1) Red Cross offers relief aid to Intan Jaya residents

2) ’No one asked for our consent’: Indigenous people in Bintuni Bay reject logging in their forests 

3) Papua needs people who can work outside the box: official 

4) Dozen of NGOs Urge Indonesia to Pay Attention to West Papua’s Situation

5) Papuans should steadfastly uphold Indonesia’s sovereignty: Dani leader

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/170238/red-cross-offers-relief-aid-to-intan-jaya-residents

1) Red Cross offers relief aid to Intan Jaya residents 

 9 hours ago  

Day-to-day chief of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI)  branch in Papua, Zakeus Degei distributed relief aid to residents of Intan Jaya district on Wednesday (17/3/2021) ANTARA/HO-Satgas Humas Nemangkawi Polri

Sugapa, Papua (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) branch in Papua Province handed out relief aid to the people of Sugapa in Intan Jaya District to placate their burden following terror acts by armed groups.

Day-to-day chief of the PMI branch Zakeus Degei in the company of Chief of the PMI branch in Intan Jaya, Agus Tapani, distributed relief assistance in the form of basic necessities to the residents of Sugapa.

"The PMI is cooperating with ICRC (the International Committee of the Red Cross) (in distributing the relief aid). The ICRI provides the relief aid, while PMI distributes it to the residents," Degei noted in a written statement released on Wednesday .

Degei affirmed that the PMI did not discriminate against tribes and races in distributing relief aid.

Related news: Govt's relief aid packages distributed to refugees in Intan Jaya

The Social Affairs Ministry had earlier also offered aid packages worth Rp172.3 million to the people of Irtan Jaya. The aid constituted 660 packaged food boxes, 420 kid food packs, 100 folding tents, 200 folding mattresses, and 300 blankets, she added.

The Papua provincial administration is working relentlessly to restore normalcy in Intan Jaya that has borne witness to a spate in violence against civilians and security personnel in the past two years. Related news: Freeport Indonesia provides aid for refugees in Papua's Intan Jaya

 

Reporter: Muhsidin/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution

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(Note. Photos in article)

https://en.jubi.co.id/indigenous-people-in-bintuni-bay-reject-logging-in-their-forests/

2) ’No one asked for our consent’: Indigenous people in Bintuni Bay reject logging in their forests 

News Desk March 17, 2021 9:57 am

West Papua No.1 News Portal | Jubi

Bintuni, Jubi – Indigenous people in Fruata and  Rauna villages in Bintuni Bay Regency, in West Papua province, rejected logging activities done by PT Prabu Alaska in the forests in their areas.

The representatives of the people, Semuel Farisa and Reymundus Fenetruma, told Jubi that the villagers did not know anything about the logging activity, which had been done by two contractors of PT Prabu Alaska.

“We’re surprised to find out that there has been logging activities in our customary territory, the territory of Tanggarofa, Wanusanda, and Fenetruma clans in Fruata and Rauna kampung without anyone telling us,” said Farisa.

 

Fenetruma said the logging had to be stopped because up until now the three clans had never been informed or been asked for their consent about the logging done in 2021.

 

He hoped the provincial administration, especially the Forestry Agency, could solve the problem. “If they fail to facilitate any solutions, we would stop the activities by blocking the operation of PT Prabu Alaska,” he said.

 

PT Prabu Alaska is a subsidiary of PT Alamindo Lestari Sejahtera. On its website, Alamindo carries a tagline “Bangun Bumi Papua” or “Develop Papua Land”. It says the name of the company is PT Alamindo Lestari Sejahtera Tbk, indicating that it is a “tbk” company, or a legal term in Indonesia for a publicly listed company. However, on March 16, there was no company named Alamindo in Indonesia Stock Exchange’s directory.

 

On its website, Alamindo’s president director is Adi Gunawan. Alamindo said its subsidiary is PT Prabu Alaska and it has a license called IUPHHK-HA, or a concessions from the government to exploit resources in the woods, in Fakfak and Kaimana regencies in West Papua province and in Boven Digoel in Papua province. The license spanned on 329,215 hectares of land, the website said.

A local media, papuakini.co, reported on Feb. 21, 2021, that Alamindo’s entourage came to Manokwari that day and met with West Papua Governor Dominggus Mandacan. Alamindo promised to invest Rp 70 trillion in the province.

 

Adi Gunawan told papuakini.co that they planned to invest in four regencies: Fakfak, Kaimana, Sorong Selatan, and Bintuni Bay, on 400,000 hectares of land.

 

Gunawan claimed they had presented the plan to Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, who welcomed the plan.

