Saturday, March 31, 2018

New paper highlights stories of pain, humiliation, fear of West Papuans


New paper highlights stories of pain, humiliation, fear of West Papuans
March 31, 2018  By Mark Bowling


Plea for help: Catholic social justice advocate Peter Arndt has delved into stories of pain, humiliation and fear that have indelibly marked generations of indigenous West Papuans and hardened their resolve for freedom and independence. Photo: Mark Bowling
THREE years ago, Catholic social justice advocate Peter Arndt joined an international Christian pilgrimage to West Papua and heard an impassioned plea from the survivor of an alleged Indonesian military massacre.
“I now realise that it was the moment when I began to enter into a deep solidarity with the people of West Papua and to understand the radical implications of Christian solidarity,” Mr Arndt, the executive director of Brisbane Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, said.
A young Papuan named Laurens told his story to Mr Arndt, quietly recounting horrific events he witnessed on the island of Biak on July 6, 1998.
According to Laurens, scores of Papuans were rounded up, forced onto navy boats, raped, mutilated, killed and dumped into the sea.
In the following weeks, more than 30 decomposed bodies were fished out of the sea or washed ashore.
Indonesian authorities claimed the bodies were those of victims of a recent tsunami that struck Papua New Guinea, but the corpses were dressed in clothes that clearly identified them as people from Biak island.
Laurens reached out to Mr Arndt with a simple plea: “Can you please help us to get our freedom?”
Mr Arndt has made several visits to West Papua, including a 2016 fact-finding mission after which he reported “there is clear evidence of ongoing violence, intimidation and harassment by the Indonesian security forces”.
However, in a new paper in the Catholic Social Justice series entitled Into the Deep, Mr Arndt delves into stories of pain, humiliation and fear that have indelibly marked generations of indigenous West Papuans and hardened their resolve for freedom and independence.
He searches to place events in the context of the message of the Gospel and Catholic social teaching.
To this day, no Indonesian soldier or police officer has been held accountable for the dreadful deeds committed on Biak, Mr Arndt wrote.
He said those who continued to speak out, like Laurens, were deprived of employment opportunities and pensions, and subject to harassment and intimidation by Indonesian security officers.
“While we were listening to their stories, our meeting was raided by a contingent of police, intelligence officers and immigration officials,” Mr Arndt wrote.
“It was as if our local hosts had prepared an experience of what they face routinely at the hands of Indonesian authorities.
“It appears that one of our drivers had tipped the officials off to our presence on Biak and they had come to arrest us and question us about the purpose of our visit.”
Into the Deep also recounts Mr Arndt’s 2015 visit to the West Papuan highlands, to a village, which had witnessed military shootings just two months earlier.
Trouble started when soldiers caught a 12-year-old girl and beat her with their riffle butts.
After hundreds of people gathered near a police station to express their anger, shots were fired from a nearby airfield tower and four youths were killed.
“Both in the village and in church gatherings we attended during our four-day stay, it was apparent that the local community was still gripped by a mixture of shock and fear,” Mr Arndt wrote.
“Our presence as foreigners was, more than once, a cause of tension – some openly criticised those who welcomed us because they feared it would bring the authorities into the village or to the meetings we attended.
“Indeed, on our last full day in the village, word had spread to the village that the police were on their way to find out what we foreigners were doing.”
When Mr Arndt returned to the highlands a year later, the case was still being investigated by Indonesia’s national human rights commission, Komnas Ham, and no one had been held accountable for the fatal shooting of the four youths.
“That remains the case to this day, despite repeated assurances by the Indonesian Government that resolving the case is a high priority,” Mr Arndt wrote.
“The families have steadfastly refused to take blood money for the death of their boys.
“When I asked them what they want if there is to be justice for their boys, one of the fathers spoke for them all in a clear and solemn voice: ‘The only justice we want is freedom’. 
“It was as if Laurens was speaking again, this time in the highlands, but to me it was also the voice of the crucified Christ.”
Mr Arndt said many Australians were seeking to support the people of West Papua, but baulked at any form of support for a political objective. 
“They hesitate when it comes to dedicating energy and resources to ending the Indonesian occupation and achieving political independence for West Papua,” he wrote.
“I have heard people of good will who say that they cannot be involved in political action and so restrict themselves to human rights advocacy.
“Some advise Papuans that self-determination is an impossible dream and that lesser goals should be sought.”
Into the Deep offers a detailed history of West Papua from colonial Dutch rule to Indonesian takeover. It is almost five decades since a rigged United Nations referendum, which legitimised Indonesia’s tenuous claim on West Papua.
Since then the history of political struggle against a brutal Indonesian rule has occasionally penetrated mainstream media reporting, but has seldom caused a ripple in Canberra.
Parramatta bishop and chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council Bishop Vincent Long has offered a glowing endorsement of Mr Arndt’s Into the Deep.
“That deep reflection on Gospel values and Church teaching is what makes this publication so inspiring,” Bishop Long said.
“Peter places his friends’ experience in the context of the Scriptures and looks deeply into the Church’s teachings on justice and asks what he must do.
“He discerns the answer with clarity and courage.”
Into the Deep – seeking justice for the people of West Papua is available by online download from http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/publications/series-papers
------------------------

