2) Indonesia’s biggest sago mill kicks off operations -
3) Construction on Long-Delayed Papua Railway to Start This Year: Joko
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1) Plenty of Bullets Seized, but No Arrests Yet in Papua Shooting
By : Farouk Arnaz | on 8:10 PM January 02, 2016
The gunmen who attacked a police station in Papua on Dec. 27 have been identified as a militant group affiliated with the Free Papua Organization, pictured above. (AFP Photo/Banjir Ambarita)
Jakarta. Police say they have identified two suspected members of the group that attacked a police station in Papua’s Puncak district on Dec. 27, killing three officers and wounding one.
Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the National Police chief, named the suspects as Kalenak Murib and Iris Murib. It is not clear whether the individuals are related; Murib is a common clan name in Puncak district.
Badrodin told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday that a joint team of police and military personnel had raided the two men’s homes in Sinak subdistrict and seized a large stash of ammunition, some of it stolen from the Sinak police station that was attacked last Sunday.
The haul included 150 rounds of ammunition for an AK-47 assault rifle; 239 rounds for a Pindad SS1, the standard Indonesian police and military issue assault rifle; and 82 rounds for an M14 rifle. Police also seized seven firearms, but Badrodin did not say what kind they were. It is believed the houses’ occupants had fled prior to the raids.
Puncak and the neighboring district of Puncak Jaya in the Papuan hinterland are hotbeds of the province’s long-running separatist insurgency, with police identifying six clan-based groups as being responsible for much of the armed attacks against security forces in the two districts.
In Puncak, they include the Murib Military, based in Sinak and Gomeh subdistricts, as well as a group led by Titus Murib in Kepala Air subdistrict and a third led by Peni Murib in Muara subdistrict.
A fourth group, the one alleged to be responsible for the attack on the Sinak police station, is led by Kalenak Murib and Alex Gagak Murib, and based out of Ilaga, the Puncak district seat, according to district chief Puncak Willem Wandik.
The group has also been blamed for a similar attack on a group police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel in December 2014. The weapons seized by the perpetrators in that earlier incident are believed to have been used in the recent attack, authorities say.
Police allege that the groups are all affiliated to varying degrees with the Free Papua Organization, or OPM, which has for decades waged a low-level war for independence from Indonesian rule.
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2) Indonesia’s biggest sago mill kicks off operations -
Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Sat, January 02 2016, 3:19 PM -
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo opened the largest sago mill in Indonesia on Friday. The mill, operated by state-owned forestry firm Perum Perhutani,is expected to boost sago production for both domestic needs and export.
The mill, located in Kais, West Papua, officially started operations on Jan. 1, Antara news agency reported on Friday.
Perum Perhutani president director Mustoha Iskandar said that Papua had considerable potential for natural sago production. A good quality Papuan sago raja can produce 900 kilograms of sago from one branch, he said.
Built at a construction cost of Rp 150 billion, the mill will employ 40 local workers to work in the factory and around 600 people to supply sago logs.
The company expects the venture to accrue an income of Rp 100 billion per year. It is also hoped that the mill will boost the local economy.
The factory will produce 25 percent of its full capacity during the first year of operation, 50 percent during its second year and is expected to produce to full capacity during its third year.
The processed sago from the mill will be distributed by Perhutani to Papua, Jakarta, Cirebon, Semarang, Surabaya and Medan.
Meanwhile, Mustoha said that the firm also aimed to export sago products to Japan, Korea, Thailand and China.
Jokowi expressed hope that the plant would benefit the surrounding area and improve the local economy.
The firm will pay Rp 9,000 per log to locals who supply to the sago mill.
In this way, Kais locals will no longer have to send their products to the Sorong market in Sorong, West Papua. The journey to Sorong often takes up to a week on a traditional boat.
Gunarto, project chief of the management unit at Perum Perhutani, told kompas.com on Thursday that the mill stands on five hectares of land while the sago tree forest stands in a 16,000 hectare concession, making it the biggest in the country.
He explained that the construction of the mill started in 2013.
“We will have a full production rate in 2017,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Initially, the factory will produce 100 tons of sago per day but is expected to produce 30,000 tons of product within one year.
National demand for starch (sago essence) reached around 5 million tons per year, while the country’s sago industry has been able to supply only 3.5 million tons annually, leaving a great opportunity for Perhutani.
