Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088
Summary of events in West Papua for January -17 February 2018
Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders summit
The 21st Melanesian Spearhead Group
(MSG) leaders summit was held in Port Moresby from 10th to 15th February. The United Liberation Movement for West
Papua (ULMWP) which has observer status
at the MSG attended the meeting. The ULMWP lobbied hard for full membership of
the MSG. However, the Leaders of the MSG countries referred the West Papuan
application for full membership to its secretariat for processing. Prime
Minister Peter O’Neill, and chair of the MSG said the leaders of Melanesia have
approved new criteria guidelines for observers, associate members and full
members to the sub-regional grouping.
EMTV (15 Feb.) reported that the ULMWP Leader, Benny Wenda was pleased with the outcome. When addressing Melanesian Leaders, Benny had called on the MSG to support West Papua, in the same way that the MSG had shown support for the FLNKS in New Caledonia in their push for independence.
EMTV (15 Feb.) reported that the ULMWP Leader, Benny Wenda was pleased with the outcome. When addressing Melanesian Leaders, Benny had called on the MSG to support West Papua, in the same way that the MSG had shown support for the FLNKS in New Caledonia in their push for independence.
In his statement at the 21st MSG Leaders
Summit in Port Moresby, the Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai said the MSG
chair would agree the MSG originated from a vision backed by strong political
desire to strive for the entire decolonisation of the sub region and freedom of
the Melanesian people still under the colonial rule.
Prime minister Salwai recalled the
leaders agreed at their inaugural meeting held in Goroka, Papua New Guinea on
July 17, 1986 that it was important to have common positions and solidarity in
spearheading regional issues that are of common interest, including the FLNKS
cause for political independence in New Caledonia and the rest of the
Melanesian countries that are still struggling for political liberation.
Photo from ULMWP post
“It is important to remind ourselves as
leaders of this organisation that in the quest to be the leading organisation
in advancing socio-economic development and political interest of Melanesia and
the wider Pacific, we must not lose sight of the core founding principle of
this grouping, the achievement of political independence for our Melanesian
brothers and sisters,” said PM Salwai. “This is the raison d’etre for this
group, and it must not be diluted in our wider consideration. I therefore
encourage the MSG to work in collaboration with parties concerned and encourage
dialogue between Indonesia and West Papua to progress the issue forward, as
this has been the case with France and FLNKS.”
http://dailypost.vu/news/msg-remember-your-roots/article_cba83bb2-d6c6-53ec-a155-9b870b98a591.html
http://dailypost.vu/news/msg-remember-your-roots/article_cba83bb2-d6c6-53ec-a155-9b870b98a591.html
A report by Johnny Blades at
https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018632280/west-papua-membership-issue-still-unresolved-at-msg
From ULMWP post
From ULMWP post
It was no surprise that Indonesia warned
the MSG countries about interfering in other countries affairs. Antara News (15
Feb.) reported that the Director General of Asia-Pacific and African Affairs of
the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Desra Percaya, has warned Melanesian Spearhead
Group (MSG) members against meddling in other countries` affairs in realizing
regional cooperation programs.
Desra made the remarks while addressing a MSG ministerial meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Tuesday, in his capacity as chief of the Indonesian delegation to the meeting. "We remind member states (of their obligation) to continue to implement the mandate in accordance with the principles of forming MSG, including refraining from meddling in other countries` businesses much less than their sovereignty," he stated in a press statement released on Wednesday.
Desra made the remarks while addressing a MSG ministerial meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Tuesday, in his capacity as chief of the Indonesian delegation to the meeting. "We remind member states (of their obligation) to continue to implement the mandate in accordance with the principles of forming MSG, including refraining from meddling in other countries` businesses much less than their sovereignty," he stated in a press statement released on Wednesday.
