2) ’The Look of Silence’ breaks censorship with free download3) Jokowi Calls for Settlement of Past Human Rights Cases4) Mining Deal Scandal Grips Indonesia
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1) West Papua Warriors Set to Make History
video
By Jaylee Sapias – EM TV Sports, Port Moresby
Local rugby team the West Papua Warriors are set to make history next month when they play their first ever international fixture in Brisbane, Australia against the Philippines Tamaraws.
West Papua Warriors is a group of young Papua New Guineans who use the tool of sport to promote and raise awareness about the on-going genocide in West Papua.
This contest will be the first time the West Papuan name is to be represented on an international stage.
Team official, Richard Marjen, believes the team’s biggest strength is their passion for the West Papuan Cause. He says, unlike other rugby reams, the management has a different approach towards the players to keep them motivated.
The Warriors are a week into training and are looking forward to representative duties come January 16.
Captain, Tala Kami, has appealed to the public that if they wish to sponsor their game next month, to contact the team on the ‘West Papua Warriors’ Facebook page or email westpapuawarriors@gmail.com
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2) ’The Look of Silence’ breaks censorship with free download -
Yuliasri Perdani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Fri, December 11 2015, 6:33 PM -
It will be hard to prevent people from watching Joshua Oppenheimer’s second groundbreaking documentary on the 1965 Indonesian communist purge, The Look of Silence (Indonesian title: Senyap), because the film is available for online viewing and downloading as of Thursday.
Oppenheimer, the film’s director and producer in cooperation with Final Cut for Real, VHX and Drafthouse, said the documentary was a present to the Indonesian audience.
“As a present, the film should be given for free to the Indonesian audience,” he said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.
The documentary can be downloaded at thelookofsilence.vhx.tv or watched on Youtube at youtube.com/watch?v=RcvH2hvvGh4.
The film is the American filmmaker’s further exploration into the 1965 massacre that is estimated to have claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people thought to be members or supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In 2012, he released The Act of Killing (Indonesian title: Jagal).
The new documentary follows a middle-aged optician Adi Rukun, who confronted the men that brutally murdered his brother during the communist purge. The film made it onto the Oscar Documentary shortlist for 2016.
Since being released in Indonesia in November last year, The Look of Silence, similar to its predecessor, The Act of Killing, has sparked controversy across the country.
In December 2014, the Film Censorship Institute (LSF) banned the public screening of Senyap, reasoning that it “leads the viewers to sympathize with the PKI and communism”.
A month later, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) issued a letter in support of Senyap, calling it one of many films that unfolded the gross human rights abuse “from the victims’ perspective”.
In December last year, hardline groups intimidated the film screening held at Gajah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.
And this year, authorities clamped down on Senyap screenings held at campuses and other places, including the planned screening at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) in Bali.
The pressure has failed to dampen the spirit of student organizations and communities to spread the documentary.
Indonesia Menonton Senyap (Indonesia Watching Senyap), an initiative to facilitate public screenings, has distributed 1,700 DVD copies of Senyap for screening in 118 cities and regencies across the archipelago, estimated to reach 70,000 viewers in total.
Oppenheimer expressed his hope that Senyap could reach a greater audience than Jagal, which has been watched and downloaded for more than 1 million times since being made available online in September last year. Senyap is expected to open discussions and propel reconciliation in Indonesia.
Komnas HAM commissioner Muhammad Nurkhoiron said the film’s availability online proved that the authorities could not shackle people’s desire to know more about the tragedy.
“We have a problem where the decision makers, particularly the government, nurture fear. The more they spread fear and issue bans, the more youth will grow curious and use their creativity to learn about the tragedy,” he told the Post on Thursday.
The film was also screened on Thursday and free digital copies were offered at an event at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Central Jakarta called the Temporary Museum of Memory
Recollection.
“We invite those who are interested [to have the film] to bring their flash disks, so that we can give them the film files,” event committee member Qory said.
“We don’t seek the approval from the authorities for the event as we believe we don’t need permission to spread knowledge.”
Initiated by Komnas HAM, Partisipasi Indonesia and the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), the event hosted discussions and film screenings related to the 1965 massacre to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy and also Human Rights Day, which falls on Thursday. The event ran from Nov. 30 until Thursday.
The Jakarta Police issued a letter pressuring DKJ to cancel a discussion on the 1965 tragedy amid protests from another group of artists. DKJ Irawan Karseno responded to the ban by holding a press conference on Tuesday, in which he criticized the police’s decision to bow to the opposing group’s pressure.
