the opening of oil palm plantations and other projects, he said.
“The question is, whether it is part of the 90 percent, or outside?” he said.
“The question is, whether it is part of the 90 percent, or outside?” he said.
He said 80 percent of Papuans live in the forests, and in remote areas and are very dependent on nature.
Moreover, the process of interaction and traditional wisdom grows and develops in people’s lives.
“There are some programs on climate change, but the question is what the society get from them? These programs are talking more about forest protection and not contributing to the land owners ” he added.
“There are some programs on climate change, but the question is what the society get from them? These programs are talking more about forest protection and not contributing to the land owners ” he added.
The acceleration of land clearing for infrastructure, as well as for oil palm plantation investment in Jayapura, Yahukimo, Digoel, and other areas are intensified. This means that there will be land clearing.
“Papua people do not know what 90 percent would be? Is the incoming investment, taking it from 90 percent or 90 percent beyond that and/ or is there a conversion? This needs to be explained, “he said.
“Papua people do not know what 90 percent would be? Is the incoming investment, taking it from 90 percent or 90 percent beyond that and/ or is there a conversion? This needs to be explained, “he said.
Previously, Greenpeace Indonesia and Forest Rescue Coalition predicted the expiration of a moratorium on new forestry licenses was in 2013 and about 800,000 hectares of forest in Papua was threatened to be cleared, for a range of investment interests through the Minister of Forestry Decree No. 458/2012.
These findings are based Geo-spatial analysis of SK 458 and published in August 2012. Decree 458 provides changing the land from forest to non-forest (376 535 hectares), forest protection / conservation into forest production (392 535 hectares), and the area of non-forest to forest (41 743 ha).
SK Publishing based query governor of Papua since 2010. “We recognize these findings late, because SK 458 published in August 2012. Initially, we focused on the analysis of the Indicative Map Publishing New License (PIPIB),” Kiki Taufik, Geo-spatial analyst of Greenpeace Indonesia said.
He said, when analyzing PIPIB III, Greenpeace found 360,000 hectares of protected forest area in Papua-New Guinea border (around the Star Mountains) is converted to forest production. Strong suspicion, amounting area is used for oil palm plantations.
Once traced, 360,000 hectares of protected forest changes into production forest based on the SK 458. Starting from there, Greenpeace analyzed more than 30 maps in detail SK attachments.
“The function of the protected forest protection / conservation is irreplaceable. Therefore, changes in the protected function will bring ecological disaster and the degradation of local society culture is very united with the forest, ” Teguh Surya said, Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Politics. (Jubi / Albert/ Tina)
“The function of the protected forest protection / conservation is irreplaceable. Therefore, changes in the protected function will bring ecological disaster and the degradation of local society culture is very united with the forest, ” Teguh Surya said, Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Politics. (Jubi / Albert/ Tina)
--------------------------------------------------------
3) TEACHERS WORK ONLY FOR TWO MONTHS
Merauke, Jubi (9/6) – Tabonji district chief Wilhelmus Harbelubun revealed that teachers at local elementary schools worked only for two months spend time in the city the rest of the year, with some pursuing higher degrees for certification.
“I want to say that education in Tabonji district’s villages is like in ancient times. It does not run well,” he told Tabbloidjubi.com on Monday in Merauke.
The teachers usually show up at the end of the test and enrollment for new students.
“I served for three years, so I really know and understand the condition of education in the villages,” he said.
“I served for three years, so I really know and understand the condition of education in the villages,” he said.
He further explained that if teachers want to continue their studies at the university level, the Department of Education and Teaching Merauke should have provided substitute teachers.
The kids in the villages have passion and motivation for school. However, when it comes to school, there are no teachers. So, they go with their parents into the woods to find food for survival everyday.
Chairman of Commission A of Merauke Legislative Council overseeing on education issues, Dominikus Ulukyanan through his cell phone said that the condition of education in rural areas are very worrying.
“From year to year, I am screaming about the lack of teachers in the local villages, but there is no good response from the relevant authorities,” he said.
“From year to year, I am screaming about the lack of teachers in the local villages, but there is no good response from the relevant authorities,” he said.
“I look forward to the new head of Education and Teaching, Felix Liem Gebze to take serious steps in filling the shortage of teachers in rural areas, “he said. (Jubi / Frans L Kobun/ Tina)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) Prabowo ‘ordered by Soeharto to kidnap activists’
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Wed, June 11 2014, 8:24 AM
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto reportedly revealed that former president Soeharto ordered him to kidnap pro-democracy activists in May 1998, which saw him dismissed from the Indonesian Military (TNI), according to Veterans Association (Pepabri) chairman Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar.
“Prabowo told me when he visited Pepabri recently, that he was ordered by former president Soeharto to kidnap the activists. I was quite shocked, because he didn’t say anything about that when the [TNI] Officers Honorary Council [DKP] questioned him,” he said in a live TV interview on Tuesday.
Agum acknowledged he was skeptical about the statement as he knew Soeharto would not have ordered something so controversial during a chaotic time, even though Prabowo was then Soeharto’s son-in-law.