Thursday, March 29, 2018

1) 40 police deployed to secure Papuan student screening of film 'The First Grader’


2) Demo at Freeport office in Jakarta calls for self-determination for West Papua

————————
2 articles via reg westpapualist

1) 40 police deployed to secure Papuan student screening of film 'The First Grader'

Tempo - March 28, 2018

Nur Hadi, Surabaya -- Scores of police were deployed to secure a discussion and screening of the film "The First Grader" organised by the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) in Surabaya.

The event was held at the Papuan Kamasan III Dormitory on Jl. Kalasan in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on the evening of Tuesday March 27.

Tambaksari sectoral police chief Commissioner Prayitno said that the tight security was necessary because there were indications that the film was about black skinned people (kulit hitam).

"It was in anticipation of the Papuan people's ideology", said Priyatno when contacted by Tempo on Tuesday evening.

In addition to this, according to Prayitno, they believed that that the film is in conflict with Indonesian culture and the culture of the nation and state.

"The film conflicts with our culture, the national culture and the state", said Prayitno. Nevertheless, police eventually allowed the event to go ahead.

Prayitno added that based on an agreement between police and the organising committee, the discussion and screening of the film about an elderly person who wanted to get an education went ahead at 8am, two hours later than scheduled.

 Prayitno said that around 40 officers were deployed to the location in North Surabaya, who have been guarding the screening since late afternoon. "They failed to notify us beforehand about the event", he said.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Pemutaran Film Mahasiswa Papua di Surabaya Dijaga Polisi".]

Source: https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1073930/pemutaran-film-mahasiswa-papua-di-surabaya-dijaga-polisi

———————————————————————————————



2) Demo at Freeport office in Jakarta calls for self-determination for West Papua

Tirto.id - March 29, 2018

Tony Firman -- Calls for West Papuan self-determination were prominent during a demonstration in front of the offices of PT Freeport Indonesia in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta on Thursday March 29.

The action was held by around 70 or so protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) who held the demonstration to demand the closure of the Freeport copper and gold mine in Papua.

FRI-WP spokesperson Surya Anta said that the international community must take a position on the forced incorporation of West Papua into the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

"Since May 1, 1963 until now, West Papua's was removed from Holland's decolonisation list without the West Papuan people knowledge", said Surya.

Surya also accused Freeport of being an entry point for the colonisation of West Papua on the grounds that the first work contract between Freeport and Indonesia was signed in 1967.

Meanwhile the Act of Free Choice (Pepera) which resulted in the incorporation of West Papua into the NKRI was held in 1969. Surya said that the Pepera was manipulated and undemocratic.

Dorlince Iyowau, a resident of Timika who took part in the action, added that Freeport's presence in Papua has not brought prosperity or peace to the West Papuan people.

"Violence against the people and damage to the environment by waste tailings discarded into the Ajkwa River is a concrete form of Freeport's colonial presence", said Dorlince.

In a press release received by Tirto, the FRI-WP and the AMP made nine demands, three of which were the closure of PT Freeport, the withdrawal of the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (National Police) from Papua and self-determination for the people of Papua.

The release also stated that based on a report by the Papuan Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy (Elsham) in 2002, numerous cases of violence have been committed by security forces in Papua.

The report notes that thousands of people have died, scores have disappeared and hundreds more have been arrested and tortured. In addition to this, it also notes places of worship that have been burnt down, villages and other locations that have been destroyed, many of which have yet to be properly documented.

