2) Funding for
MSG academy
3) Solomons MP
calls on MSG to accept West Papua
4)
Concern over Fiji PM support of Indonesia
5)
Five Ex-Political Prisoners Refuse Support from Central Government
6)
Papua named province with worst sanitation in RI
7)
Ruben Magay : Foreign Press Restriction to Papua is An Attempt Against the Law
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1) Date set for MSG summit in Solomon Islands
Updated at 3:30 pm on 3 June 2015
The 2015 Melanesian Spearhead Group Summit is set to go ahead in three weeks in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara.
The Solomon Islands organising committee has just finalised the date for the leaders to meet from June 24th to the 26th.
MSG officials and the foreign ministers will meet over the preceding week.
The critical issue before the summit will be the bid by West Papua's Melanesian community to become a member of the MSG, joining Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and the FLNK of New Caledonia.
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2) Funding for MSG academy
Repeka Nasiko Saturday, May 30, 2015
POLICE Commissioner Ben Groenewald says funding has been received from the Indonesian Government for the development of the Melanesian Spearhead Group regional police academy.
While visiting the Western Division earlier this week, Mr Groenewald said regional discussions on the progress of the academy were held recently.
"The regional police academy is part of the MSG and we had a meeting in the Solomon Islands where the chiefs of police from all MSG countries attended," he said.
"We are progressing in the inter-country training through the regional police academy."
He said the Indonesian Government provided funding that would go towards the possible upgrade of the institution.
"I had a discussion with a representative from the Indonesian Government recently, and yes, they have already sponsored us.
"The money will be used in either building or upgrading existing accommodation for the regional police academy."
The funding comes in light of the recent support by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama towards the Asian country's bid to be included in the MSG.
While speaking to the press in Japan, Mr Bainimarama said having Indonesia as an associate member made sense given that a large population of Melanesians lived in Indonesia.
"There is a whole lot of talk about Papua but you know Papua comes under the governance of Indonesia and if you want to do anything in Papua, the best thing to do is to bring in Indonesia, no matter what," he said.
"If we bring in Papua separately, it doesn't make sense."
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3) Solomons MP calls on MSG to accept West Papua
Updated at 8:51 pm on 3 June 2015
A Solomon Islands MP is calling on the Melanesian Spearhead Group to ignore Indonesia and accept the application to join the group by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
The MP for West Makira says he is disappointed in his own country's lack of conviction on the issue despite what he describes as overwhelming support from the Solomon Islands public for West Papua.
Indonesia's officials have been encouraging MSG member states not to approve of the West Papuan bid.
Indonesia currently has observer status at the MSG and Jakarta argues that there are more Melanesians in other parts of Indonesia who should theoretically be included in the MSG membership bid.
However Solomons MP Derrick Manuari says the precedent for dealing with the situation has been set in the case of the Kanaks in New Caledonia whose representative group, the FLNKS, is a full member at the MSG.
The MP says the Kanaks were given membership rights over France because they represented the Melanesian people of the French territory.
"It is not a sovereignty issue - it is a solidarity issue, of solidarity of Melanesian states, Melanesian territories in Melanesia. So the precedent is already set. That West Papua as a Melanesian state should be admitted as a member of MSG and not Indonesia. It's not Melanesia."
Mr Manuari says he is urging MSG leaders when they meet on the 24th of this month to listen to the outcry from citizens in their own countries and to remember the reason the group was originally founded.
Last month, Fiji's prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, said the best thing to do was to make Indonesia an associate MSG member, adding it made no sense to bring in Papua separately.
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4) Concern over Fiji PM support of Indonesia
Updated 3 minutes ago
Civil Society Groups in Fiji say Frank Bainimarama's support for Indonesia's bid to become an associate member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group is a concern.
In a public statement, Fiji Civil Society Groups, say the statement by the Fiji prime minister that alleged human rights violations would be best dealt with by Indonesia, if it was allowed into the MSG bloc, indicates how much Fiji has allowed its foreign policy to be dictated by the Indonesian government.
The Director of the Fiji's Women's Crisis Center Shamima Ali says the announcement places serious leadership questions over Fiji's credential as a regional leader.
She also says it comes at odds with previous decisions by the Bainimarama led government which fully supports the inalienable rights of people of West Papua towards self-determination as provided for under the preamble of the MSG constitution.
Ms Ali, who was also Fiji's former Human Rights Commissioner, says what's more concerning is the wording of the statement by the Prime Minister which seeks to down play the last 50 years of a violent occupation by the Indonesian state that has seen thousands of people in West Papua killed for a simple dream to be free.
She says the government of Indonesia remains unable to address serious human rights violations in terms of civil, political, cultural, economic and environmental rights.
She also adds adding that these violations have been well documented by both domestic and international human rights monitoring bodies including UN High Commission for Human Rights.
Fiji CSO groups call on the Fiji government to exercise real leadership on this issue by respecting the decisions and wishes of the people of West Papua about who represents them, and that it's clear Indonesia should not represent them at the MSG.
Shamima Ali says the recognition of the gross human rights violations in West Papua has been one of the key reasons why the MSG bloc considered the issue of West Papuan membership, and at the 2014 MSG Special Leaders meeting, Melanesian leaders including Fiji government, supported the West Papuan's right to determine who represents them at the MSG block.
She says it was clearly stated that the conditions were that the West Papuan groups must be a united umbrella group before submitting a fresh application to the MSG.
The West Papuan people through process of consultation have decided who to represent them, and it is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) who has submitted an application to the MSG to be a full member.
Reports last week indicate that over 70 people have been arrested in West Papua for supporting ULMWP.
