Thursday, July 9, 2015

1) Three People Political prisoners in prisons Wamena Reject Clemency

2) WEST PAPUA WINS OBSERVER STATUS IN MELANESIAN SPEARHEAD GROUP
3) Papua’s maternal health  lags behind, says UNFPA
4) UNFPA Program to Engage Men on Papua’s Pressing Reproductive Health Issue
5) Bank Papua Undermines Papua Government, Deputy Governor Says
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A google translate of article in Jubi. Be-aware google translate can b e a bit erratic. Original bahasa link below.
1) Three People Political prisoners in prisons Wamena Reject Clemency
Posted by: Islami Adisubrata on July 9, 2015 at 23:58:23 WP [Editor: Angela flassy]

Meky Elosak, Yusanur Wenda and Wiki Meage when met in prison Class II B Wamena. Jubi / Islami
Wamena, Jubi - Three political prisoners who are now in the Penitentiary (Prison) Class II B Wamena states reject granted clemency or exemption from the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.
Yes, in August next president’s plan to re-grant pardons to prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Papua, after the last few months five former political prisoners and detainees were released by the state. These three political prisoners who reject the clemency granted that Meky Elosak, Wiki Yusanur Meage and Wenda are all alleged to have committed acts of treason, with the decision of the prison are manifold. Meky Elosak together Wiki Meage reject granted clemency because they consider themselves innocent, so why should be granted clemency by the Indonesian government? Both himself accused of acts of treason in 2009 in the District Yalengga, Jayawijaya at which time it was found to be carrying the Morning Star flag. Yet according to Meky Elosak recognition, he and Wiki Meage carry the flag at the time there was grief and do not do the raising and both sentenced to eight years in prison. "I do not feel guilty, why should be granted clemency by the President? So we refused, “said Meky Elosak when met reporters in Wamena prison on Thursday (09/07/2015). As for Yusanur Wenda involved the burning of one of the government buildings in Tolikara in 2004, was sentenced for 17 years and refused clemency because it did not want to part with his friends at the institute. “I refused because there are friends here (in prison, ed)," said Wenda Yusanur. While the third legal counsel, Anum Siregar, SH when contacted JUBI explained, originally at around dated June 25, 2015 he was contacted by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Papua province, to inform that the President will again give pardon to political prisoners in Papua. And on June 29, 2015, Anum Siregar to Wamena to submit a plan for the granting of pardon to Meky Elosak and comrades in prison Wamena, but before him, three refused. "This pardon will be given in August, but three refused and we respect their decision. However, they are asked to make a statement that is not willing granted clemency, but was not made, "said Anum Siregar. (Islamic) islami
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2) WEST PAPUA WINS OBSERVER STATUS IN MELANESIAN SPEARHEAD GROUP
by Dina Gilio-Whitaker July 9, 2015
The 53 year old struggle for West Papuan independence achieved a victory on June 26, 2015 with the granting of observer status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). The MSG is a sub-regional coalition composed of Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia’s Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS).
The vote at the 20th MSG Leaders summit in Honiara, Solomon Islands was a mixed blessing for the West Papuans. While the Leader’s Summit could have opted for full inclusion of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), it also could have opted for complete exclusion, a move that could have proved disastrous for the West Papuan liberation movement. ULMWP Secretary General, Octovianus Mote said that “Despite not getting full membership we welcome the decision of the leaders as it our first step to full political recognition.”
As a member of the MSG with observer status ULMWP sits on the inside of the organization alongside Indonesia, and is seen as an historic step toward addressing the human rights atrocities committed against West Papuans by the Indonesian army.
West Papua has been subjected to a brutal repression by the Indonesians since 1962. Prior to that, the island of New Guinea (the eastern half now known as Papua New Guinea and the western half now known as West Papua) as well as Indonesia had been Dutch colonies until Indonesia’s own war of independence in 1949. Plans were made by the Dutch to prepare for withdrawal in the 1950’s, including plans for West Papua to revert to indigenous rule by 1972.