The demonstrators began leaving the Freeport offices at around 3.15 pm. Similar actions are planned to take place simultaneously on April 7 in several different cities including Yogyakarta and Semarang (Central Java), Bandung (West Java), Surabaya and Malang (East Java), Makassar (South Sulawesi), Palu (Central Sulawesi), Ternate (North Maluku) and Papua itself.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Demo di Kantor Freeport Juga Serukan Penentuan Nasib West Papua".]

Source: https://tirto.id/demo-di-kantor-freeport-juga-serukan-penentuan-nasib-west-papuanbsp-cGWN

---------------------------------------------------------------

INDOLEFT News service

If you are not already subscribing to this news service, you can do so by sending a blank e-mail to <subscribe-indoleft@yahoogroups.com> and you will be automatically added to the list.

The INDOLEFT news service is produced by the People's Liberation Party (PPR) and the Asia Pacific Solidarity Network (APSN).

To view the archive of Indoleft postings since 2003 visit: http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/indonesia/indoleft/indoleft.htm.

Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/asiapacificsolidaritynet



—————————————————————

1) West Papuans cry out for freedom



2) Foreign minister underlines PNG's regional leadership
------------------------------------------
1) West Papuans cry out for freedom
29 March 2018
First published in Justice Trends, the quarterly newsletter of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, No. 168, March 2018.
After more than 50 years of repression, the indigenous people of West Papua hold on to the belief that one day they can reclaim their country.
While thousands of Papuans have been beaten, jailed, raped and murdered for standing up for their rights, Papuans young and old continue to risk danger by publicly campaigning for their freedom from Indonesian rule, which began as a result of a fraudulent and unjust process enforced by the Indonesian Government and supported by other countries, in particular the United States.
In the latest Catholic Social Justice Series paper, Into the Deep: Seeking justice for the people of West Papua, author Peter Arndt recounts his personal experience of meeting West Papuans in their homes and villages, and describes the importance of faith and solidarity in their struggle for justice.
Peter Arndt has been executive officer of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 2001. Over the last three years, he has travelled several times to West Papua and the Pacific as part of his commitment to deepening solidarity with marginalised and oppressed peoples.



In his introduction to Into the Deep, ACSJC Chairman, Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen, commends Arndt’s deeply moving account of the sufferings of the indigenous people of West Papua.
“He shows how he has come to understand their indomitable desire for self-determination and to recognise how the Gospel calls him to walk beside his friends on their journey,” Bishop Long writes.
“That deep reflection on Gospel values and Church teaching is what makes this publication so inspiring. Peter places his friends’ experience in the context of the Scriptures and looks deeply into the Church’s teachings on justice and asks what he must do. He discerns the answer with clarity and courage.”
In the paper, Arndt notes that the vast majority of Papuans are Christians and their faith sustains them in their resistance to Indonesian occupation, with many public acts of resistance taking the form of prayer gatherings. 
“It’s worth noting that, as much as their faith strengthens Papuans in their struggle, Indonesian soldiers and police often respond by denigrating and mocking their Christianity,” he writes.
The paper describes numerous examples over many years of the violence and cruelty perpetrated by the Indonesian police and military and the survivors’ stories of pain, humiliation and fear. Despite assurances that incidents of violence and killings would be investigated, “no Indonesian soldier or police officer has been held accountable for the dreadful deeds committed”.
“The survivors have not only been deprived of justice for the violence inflicted on them, but in the intervening years they have continued to suffer. “Those who have continued to speak out … are deprived of employment opportunities and pensions.
“Survivors are also subject to harassment and intimidation by various arms of the Indonesian security apparatus.
“This constant surveillance and repression induce a constant state of fear within the community. It’s a nightmare that never ends, an open jail you can never leave.”
The author relates the story of being stopped on the road by soldiers who collected an illegal toll from his group.
“The military and the police not only bring violence and the threat of violence to the Highlands and every other part of West Papua. They also exploit the land and its people for monetary gain.
“Our Papuan colleagues told us how the various arms of the security forces control the trade of every type of commodity in the Highlands, from rice to petrol. We were told that the various military and police units divide different types of commodities in particular districts between themselves and operate what is effectively a protection racket.
“They also operate their own businesses, including brothels, trade in pornography and alcohol and illegally sell wildlife, including West Papua’s iconic birds of paradise.”
In the aftermath of the killing of four young men following a pre-Christmas vigil, security officers approached family members offering large sums of money to settle the case and keep them quiet. “It was effectively blood money.”
Returning to that area some time later, Arndt found that the case was still being investigated by the National Human Rights Commission, Komnas Ham, and no-one had been held to account for killing the four boys. “That remains the case to this day, despite repeated assurances by the Indonesian Government that resolving the case is a high priority.”
The families have refused to take the money and when asked what they want if there is to be justice for their boys, one of the fathers spoke for them all: “The only justice we want is freedom!”
“It is clear to me that when they spoke of freedom, my Papuan sisters and brothers not only wanted an end to the violence that constantly surrounded them. They clearly wanted an end to Indonesian occupation of their lands and an opportunity to live as Papuans with their own languages, culture and religion rather than as Indonesians.
“Many Australians, Americans and Europeans seeking to support the people of West Papua baulk at any form of support for a political objective. I have heard people of good will who say that they cannot be involved in political action and so restrict themselves to human rights advocacy. Some advise Papuans that self-determination is an impossible dream and that lesser goals should be sought.
“I am immensely troubled by any approach that actively discourages Papuans from seeking freedom in the way they want it.”
The paper also describes the way Papuans are marginalised by the waves of Indonesians who have migrated from places like Java, Flores and Sumatra. In some cities, the indigenous Papuan proportion of the population is now a little over 36 per cent.
“In the more remote regions, Papuans still are in the majority, but the trend is clear: as more Indonesians arrive, Papuans are destined to become a smaller and smaller minority in their own land.”
At the same time, Papuans are discriminated against in the provision of education, health services and employment.

