Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Pacific leaders say little on Papua


http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201816007/pacific-leaders-say-little-on-papua

Pacific leaders say little on Papua

From Dateline Pacific, 10:20 am today 
A year ago Pacific leaders at their annual talkfest agreed to send a fact-finding mission to Papua to investigate allegations of human rights abuse.
But Indonesia was against it so the Pacific Islands Forum mission to Papua never happened.
At this year's Forum summit in Pohnpei alleged human rights abuses in Papua still featured in the communique but there is no commitment to try and do anything specific about it.
However Joe Collins of the Australia West Papua Association told Don Wiseman that this is still better than most recent years at the Forum summit.
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Leaders at the Pacific Island Forum in the Federated States of Micronesia, 2016. Photo: Pacific Islands Forum

TRANSCRIPT

JOE COLLINS:  But I was slightly encouraged that they still actually mentioned West Papua in the communiqué, about the human rights situation. I mean, until last year it had been dropped of the agenda for about six years. So the fact that it's still mentioned in the communiqué is slightly encouraging, but on the other hand disappointing that they seem to have left Jakarta off the hook in pursuing the fact-finding mission to West Papua.
DON WISEMAN: There is not commitment to actually do anything, is there?
JC: No, it just seems to be a general.. we are concerned about the human rights situation. As you say, no commitment. And the only way to show real commitment is actually continue to ask Jakarta for a fact-finding mission. And that would be a definite commitment to go there and actually listen to the West Papuan people, what they are actually asking for. Because it's pointless to hear our governments continuing to say Indonesia's now a democracy. Well, West papuans are still marching in the street fifty-three years after Indonesia took over, risking torture, arrests. If everything was so good, why would they be marching in the streets 53 years after the take-over?
DW: It seems remarkable really that given that there is so much support now from a large number of the island countries on the West Papua issue that the Forum as a body can relegate the issue in this way. I know John Key and others talked about Indonesia not liking the word "fact-finding", well does that matter?
JC: I think you'd have to say that was probably due to Australia and New Zealand that the whole issue was given just concern about human rights and the fact-finding mission was dropped from the agenda. Certainly Australia will support Indonesia and, as we all know, Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua. And I'm not sure why they seem to be totally afraid of raising the issue of West Papua at the Pacific Islands Forum or any commitment to the West Papuan people. There's no doubt there's a huge groundswell of support from the people, civil society organisations and church groups in support of West Papua. And for all the talk about being inclusive and listening to the people, the fact that it's not really on the agenda would indicate that the leaders are not really listening to the people. but I presume it will get better. As I say, slightly encouraging that it was in the communiqué. I was a bit worried that the whole issue may have been dropped again for a whole five or six years. But that itself was slightly encouraging. 

The MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group summit) is coming up in October in Port Vila, and hopefully there the ULMWP (United Liberation Movement for West Papua) may actually get full membership. But again we also have the new (Pacific) Coalition on West Papua, governments of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and others indicating support for the ULMWP, PIANGO, Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organisations. So the whole issue is not going away, it's getting bigger and bigger. It's greatly encouraged that groundswell of support in the Pacific, and I think as it continues surely the leaders will realise it's time to start raising the issue seriously at the UN.  Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have raised it at the UN committees before. 
But I think the groundswell of support may begin to really have an effect and try and get it (West Papua) re-inscribed on the UN Decolonisation Committee (list). That might seem a hard ask but it's possible. It is possible. I think self-determination is back on the agenda in the Pacific. We'll have the (imminent) referendum in Kanaky New Caledonia, Bougainville... French Polynesia's back on the Decolonisation Committee. I mean I think self-determination in the Pacific is back on the agenda as an issue.


On 14 Sep 2016, at 9:59 AM, Arndt, Peter <arndtp@bne.catholic.net.au> wrote:

Hey Joe
Was Johnny Blades the correspondent for the article below?
 
I note he didn’t quote any people from CSOs in the Pacific.  As I said in my feedback to people in our solidarity network, the CSOs present from all over the Pacific were initially stunned by the weakness of the words in the text, but, when our reps talked to the leaders present the next day, we realised that the Pacific leaders were incredibly committed to action at the UN.  Australia has meddled with the text of the communiqué, but there is no doubt that leaders are determined to take West Papua to the UN and push for action.
 
Ask Emele, who led the CSO delegation, if you want confirmation about that.  She’s been in contact with the leaders and Dame Meg after the meeting and she knows what they are thinking.
Peace
Pete
 
Peter Arndt
Executive Officer
Catholic Justice & Peace Commission of Brisbane
P: +61 7 3324 3441
F: +61 7 3336 9177
M: +61 409 265 476
 
From: reg.westpapua-request@lists.riseup.net [mailto:reg.westpapua-request@lists.riseup.net] On Behalf Of joe
Sent: Tuesday, 13 September 2016 7:08 PM
To: reg.westpapua@lists.riseup.net
Subject: [wp] Forum called out for hollow talk on Papua
 
 