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5) Five Ex-Political Prisoners Refuse Support from Central Government
Wamena, Jubi – Five former political prisoners who were granted pardon by President Joko Widodo refused to receive any kind of support from the central government .
Linus Hiluka made the statement on behalf of his four former fellow inmates: Apotnalogolik Lokobal, Numbungga Telenggen, Kimanus Wenda and Jefrai Murib during a ceremony to celebrate their release at Ibelle, Jayawijaya Regency, Papua last week.
However, Hiluka said they would consider if it comes from the governor or regent because the Papuan regional heads are family leaders of Papuans.
“We refuse any support from the Central Government since we don’t know what their intention is, but it’s different with the governor or regents. As Papuan family leaders, it’s up to them whether they want to help us or not, but we said no to the Central Government,” Hiluka said.
“We refuse any support from the Central Government since we don’t know what their intention is, but it’s different with the governor or regents. As Papuan family leaders, it’s up to them whether they want to help us or not, but we said no to the Central Government,” Hiluka said.
He admitted after returning into society and family, five of them are struggling to adapt in doing normal activities among the society such as farming and so on. “We feel not fully free. We just came out from small prison to the big one. Big prison is worse. In small prison, we were guarded day and night, but we must be fully alert since in this big prison, the Indonesian Government is still discriminating Papuans,” said Linus Hiluka.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Advocacy Network of the Law and Human Right Enforcement of Papua’s Central Highland, Theo Hesegem said the five ex-political prisoners are currently under supervision of NGOs and human right activists in the Central Highland area.
Thus, only families are allowed to meet them because external distraction could further influence their psychological condition for nearly twelve years in the prison.
“Anyone are not allowed to find out their activities during this week, because they are still need a recovery,” said Hesegem. (Islami/rom)
“Anyone are not allowed to find out their activities during this week, because they are still need a recovery,” said Hesegem. (Islami/rom)
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6) Papua named province with worst sanitation in RI
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Wed, June 03 2015, 6:37 PM
Papua has been named as the province with the poorest sanitation in Indonesia after a recent survey scored it 45 on a scale of zero to 100, far lower than the national standard of 75, a local official has said.
“I want to say frankly that the environmental sanitation program in Papua is the worst in Indonesia. I’ve just got a red flag report in Jakarta, in which the province’s Clean and Healthy Living Behavior [PHBS] level is considered very low,” the Papua administration’s Health Agency head Aloisyus Giayi said in Jayapura on Tuesday.
He said poor hygiene practices among Papua’s residents had led the province to lag behind other countries in sanitation. This included not washing hands before eating or preparing food, open defecation and throwing away garbage anywhere.
Aloisyus said Papua’s poor sanitation program was not the sole responsibility of the Health Agency but also agencies in other sectors, such as environment and public works.
According to official data, only 35 of 3,000 kampungs in Papua had participated in the Community-Based Total Sanitation (STBM) program. Meanwhile, only 46 percent of residents in the 35 kampungs have access to clean drinkable water and only 42 percent of them have access to hygienic toilets.
“Based on the Millennium Development Goals [MDG] 2015 targets, Indonesia has reached its MDG drinking water target of 68 percent and sanitation access of 70 percent,” Aloisyus said.
“Concerning the situation, we, in Papua, must catch up with the fact of having fallen behind. Synergy among sanitation players, as well as cooperation across sectors, must be pushed forward,” he went on. (ebf)(+++)
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7) Ruben Magay : Foreign Press Restriction to Papua is An Attempt Against the Law
Jayapura, Jubi – Chief Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Tedjo Edhy Purdijitno last week said the team tasked with monitoring foreign journalists in Indonesia has been renamed from ‘Clearing House’ the Foreign Affairs Monitoring Team.
“The term clearing house was renamed the foreign affairs monitoring team which has the same tasks and responsibilities to monitor the foreign journalists in Indonesia,” the Chief Minister said.
The Papua Legislative Council’s Commission I member, Ruben Magay, said Saturday that the change of term actually indicates the government is not prepared to deal with the information and communication era. “Today the information can no longer be limited either by the state or groups,” said Magay, last week.
He further said what have been done by the Central Government has no connection with the substance of Press Law No.40/1999 regulating the foreign press in Indonesia.
“Press Law No.40/1999 clearly consisted of articles regulating the foreign press in Indonesia that are the Article 1 Paragraph 7 and Article 16 about the circulation of foreign press and the establishment of media company representative offices referring to the applied regulations. Besides to these two articles, the article 11 of the Press Law also regulates about the foreign investment into Press Company,” Magay said.
“Press Law No.40/1999 clearly consisted of articles regulating the foreign press in Indonesia that are the Article 1 Paragraph 7 and Article 16 about the circulation of foreign press and the establishment of media company representative offices referring to the applied regulations. Besides to these two articles, the article 11 of the Press Law also regulates about the foreign investment into Press Company,” Magay said.
But the fact is until now the government is still attempting to strict the foreign press coming to Papua in many ways. “The government’s attempt to strict the foreign press to Papua is the attempt against the law,” he said. In addition, it is comparable with the attempt of a thief who frightens to be caught. A thief, further Magay, always suspects the others. This is the real situation happened in Jakarta, huge suspicion towards Papuans.
Magay emphasized about the important of foreign press to come to Papua in order to clarify the recent situation in Papua. “The international community wants a clear and balance information about Papua,” he said.
Further he said the Article 2 of Press Law No.40/1999 clearly mentions the freedom of press is a manifestation of people power in accordance with the principles of democracy, justice and law supreme. Therefore the attempt to make restriction on press; either it was local, national or international is against the principle of the freedom of press itself. (Victor Mambor/rom)
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