In a RNZI report (16 Feb.), a spokesman for Indonesia's embassy in
Australia, Sade Bimantara said the Liberation Movement's bid is at a dead end."I don't think they qualify to be a
full member of the MSG," he said. "They are not a state, and as opposed
to Kanaks, they are not on the C24 (UN) Decolonisation Committee, they are not
on the list, West Papua. And also the separatist group does not obtain full
support from all the West Papuans." Sade Bimantara said West Papuans were
politically free under Indonesia's democratic system. In the report Benny Wenda
said "I want to send my people a
message that this is another positive," he said of the MSG's referral of
the application for processing. "Step by step, we are in the right
diorcetion, so please pray. We hope that the secretariat will discuss our
application very soon."
From the Diplomat 16 Feb.
From the Diplomat 16 Feb.
Regardless
of the specifics, the MSG saw the inclusion of Indonesia as a participant in
the forum as an opportunity to engage Jakarta on their concerns about human
rights abuses in West Papua. Their participation also provided a formal
international forum where the Indonesian government and ULMWP are able to hold
discussions outside domestic constraints. Since both parties have begun
attending the MSG, the issue of West Papuan independence has come to dominate
the forum’s agenda.
Indonesia also continues to lobby countries in the Pacific trying to counter progress made by the West Papuan cause. ANTARA News reported (1st Feb.) that A number of Southern Pacific island countries have expressed appreciation for Jakarta`s new initiative in developing Papua and West Papua, the Indonesian part of the Melanesian island of Papua. The people of the southern Pacific island countries belong to the same Melanesian race of Papua. "We support every step taken by the government of Indonesia for the prosperity of the people of Papua and West Papua," Nauruan President Baron Divavesi Waqa said after a meeting with an Indonesian delegation headed by Coordinating Minister for Law, Security and Political Affairs Wiranto at the Government House of the Republic of Nauru, on Wednesday, a government release made available to ANTARA News Agency said.
The Nauruan President said he was confident that the government of Indonesia is sincere in developing Papua and West Papua. "We people of Nauru will continue to see Indonesia as friend," he said, adding what Jakarta has done is to bring modernity to the country`s most backward regions.
Meanwhile, Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said his country would not interfere in the affairs of Papua and West Papua, saying that he only want to see human rights are protected and the Papuan culture is preserved. "We don`t want to interfere with the Indonesian policy. We highly value human rights as well as cultures, but Tuvalu is in no position to interfere in that issue," Enele Sopoaga said. https://en.antaranews.com/news/114465/pacific-island-countries-appreciate-jakarta-for-papua-development
Health crisis
Much
of the reporting on West Papua in the past month revolved around the tragic measles (and malnutrition) epidemic in the
Asmat region. Figures vary slightly but it has been reported approximately 72
people, manly children have died in the region. A Voice of America report (7th
Feb.) said about 650 children still had measles
and at least 223 suffer from malnutrition.
Al Jazeera visited the
region.
Al
Jazeera's Step Vaesse, reporting from Asatat, said that police and
military are helping health workers brought from Jakarta in reaching out
to remote villages which have yet to receive any help. Al Jazeera visited
Agats village, where a church has been turned into an emergency
hospital as other clinics are already overfull with patients.
"We
found heartbreaking scenes in the village of Asatat where many children had
died; it’s one of the hardest hit villages," Al Jazeera's Step Vaesse,
reporting from Asatat, said. Our correspondent said that the malnourished
children were "vulnerable to diseases like measles and chicken pox",
and "none of these children had actually had proper vaccinations". Report
and video footage at
In a
statement (Jan 22) by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) it said it “is concerned about the health crisis facing
Asmat regency in Papua, Indonesia. So far, 68 children have died from measles
and serious malnutrition in Asmat. As reported by national media, the measles
and malnutrition epidemic has affected 11 districts of Asmat regency: Swator,
Aswi, Akat, Fayit, Pulau Tiga, Kolf Branza, Jetsy, Pantai Kasuari, Safan, Unirsarau,
and Siret. Being the most remote
areas of Asmat regency, victims in
these districts have faced serious difficulties in obtaining access to medical
facilities. Even in the regency’s capital, Agats, the Agats General Hospital
(RSUD) is not equipped to deal with all the patients of measles and malnutrition. A category
D hospital with limited facilities, paramedics and doctors, the hospital at present needs more medicine
due to limited stock, and due to limited space, some patients have been
hospitalized in the nearest church building”. Full statement http://www.ahrchk.org/ruleoflawasia.net/news.php?id=AHRC-STM-007-2018
PHOTO: Sick children wait for treatment at a hospital in Agats, Asmat District. (Reuters: M Agung Rajasa/Antara Foto) ABC News 25 Jan.