“We were told that nepotism by Indonesian employers and public service bosses meant that those Papuans who did have good qualifications often missed out on getting jobs. Papuan business operators complained that the military and the police would often squeeze them out of lucrative opportunities in order to make money for themselves.
“It is rare to see Papuan-owned businesses in the big cities like Jayapura. And those that support affirmative action are quickly stigmatised as ‘separatists’ by the Indonesian state, a label that can mean you wind up dead, dumped by the side of the road, one more ‘mysterious killing’.”
The authorities discourage the wearing of traditional dress and the performance of traditional cultural activities and the use of local languages is declining, while mosques are being erected in large numbers to cater for the rapidly growing population of mostly Muslim Indonesian migrants.
“In several places, we heard about the rising incidence of violent conflicts between Papuans and Indonesians. The police invariably favour the Indonesian participants in these disputes and brawls.
“There are claims that some Indonesian authorities are actively supporting and encouraging Indonesian migrants to attack Papuans and their property.”
Despite the danger of publicly campaigning for their self-determination, support is growing for the organisation formed in 2014 to advance the cause of West Papuan freedom internationally, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).
The leaders of seven Pacific nations spoke in the UN General Assembly in 2016 about human rights abuses in West Papua and supported a statement calling for a report on human rights abuses at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2017.
ULMWP leaders are now seeking support for their cause in other parts of the world and are aiming to get support for a self-determination referendum, beginning in September 2017 when ULMWP leaders presented a UN official with a petition from well over one million Papuans.
Papuans from every part of society, from customary leaders to the student movement, see the need to unite in support of their leaders in the ULMWP to capitalise on the gains that have been made since 2014.
Arndt emphasises the importance of solidarity with the people of West Papua, not with a view telling them what to do, “but rather with the desire to walk with them in their struggle to shape their own future as the First Peoples of their land”.
“My solidarity acknowledges that they are the true experts on their situation and it respects their leadership of the work to overcome their oppression.
“I am also being accompanied by my Papuan sisters and brothers on the journey to reconstruct my own understanding of the world and my life and my participation in cultivating a social order founded on love. Into the deep we are called, into deep solidarity with Christ crucified and risen, into deep solidarity with each other in our suffering, into the deep waters of Merdeka – Freedom!”
For more information:
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, email admin@acsjc.org.au, phone (02) 8306 3499.
Peter Arndt, Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Archdiocese of Brisbane, phone 0409 265 476
Into the Deep: Seeking justice for the people of West Papua (Catholic Social Justice Series No. 82) is available from the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council for $7.50. Phone (02) 8306 3499, email admin@acsjc.org.au.
With thanks to ACSJC.
--------------------------------------------
2) Foreign minister underlines PNG's regional leadership
From 4:04 pm on 29 March 2018 
Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister says his country has growing strategic importance as the link between Asia and the Pacific Islands region.
As PNG's longest-serving Foreign Minister, Rimbink Pato has for the past five years sought to help establish his country as a regional leader.
He says that leadership role is manifest in PNG's hosting of November's APEC leaders summit to which his government has invited Pacific Island nations to participate in for the first time.
Mr Pato spoke to Johnny Blades yesterday while in New Zealand on an official visit.

