1) Bishop John Saklil, vocal supporter of indigenous rights of Papuans, dies

2) West Papua: Pacific Islands Unified in Condemnation of Indonesian Human Rights Abuses

3) Papua's districts fail to win Child-Friendly City award

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https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2019/08/05/bishop-john-saklil-vocal-supporter-of-indigenous-rights-of-papuans-dies/

1) Bishop John Saklil, vocal supporter of indigenous rights of Papuans, dies

• Catholic News Service
  Aug 5, 2019
  CONTRIBUTOR

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Bishop John Saklil of Timika, Indonesia, known for his staunch commitment to upholding the rights of the indigenous people of Papua and New Guinea died suddenly Aug. 3 at the age of 59.

Saklil’s death occurred a week after Pope Francis appointed him as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Merauke, Indonesia, following the dismissal of Bishop Nicolaus Seputra for alleged mismanagement, ucanews.com reported. Father Dominikus Hodo, head of priests for the Timika Diocese said Saklil, who was known to suffer from diabetes, collapsed as he was about to leave for a lunch appointment. The bishop’s driver and a priest took him to the nearest hospital in Timika, where he died soon after, Hodo said. The bishop had returned from the Merauke Archdiocese two days previously where he had assumed the role as its apostolic administrator. “I ask all Catholics and Papuans to continue his struggle to defend human rights,” Hodo said. Saklil was known for speaking out against human rights abuses and government policies that adversely affected indigenous Papuans in eastern Indonesia. In July he disapproved of a decision by local authorities to withdraw state teachers from private schools, saying the move would harm the education of indigenous Papuan children. He also often condemned the killings of Papuans by security forces, and repeatedly called on the indigenous community not to sell their ancestral lands to outsiders.

Ronny Nakiaya, 35, a parishioner from Timika, told ucanews.com that people were shocked by the prelate’s death. “People loved him. He was a warrior for Papuans,” he said. “We find it hard to believe that he’s died. We’ve lost a figure who had a heart for Papuans. There are not many religious leaders like him,” he added.  Father John Djonga, a human rights activist and a priest in neighboring Jayapura Diocese, called Saklil’s death a loss amid the struggle against human rights violations in Indonesia’s poorest region. “Another Papuan leader has had to leave so quickly. This will be a challenge for the people of Papua,” he said. Frits Ramandey of the National Commission on Human Rights of Papua, said Saklil was a figure “always at the forefront of defending the rights of people marginalized economically and socially, and denied their rights to education and health care.” Saklil became the first bishop of Timika Diocese when it was formed in 2004 from the Diocese of Jayapura. He was a member of the bishops’ conference board representing the Papua region and chair of its socio-economic empowerment commission.  Between 2009 and 2015 he was chairman of the bishops’ youth commission, where he oversaw the first Indonesian Youth Day event in Sanggau, Kalimantan. A funeral Mass is set for Aug. 7 with Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta, president of the Indonesian bishops’ conference, presiding.

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https://unpo.org/article/21617

Aug 07, 2019

2) West Papua: Pacific Islands Unified in Condemnation of Indonesian Human Rights Abuses

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As the human rights situation in West Papua is worsening, solidarity with West-Papuans is growing as there have been changes in leadership in several pacific countries. During a meeting between foreign ministers to discuss the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum [13-16 August 2019], the issue of severe human rights abuses against West-Papuans by the Indonesian military has been put high on the Forum’s agenda. Most notably, the Forum members’ foreign ministers called for setting a deadline for Indonesia to accept the invitation of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to visit the West Papua region. The foreign ministers urged for its timing to be arranged so that the resulting report can be presented before the Pacific Islands Forum in 2020.

Below is an article published by The Interpreter:

One of the criticisms of the Pacific Islands Forum over the years relates to the regional grouping’s limited ability to advance its agenda in the face of the interests of Australia and New Zealand. The power imbalance hasn’t always made for a cohesive regionalism.

Yet it’s worth noting a rare victory for the island countries at the recent Forum Foreign Ministers meeting in Suva. It was a regular session, setting the agenda for this month’s summit of leaders of the Forum’s 18 member states in Tuvalu. Among the big items which Pacific countries are pursuing, alongside action on the climate crisis and ocean protection, is the festering issue of human rights abuses against the indigenous Melanesians of Indonesian-ruled Papua region, or West Papua.

There’s a new determination within the Forum that West Papua must stay on the agenda. Recognising the escalation of armed violence in Papua’s Highlands between the West Papua Liberation Army and the Indonesian military, as well as signs that rights abuses in the region are worsening, the Forum urged open dialogue with Indonesia on these issues, and for all parties to address the root causes of the conflict by peaceful means. The Forum has made these sorts of noises before. But now, notably, the Forum members have laid down a deadline regarding an ostensible invitation by Jakarta for the office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to visit Papua region.