 

Another local media outlet, gardapapua.com, reported that among the entourage was Kim Johanes Mulia, part of Alamindo. Kim is known as a controversial businessman. Both gardapapua.com and papuakini.co published pictures of Kim sitting with West Papua head of the forestry agency. Papuakini.co also published his picture with Governor Mandacan and Kim’s picture while being welcomed in a customary ritual at the airport on Feb. 21.

 

A controversial figure

 

In October 2018 Kim became a wanted person by the Central Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office. He was at large until he was arrested in September 2019, according to a report by Antara news agency. At that time he was found guilty of embezzlement, incurring Rp 31 billion loss to businessman Adang Bunyamin, and sentenced to two years in prison. If he served his sentence in full, he should have been released from prison in September 2021.

 

The prosecutor’s office made a Twitter thread on Sept. 5, 2019, to announce Kim’s arrest.

Earlier in August 2018, only months before he was in the wanted list, Kim made an agreement with state-owned airlines, PT Merpati, which was at that time ailing. Kim, through Intra Asia Corpora, made an agreement to bring Rp 6.4 trillion to Merpati in two years, and plan to make the company start operations again by 2020.

 

Google search found that from November to December 2018, Kim’s name was mentioned in several prominent media outlets concerning his company’s promise to inject money in ailing Merpati. Apparently, at that time, the fact that he was on the wanted list since October 2018 was not made public by the prosecutor’s office.

 

The news also quoted Finance Minister Sri Mulyani who asked then State-owned Enterprise Minister Rini Soemarno to find an investor for Merpati who “have a good track record”.

 

On Feb. 22, 2021, CNN Indonesia reported a hearing between former Merpati employees and Commission VI of the House of Representatives, where the former employees lamented the fact that the promised investment was likely cancelled because “the investor was in jail”.

 

There was no public record of Kim’s release from the prison in Jakarta.

 

In 2010 Kim made the news because he bought 30 Sukhoi Superjet for US$900 million. He was at that time an owner of Kartika Airlines. However, according to a report by Tirto.id, Kartika ceased operations in 2011. Kartika’s website confirmed that the airlines had stopped operation. “But the website kartika-airlines.com continues to bring information for tourists and travellers going to Indonesia,” the web administrator wrote.

 

Reporter: Hans Kapisa

Editor: Edho Sinaga, Evi Mariani

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/170202/papua-needs-people-who-can-work-outside-the-box-official

3) Papua needs people who can work outside the box: official 

 11 hours ago

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua needs talented government officials who can think and work outside the box as well as maintain effective coordination and good communication, a top government official has said.

 

"We need 'insanity' to develop Papua. We cannot work like business-as-usual,” secretary of the Papua provincial administration, Dance Yulian Flassy, said here on Wednesday.

 

He highlighted the importance of effective and solid coordination among local government officials in resolving problems in the province.

 

"A solid coordination and good communication are so important because none of the problems in Papua cannot be solved if they communicate well," he remarked.

 

Hence, local government officials must be able to think and work outside the box if Papua's development is to be realized, he added.

 

ANTARA has earlier reported that Papua has been striving to accelerate development in various sectors in order to catch up with other Indonesian provinces.

 

The development of human resources in Papua and West Papua remains a tricky challenge as they are lagging behind other provinces in their Human Development Index scores.

 

Papua and West Papua, which have received special autonomy funds amounting to Rp126.99 trillion since 2012, have scored 64.7 and 60.84, respectively, on Indonesia's 2019 Human Development Index.

 

To improve the quality of human capital in the two provinces, the Indonesian Finance Ministry has advised regional governments to allocate an endowment fund to finance human resource development and education of native Papuans.

 

The fund can be allocated from Papua province's annual budget, director of the Finance Ministry's endowment fund for education (LPDP) scholarship program, Dwi Larso, stated.

 

The central government is indeed aware of the challenges faced by Papua and West Papua.

 

In resolving Papua-related matters, the government is putting emphasis on a prosperity-oriented approach by accelerating infrastructure construction projects that will allow Papua and West Papua to be at par with other provinces.

 

The government is also focusing on boosting the economic sector of the two provinces to ensure social justice through efforts such as enforcing the one-fuel price policy. (INE)

Related news: Food supplier in detention for allegedly supporting Papua armed group

Related news: Brimob ordered to gain comprehensive understanding of Papuan culture

EDITED BY INE

Reporter: Hendrina DK, Rahmad Nasution

Editor: Fardah Assegaf

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https://www.persecution.org/2021/03/17/dozen-ngos-urge-indonesia-pay-attention-west-papuas-situation/

4) Dozen of NGOs Urge Indonesia to Pay Attention to West Papua’s Situation

03/17/2021 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – On March 15, 12 international non-government organizations (NGOs) have conveyed the conditions that have been and are happening in West Papua at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The groups submitted a joint statement expressing their ongoing concerns about the human rights situation in West Papua, Indonesia. Although the Indonesian government has established a ‘‘Special Team” to deal with 13 cases of alleged gross human rights violations, including the three cases in West Papua, since there is no time frame for the task force, its effectiveness remains to be seen.