RIMBINK PATO: And at the same time we see our role as a player in some of the issues that affect the Southeast Asia and pacific region altogether, such as human trafficking, people smuggling and money laundering, and issues like that, which are impacting some of the economies in Southeast Asia. And what we want to harness in this (APEC) is trade and investment for us as a country, because of the resources we have, and how we can utilise that opportunity with the connections that we will build, or the connections that we have with the APEC economies to filter the connectivity to the smaller islands of the pacific, leaders of whom we have all asked them to visit, so that they have the opportunity to engage with 60 percent of the world's major trade and investment leaders.
JOHNNY BLADES: A lot of Papua New Guineans seem to be wondering what benefit do they get from their country hosting this big leaders summit. Where's the payoff for them?
RP: Well, Papua New Guinea is the leader of the Pacific. Papua New Guinea has a role to play in the South East Asia region, and of course the world is inter-connected. These are the world's economic leaders who will promote trade and investment in our country. And if we're going to have that linkage to the rest of the Pacific, as a big brother of the rest of the Pacific Island nations, then we want to showcase that by utilising this opportunity to grow our country, grow our economy, bring prosperity for our people, and then security and stability for our region by these leaders coming to our country. And I think there's a huge potential because we have the resources, where there must be feasibility. Our country needs to be seen, needs to connect globally, and here is an opportunity that is not to be missed. So if there's any misgiving, there shouldn't be, because the positives are yet to come.
JB: Can PNG afford to host this summit?
RP: Yes we can. We have a budget, we have a programme in place. All the preparations are underway. We will be able to look after the seven to ten thousand people who will visit our country during the APEC event. We are ready. And of course, if we need any help - as you will find in major APEC summit meetings - the APEC economies stand together.     And of course our great friends, New Zealand and Australia, are making a contribution because this is an event for the Pacific. We're going to create a legacy for the Pacific because it's going to showcase our connectivity, our friendship, our brotherhood. Clearly, if there are any shortcomings in the area of security and all that, we've had the collaborations necessary because our interests are mutual.
JB: As a regional leader, PNG has an obligation to advance the interests of the pacific Islands, and one of those of course is action on climate change. Is enough being done, from your point of view, from the likes of Australia and New Zealand? Australia is still flirting with coal, and of course in your own country, deforestation is a big issue, it's a big driver of carbon emissions, isn't it?
RP: Well climate change is a major issue for the world, and it's a greater issue for the Pacific islands, because we are not the ones that have created the impact that it has on humanity. So what we want to do is in the APEC event we want to talk about climate change. It’s one of the key issues there, and what we're doing and how the world can connect. That's why we've asked the rest of the Pacific Island countries, their leaders to come so that each of them can tell their story in their own way to the leaders of the world. And I've been actually speaking to many of the leaders of the AEC economies and my counterparts around the world to ensure that they have that link so our message gets carried because the impacts of climate change are unique to each country. It's not the one and the same. Of course we will work with Australia and New Zealand, and we have supported for example New Zealand in its campaign for non-permanent security membership in the UN, because one of the key strategies of the New Zealand government then was climate change, and still remains.
JB: PNG has some of the biggest tracts of rainforest in the world, combined with the Indonesian side (of New Guinea), and it's a global concern that those forests are really being cleared at a great rate. There's a lot of unsustainability. Can't more be done, from PNG's side?
RP: Well, speaking for my country, REDD-Plus is a major issue, but our focus is there. We're intent on pursuing a policy which will protect our forestry resource. These are issues for example that Papua New Guinea can't deal with alone. We need multi-lateral frameworks, such as the WTO, or the United Nations systems, because globally and multi-laterally we can take steps which will align the activities of the member states of the UN and multi-lateral agencies to work together to find solutions which will serve not only individual countries, but also bring about sustainable development which will also ensure the conservation of the forest, the oceans.
JB: But isn't it really just in your government's hands, about how much forestry goes on in the country? There is much illegal logging, according to the Governor of Oro province and others; and there's the fraudulent SABL (Special Agricultural Business Lease) system... this has been going on for years and it hasn't been stopped.
RP: No, that is not entirely correct. The government has taken steps. There's been an inquiry into the SABL issuing of licenses and harvesting of logs, and the leases. So in terms of what we can do, government has taken proactive measures. There's a policy which has coming through the Minister for Forests which is specifically aimed at addressing those issues. And in some of these cases, we need the evidence, we need the specifics by those that have it to bring it forward. And some of these are very isolated cases where the statistics don't come out clearly, the data isn't available, yet individual politicians - because of the political points that they might score - they go on Facebook and make an issue where none exist. So if it is an issue, then it's taken out of context, and as a purpose which is not intended does more damage than good for the province or for the districts in which the issues arise.