The island of Papua has the largest sago palm forests in the world, reaching 2.5 million ha.
Perhutani said it currently had a license for 15,000 ha of sago palm forest in Papua and it would partner with local farmers to add to production quantity, he said.
Perhutani would invest Rp 112 billion (US$9.3 million) in the factory, with 30 percent coming from bank loans, while the remaining 70 percent is said to be sourced from internal cash.
Perhutani, previously known only for its timber products, has reported a rising contribution from its non-timber products.
Non-timber products currently account for 53 percent of Perhutani’s revenue, a surge of only 25 percent in the period from 2005 to 2009.
The mill, located in Kais, West Papua, officially started operations on Jan. 1, Antara news agency reported on Friday.
Perum Perhutani president director Mustoha Iskandar said that Papua had considerable potential for natural sago production. A good quality Papuan sago raja can produce 900 kilograms of sago from one branch, he said.
Built at a construction cost of Rp 150 billion, the mill will employ 40 local workers to work in the factory and around 600 people to supply sago logs.
The company expects the venture to accrue an income of Rp 100 billion per year. It is also hoped that the mill will boost the local economy.
The factory will produce 25 percent of its full capacity during the first year of operation, 50 percent during its second year and is expected to produce to full capacity during its third year.
The processed sago from the mill will be distributed by Perhutani to Papua, Jakarta, Cirebon, Semarang, Surabaya and Medan.
Meanwhile, Mustoha said that the firm also aimed to export sago products to Japan, Korea, Thailand and China.
Jokowi expressed hope that the plant would benefit the surrounding area and improve the local economy.
The firm will pay Rp 9,000 per log to locals who supply to the sago mill.
In this way, Kais locals will no longer have to send their products to the Sorong market in Sorong, West Papua. The journey to Sorong often takes up to a week on a traditional boat.
Gunarto, project chief of the management unit at Perum Perhutani, told kompas.com on Thursday that the mill stands on five hectares of land while the sago tree forest stands in a 16,000 hectare concession, making it the biggest in the country.
He explained that the construction of the mill started in 2013.
“We will have a full production rate in 2017,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Initially, the factory will produce 100 tons of sago per day but is expected to produce 30,000 tons of product within one year.
National demand for starch (sago essence) reached around 5 million tons per year, while the country’s sago industry has been able to supply only 3.5 million tons annually, leaving a great opportunity for Perhutani.
The island of Papua has the largest sago palm forests in the world, reaching 2.5 million ha.
Perhutani said it currently had a license for 15,000 ha of sago palm forest in Papua and it would partner with local farmers to add to production quantity, he said.
Perhutani would invest Rp 112 billion (US$9.3 million) in the factory, with 30 percent coming from bank loans, while the remaining 70 percent is said to be sourced from internal cash.
Perhutani, previously known only for its timber products, has reported a rising contribution from its non-timber products.
Non-timber products currently account for 53 percent of Perhutani’s revenue, a surge of only 25 percent in the period from 2005 to 2009.
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3) Construction on Long-Delayed Papua Railway to Start This Year: Joko
By : Dion Bisara | on 5:20 PM January 02, 2016
Jakarta. The Indonesian government is set to start a 400-kilometer railway project connecting the West Papua cities of Sorong and Manokwari by end of this year, as part of its wider effort to link the underdeveloped province's districts with roads and railway by 2018.
Speaking at a meeting with residents of Kais district in West Papua on Friday, President Joko Widodo revealed: "We just started construction on a railway network in Sulawesi. This year, it's Papua's turn."
"I ask for your blessing so [the central government] can start drawing up plans for the railway [connecting Sorong and Manokwari] as soon as possible," Joko said as quoted by Antaranews.com.
Joko remarks could mean mounting pressure on Transport Minister Ignatius Jonan, who said in September that Papua's railway tracks would start construction in 2017 at the soonest.
The project, which is estimated to cost Rp 10 trillion ($722 million), will be financed through the state budget.
The government initially planned to start the project in 2015, but more time was needed to complete the feasibility study, Joko said.
The president spent four days in Indonesia's easternmost province over the New Year holiday with the aim of listening to its people's aspirations and observing first-hand Papua's development amid security risks from separatists.
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