1) Forum called out for hollow talk on Papua
2) Geo-politics at play over Leader’s lack of expressed commitment on West Papua
——————————————————————————————
 
 
1) Forum called out for hollow talk on Papua
43 minutes ago



West Papua has long been a sensitive issue for the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum countries. Photo: Whens Tebay
Pacific Islands Forum leaders have been accused of hollow talk about listening to the people of the region on important issues like West Papua.
Following last week's Forum leaders summit in Pohnpei, regional civil society groups have voiced disappointment at what they see as a lack of any outcome or substance on the issue of West Papua.
Papua had been one of the big regional issues identified by the Forum secretary-general Dame Meg Taylor as being on the leaders' agenda, ahead of the summit.
However in the end, leaders merely concluded that the issue of alleged human rights violations in West Papua should remain on their agenda.
Furthermore, after the resolution of last year's Forum summit to urge Jakarta to allow a fact-finding mission to West Papua, the matter appears to have dropped off the table.
Dame Meg confirmed in Pohnpei that Indonesian sensitivity over the term “fact-finding" in relation to Papua meant that it would not accept such a mission.
The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor says West Papua is a sensitive issue. Photo: AFP
But she said concerns about human rights abuses and the self-determination struggle in West Papua ran deeply in the Pacific and demanded focus from the leaders.
Before the summit, Pacific civil society groups voiced satisfaction with what they called the improved engagement they were being accorded by the Pacific Island Forum.
They identified West Papua as among the key issues needing the Forum's attention and development of meaningful policy discussions.
Taking stock of the Pohnpei summit, Joe Collins of the Australia West Papua Association said that while it was encouraging that Papua was mentioned in the communiqué, there was no specific action taken.
"There's no doubt there's a huge groundswell of support from the people, civil society organisations and church groups in support of West Papua," he said.
“And for all the talk about (the Forum) being inclusive and listening to the people, the fact that it's not really on the agenda that much would indicate that the leaders are not really listening to the people."
 
——————————————————————
2) Geo-politics at play over Leader’s lack of expressed commitment on West Papua
11:01 pm GMT+12, 12/09/2016, Fiji
 
 Pacific leaders’ lack of expressed commitment to action the case of West Papua at their meeting in Federated States of Micronesia may be due to geo politics says Pacific Islands Association of NGOs (PIANGO) executive director, Emele Duituturaga.

“Generally, the result of the 47th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting as articulated in their communiqué was a mixed one for civil society,” Duituturaga said.

“We are happy that some of the issues we pushed for like the Pacific Framework for the Rights of Persons with Disability, Climate Change and disaster risk management, and coastal fisheries were endorsed by the leaders and reflected in the communiqué.”

“For West Papua – while the human rights violations were mentioned, the push by CSOs to have West Papua raised at the United Nations is not reflected,” she said.

On West Papua, the 47th PIF Leaders meeting communiqué stated that “… Leaders recognised the political sensitivities of the issue of West Papua (Papua) and agreed the issue of alleged human rights violations in West Papua (Papua) should remain on their agenda. Leaders also agreed on the importance of an open and constructive dialogue with Indonesia on the issue…”

“An achievement is the agreement to keep the issue of human rights violations should remain on the leaders agenda. We know that a couple of members had hoped the issue of West Papua would be removed altogether.”

“We understand from talking individually to leaders and officials that there were robust discussions by the leaders that was quite encouraging. We also know that the draft text reflected their intention to take West Papua to the UN but when the final communiqué was released, it had been watered down,” Duituturaga said.

“It is obvious that geo politics were at play which brings to question whether infact our leaders can be bold and courageous in the presence of neighbouring powers like Australia and New Zealand.”
She said that the 16 CSO representatives at the TROIKA leader’s breakfast dialogue felt successful and promising discussions were held on the issue.

“All those present expressed sentiments that the issue of West Papua – both in terms of human rights violations and self-determination were important. What those leaders at the breakfast articulated was that there are provisions in the UN that needed to be followed and utilised to bring the issue to the UN.”

“We are concerned that this promising dynamic in the discussion civil society organisation representatives had with leaders at the breakfast was not present at all in the communiqué.”

 “Perhaps there is limited value to just talking to a handful and whether that makes an impact to the final discussions that leaders have at the retreat.”

“The Samoan Prime Minister, who is the next PIF Chair had stated at the breakfast meeting that the CSO dialogue needed to take place with all the 16 leaders and not just TROIKA and he will see to that for next year’s PIF programme. This result (Communiqué) seems to confirm that this is really what’s needed to be done in order for leaders to commit to taking the issue to the UN.”

However, Duituturaga said the Pacific Islands Coalition on West Papua (PICWP), which includes Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu and PIANGO, is an avenue which CSOs will tap into to continue to push the West Papua agenda at the UN.

“What is encouraging and positive however, is how PICWP member countries have visibly shown their commitment to take up the issue.”

Duituturaga said PIANGO will now work individually with those countries for UN intervention on human rights violations and to push for self-determination for West Papua at the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council and raise these matters with the UN Secretary General

SOURCE: PIANG/PACNEWS
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