JB: PNG is the current chair of the Melanesian Spearhead group. Are you concerned about the divisions that are spilling over between Fiji and Solomon islands over the West Papua /Indonesia issue?
RP: Well I'm not sure that there is such a major issue. The Melanesia Spearhead framework, the document which sets up the Melanesia Spearhead Group is very clear as to what it can and cannot do. And one of the restrictions, reservation of the Melanesia Spearhead Group constitution is non-interference with the sovereignty of sovereign states. And PNG's policy - and I cannot speak for Fiji or Solomon Islands - our position has always been that then provinces of Papua and West Papua are an integral part of the republic of Indonesia, and the Melanesia Spearhead Group is not the forum by which these issues can be raised. There are other mechanisms, such as the UN framework, where if there's an issue of concern it can be raised there. Clearly if it's to do with human rights, that's an issue that we can address together, and we will work with Indonesia to address it.
JB: Because a lot of grassroots communities in Melanesia are deeply worried about what's happening on the Indonesian side. What can PNG do about that?
RP: Well PNG is a constructive partner to Indonesia, and we're willing to work together, and Indonesia understands our position. If there are issues in relation to alleged breach of human rights, we need the evidence so this can be pointed out, and there are mechanisms for resolution of those concerns. Coming back to the issue of the Melanesia Spearhead Group, the MSG is not the forum in which those issues can be addressed. Our jurisdiction is limited in what we can discuss. But clearly it is a concern.
JB: But this membership issue - the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application for full MSG membership - has dragged on. Will it be resolved soon?
RP: There is a process and the application was the subject of recent discussions. And the criteria for membership is being worked on, and we the foreign ministers (of MSG) will look at it, make the appropriate recommendations to the leaders. The leaders will then make a decision as to what the outcome (will be). We will follow the process. And the competence of the MSG under its structure is very clear. They can only deal with those questions for which they have the authority to deal with. And at this point, there is no authority permitted by the MSG constitution which allows membership of non-sovereign states, or loose entities, as it were.
JB: But you've got New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanaks movement as MSG members already.
RP: When the constitution was framed, it was framed for that purpose, so that was a unique case in itself. They are already members in the organisation. But as to whether the constitution will be amended to permit other membership, because of the restricted nature of its language, that's something for the leaders to canvas.
JB: So you don't think the rift between Fiji and the Solomons is all that bad, you're not worried about the future of the group?
RP: Well these are typical of Melanesian peoples, they have their differences. But there's a time to party together and get together and shake hands and move forward. So I think those rumblings will come to an end. Of course we had those with Fiji, Australia and New Zealand at the Pacific Islands Forum some years back, but PNG was taking a role to resolve those issues, and see where we are, we are together now. So I can see a future where all these issues will be resolved and we'll be together as one united force in Melanesia.
--------------------------

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

1) Thousands without e-ID may not be able to vote in Papua


2) Places to Watch: 3 Forest Regions at Risk Right Now

3) Compromise yields New Caledonia referendum question
--------------------------------------------------------------

1) Thousands without e-ID may not be able to vote in Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba The Jakarta Post
Jayapura, Papua | Wed, March 28, 2018 | 05:56 pm


