2) MSG too politicised: Ambassador Joy
3) Papua journalists threatened over poll coverage
4) Former Hanura Lawmaker Jailed for 6 Years in Papua Bribery Case
5) Papua ready to continue EU-funded green development program
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1) Govt assures transparency in resolving Papua cases: Luhut
Marguerite Afra Sapiie The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Mon, June 13 2016 | 07:30 pm
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has expressed the government’s commitment to ensuring openness and transparency in resolving human rights abuse cases in Papua.
“If our people [government officials] are found guilty of wrongdoing, we will also punish them,” he said during a hearing at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday.
Currently, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Attorney General's Office are investigating three cases of gross human rights violations in Papua, namely the Wamena and Wasior incidents, which took place in 2001 and 2003 respectively, and the Paniai shooting in 2014, Luhut said.
The minister further said the government had invited several foreign ambassadors, including those from Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and New Zealand, to witness Indonesia's efforts to resolve the cases.
Luhut claimed government officials had been making a good progress in resolving the cases, adding that the government would remain open to any group who wanted to join the efforts.
With the progress, Luhut said, the Indonesian government would not allow any foreign organizations or government branches to conduct independent fact-finding regarding the cases in Papua, adding that the government would take tough action if foreign entities were proven to have done so, Luhut added. (ebf)
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2) MSG too politicised: Ambassador Joy
Posted: Monday, June 13, 2016 8:00 am
| The Vanuatu Ambassador to Brussels, Roy Mickey Joy, says the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is too politicized, has lost its Melanesian integrity and what it stood for.
Mr Joy made this statement to Daily Post when asked if he was still interested in the possibility of becoming the next Director General of the Melanesian Regional Institution, if the upcoming MSG Leaders Meeting in Suva decides to re-advertise the post of the Director General.
“Honestly, I am no longer interested,” was his simple and direct answer.
Asked to elaborate he said, “Because the MSG has been too politicized by the member leaders and the MSG has tarnished its integrity.
“There are a lot questions being asked abroad by international organizations about the image of the MSG in Melanesia and the Pacific region.”
Joy was the Vanuatu candidate for the MSG top post, when it became vacant.
The Vanuatu Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, wrote a letter to the MSG who is the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogovare, advising him of the Vanuatu candidate.
But shortly after, the member countries learnt that the MSG Chair had already appointed Fiji’s candidate to the top post.
Daily Post understands that the Fiji’s candidate arrived in Port Vila to take his post.
In the meantime, the Daily Post also understands that the pending issue of the Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) will be on top of the agenda in the upcoming MSG leaders meeting in Fiji.
“Whatever the outcome, I am no longer interested because the MSG leaders have politicized the Melanesian Institution and likewise with the MSG Secretariat in Port Vila,” Ambassador Joy told the Daily Post.
“Transparency and guiding rules have not been followed when the MSG is supposed to be an independent and impartial and transparent organization.
“Its influence is at stake. Organizations in the region and abroad are watching and questioning what’s going on in the MSG and the leadership of the MSG.
“As a long serving Ambassador abroad, I am calling on the MSG leaders to come to a drawing board as to how far we have come and where we are going,” stated the Vanuatu Ambassador to Brussels.
He said his second mandate as the Vanuatu Ambassador to Brussels ends in March 2017.
“If the offer is made to me by the Vanuatu Government for a third term in Brussels, I will take it because I want to stand for my country.
“I have always been patriotic regionally and abroad about upholding the image of my country Vanuatu abroad,” Mr Joy said.
Meanwhile, the Committee of Ambassadors of the Africa Caribbean Pacific Secretariat in Brussels is meeting next week, to prepare a dossier on West Papua for eventual submission to the Council of Ministers of the European Parliament four months away in October.
This was confirmed by the Dean of Ambassadors who is the Vanuatu Ambassador to the European Union, Roy Mickey Joy, during his accreditation to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and World Food Programme (WFP) in Port Vila last Friday.
The Ambassador took the opportunity to assure the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Leingkone, that every workload on West Papua is now on the shoulders of Vanuatu’s special representative to ACP, young and energetic MP Marco Mahe.
“We at the Embassy in Brussels will work closely with MP Mahe, through the Committee of Ambassadors, to ensure that by the time you (Minister of Foreign Affairs) arrive in Brussels in October, we will have made enough consultations and engagements with the European Parliament and members of ACP to support the dossier on West Papua,” Ambassador Joy said.