An editorial In the Jakarta Post “The death
of Papuans” (19 Jan),
Pointed out That “warnings and reports of
low immunization coverage and malnutrition reached the Health Ministry in
September, officials said. What happened between September and January? Apart
from low immunization coverage — not only against measles — many breastfeeding
women were known to be malnourished”, and
In Jakarta the blame game quickly began,
with the Health Ministry insisting that under regional autonomy the primary
responsibility lay with the local governments — and Papua’s provinces and
regencies have received huge sums of special autonomy funds, derived from their
rich natural resources, for education and health servi
For all the talk by Indonesian officials that West Papua is now open, an Australian journalist covering the tragedy was expelled after her tweets
angered the military. Authorities said
BBC Indonesia bureau chief Rebecca Henschke was escorted out of the province
after her social media posts "hurt the feelings of soldiers". One of
the tweets shows a photo of supplies sitting on a dock and says, "This is
the aid coming in for severely malnourished children in Papua - instant
noodles, super sweet soft drinks and biscuits." Another tweet says
"children in hospital eating chocolate biscuits and that's it". http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-03/australian-journalist-expelled-from-papua/9393520
PHOTO: BBC journalist Rebecca Henschke
(left) is escorted out of Papua by the Indonesian military. (Instagram:
tni_indonesia_update) (ABC News 3 Feb.)
The
Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) criticized the government for banning
the three BBC Indonesia journalists from reporting on the measles and
malnutrition outbreak in Papua because of the tweets posted by one of them.
“We
condemn the expulsion of the BBC journalists. The incident shows that the
government is afraid of foreign reporting of the conditions in Papua,” AJI
chairman Abdul Manan said on Saturday. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also
urged the Indonesian authorities to allow journalists to report freely in the
troubled region. Indonesia
is ranked 124th out of 180 countries in RSF's
2017 World Press Freedom Index. A BBC report with photos on the crisis (13 Feb.) “Indonesia's
Papua province children starving in a land of gold” at
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42985439
News in brief
News in brief
The month began with a clash between an armed group and the security forces. The shootout occurred at mile 61 in Tembagapura, Mimika District on the 1st Jan. According to the Amole police thee were no casualties. Before the clash the armed group shot at two PT Freeport vehicles which were carrying officers. The cars were slightly damaged. The police claim the attackers were members of the Waker group.
The Free West Papua Campaign reported (10 Jan) that 14 KNPB activists were arrested on 7th January for raising a KNPB flag. The activists were arrested by the Indonesian military and police in Kisor and were taken to the Indonesian police station in Aifat. They were finally released after about 5 hours in custody.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will send a team to investigate reports of human rights violations in Papua
Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights. Visited Indonesia between 4 and 7 February. At
the end of his visit he announced his office will send a team to
investigate reports of human rights violations in Indonesia’s Papua province
where a separatist conflict is underway. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said there were
reports of serious human rights abuses and it was important to probe these
allegations. “I am also concerned about increasing reports of excessive use of force
by security forces, harassment, arbitrary arrests and detentions in Papua,” he
was quoted as saying by Efe news. Hussein said large mining and logging
companies have committed serious human rights violations against farmers,
workers and indigenous communities from the island of Sumatra to the island of
Papua, including illegal appropriation of land and the criminalization of
nearly 200 activists since August last year. He issued a statement on his visit at
The Pacific Islands
Forum (PIF) Secretary General, Dame Meg Taylor visited Canberra in early February.