Oppenheimer, the film’s director and producer in cooperation with Final Cut for Real, VHX and Drafthouse, said the documentary was a present to the Indonesian audience.
“As a present, the film should be given for free to the Indonesian audience,” he said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.
The documentary can be downloaded at thelookofsilence.vhx.tv or watched on Youtube at youtube.com/watch?v=RcvH2hvvGh4.
The film is the American filmmaker’s further exploration into the 1965 massacre that is estimated to have claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people thought to be members or supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In 2012, he released The Act of Killing (Indonesian title: Jagal).
The new documentary follows a middle-aged optician Adi Rukun, who confronted the men that brutally murdered his brother during the communist purge. The film made it onto the Oscar Documentary shortlist for 2016.
Since being released in Indonesia in November last year, The Look of Silence, similar to its predecessor, The Act of Killing, has sparked controversy across the country.
In December 2014, the Film Censorship Institute (LSF) banned the public screening of Senyap, reasoning that it “leads the viewers to sympathize with the PKI and communism”.
A month later, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) issued a letter in support of Senyap, calling it one of many films that unfolded the gross human rights abuse “from the victims’ perspective”.
In December last year, hardline groups intimidated the film screening held at Gajah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.
And this year, authorities clamped down on Senyap screenings held at campuses and other places, including the planned screening at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) in Bali.
The pressure has failed to dampen the spirit of student organizations and communities to spread the documentary.
Indonesia Menonton Senyap (Indonesia Watching Senyap), an initiative to facilitate public screenings, has distributed 1,700 DVD copies of Senyap for screening in 118 cities and regencies across the archipelago, estimated to reach 70,000 viewers in total.
Oppenheimer expressed his hope that Senyap could reach a greater audience than Jagal, which has been watched and downloaded for more than 1 million times since being made available online in September last year. Senyap is expected to open discussions and propel reconciliation in Indonesia.
Komnas HAM commissioner Muhammad Nurkhoiron said the film’s availability online proved that the authorities could not shackle people’s desire to know more about the tragedy.
“We have a problem where the decision makers, particularly the government, nurture fear. The more they spread fear and issue bans, the more youth will grow curious and use their creativity to learn about the tragedy,” he told the Post on Thursday.
The film was also screened on Thursday and free digital copies were offered at an event at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Central Jakarta called the Temporary Museum of Memory
Recollection.
“We invite those who are interested [to have the film] to bring their flash disks, so that we can give them the film files,” event committee member Qory said.
“We don’t seek the approval from the authorities for the event as we believe we don’t need permission to spread knowledge.”
Initiated by Komnas HAM, Partisipasi Indonesia and the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ), the event hosted discussions and film screenings related to the 1965 massacre to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy and also Human Rights Day, which falls on Thursday. The event ran from Nov. 30 until Thursday.
The Jakarta Police issued a letter pressuring DKJ to cancel a discussion on the 1965 tragedy amid protests from another group of artists. DKJ Irawan Karseno responded to the ban by holding a press conference on Tuesday, in which he criticized the police’s decision to bow to the opposing group’s pressure.
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3) Jokowi Calls for Settlement of Past Human Rights Cases
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- President Joko Widodo has instructed all government officials in all levels to expedite the settlement of past human rights violation cases as many cases are still unresolved.
“I hope all government officials to solve the cases quickly,” said Jokowi in his speech during Human Rights Day commemoration at State Palace on Friday, December 11.
Besides past human rights violations, there are also agrarian conflicts, indigenous people’s rights, health and education and rights of the marginalized.
The president said to solve past human rights cases, the government must have the courage to make reconciliation through judicial or non-judicial means. Jokowi also stressed that there must be no more criminalization against freedom of expression. “However, democracy also has its rules and they must be enforced,” he said.
In solving human rights cases, Jokowi said coordination between the National Commission on Human Rights and law enforcement agencies must be improved. “Regional governments also have responsibility for the accomplishment of human rights,” he said.
ANANDA TERESIA
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4) Mining Deal Scandal Grips Indonesia
Dewi Safitri 2015-12-09
A corruption scandal linking the speaker of Indonesia’s parliament to the renegotiation of a lucrative gold and copper mining contract has infuriated Indonesians and dominated headlines in recent weeks.
A parliamentary ethics committee and Indonesian authorities have now finally opened investigations into the scandal.