Agum attended the live TV interview to answer questions regarding the reasons behind Prabowo’s
dismissal from the TNI — a topic that emerged during Monday evening’s live presidential candidate debate when rival vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla asked the question.
In his response, Prabowo answered: “I am a former soldier who did his duty as best as I could. Aside from that, it’s up to the judgment of my superiors.”
“I am the toughest human-rights defender in the republic,” he added.
His tone rose noticeably when Kalla pushed him to elaborate on incidents surrounding the fall of Soeharto in May 1998.
However, a leaked document circulated on the Internet recently detailing the reasons behind the dismissal of Prabowo from military service on Aug. 21, 1998. It cast doubt on the former general’s suitability to serve as president, if elected on July 9.
The document — which was a scanned copy of the official letter signed by members of the DKP tasked with hearing the case of Prabowo’s complicity in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998 — revealed that the former Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) commander was also fired from his position due to insubordination.
The signatories in the document were DKP chairman Gen. Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo, who was also the Army chief of staff; secretary Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago; Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, now the incumbent President; Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi; Lt. Gen. Yusuf Kartanegara; Lt. Gen. Arie J. Kumaat; and Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar.
Agum said the leaked document, including the other violations Prabowo was said to have committed, was valid.
He acknowledged Prabowo was an undisciplined soldier during the time, citing the activists’ kidnapping as one of his violations where he ignored orders from his superiors.
The issues surrounding Prabowo’s controversial past have recently emerged due to public pressure, which forced the General Elections Commission (KPU) to agree to the demand to include human rights in the broad topic of democracy and legal certainty in the first presidential candidate debate.
Prabowo’s supporters deem accusations regarding the presidential candidate’s track record as part of a smear campaign to dent his popularity.
On Aug. 25, 1998, The Jakarta Post reported that the Armed Forces (ABRI, as the TNI was then known) honorably discharged then Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto and removed two senior Kopassus officers from active duty as punishment for their role in the abduction and torture of political activists.
The ABRI also announced Prabowo was entitled to his pension, but said he could face a military tribunal in the future if more damning evidence of his involvement in the kidnappings was discovered.
In front of local and foreign journalists at the Armed Forces’ Merdeka Barat headquarters in Central Jakarta, then minister of defense and security and ABRI commander Gen. Wiranto announced the decision, which was issued on the recommendation of the DKP that had investigated the abductions.
“My decision regarding Lt. Gen. Prabowo is to end his active service with the Armed Forces. Prabowo is no longer included in any ABRI structure. He is a civilian now,” Wiranto said at the time. (gda)
“Prabowo told me when he visited Pepabri recently, that he was ordered by former president Soeharto to kidnap the activists. I was quite shocked, because he didn’t say anything about that when the [TNI] Officers Honorary Council [DKP] questioned him,” he said in a live TV interview on Tuesday.
Agum acknowledged he was skeptical about the statement as he knew Soeharto would not have ordered something so controversial during a chaotic time, even though Prabowo was then Soeharto’s son-in-law.
Agum attended the live TV interview to answer questions regarding the reasons behind Prabowo’s
dismissal from the TNI — a topic that emerged during Monday evening’s live presidential candidate debate when rival vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla asked the question.
In his response, Prabowo answered: “I am a former soldier who did his duty as best as I could. Aside from that, it’s up to the judgment of my superiors.”
“I am the toughest human-rights defender in the republic,” he added.
His tone rose noticeably when Kalla pushed him to elaborate on incidents surrounding the fall of Soeharto in May 1998.
However, a leaked document circulated on the Internet recently detailing the reasons behind the dismissal of Prabowo from military service on Aug. 21, 1998. It cast doubt on the former general’s suitability to serve as president, if elected on July 9.
The document — which was a scanned copy of the official letter signed by members of the DKP tasked with hearing the case of Prabowo’s complicity in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998 — revealed that the former Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) commander was also fired from his position due to insubordination.
The signatories in the document were DKP chairman Gen. Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo, who was also the Army chief of staff; secretary Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago; Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, now the incumbent President; Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi; Lt. Gen. Yusuf Kartanegara; Lt. Gen. Arie J. Kumaat; and Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar.
Agum said the leaked document, including the other violations Prabowo was said to have committed, was valid.
He acknowledged Prabowo was an undisciplined soldier during the time, citing the activists’ kidnapping as one of his violations where he ignored orders from his superiors.
The issues surrounding Prabowo’s controversial past have recently emerged due to public pressure, which forced the General Elections Commission (KPU) to agree to the demand to include human rights in the broad topic of democracy and legal certainty in the first presidential candidate debate.
Prabowo’s supporters deem accusations regarding the presidential candidate’s track record as part of a smear campaign to dent his popularity.
On Aug. 25, 1998, The Jakarta Post reported that the Armed Forces (ABRI, as the TNI was then known) honorably discharged then Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto and removed two senior Kopassus officers from active duty as punishment for their role in the abduction and torture of political activists.
The ABRI also announced Prabowo was entitled to his pension, but said he could face a military tribunal in the future if more damning evidence of his involvement in the kidnappings was discovered.