The Secretary General was in Australia for regional policy
consultations and her discussions will focus on ensuring that people are at the
centre of development across the Pacific region. The agenda over the next
two days will focus on the role of the Pacific Islands Forum and theregion
more generally within Australian Foreign Policy. AWPA release on her visit at http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/media-release-hopefully-pif-secretary.html
The Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) released an U/A (6
Feb.) concerning the case of the torture
to death of Mr. Isak Dewayekua (23), an indigenous Papuan. Three army personnel
of Yonif 755/Yalet illegally arrested and detained Isak and tortured him to
death in Kimaam, Merauke Regency, Papua Province. The army personnel forced
Isak’s family to accept monetary compensation and sign a letter which demanded
that the family drop the case. Currently, the Investigation is still being
conducted by the Military Police of Merauke Regency. Later, the case was
transferred to the higher Military Police Institution in Military Regional
Office (Pomdam) XVII/ Cendrawasih from December 29, 2017. Full U/A at
http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-009-2018#.Wnlm5o12SBo.facebook
Indonesia: strategic threat or strategic partner?
FOUR NEW PALM OIL PERMITS ISSUED ACROSS PAPUA REGION
A 60-year-old woman was fatally shot by Indonesian paramilitary police in a clash between
security forces and stone-throwing villagers in the troubled Papua region. The
police were transporting an 18-year-old man suspected of theft when villagers
intervened to help him. In a statement, they
said police fired warning shots during the incident on Saturday. The woman, who
was in the crowd, died from a gunshot to the head. Conflicts between
indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common in the
impoverished region, which Indonesia annexed more than half a century ago. (SMH 5 Feb./AP).
According to a police spokesperson, five members of
a separatist criminal group, armed with
pistols and machetes, attacked members of the Indonesian military at a market
in Sinak, Puncak Jaya regency . One soldier was killed in the attack. The
attack occurred on Monday the 12th February.
Dutch-born Franciscan bishop dies aged 96
in Papua
Outspoken human rights champion was said to
be suffering from cancer
Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta
Indonesia February 8, 2018. A Franciscan bishop emeritus from the
Netherlands known as a vocal defender of
human rightspassed away in Papua
province, Indonesia on Feb. 7 at the age of 96.
Bishop Herman Ferdinandus Maria Munninghoff
of Jayapura was treated for a month at a hospice in his native Netherlands
recently. He was said to be suffering from cancer. Special Masses were held for
Franciscan communities on Feb. 8 in the capital of the Indonesian province he
served.
Bishop Emeritus Munninghoff was born in
Woerden in the central Netherlands on Nov. 30, 1921. He was ordained a
priest in 1953 and installed as the bishop of Jayapura in 1972 — a role he
inhabited until 1997. Prior to being appointed bishop he served
as secretary to the first bishop of Jayapura, Rudolf Joseph Manfred Staverman
OFM. Father Gabriel Ngga leads the Franciscans in Jayapura said he
visited the bishop at the hospice two weeks ago. "When I
asked him if he was being well taken care of, he said: 'I am happy to stay
here. All the staff are good. But I can feel my death is imminent,'" he
said. Father Ngga said the Papuan people would remember him fondly. "He
was an outspoken bishop who often spoke out about human rights violations in
the region," he said (UCAN News 8 Feb.)
Opinion
pieces/press releases/reports etc
Indonesia: strategic threat or strategic partner?
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/indonesia-strategic-threat-strategic-partner/
West
Papua 2017 Year in Review
A
Former Political Prisoner’s Fragile Freedom in Indonesia
Palm Oil Association Urges Gov't to Revive Suharto-Era
Transmigration Program
In a
Papuan district, tribes push to revive a legacy of sustainability
FOUR NEW PALM OIL PERMITS ISSUED ACROSS PAPUA REGION
http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/four-new-palm-oil-permits-issued-across-papua-region/
Sensitivity as Indonesia grapples with a
measles outbreak in Papua
At Melanesian Spearhead Group, the
Question of West Papuan Membership Lingers
Papua priest puts life on the line to
fight injustice
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