The escalating violence and shrinking space for civil society in West Papua as highlighted by the OHCHR are also concerning to the groups. New cases of human rights violations continue to be documented, while hundreds of Papuans have been displaced due to the armed conflict between the Indonesian security forces and members of the West Papua National Liberation Army.

Church workers, including a pastor, were targeted and killed in the last few months. Other Church workers, health personnel, and human rights defenders working with the IDPs fear for their safety.

As a member of the Council, Indonesia should guarantee respect and protection of human rights, and a prompt and effective investigation, prosecution, and remedy the cases of gross human rights violations in West Papua, in conformity with its obligations under international human rights law. The groups also urge the Council to continue to give due attention to the general human rights situation in West Papua.

The 12 groups are Franciscans International, Geneva for Human Rights, VIVAT International, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, CIVICUS, and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development with the support of the International Coalition for Papua, West Papua Netzwerk, TAPOL, the Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Franciscans in Papua, and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS).

For interviews, please contact Alison Garcia: press@persecution.org.

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/170102/papuans-should-steadfastly-uphold-indonesias-sovereignty-dani-leader

5) Papuans should steadfastly uphold Indonesia’s sovereignty: Dani leader  

16th March 2021

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - An esteemed leader of the Dani tribe in Puncak District, Papua Province, called on his members to resolutely uphold Indonesia's sovereignty in the land of Papua.

"I call on people of my Dani tribe to firmly uphold Indonesia's sovereignty and obey the government as God's representative on earth," Jembatan Murib stated here on Tuesday.

Moreover, the government has given special attention to Papuans through development programs and the recruitment of talented Papuans to serve as state officials within and outside Papua.

Murib, who leads the Dani tribe people in Puncak District, also expressed gratitude to the military and police personnel for ensuring safety and security for the Papuans.

The Dani tribal head affirmed that the Indonesian military (TNI) and police personnel had proffered a sense of safety and security to the people owing to which they were able to conduct their daily routine activities in secure and peaceful conditions.

The presence of the TNI and police personnel in Papua is aimed at protecting and securing the people at large, Murib affirmed.

Meanwhile, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Bambang Soesatyo called on the TNI and National Police to bolster their efforts to safeguard Papua.

Soesatyo highlighted the importance of endeavors to maintain security, peace, and public order in the province to respond to the ongoing threats posed by armed Papuan criminal groups.

Through their violent acts, those notorious groups have instilled a sense of fear among the members of local communities. Hence, the Indonesian security personnel should crack down upon them to stop their criminal acts.

In winning the fight against the criminals, security personnel must curtail their space to move; block their communication networks, and interrupt their supply chains, he affirmed.

Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Mathius D. Fakhiri reiterated that law enforcement efforts against those posing security threats and terrorizing the local people would be continued.

Security disturbances have been reported sporadically from several areas, such as Intan Jaya District, where armed Papuan groups operate.

Reports indicated that several armed Papuan groups, including the one led by Sabinus Waker, operate around Intan Jaya.

Armed groups in the district have repeatedly engaged in gunfights with security personnel. They have also gone on a shooting rampage targeting innocent civilians.

ANTARA had reported the launch of a security operation -- "Operation Nemangkawi" -- in 2019 following the massacre of 31 workers from PT Istaka Karya in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi Sub-district, Nduga District, on December 2, 2018.

Armed Papuan rebels, who were reportedly behind the brutal killings of the Trans Papua construction workers, also killed a soldier, identified as Handoko, and injured two other security personnel, Sugeng and Wahyu.

The government has launched emergency response measures to address the impact of the most recent instances of armed conflict that had compelled around 600 locals to flee their homes.

To this end, Indonesia's Social Affairs Ministry recently supplied aid packages to those taking refuge.

The aid packages comprised 660 packaged food boxes, 420 food packs for children, 100 folding tents, 200 folding mattresses, and 300 blankets. 
Related news: Brimob ordered to gain comprehensive understanding of Papuan culture

Related news: Papua police to ensure optimal law enforcement against armed criminals

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EDITED BY INE

Reporter: Muhsidin, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf

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