2) Ribka Haluk to make history as first female Papuan Minister
An attack on the editorial office of Papua-based media outlet Jubi on Wednesday using Molotov cocktails set fire to vehicles but resulted in no casualties, Indonesian police said.
The latest targeting of journalists in the Indonesian province has been condemned by human rights groups as a renewed assault on media freedom, after previous attacks remained unsolved by police.
Jubi is owned by Victor Mambor, who is a Jayapura-based stringer for BenarNews.
Heram Sectoral Police Chief Inspector Bernadus Ick confirmed an investigation is underway.
“These were indeed Molotov cocktails thrown at the Jubi editorial office,” Bernadus said in a press release, adding that forensic analysis of the materials used in the bombs is underway.
Jubi’s editor-in-chief, Jean Bisay, said the attackers on a motorcycle threw incendiary devices from the road in front of the Jubi office in Jayapura, igniting a fire between two parked vehicles.
“The flames briefly engulfed the front of both vehicles before being extinguished by two Jubi employees and several eyewitnesses,” Bisay told BenarNews.
Witnesses told BenarNews the assailants had passed by the Jubi premises several times on Tuesday evening, stopping to observe the office, before departing and returning at 3:15 a.m. to throw two objects.
They said two individuals, who were dressed in black and on a motorcycle, appeared panicked and struggled to start their getaway vehicle when trying to flee.
The Jayapura-based Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI), led by Lucky Ireeuw, said in a statement to BenarNews it “considers this terror a serious threat to media freedom in Papua.”
“The terror faced by Jubi and journalists in Papua has occurred repeatedly but remains unresolved to this day,” he added.
AJI’s 2023 annual report on the state of Indonesia’s media detailed 89 attacks against journalists and media organizations last year, the highest number in a decade.
In January 2023, Mambor, a veteran reporter known for covering rights abuses in heavily militarized Papua, said he was targeted in a bomb attack outside his home in Jayapura. No one was injured in the explosion.
Reporters Without Borders’ annual World Press Freedom Index 2024said the Indonesian military “carefully prevent the media from covering their use of force to suppress separatist protests in the three provinces that make up Papua, which continues to be an information blackhole where journalists cannot work.”
Gustaf Kawer, director of the Papua Human Rights Lawyers Association (PAHAM), urged the police to apprehend the individuals responsible and warned that otherwise it could lead to similar attacks.
“If left unsolved, the public will wonder who is behind it. Are they outsiders or part of the authorities? I believe it is essential to clarify the perpetrators to prevent future incidents and ensure that the press can operate freely,” he said.
Frits Ramandey, head of the Papua Provincial Human Rights Commission, who also visited the crime scene, said similar incidents targeted local journalists in 2021 and 2023.
“If this is not addressed, the police will be complicit in allowing terror to occur everywhere,” he said
Papua, a region at the far-eastern end of Indonesia, has been the site of armed conflict for decades, driven by a desire for independence among some of its citizens. In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua, which was also a former Dutch colony, and subsequently annexed the region.
Papua was officially incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 following a United Nations-sponsored referendum. However, many locals and activists have condemned this referendum as a sham, as it involved only about 1,000 participants.
Despite these concerns, the U.N. accepted the results, endorsing Jakarta’s governance of the region.
2) Ribka Haluk to make history as first female Papuan Minister
Ribka Haluk, the Acting Governor of Central Papua province, made history as the first indigenous woman from Papua’s mountainous region poised to serve as a Cabinet minister.
Ribka was among the key figures who met with President-elect Prabowo Subianto on Monday, October 14, 2024, signalling her potential inclusion in the Cabinet of Prabowo, who will officially be inaugurated as the country’s eighth president.
Ribka expressed her gratitude for the trust placed in her as a representative of Papua in the upcoming administration.
“I appreciate President-elect Prabowo for entrusting us, the people of Papua, to join his team,” she said, on Monday, October 14, 2024.
A highly regarded figure in Papua, Ribka Haluk has enjoyed a distinguished career as a bureaucrat. Born on January 10, 1971, in Piramid, Jayawijaya Regency, she began her career in 2001 in the Social, Population, and Civil Registration Office of Papua provincial administration.
Currently, she serves both as Acting Governor and the definitive Secretary of Central Papua Province.
During the administration of former Governor Lukas Enembe, Ribka held the role of Head of the Social Services Department for eight years. She was also appointed Acting Regent of Mappi in 2017 and Yalimo in 2021.
Ribka earned praise for her leadership during her tenure as Acting Regent of Yalimo, particularly for her ability to resolve a conflict stemming from a local election dispute.
“She was initially underestimated, but she succeeded in resolving the conflict,” Tito Karnavian, Minister of Home Affairs, said on Monday, October 14, 2024.
Her success in handling these challenges contributed to her appointment as Acting Governor of Central Papua in November 2022.
Tito acknowledged the significant challenges Ribka faced in this role, highlighting her capabilities and leadership.
Tito acknowledged the significant challenges Ribka faced in this role, highlighting her capabilities and leadership.
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.