It surrounds House Speaker Setya Novanto and allegations that he was tape-recorded asking for a combined 20 percent-stake on behalf of Indonesia’s president and vice president, in exchange for guaranteeing a new contract to PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), the Indonesian subsidiary of the U.S.-based mining giant Freeport-McMoran.
This week, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo vented his anger while addressing the public about the scandal for the first time.
“I am okay with being called a crazy president or stubborn president. But when it comes to [misuse of] authority, profiteering, asking for an 11 percent share, that I don’t want,” Joko told a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta late Monday, referring to the percentage of PTFI shares that Setya had allegedly demanded on the president’s behalf.
Indonesians have been clamoring for Setya, a member of the opposition Golkar party, to resign although he proclaimed his innocence in testifying before a parliamentary ethics hearing earlier on Monday.
According to a written statement he reportedly read at the closed-door hearing, Setya said he had been “defamed” by Sudirman Said, the minister of energy and mineral resources who reported his alleged wrongdoing.
“I strongly object that this tape was unlawfully obtained,” he went on to say.
Big deal
Freeport, which has been in Indonesia since the 1960s, operates the Grasberg mine complex in the far eastern of province of Papua. It is one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines.
In 2014, Freeport made nearly U.S. $2 billion in copper sales from its Indonesian operations and U.S. $1.4 billion in sales of gold mined in the country, according to a calculation of figures culled from the firm’s last annual report.
The firm’s contract for the Grasberg mine is set to expire in 2021. Under Indonesian law, companies can renegotiate contracts two years before they expire, but officials with Freeport’s Indonesian subsidiary evidently have already been discussing the 20-year extension.
PTFI officials are worried that 2019 is too late, because the company has a long-term plan to invest U.S. $17 billion in developing new underground pits at Grasberg Mountain, according to an op-ed piece in the Jakarta Post.
Accountability
The recording – which has now been made public – is from a June 7 meeting attended by Setya, PTFI Indonesia Director Maroef Sjamsoeddin, and Muhammad Riza Chalid, an Indonesian oil and gas tycoon, who left Indonesia earlier this week.
In testimony to the parliamentary ethics panel, Maroef said he had recorded the conversation because of the controversy surrounding PTFI operating practices over the years, Reuters reported.
“The parliament speaker and his friend R[i]za told me they wanted a 20 percent stake and also asked for a hydroelectric power project,” the PTFI chief testified, according to Reuters.
Sudirman later reported the case of alleged extortion to a parliamentary ethics committee, and handed it a transcript of what was said in the secret meeting.
The House Ethics Council declined to investigate the complaint immediately, saying he lacked the authority to lodge a complaint.
But, amid mounting public anger over the scandal, the council finally opened an investigation. It convened its first hearings on the matter last week, when Sudirman and Maroef testified before the council in sessions that were open to the public.
The ethics council has yet to decide whether the house speaker will be sanctioned for an alleged ethical breach.
Separately, authorities say they have opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
Attorney-General H.M. Prasetyo has questioned Maroef Sjamsoeddin and Sudirman Said, and entered the mobile phone that was used to record the secret meeting into the body of evidence.
Good for Indonesia?
Meanwhile, some Indonesians are questioning whether Indonesia should award a new contract to Freeport, and whether this would be in the best interests of impoverished Papua and the rest of the nation.
In the op-ed published in the Post, Winarno Zain, a commissioner at a publicly listed oil and gas service company, argued that the time had come for Indonesia to take control of its precious metal deposits, including the gold and copper deposits at Grasberg Mountain.
“Freeport has been a thorn in the pride and consciousness of many Indonesians,” Winarno wrote. “It has been a source of resentment among Indonesian because after 70 years of independence, the country is not in control of its richest mineral resources.
“Freeport operations have created constant questions among Indonesians about whether the government’s management of its natural resources has been in line with the spirit of the Constitution – providing utmost prosperity to the Indonesian people through its control over natural resources,” he added.
More bitter voices have come from Papua, where activists and lawmakers alike complain that the company has disregarded the welfare of local people, while dredging trillions of dollars from their land and despoiling the environment.
Papua Gov. Lukas Enembe told BenarNews he wanted the central government to involve the local government in every discussion of the PTFI contract.
“Many people now know about Papua, but are very clever at talking …. We don’t want to be like Jakarta people who speak only for their own personal interests,” he said.
Victor Mambor contributed to this report.
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