2) Wallis and Futuna now closer to Forum nest
3) Non-Papuans dominate IPDN recruitment in Papua
4) Indonesia’s Palm Oil Curse
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https://www.onepng.com/2018/09/vanuatu-will-continue-west-papua.html
1) Vanuatu will continue West Papua initiative
By Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan, at the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru
Despite the lack of formal endorsement from this week’s Pacific Island Forum in Nauru, Vanuatu will continue an initiative to have West Papua re-listed as a non-self-governing territory at the United Nations.
Vanuatu has asked Forum member states to support a proposed resolution to the United Nations General Assembly in 2019, to recognise the right of West Papuan self-determination and relist West Papua with the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation.
Forum states like Nauru, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu backed a similar initiative in 2013, which saw French Polynesia re-listed with the UN Special Committee in the face of French opposition at the UN General Assembly.
Speaking to Islands Business and Pacnews in Yaren this week, Vanuatu Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu said: “We didn’t come to the Forum with the intention to have a resolution, because we know we won’t get it. All we are doing is bring it to the attention of the members and ask them for their support. So far there are indications that we will get the support of the majority of Forum members.”
In recent years, the umbrella group United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) has been seeking membership and support from regional and international bodies. Lora Lini, the daughter of Vanuatu’s first Prime Minister, the late Father Walter Lini, has been appointed as Special Envoy on Decolonisation of West Papua to the Pacific Island States.
ULMWP spokesperson Jacob Rumbiak, who attended the Nauru Forum alongside ULM President Benny Wenda, said: “This motion enables Pacific-island leaders to acknowledge that the conflict between Jakarta and West Papuans is an international political issue - not an internal domestic problem - that can now only be resolved with third-party negotiation (the United Nations).”
Within the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Papua New Guinea and Fiji have resisted the push to make the ULMWP a full member, while Vanuatu and the FLNKS have backed the idea. Former Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was a vocal supporter of West Papuan self-determination, but under the new government of Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela, the country has taken a more measured diplomatic stand since last year.
Despite this, Regenvanu said that this issue was still a matter of dialogue rather than division with other MSG and Forum members: “We continue to talk with them all the time. We respect their positions. We are simply asking other Pacific states to support that resolution when it comes to the UNGA next year. We are working on putting together that resolution to the UNGA in 2019 and getting a vote of majority support.”
Given longstanding reservations from Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, the Vanuatu government is looking beyond the islands region for support. Regenvanu noted that support will come from Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement and other international groupings.
“The Pacific will represent some of the votes, but most of the votes will come from outside the region, so we are working on all fronts to try and get those votes secured,” he said. “There are signs of support from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group. We had a series of bilaterals at Lome earlier this year. It’s now on the agenda of the ACP political sub-committee to discuss and hopefully come up with a resolution at the ACP in December this year – at the Council of Ministers meeting.”
Regenvanu noted: “We’re also on the agenda of the Caricom Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting and the African Union Summit. We are now approaching Latin American States and the European Union.”
In their final communique from Nauru, Forum leaders re-iterated their longstanding recognition of Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua (Papua), and avoided any reference to the right to self-determination: “Leaders recognised the constructive engagement by Forum countries with Indonesia with respect to elections and human rights in West Papua (Papua) and to continue dialogue in an open and constructive manner.”
But the issue of self-determination will continue on the regional agenda. At the end of the 20-year transition under the Noumea Accord, New Caledonia will hold a referendum on self-determination on 4 November. In the case of a no vote, two
As reported in the August edition of Islands Business magazine, a ‘No’ vote in November is just a step in an ongoing process under the Noumea Accord. Daniel Goa, the official spokesperson for the Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) said
“If people say Yes, there would be a declaration of Independence, but between four or five years there would be a transition. …If however people vote No, then we will continue our struggle which has continued for more than 164 years. You must understand that the Noumea Accord makes provision for three referendums, not one. If people vote No in November, we can still call a second referendum in 2020. If people vote No again in 2020, a third referendum can be held in 2022.”