In front of local and foreign journalists at the Armed Forces’ Merdeka Barat headquarters in Central Jakarta, then minister of defense and security and ABRI commander Gen. Wiranto announced the decision, which was issued on the recommendation of the DKP that had investigated the abductions.
“My decision regarding Lt. Gen. Prabowo is to end his active service with the Armed Forces. Prabowo is no longer included in any ABRI structure. He is a civilian now,” Wiranto said at the time. (gda)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Community pushes PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera to keep its promises.
Oil palm company PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera has been operating in Salawati and Moisigin districts of Sorong Regency, West Papua Province since 2008. Part of the plantation around Ninjemur and Klawotom is already in production.
Although the company’s operations started over five years ago, many of the promises it made have still not been fulfilled, for example housing, education and healthcare, and also giving land to the local community for oil palm smallholdings (plasma). The Kalawen and Sawat clans from Klawotom village, Salawati District have been waiting a long time for this promise of plasma land. PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera has never given them any conclusive answers, and so local people barred PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera’s entrance road to land it wished to clear in the Matawolot area.
In late May 2014 local people planted stakes with red cloth tied around the end. This is a way to forbid the company to operate on the new land until it meets its promises to the clans which own the land.
According to Frans Kalawen, a community figure in Klawatom, the people were promised 20% of the land given to the company (up to 1000 hectares) as plasma smallholding land. The community have already surrendered the land but the company has not met its obligation.
This entry was posted in Around West Papua and tagged aksi palang, Broken Promises,Community Resistance, Kayu Lapis Group, PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera. Bookmark thepermalink. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://awasmifee.potager.org/?p=883
6) No Surrender to PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera
The manager of oil palm company PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera has paid several visits to Frans Kalawen’s house, asking him to come to a meeting in the company’s offices in Aimas and negotiate the future of thousands of hectares of customary forest belonging to his family in Matawolot, Salawati District, Sorong, West Papua.
Frans Kalawen, who is a farmer by profession and is also head of the village assembly in Klawotom village, Salawati District, has not been discouraged and continues to firmly oppose the oil palm company. “Although other neighbours have already given up their ancestral land, I still don’t want to surrender to this oil palm company. I have already seen the effects of oil palm companies and they do not bring any benefit for us, the indigenous people of Papua”, he said, commenting on PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera’s offer and plans.
PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera offered 22 million Rupiah for Frans Kalawen’s ancestral land, which includes thousands of hectares of forest. This value does not begin to compare with the potential wealth contained within the area of forest, such as merbau trees, callophylum, groves of langsat fruit trees, sago, trees to make mats from (tikar), animals and so on. Frans Kalawen told the story of how the community had lost out because the company didn’t replace the wealth that existed in nature. “The amount of money that was given along with the company’s promises cannot be compared with what the community has lost when the forest disappeared. Other clans were only given 7 – 11 million Rupiah, and the promises have yet to be realised”, he explained.
He revealed that PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera started land clearing in 2003 and planted the first trees around Ninjemur and Modan in Mosigin District in 2008. This means the company had violated the law because logging had taken place before the Forestry Ministry had issued a permit to release state forest lands, which it finally did in September 2012 (Reference SK.516/Menhut-II/2012), realeasing 19655.35 hectares in Salawati and Segun districts. [see note below]
According to a Telapak/EIA report (2012), it was found that the company had already been cultivating and planting in January 2008, while its Plantation Permit (IUP) was only issued in September 2008. This indicates that PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera had committed violations which were known about by staff at the local Forestry and Plantation Service, but no actions were taken to uphold the law.
Most of the land in PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera’s plantation is owned by the Moi Sigin indigenous people of Klawotom village, including the Kalagilit, Kalawen and Sawat clans. While it is known that the clan chiefs did sign documents agreeing that the company could lease and use their land, they do not possess copies of those agreements, nor the promises to support education, build housing for the community and pay for medicines, or to give land for oil-palm smallholdings. The community were also not given formal documents by the company, such as copies of the company’s permits, environmental impact assessments and so on. That means the community has no control when the company violates the rules.
Visiting the new location in Matawolot reveals that the company has been piling up the wood it has cleared, has cleared sago groves and is operating just tens of meters from riverbanks. This contravenes clauses in Forestry Ministry Decision SK Menhut 516/2012 (the forest release permit) and other provisions on the protection of High Conservation Value forest.
Ideally the government and law enforcement officials should take action right away to uphold the law against companies that commit violations. Allowing them to keep occurring will just provoke social unrest and the government, the community and companies will all lose out.
[Additional information from awas MIFEE concerning whether PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera's forest clearance before 2012 was legal or not: Sorong local government data from 2011 claims that the company's concession included an area of 850 hectares in Seget District and 2700 hectares in Salawati district that were not part of the state forests, so would be legal to clear. Checking deforestation data from globalforestwatch.org between 2008 and 2012, it would appear that most of the logging at that time was in these legal areas. All other violations mentioned in this article are not in doubt.]
This entry was posted in Around West Papua and tagged Broken Promises, Community Resistance, Kayu Lais Group, PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera, Salawati, Segun, Sorong. Bookmark the permalink. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.