Thousands of voters in Papua have yet to have their identities registered under the electronic identification (e-ID), which could strip them of their voting rights in the upcoming elections.
Acting Papua Governor Sudarmo said he had instructed the Papua Social Affairs and Civil Registry Agency to speed up the e-ID registration of 627,815 voters. He also said the residents must be provided with a statement letter if the agency had not yet acquired the blank cards for the new e-ID.
“The voters who don’t own an e-ID or a statement letter [regarding their identities] cannot use their voting rights in the 2018 regional elections and the 2019 legislative and presidential elections,” Sudarmo said on Wednesday.
The Papua General Election Commission (KPUD) has said the temporary voters list for the province included 3,580,279 people.
Civil registry agency head Ribka Haluk said the officials have faced challenges in recording residents’ data after equipment was destroyed during conflict and resistance from the residents.
“There are voters across all regencies in Papua that have yet to have their data recorded. They are mostly in the Jayawijaya, Paniai and Lanny Jaya regencies,” Ribka said.
Meanwhile, Papua Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) member Pata said authorities found out about the issue following coklit— a campaign by the KPU for voter data verification.
“We found that there are residents who do not have registered identification yet. That is unfortunate as they cannot vote in the upcoming elections,” Pata said.
The provincial administration has only three weeks left to record the residents' data as the KPUD will hold a plenary meeting to announce the final voters list.
Suparmo added if the administration could not register a significant number of people he would consult with related parties on special policies needed to make sure residents can still use their voting rights.
——————————————————

2) Places to Watch: 3 Forest Regions at Risk Right Now

By Mikaela Weisse and Katie Fletcher
This edition of Places to Watch examines forest clearing detected between Nov. 9, 2017, and Jan. 31, 2018 in Indonesian Papua, Cameroon and Brazil. Due to occasional cloud cover that can obscure satellite recognition, some loss may have occurred earlier.
Oil Palm Plantation Encroaching on Primary Forest in Indonesian Papua

Oil palm stretches out to the horizon in what was previously primary forest in the PT Bio Inti Agrindo concession, owned by POSCO Daewoo. Photo credit: Mighty.
Fears that the forests of Indonesian Papua would be the next frontier for oil palm expansion are coming true, according to new satellite imagery analysis. Papua is home to more than a third of Indonesia's remaining intact forest and experienced unprecedented tree cover loss in 2015 and 2016. GLAD alerts since November show further forest clearing, most likely for oil palm.
According to a report by the NGO awasMIFEE!, various Indonesian government agencies have actively promoted large scale-agricultural investment in southern Papua. This has resulted in several new oil palm projects, including investment in the PT Bio Inti Agrindo (PT BIA) concession highlighted in the previous edition of Places to Watch. PT BIA Block II has resulted in more than 20,000 hectares (49,500 acres) of tree cover loss since 2013, most of it in primary forest, with around 2,300 hectares (5,580 acres) affected since November, according to GLAD alerts.

However, this loss of primary forest has sparked opposition. Norway's central bank divested from PT BIA owner POSCO Daewoo in 2015 over deforestation concerns in the concession and in June 2017, Mighty Earth sent out a letter warning palm oil buyers that purchases from POSCO Daewoo would violate their No Deforestation and RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) commitments. More than 20 companies including Clorox, Colgate Palmolive, IKEA, L'Oreal, Mars and Unilever have said they will exclude POSCO Daewoo from their supply chains. In December, Boots, the UK's largest drugstore retailer, dropped its retail partnership with POSCO Daewoo. In response to this pressure, POSCO Daewoo reportedly instated a temporary moratorium on new clearing, and since the start of 2018, there have been less than 10 hectares (25 acres) of GLAD alerts detected within the concession.
GLAD alerts also detected thousands of hectares of recent clearing in Papua within PT Agrinusa Persada Mulia, a subsidiary of the Ganda Group, and PT Central Cipta Persada oil palm concessions…………...
3) Compromise yields New Caledonia referendum question
2:35 pm on 28 March 2018 
The question for this November's independence referendum in New Caledonia has been agreed to in talks with the French prime minister.
Voters will be asked: "Do you want New Caledonia to accede to full sovereignty and become independent?"
The prime minister Edouard Philippe made the announcement in Paris after extended discussions with the signatories to the Noumea Accord which lasted until after midnight.
He said the wording is a compromise accommodating the wish of the pro-independence camp to include the term sovereignty.
The anti-independence camp wanted the question to include whether voters wanted to stay French.
The vote on 4 November will be restricted to long-term residents under a recently amended law.
-----------------------------

1) MSG rumblings over Indonesia will cool down, says PNG


2) The Mysterious Death of a Papuan Child
-------------------------------------
1) MSG rumblings over Indonesia will cool down, says PNG
4:03 pm today 
Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister has downplayed signs of tensions in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Leaders from MSG members states Solomon Islands and Fiji have been engaged in a war of words this month over Indonesia's involvement in the group.