This visit has been a fraught subject. Bachelet’s predecessor, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, last year complained that an earlier Indonesian invitation for the office to visit Papua had not been honoured, which in turn upset Jakarta. Concerned that Indonesia is dragging the chain again, Forum foreign ministers have called for the timing of the visit by the commissioner’s office to be finalised, and for a resulting report on the Papua situation to be presented before the next Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in 2020.

How did such unusually strong wording get past strong Indonesian allies within the Forum, particularly Australia? It took a heated discussion in Suva at the senior officials level ahead of the foreign ministers’ meeting. The wording was proposed by Vanuatu, the key regional supporter of West Papuan independence aims. Objecting to it, Australia officials traded back and forth with Vanuatu on the make-up of the resolution, which ultimately won the support of Pacific island countries. When it got to the foreign ministers meeting itself, Vanuatu’s Ralph Regenvanu fought successfully for the deadline provision to be included. It was a battle of wills in which Vanuatu prevailed over Australia.

It was partly a sign that Pacific islands countries have a measure of leverage over Australia that they rarely held in the past, because Canberra is anxious to keep friends in the region amid the looming presence of China. But it’s more than simply that. There’s a shifting dynamic in the Pacific on the West Papua issue related to a change in leadership in key countries.

The big change has been in Papua New Guinea with its reconfiguration of government. One of those who lost his job was the country’s longest-serving foreign minister, Rimbink Pato. In the role for almost seven years, Pato forged close relationships with Indonesian counterparts and proved effective at containing the West Papua issue both within the Forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group whenever the regional organisations threatened to apply pressure on Indonesia. Without Pato in the mix, there was no objection from the Pacific foreign ministers to Regenvanu’s representations in Suva.

In addition, two relatively new foreign ministers in Fiji and Solomon Islands have injected fresh blood into the Melanesian bloc. Fiji’s government, hitherto unwilling to question Indonesia over West Papua, is now prepared to support a regional push on the human rights issue, as long as self-determination isn’t discussed.

It’s not as if Pacific governments can easily ignore the rights issue any more. Grassroots solidarity with West Papuans is growing in the Pacific as signs abound that the rights situation in Papua is worsening and demanding international attention. UN human rights rapporteurs are deeply worried about the culture of impunity and lack of investigations into allegations of violations in Papua by police and military. Furthermore, a World Council of Churches team recently visited Papua and was alarmed at the level of abuses.

Forum members are increasingly frustrated that its attempts so far to engage with Indonesia over West Papua have come to little, for instance that requests for fact-finding teams to visit Papua have been met with a dead bat. Instead of acknowledging Papuan problems in international fora, Jakarta focuses instead on the big infrastructure drive that President Joko Widodo is rolling out in Papua. His government is busy forging ties with island countries under its “Pacific Elevation” strategy. Despite what was at times a misleading representation of Papuans at its recent Pacific Expo summit in Auckland, Indonesia used the event as a big pitch about wanting to connect more with the region.

And therein lies the rub for Pacific island countries. If Jakarta is serious about elevating relationships with them, they feel it must come to the party more on West Papua. Indonesia has its own significant leverage in the region, but Forum countries are running out of patience. Previously Pacific island countries were divided on Papua. Yet when they speak together, as they appear to be doing now, they represent a force to be reckoned with.

 

Picture Courtesy of Free West Papua Campaign

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/130692/papuas-districts-fail-to-win-child-friendly-city-award

3) Papua's districts fail to win Child-Friendly City award

7 hours ago

Wamena, Papua (ANTARA) - None of the districts in Papua Province won the government's award for a Child-Friendly District/City in 2019, Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Yohana Yembise said.

The government had presented the award to Jayapura City in 2018, Yembise said in Jayawijaya district Thursday.

"Last year I presented the award (to Jayapura City). But this year, none of the districts could be categorized as child-friendly," she said.

The government has encouraged districts in Papua to be developed as child-friendly regions. Jayawijaya District had shared its commitment to meet the 24 indicators as a child-friendly district, the minister said.

"Jayapura, Manokwari, Raja Ampat also shared that commitment (to meet the indicators)," she said.

The ministry, July 23, had presented the award of Child-Friendly City (KLA) 2019 to 247 districts/cities in four out of five categories, namely Pratama, Madya, Nindya and Utama.

The highest category is Child-Friendly City, but none of the Indonesian cities was found fit enough to receive it.

Child-Friendly District/City is a manifestation of districts and cities that have child rights-based development systems.

The system is implemented through the integration of commitments and resources of the government, community, media, and business world, which are planned in a comprehensive and sustainable manner in the form of policies, programs, and activities aimed at fulfilling the rights and special protection of children.

Related news: No region in Indonesia has child-friendly status: MInister  

Reporter: M Frisson Yewun, Sri Haryati
Editor: Suharto

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