Parallel to this, Bougainville is also scheduled to hold a referendum on its political status, proposed for 2019, despite a lack of support for independence in the PNG Parliament.
Next year’s Forum will be held in Tuvalu, which has provided diplomatic support for West Papua and the 2013 re-inscription of French Polynesia. The 2020 Forum will be hosted by Vanuatu, so the issue of self-determination in Melanesia will continue to be debated.
SOURCE: ISLANDS BUSINESS/PACNEWS
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2) Wallis and Futuna now closer to Forum nest
7:27 pm on 6 September 2018
Wallis and Futuna has become an associate member of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The admission of the French territory was agreed to by the Forum leaders at this week's summit in Nauru.
Wallis and Futuna had until now been a Forum observer like the three US territories in the Pacific.
The French overseas minister Annick Girardin has welcomed the Forum decision, saying it consolidates the territory's integration into the region.
Last year, Wallis and Futuna was admitted to the Polynesian Leaders Group, which is the largest sub-group in the Pacific Islands Forum.
Two years ago, the two other French territories - New Caledonia and French Polynesia - were admitted as full Forum members.
The Forum's other associate member is Tokelau, which is administered by New Zealand
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3) Non-Papuans dominate IPDN recruitment in Papua
Published 11 hours ago on 6 September 2018
Jayapura, Jubi – The selection process of IPDN students in Papua Province for intake 2018/2019 is considered discrimination against indigenous Papuans due to the domination of non-Papuans. It’s definitely against the Special Autonomy Law of Papua.
A humanitarian activist Natalius Pigai said this is discrimination. “Only four out of seventy cadets are Papuans. It means 90% of new IPDN students are non-natives. I am offended, and for this, I completely criticise Jokowi and the Minister of Home Affairs Tjahjo Kumolo,” Pigai told Jubi by phone on Saturday,(08/31/2018).
According to Pigai, who was the former member of the National Human Rights Commission, a distribution of power to accommodate the children of a nation as the agents of change is a strength of this country. It would grow their sense of belonging towards this country.
Separately, Marinus Yaung, a lecturer on International Relations of the University of Cenderawasih, maintained he doubts the competence of IPDN graduates compared to his students from the variety of department of studies including Government Science, Administration Science, State Administration, Anthropology, Social Welfare and International Relations.
According to him, the alumni of the University of Cenderawasih have been shown more qualified and ready to work in all districts in Papua Province rather than the IPDN alumni.
“Our alumni are better and highly competent of serving in the bureaucracy as echelon III or IV in the district government,” said Yaung. (*)
Reporter: Abeth You
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2018/09/indonesias-palm-oil-curse-180906064408164.html
4) Indonesia’s Palm Oil Curse
101 East exposes how companies and the government are turning a blind eye to the human cost of palm oil production.
video
Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil. From chocolate and ice cream to soap and cosmetics, palm oil from this Southeast Asian nation is found in countless products on supermarket shelves around the world.
But soaring global demand for the oil is having a disastrous impact on Indonesia's people and environment.
Millions of hectares of land are being razed to make way for new palm oil plantations, destroying farmers' livelihoods and devastating rural communities.
Millions of hectares of land are being razed to make way for new palm oil plantations, destroying farmers' livelihoods and devastating rural communities.
We travelled to the Indonesian province of Papua, where vast swaths of rainforest are about to be destroyed to make way for new plantations.
The plantations are going ahead despite fierce protests from the local community, particularly the Mahuze tribe. As bulldozers arrive on their land, Augustinus, a tribal leader, confronts a representative of the palm oil company.
"We have come here to tell you to stop destroying our forest immediately and to leave our land," he says.
On the island of Kalimantan, the Dayak people are rallying together to protect their way of life which relies on the rainforest.
On the island of Kalimantan, the Dayak people are rallying together to protect their way of life which relies on the rainforest.
Source: Al Jazeera
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