The rift went public with recent comments by Solomon Islands' deputy prime minister Manasseh Sogavare that Fiji forced other MSG members to accept Indonesia in the group.
PNG's Rimbink Pato said as the current MSG chair holder, his country will work to maintain Melanesian unity.
Speaking in New Zealand, Mr Pato said it is typical of Melanesian peoples to have their differences.
"But there's a time to party together and get together and shake hands and move forward," he said.
"So I think those rumblings will come to an end."
"Of course we had those with Fiji, Australia and New Zealand at the Pacific Islands Forum some years back," said Mr Pato.
"But PNG was taking a role to resolve those issues, and see where we are, we are together now.”

Indonesia's entry to the MSG has been characterised by politicians from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands as being aimed at countering a West Papuan bid for full membership in the group.
The Solomon's MP Matthew Wale has warned that having Indonesia in the group would continue to divide the independent Melanesian states.
Indonesia's government has argued that it has more people of Melanesian stock than any other country and therefore deserves its associate member status in the MSG.
However, an application for full MSG membership by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua remained on the table and is being processed by the MSG Secretariat.
"There is a process and the application was the subject of recent discussions," Mr Pato explained, adding that the competence of the MSG to be decisive on this long-running issue was very clear.
"And the criteria for membership is being worked on, and we the foreign ministers (of MSG) will look at it, make the appropriate recommendations to the leaders. The leaders will then make a decision as to what the outcome (will be)."
Rimbink Pato said that the PNG government fully supported Indonesian territorial control of Papua.
"There is no authority permitted by the MSG constitution which allows membership of non-sovereign states, or loose entities, as it were."
He told RNZ Pacific that the case of the Liberation Movement was different to that of New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanaks movement which, although also not an independent state, was a full MSG member.

————————————————————
 
2) The Mysterious Death of a Papuan Child
March 27, 2018 3:57PM EDT

 

 

Andreas Harsono  Indonesia Researcher

 
 
There are multiple accounts of how Rico Ayomi, a 17-year-old student, died in Sorong, in Indonesia’s West Papua province, after 24 hours in police detention.
Police initially said Ayomi was found unconscious near an empty bottle of 70-percent alcohol when they detained him at midnight on March 11, indicating that his death 27 hours later was due to “alcohol poisoning.”
But Simon Soren, a relative of Ayomi’s, told Human Rights Watch that when police returned Ayomi to his family 24 hours after they detained him, he was unconscious and had injuries including “bruises on his left cheek, left shoulder, a bleeding nose and a broken jaw.” Ayomi never regained consciousness and died three hours later. Soren said eyewitnesses told him that a mob had assaulted Ayomi on the evening of March 11, accusing him of theft.
On March 21, Sorong’s deputy police chief, Chandra Ismawanto, told Human Rights Watch that the police assessment of “alcohol poisoning” as the cause of Ayomi’s death was “controversial” and that police now suspected Ayomi died from a combination of excessive alcohol consumption and a mob beating. He declined to say whether police were investigating. Ismawanto said the results of an autopsy would be available last week, but neither we nor the family have been able to get the results.
Questions about police conduct in Ayomi’s case don’t end there. Ismawanto confirmed that police waited 23 hours after they detained Ayomi to take him to a hospital, attributing the delay to slow official approval. He said police noted Ayomi’s failure to regain consciousness while in detention as “strange,” but that a doctor at the hospital certified that he was “healthy.”
The circumstances of Ayomi’s death demand a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation. But that is unlikely to happen. Indonesian authorities rarely investigate security forces implicated in the deaths of Papuans. In cases in which investigations do occur, police found culpable in unlawful killings invariably face administrative wrist-slaps rather than criminal prosecution.
Until there is political will in Jakarta to meaningfully investigate and prosecute the killings of Papuans by security forces or unidentified attackers, the lives of Papuans such as Rico Ayomi will remain at risk.
--------------------