2) Forests source of wealth for Papua's local communities: official
3) A new church in West Papua, a place where to radiate peace and reconciliation
4) Jokowi’s Papua approach must do more than scratch an ‘itch’
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1) Rights commission criticised for towing government line in NZ pilot hostage case
Kompas.com – July 7, 2023
Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – Former National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Chairperson for the period 2017-2022, Ahmad Taufan Damanik, says that it is difficult to expect Komnas HAM to play a role in resolving the hostage case involving Susi Air pilot Philips Mark Mehrtens in Papua.
According to Damanik, this is because the current Komnas HAM leadership has taken a position that tends to follow the government line and does not have the courage to take the initiative to resolve humanitarian problems in Papua.
Damanik cites as an example the humanitarian pause agreement that was unilaterally cancelled by Komnas HAM, which triggered an escalation of violence in Papua, including the Susi Air pilot hostage case.
The humanitarian pause in Papua was an agreement reached by the Komnas HAM leadership for the 2017-2022 period to temporarily halt armed contact between the conflicting parties in Papua.
"Since they unilaterally cancelled the humanitarian pause without any good reason, as well as the lack of communication between parties, especially with our Papuan friends, it is difficult to expect them to play a role in Papua. The one-side cancellation caused anger among those who were pushing for a humanitarian pause in Papua", said Damanik in an SMS message on Friday July 7.
"With such a position, it is difficult to expect a strategic role for Komnas HAM. Their position tends to just follow what is being done by the government", he added.
Yet, according to Damanik, by maintaining the independence of its authority, the Komnas HAM could break the communication deadlock between the demands of the hostage takers, in this case the West Papua National Liberation Army of the Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM), and the government.
Moreover there has been an offer by the TPNPB group led by Egianus Kogoya for the Papua Komnas HAM Representative Office to act as negotiator in the hostage case.
"Including the Philip hostage negotiations, the Egianus group asked for the involvement of the Papua representative [office] head's help. My hope is that the Komnas HAM national is welcomed in Papua, so it is better to provide full support to the Komnas HAM Papua representative office", he added.
Damanik also hopes that Komnas HAM, which is now headed up by Atnike Nova Sigiro, could be critical of central government policies that are wrong.
"Communicating criticism like this is what we used to do (when I served at Komnas HAM) and there is no need to worry about tension in the relationship [with the government]. That's normal in relationships between institutions", said Damanik.
Earlier, Sigiro said that the commission has entrusted all matters related to dealing with the Susi Air pilot's hostage case to the government, saying they hope that the case can be resolved peacefully.
"Authority for dealing with the hostage case is in the government's hands", said Sigiro on Sunday July 2.
New Zealand pilot Philips Mark Mehrtens was taken hostage by the TPNPB on February 7 after his plane was set on fire after landing at the Paro Airport in Nduga regency, Papua Highlands.
At the time, the plane was transporting five indigenous Papuan (OAP) passengers. Mehrtens and the five passengers reportedly fled in different directions. The five Papuans returned to their respective homes while Mehrtens was taken hostage by the KKB (armed criminal group).
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Tak Terlibat Aktif dalam Upaya Bebaskan Pilot Susi Air, Komnas HAM Dikritik".]
Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2023/07/07/23583831/tak-terlibat-aktif-dalam-upaya-bebaskan-pilot-susi-air-komnas-ham-dikritik
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2) Forests source of wealth for Papua's local communities: official
9 hours ago
Sentani, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua's Office of Forestry and Environment (DKLH) has said that forests constitute a source of wealth for the local communities in the province.
"Papuan people who live in villages still treat forests as their source of life," the head of Papua DKLH, Jan Jap Ormusery, said in Sentani sub-district. Jayapura district, Papua province, on Saturday.
People are still obtaining food, medicines, and other various necessities from natural resources found in forests, he added.
According to him, the province is home to protected forests, nature reserve and conservation areas, permanent production forests, as well as production forests that can be conserved.
"Forests wield economic potential that can be used to elevate the living standard of the people, because forests do not merely serve their purpose as the lungs of the planet, but also as the source of life of communities," he pointed out.
Papuan forest's wealth can be used to fulfill the needs of local residents, especially those living in the forests or their surroundings, he elaborated.