Despite a West Papuan congress on independence in 1961 and the raising of the national “Morning Star” flag, Indonesia had claimed New Guinea as part of its territory. A United Nations intervention resulted in the New York Agreement in 1962 which placed the territory in UN trusteeship (without consent of the population) and required that West Papuans hold an independence vote under UN supervision.
By the time the vote was conducted in 1969 the Indonesian military had handpicked 1,026 representatives to vote on behalf of the entire population. Having been threatened with the death of their families the vote was unanimous for Indonesian rule. The so-called “Act of Free Choice” is known to this day by indigenous West Papuans as the “act of no choice.”
In 1936 while still under Dutch rule an erstberg (ore mountain) was discovered in the southwest region of New Guinea, and in 1959 alluvial gold was found just off the West Papuan coast. Another massive ore mountain was yet to be discovered deep in the West Papuan forest.
When the West Papuans were making plans for independence in 1961, unbeknownst to either they or the Dutch, then-Indonesian army general Suharto was negotiating a mining deal with the American mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold. Subsequent discoveries resulted in the notorious Grasberg mine—one of the largest reserves of copper and gold in the world—and is today at the center of the conflict between Indonesia and West Papua.
The Free West Papua Movement claims that over 500,000 civilian West Papuans have been killed to date.
The MSG victory precedes by a few days the seventeenth anniversary of the July 6, 1998 Biak Massacre in which independence demonstrators were fired upon by the Indonesian army. About 200 were subsequently forced aboard an Indonesian vessel and dumped into the ocean.
A Biak Massacre Citizens Tribunal held in 2013 alleged a cover-up by the Australian government for the purpose of not offending the Indonesians in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Suharto dictatorship.
West Papua’s bid for entry into the MSG saw a violent crackdown by the Indonesian army. On May 28, 2015 up to 82 West Papuans were jailed and tortured for their public support of MSG membership. More were fired on and beat with gun butts. The week before another 84 were arrested for the same reasons.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group was founded in 1986 to promote and strengthen trade, promote Melanesian cultures, further the economic growth of its members, sustainable development, good governance, and security. The Free West Papua movement believes that joining the MSG “Will have potentially emancipatory consequences for West Papuans, and could threaten Indonesia’s historic claim over the territory.”
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3) Papua’s maternal health  lags behind, says UNFPA
thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National | Thu, July 09 2015, 5:36 PM - 
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said that Papua continues to lag behind in maternal health compared to other areas across Indonesia despite significant improvements in the country’s health outcomes over the years.
In Papua, 16 percent of women begin childbearing between the ages of 15 – 19, or twice as high as the national figure.
“Health providers in Papua are not trained to deal with adolescent reproductive health issues, and hospitals and community health centers are generally unable to provide youth-friendly health services,” says UNFPA Indonesia.
On Wednesday, to improve maternal health care delivery, UNFPA launched a pilot initiative entitled Men Care Papua, which aims to engage men and boys in Papua on sexual and reproductive health issues and on the prevention of gender-based violence in Jayapura.
UNFPA says family planning is also not common practice in Papua, with low use of any modern methods of contraception among married couples. The contraceptive prevalence rate in Papua is only 24.5 percent, which is quite low compared to the national coverage of 61 percent.
The province also suffers from a generalized HIV epidemic, with a prevalence rate of 2.4 percent among 15-49 years old. “This is triggered mainly by unsafe sexual behavior,” says UNFPA.
Furthermore, UNFPA says that violence against women and children in Papua is also high. According to the National Socio Economic Survey on Violence against Women and Children in 2006, Papua had the highest prevalence of violence against women and children in Indonesia.
“It is statistics like these, indicating pervasive gender inequality, which led to Papua being selected as the pilot location for the new male engagement initiative,” UNFPA Indonesia representative Jose Ferraris said during the launch of the initiative.
“A second reason was because the government and civil society organizations in Papua are truly committed to working to address these challenges,” he went on.
