2) Many people do not like cheap fuel prices in Papua: Jokowi
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1) Jakarta keeps strong grip on Papua as rallies intensify
Moses Ompusunggu and Lita Aruperes
Jakarta/Manado | Wed, December 21, 2016 | 11:37 am
Jakarta is continuing its strong handed approach to Papua and West Papua, the country’s easternmost provinces torn between poverty and violence, despite calls to soften its stance in handling the restive region.
In Manado, North Sulawesi, 85 protesters have been detained by the local police for displaying the morning star flag — the symbol of West Papuan independence — in front of the North Sulawesi governor’s office in the city.
The rallies were organized by the National Committee on West Papua (KNPB), an organization advocating the right to self-determination for the people of the two provinces.
KNPB chairman Hiskia Mogea criticized the police’s move, saying that it did not “comply with the procedures”. “The protesters had not yet started the rally when the police arrived to arrest them,” Hiskia said on Tuesday.
The group said at least 528 protesters were arrested by the police following massive demonstrations held in various cities across the country on Monday to commemorate the 1961 military operation to seize what was then known as West Papua from the Dutch.
One of the detained protesters, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the detainees had been mistreated in custody, claiming that the police had only served them once since the arrests took place on Monday.
In Jakarta, an advocacy group is considering taking legal action against the government for blocking a web portal containing information about human rights violations in Papua.
The Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) is considering taking legal action against President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration for the block put on suarapapua.com, a prominent Papua-based online news outlet deemed to contain “negative” content according to country’s information law, which many consider to be draconian.
LBH Pers head of research and network development Asep Komarudin said the institute, which is suarapapua.com legal representative, may either file a civil lawsuit to challenge the Communications and Information Ministry’s censorship, or file a report with the police accusing the ministry of violating freedom of the press guarantees in Article 18, point 1 of the 1999 Press Law.
“The ministry provided no clear reason for blocking the website, but we believe the site was blocked because it stood as a local news source that routinely reported on human rights violations in the region,” Asep told The Jakarta Post.
“It was the voice of the voiceless [in Papua].”
The blocking of the website came amid a series of government crackdowns on websites it deemed as sources of sectarian sentiment, known in Indonesia as SARA, amid rising political tension related to the blasphemy allegations against non-active Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.
Following the report by suarapapua.com, LBH Pers then sent a letter to the ministry to seek information about its rationale for blocking the news outlet.
In response to the complaint by LBH Pers, the ministry said in a letter dated Nov. 21 and signed by the ministry’s director general for information applications, Semuel Pangerapan, that suarapapua.com was blocked upon request by “a ministry/government institution authorized to determine whether a website has violated the law”. It did not explain further.
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2) Many people do not like cheap fuel prices in Papua: Jokowi
Jakarta | Thu, December 22, 2016 | 09:46 am
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo acknowledged that it is not easy to make the price of fuel in Papua equal to prices in other areas of the country because of different demands.
The government’s plan to reduce fuel prices in Papua for the last year-and-a-half only began in October.
With the new one-price fuel policy, premium is now priced at Rp 6,450 (49 US cents) per liter, down from Rp 100,000 to Rp 60,000 in regencies in Papua.
“Many people don’t like cheap fuel prices [in Papua] because they have enjoyed [the benefits of] selling fuel for many years,” he said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.
One of the government’s strategies to reduce fuel prices in Papua was through buying aircraft to carry fuel so it can be transported by air instead of by land.
Despite the fact that state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina had to spend Rp 800 billion to buy fuel-transport aircraft, Jokowi said the firm would not suffer losses.
“This year I actually expect profits to increase, more than Rp 40 trillion,” he said.
The government has implemented a one-price fuel policy in Papua and West Papua, aimed at bringing social justice to all Indonesians. Premium is now priced at Rp 6,450 per liter while diesel and kerosene are sold at Rp 5,150 and Rp 2,500 per liter, respectively. (win/dmr)
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