"We are tasked with guiding and inviting the people to jointly optimize the wealth of our forests in a productive, sustainable, and responsible manner," Omusery said.
He informed that the provincial government is working in collaboration with mining company PT Freeport Indonesia to plant as many as 4,655,200 tree seeds on land in Jayapura District.
"We are striving to plant much more trees in order to expand the area of the conservation forest, which, in turn, is expected to help us preserve biodiversity," Omusery explained.
Related news: West Papua Governor boosts forest preservation efforts in Wondama Bay
Related news: Meet Waisimon, protector of the cenderawasih and forests
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ASIA/INDONESIA -
3) A new church in West Papua, a place where to radiate peace and reconciliation
Saturday, 8 July 2023
Manokwari (Agenzia Fides) - May the new church dedicated to Saint Joseph "be the temple of a community from which peace and reconciliation radiate in Papua": this is the message addressed to the local population by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Pioppo, during the solemn Inauguration Eucharist of the new Catholic Church of Saint Joseph in the village of Ayawasi, in the Diocese of Manokwari-Sorong, West Papua. "We hope it will maintain and encourage the evangelical spirit of the community, the spirit of prayer and charity. We ask the Lord to encourage us to always go forward, in times of difficulty, by considering ourselves and always treating each other as brothers", said the Archbishop during the celebration that took place in recent days. The presence of a new church, inaugurated after nine years of planning and construction, "will be able to inspire local people to further deepen their faith and spirituality, to live with love and humility in their relationship with their neighbor: thus promoting reconciliation and peace on the land of Papua", he remarked.
The five bishops of the region were present at the celebration, as well as many priests, nuns and hundreds of faithful. The Bishop of Manokwari-Sorong, Msgr. Hilarion Datus Lega, thanked the Catholics of the parish of Ayawasi who contributed with their ideas and resources to the construction of the church. The new church was built on an area of one hectare, measures 28x42 meters, is 28 meters high, and can accommodate up to 1,200 people. The construction process, which encountered various obstacles and delays, the latest relating to the outbreak of the pandemic, was not interrupted thanks to the cohesion of the community. Several organizations contributed to the funds, including private donors (75% was donated by the faithful) and public donors, such as provincial, district and municipal administrations in the region.
The diocese of Manokwari-Sorong is located in the province of west Papua and covers an area with a total population of 761 thousand inhabitants, including 80 thousand Catholics. The territory of West Papua is plagued by tensions and demonstrations that see the local population against the central government in Jakarta.
Indonesia intervened in Papua in 1962, following a referendum, the western part of the large island of New Guinea voted to be part of Indonesia. Soon after, in 1963, the "Free Papua Movement" appeared in the region and began guerrilla actions.
According to human rights organizations, the Papuan people - of Austronesian ethnicity - have long suffered discrimination, racism and stigmatization from security officers and members of other Indonesian ethnic groups, who arrived in Papua thanks to a of "colonization" policy promoted by the central government. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 8/7/2023)
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4) Jokowi’s Papua approach must do more than scratch an ‘itch’
President Joko Widodo (right, in foreground) speaks to Keerom Regent Piter Gusbager (left, in foreground) after harvesting corn at a food estate in Wambes village in Keerom’s Mannem district on July 6, 2023.(Antara/Sakti Karuru) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yvette Tanamal
Yvette Tanamal (The Jakarta Post)
(The Jakarta Post) PREMIUM
Jakarta ● Fri, July 7 2023 Versi Bahasa Indonesia
Arriving in Papua on Wednesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo quickly centered his attention on economic and infrastructure development as part of his long-standing approach to the country’s easternmost region, which is beset by various political and security challenges.
“De-isolating” Papua from the rest of the world and increasing its economic mobility appeared to be among Jokowi’s priorities for his latest trip, as his itinerary suggests, a strategy generally hailed by observers as a step toward bridging the regional divide between Papua and the country’s more developed western provinces.
But the economic approach, if not paired with concrete efforts to address decades-old political conflict, is unlikely to soothe a restless Papua, experts have argued.
On Thursday, Jokowi visited a corn field in Jayapura regency’s food estate, inaugurated the newly built Ewer Airport in southern Papua’s Asmat regency and surveyed some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the area.