During the launch, Rutgers World Population Fund (WPF) director Monique Soesman and Men Care Papua program manager Siska Noya shared success stories and progress the program had achieved in East Java, Jakarta, Lampung, and Yogyakarta. (ebf)(+++)
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4) UNFPA Program to Engage Men on Papua’s Pressing Reproductive Health Issues
Jakarta. A new initiative by a United Nations agency is set to engage men in addressing reproductive health and gender problems in Papua, which has recorded low contraceptive use and a high rate of HIV infections, as well as a high prevalence of women and child abuse.
The initiative, called “Men Care Papua,” was launched in Jayapura on Wednesday by the Indonesian office of the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA.
“By involving men in policy and program discussions we can confront the underlying gender norms and values that lead to discriminatory behaviors,” UNFPA Indonesia representative Jose Ferraris said in his speech during the launching ceremony.
“We can challenge the structures that reinforce male advantage, and strengthen those that support gender equality. By engaging men we learn that when it comes to encouraging family planning, the reproductive health of women, decreasing the rates of violence against women and changing old conceptions about masculinity — men matter,” he added.
Under the new initiative, men in Papua will be encouraged to play an equal role with women in order to improve child and maternal health, as well as to promote sexual and reproductive health.
The program also seeks to encourage men to take responsibility for an equal division of labor in their households, urging them to interact with their partners “with an attitude of mutual respect, promoting relationships that are equitable, healthy and free from violence,” Ferraris said.
Local administrations and civil society groups will be involved to support the implementation of the program.
“We see that local stakeholders in Papua are truly committed to working to address these challenges,” Ferraris said.
Despite significant improvements in national health outcomes over the years, maternal health in Papua continues to lag behind other parts of Indonesia.
In the easternmost province, 16 percent of women begin bearing between the ages of 15-19 years — a figure that is twice as high as the national figure, UNFPA says, citing local data.
Unfortunately, health providers in Papua are not trained to deal with adolescent reproductive health issues, and hospitals and community health centers are generally unable to provide youth-friendly health services, the UN agency says.
Family planning is also not a common practice in Papua, with a very low use of any modern methods of contraceptives among married couples. The contraceptive prevalence rate in Papua is only 24.5 percent — which is quite low compared to the national number of 61 percent.
The province also suffers from a generalized HIV epidemic, with a prevalence rate of 2.4 percent among 15-49-year-olds, largely due to unprotected sexual intercourse.
Violence against women and children (VAWC) also remains high. According to the National Socio-Economic Survey on VAWC in 2006, Papua had the highest prevalence of violence against women and children in Indonesia.
“It is statistics like these, indicating pervasive gender inequality, which led to Papua being selected as the pilot location for the new male engagement initiative,” Ferraris said.
UNFPA is partnering with the non-profit organization Rutgers World Population Foundation (WPF) in developing the pilot project.
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5) Bank Papua Undermines Papua Government, Deputy Governor Says
Jayapura, Jubi – Governor deputy of Papua Klemen Tinal said Bank Papua has been detrimental to the provincial, regency and city government due to case sof bad debts amounting to approximately Rp 430 billion and Rp200 billion in tax arrears.
“The government has put money in the Bank of Papua, then in case of bad debts or arrears of the provincial governments, regencies and cities are disadvantaged. If the government is harmed, the public must also feel the effects, ” Klemen Tinal said in Jayapura, Papua on Tuesday (7/7/2015).
He said, as the majority shareholder of Bank of Papua, it is responsible for fixing the problems in the regional bank.
“As the majority shareholder, we have the responsibility to resolve this matter,” he said.
Tinal said the Papua provincial government will examine together with the regency/ city as a shareholder in the Bank of Papua to find a solution for settlement of bad debts and tax arrears.
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He further stated that the government will apply the proposal of Papua Legislative Council on the governance of the Bank’s management Papua.
“We will look at the governance of Papua Bank management so that management can work more optimally,” he said.
Earlier, the governor of Papua Lukas Enembe said unequivocally, communities and local governments do not be too proud of the existence of the Bank of Papua because this bank is still rely on local governments.
According to him, Bank of Papua do not have the ability to raise funds and make money, yet only waiting for the Regional Budget(APBD). (Alexander Loen/ Tina)
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