He asked the Minister to advise the Government that his team on the ground is fully engaged on the West Papua case.
“I have already briefed the Council of Ministers that the Committee of Ambassadors will be meeting in Brussels on the West Papua case next week,” the Minister said.
The Ambassador replied that as Dean of Ambassadors, he will make sure that the West Papua dossier is supported by member countries of Africa Caribbean Pacific.
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3) Papua journalists threatened over poll coverage
7:50 pm on 13 June 2016
Journalists have been intimidated and threatened while covering an election in the Mamberamo Raya regency of Indonesia's Papua province.
Each polling station in the regency was covered by a journalist but according to the Jakarta Post, there was widespread infringement on their work.
A Vivanews.com journalist, Banjir Ambarita, said all journalists were intimidated and prohibited from taking pictures of the election by supporters of one candidate.
Rivand Nay, of Papua television station RCTI, was threatened by a group of men armed with bows, arrows and machetes at a polling station.
Mr Rivand said police Mobile Brigade officers witnessed him having his camera seized and being blocked from doing his work, but did nothing to help.
Papua Post journalist Gultom Pangaribuan said he and 10 other people were taken hostage at another polling station.
He said police officers present were too afraid to take action.
Meanwhile there are reports that up to 31 members of the separatist West Papua National Committee had been arrested by police.
Local media reports say the members of KNPB were arrested last Friday for handing out leaflets, advertising a rally planned for this Wednesday.
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4) Former Hanura Lawmaker Jailed for 6 Years in Papua Bribery Case
By : Jakarta Globe | on 5:36 PM June 13, 2016
Jakarta. The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court sentenced a former lawmaker to six years in prison on Monday (13/06) for her involvement in a Papuan power plant bribery case.
Dewie Yasin Limpo — who was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in a sting operation last October and subsequently fired from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) — was proven guilty of receiving bribes in exchange for ensuring the House of Representatives approved funding for a micro-hydroelectric plant in Deiyai district in this year's state budget.
Presiding judge Mas'ud also ordered Dewi to pay a Rp 200 million ($15,000) fine, or serve another three months in jail.
Dewie's expert staffer Bambang Wahyuhadi – who facilitated the kickback – received a similar sentence.
However, the sentence handed down by the court was more lenient, as prosecutors demanded a nine-year jail term and a Rp 300 million fine.
Deiyai mining office head Irenius Adi and Abdi Bumi Cendrawasih director Setiadi Jusuf were earlier found guilty by the same court and each sentenced to two years in prison for providing the bribe money.
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5) Papua ready to continue EU-funded green development program
Nether Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua | Mon, June 13 2016 | 08:48 pm
The Papua administration has said it will continue with programs developed in conjunction with the Participatory Monitoring by Civil Society of Land Use Planning for Low-Emission Development Strategy (ParCimon), which will expire this year.
“The Papua administration has always supported any program, which can provide better living standards, both directly or indirectly, such as the green development program introduced by ParCimon to the people of Papua,” Papua Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal said during a joint press conference with EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam Vincent Guérend in Jayapura on Monday.
Tinal said his administration would sign a memorandum of understanding with local administrations at regency and municipality levels on the implementation of the green development program in their respective areas.
Begun in Papua in 2013, ParCimon seeks to carry out capacity-building programs on green development for people in three regencies, namely Merauke, Jayapura and Jayawijaya.
Sonya Dewi, the Indonesia country coordinator of the World Agroforestry Center, or the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), said ParCimon had cooperated to strengthen the capacity of the three regencies so that all parties there could plan, implement and monitor and evaluate green development activities, which were sustainable.
“The capacity building of local administrations can reduce obstacles to achieving our greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments and support our efforts to achieve low-emission development, which involve all parties,” said Sonya.
Guérend hoped the administrations of the three regencies could continue the ParCimon program and duplicate the program there to be implemented in other regencies.
In Jayapura, Sonya said, the Low Emission Development Initiative (IPRE) task force had managed to develop eight mitigation actions to reduce emissions by up to 19.2 million tons CO2 equivalent.
Under the ParCimon program, local residents in villages in the three regencies have been trained how to measure greenhouse gas emissions and to participate in green development in a concrete way. (ebf)
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