Ewer Airport was first developed in 2018, costing some Rp 287 billion (US$19 million) and designed to cater to 14,000 travelers per year.
It will operate two flights from Timika per week, as well as four from Kamur and Merauke. “Connectivity between the country’s regions is very important. Whether it be among regencies, provinces or islands, it will improve mobility for both people and commodities,” said Jokowi. “We hope that the economy in the Asmat regency will be improved.”
On Jayapura’s corn fields, where he gave some advice on yielding better harvests, Jokowi emphasized that a good food-production management system would lead to a more prosperous eastern Indonesia. “For eastern Indonesia, if the production levels can exceed 7 tonnes [per hectare], people from everywhere would crowd to get here. [...] I will return in three months to check on the harvest,” said the President.
Money moves Since assuming leadership in 2014, Jokowi has placed economic advancement as his primary cure-all to address Papua’s unrest, launching key initiatives including infrastructure projects and a particular focus on targeted sectors such as agriculture, mining and tourism.
Located furthest from Java, where most of the nation’s development has been centered around for decades, many parts of Papua have for long grappled with scant economic resources and deficient infrastructure, despite an abundance of natural resources that include copper, silver and gold.
This, combined with a multitude of other factors, has given rise to political unrest, including separatism, a phenomenon frequently responded to by the government with military crackdowns and human rights abuses.
In an ongoing crisis, a separatist group in Papua’s Nduga province kidnapped a New Zealand pilot five months ago, sparking a clash with the Indonesian Military (TNI) that resulted in the deaths of several soldiers. After months of uncertainty, authorities on Tuesday announced that they would be prepared to pay a ransom of up to Rp 5 billion (US$331,268) in exchange for the pilot’s safe return. In some ways, Jokowi’s focus on Papua’s economy is spot on, as it will alleviate many of the region’s problems, said National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) senior political researcher Adriana Elisabeth.
In 2021, the government allocated Rp 6.19 trillion for Papua’s development, covering water-resources development and road construction, as well as settlement and housing development. A 3,462-kilometer-long trans-Papua road is also underway, on top of cross-border posts built along Papua’s border. “Generally speaking, welfare is indeed one of the most prominent problems in Papua. Jokowi’s infrastructure projects in Papua are tangible too. You can see it in the roads, the bridges, the ports, the schools and the hospitals,” Adriana told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. “Compared with previous leaders, Jokowi also moves relatively fast.
He will monitor every project, and nothing is impossible for him. Building roads in a conflict-prone area is dangerous, but for him, no isn’t an answer.” But that problems still persisted in parts of the region, Adriana continued, was a sign that money can solve all but the most deep-seated political and security issues.
For instance, the recent corruption case involving former Papua governor Lukas Enembe is evidence that the cash flow in Papua was not being circulated equitably, a problem Adriana associated with the central government’s lackluster supervision and control. And no amount of money will make up for a sincere apology and the government’s accountability for its human rights abuses, Adriana warned.
“There are economic aspects, but also political, security and cultural aspects. Security and political stability cannot be exchanged for economic growth. It cannot ever be exchanged for someone’s right to live their life without fear of being gunned down at anytime,” she asserted. The itch Only “partially resolving” Papua’s problems would also present challenges to Indonesia’s position on the international stage, said Tantowi Yahya, a former diplomat overseeing Jakarta’s Pacific relations.
For decades, Papua has always been Indonesia’s soft underbelly when it comes to foreign policy, having been confronted at global forums like the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on multiple occasions. Presently, Indonesia’s efforts to intensify its relations with Pacific Island nations amid increased geopolitical rivalry in the region will likely face roadblocks due to the situation in Papua, Tantowi said. “The only political issue in the Pacific is Papua. Other issues are either temporary or mild in comparison.
If we don’t manage this correctly, it really puts us in a difficult position. It will continue to be a problem; an itch,” he told the Post on Thursday. As long as the central government fails to address the issue, the senior politician said, the Foreign Ministry will only stand as “fire extinguishers” on the global stage.
“There are at least two political problems in Papua: human rights abuses and a perceived opportunity gap between the locals and newcomers. Economic development cannot fix all of these problems. Let us not prescribe the wrong medicine when curing a disease,” he said
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