2) Navy helps Papuan children instil reading habit through mobile library
Human rights lawyer Veronica Koman has challenged the contrasting positions taken by the Indonesian government in response to calls to resolve the Papua problem and in its response to the military coup in Myanmar.
Koman said Indonesia’s position on the Myanmar coup had been very good, but not its attitude on the Papua issue.
“It’s funny, Indonesia pays no attention to international pressure to resolve the conflict in Papua, but has the courage to stand up to Myanmar, which is actually a very good move”, said Koman during a webinar held by the Milk Tea Alliance Indonesia last Sunday.
Koman said the Indonesian public could not take a position of indifference in addressing the coup in Myanmar.
This is because, according to Koman, what has happened in Myanmar could well happen in Indonesia as well.
“I think that the problem of the coup d’etat in Myanmar is a mutual problem, it doesn’t mean that with the coup in Myanmar we as Indonesians can just be ambivalent, let alone our ASEAN neighbours, so it’s very important that Indonesia stands in solidarity [with the Burmese people],” she said.
“Because, what is happening in the region is actually very influential. Don’t consider it something inconsequential, because if we look at the Arab Spring it took place [across an entire] region.
Militarism ‘can spread too’
“Revolutions can spread, so why can’t militarism [too],” said Koman.
Koman noted that the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) had stated that the military in Indonesia were becoming more of a problem because they were now taking part in guarding demonstrations by civil society.
According to Koman, the thing that actually differentiates Indonesia from Myanmar is only the coup itself.
“Actually it’s the same, just in Indonesia there hasn’t been an obvious coup d’etat, yet the military in Indonesia is already involved in civil [affairs] through regulations which allow the TNI [Indonesian military] at civil demonstrations,” said Koman.
Leaving this aside, Koman is calling on the Indonesian public to speak out in order to pressure the government to take a firmer stand on the Myanmar coup d’etat.
Koman said that this represents a moment for the people of Southeast Asia to rise up against undemocratic tendencies in the region.
“Because there is something which is known in international circles as the ASEAN way, and this has been criticised by many people, it means just staying quiet as if they support each other’s non-democracies,” she said.
Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Veronica Koman Singgung Sikap RI di Isu Papua dan Myanmar”.
2) Navy helps Papuan children instil reading habit through mobile library
8 hours ago
One of the villages availing this mobile library service is Katapop in Salawati Sub-district, Sorong District, Head of the Maritime Potential Affairs at the Koarmada III Headquarters Colonel Eko Hariyanto stated.
The school-age children in Katapop Village are visibly happy with reading books provided by the navy officers at the mobile library vehicle that visits once a week, Hariyanto noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here on Wednesday.
The children were not only offered books to read but were also taught by the navy personnel joining the mobile library vehicle how to read, calculate, and write, he revealed.
This community service is expected to help cultivate the habit of reading among the children while also dispelling boredom in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has compelled them to stay homebound and learn from home, he remarked.
Related news: Indonesian soldiers run library to boost Papuan students' literacy
The Koarmada III's mobile library service, with a wide array of books, is offered to students and community members, in general, he pointed out.
ANTARA noted that Indonesian soldiers in Papua and West Papua are necessitated to multitask, as the government works incessantly to address the issue of regional disparities in development between them and other provinces.
To this end, soldiers deployed in these two eastern provinces are mandated to be responsive in seeking solutions to problems and challenges faced by Papuan communities in their daily lives.
The soldiers are required to play the role of problem solvers for the local communities amid their central task to defend the country's territorial integrity and guard the safety of all Indonesians.
Sharing land and sea borders with Papua New Guinea (PNG), Papua and West Papua's geopolitical and geostrategic positions are indubitably important for Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The development of human resources in Papua and West Papua remains a tricky challenge, as the Human Development Index scores of these provinces remains lower than that of other provinces in Indonesia.
Referring to Indonesia's 2019 Human Development Index, Papua and West Papua recorded scores of 64.7 and 60.84 respectively.
The literacy-related community services offered by the Indonesian soldiers since several years have contributed notably to the regional and central government's endeavors to enhance the quality of human capital in Papua and West Papua. (INE)
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