Wednesday, May 29, 2013

1) International NGO voices concern for West Papuan prisoner.


1) International NGO voices concern for West Papuan prisoner.
2) Confusion over reports of missing residents in Puncak Jaya
3) Karma: 'We reject the term 'narapidana politik'
4) Freeport asked to give company shares to provincial government
5) Freeport May Restart Open-Pit Mining Tomorrow in Indonesia
6) Australia supports Indonesia`s poor through good social protection policies
7) Freeport asked to give company shares to provincial government
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http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=76386


Posted at 19:20 on 29 May, 2013 UTC
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture has voiced concern over the condition of a West Papuan prisoner at Indonesia’s Abepura prison
The Geneva-based Secretariat says it’s been informed about the deteriorating health of Matan Klembiap by the British-based Indonesian human rights group, Tapol.
Mr Klembiap was taken into police custody in the Papua provincial capital Jayapura in February and allegedly tortured by police, beaten with rattan sticks on the back and electrocuted in the face.
Facing weapons-related charges, the 41-year old has not received medical care since he was detained.
Furthermore, he reportedly does not have legal representation and he has been denied family access.



The Secretariat has urged Indonesian authorities to carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the allegations, in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Torture to which Indonesia is a State party.



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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/05/29/confusion-over-reports-missing-residents-puncak-jaya.html

2) Confusion over reports of missing residents in Puncak Jaya

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura | Archipelago | Wed, May 29 2013, 9:06 PM
A- A A+
An official has said that five people have been reported missing in the Tingginambut district, Puncak Jaya regency, Papua. The missing persons report had caused fear among locals leading many of them to flee into the forest.
“We received the report directly from the families of the missing people. One of them is a high school student,” said Yunus Wonda, the deputy speaker for the Papua Legislative Council.
He said on-duty soldiers had been questioning locals who carried machetes and bows arrows on a daily basis. He said the soldiers were suspicious of the weapons while the locals considered them merely to be accessories.
“We always carry these weapons every time we leave the house. Is there something wrong with our culture?” Yunus said.
Cendrawasih Military Command chief Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua, however, denied there was anyone missing.
“It’s just rumors. I have sent a team to Tingginambut and they have found that no residents are missing,” he said.
Meanwhile Puncak Jaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Marselis, revealed that he had received reports of two persons, not five, who had gone missing.
In February a guard post also in Tingginambut was ambushed by armed separatists, leaving one soldier dead. Another attack occurred the same day in Sirak, killing seven soldiers.(nai/dic)

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3) Karma: 'We reject the term 'narapidana politik'
Suara Papua, 27 May 2013

PAPUAN, Jayapura

Filep Karma who is a political prisoner being held in the Abepura Prison refuses to accept the use of the term 'Narapidana  Politik'  or 'Napol' that is to say, 'convicted political prisoner' which is used for him and about forty of his colleagues who are being detained in various prisons in the Land of Papua.

'We feel more comfortable with the term 'Tahanan Politik' - tapol - or political prisoner. Using the term 'napol' suggests that we committed acts of violence  for which which we were imprisoned.'

He went on to say that the vast majority of political prisoners  were being held because of their political beliefs and not because they had committed any acts of violence or other crimes.

Earlier, there were reports in the media  under the heading: 'Papuan Political Prisoners reject Amnesty from the Indonesian Government, according to which around 25 political prisoners  now being detained in Abepura Prison declared that the reject either 'clemency' or 'amnesty' which has been offered to them by the Indonesian government, via the intermediary of the Department for Law and Human Rights.

'All we want and demand is for the Papuan people to be freed from  being colonised by the colonial Indonesian government,' he said in a statement issued by the tapols which was sent to the media.

[Translated by TAPOL]
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4) Freeport asked to give company shares to provincial government
JUBI, 29 May 2013

The Freeport mining company has been asked to grant the Papuan provincial government a 10 percent share in the company. This agreement came in advance of the re-negotiation of the company's Work Contract with the Indonesian government. This would be the first time that the provincial government would hold shares in the company and any agreement would  be as a result of efforts made by the current governor, Lucas Enembe and his deputy, Klemen Tinal.

The governor told journalists on 29 May that a preparatory agreement to this effect has been agreed. Initially, the provincial government pressed for ownership of 50 percent of the shares but the company was only prepared to allow the [central] government to hold 25 percent of the shares.

The governor said: "Renegotiation of the contract with Freeport will now include Papua. Along with the central government, we have been asking for 50 percent of the shares but they agreed only to 25 percent. Of this amount, 9.6 percent would be owned by the central government, 5 percent by the local communities and 10.4 percent by the provincial government. As far as I can see, this agreement is now final, with other matters still to be discussed.'

Governor Enembe went on to say that  the provincial government has asked Freeport  and the central government to ensure that all taxes that have until now been paid to the Jakarta provincial administration should be refunded to Papua. The other request is that the company should set up its office in Papua.

"There are various taxes, such as PPH and PPN which are paid by the company to the central government as well as taxes paid by the company's workforce which are currently paid to Jakarta which should be refunded to Papua. The purpose of all this is to promote development in Papua and improve the welfare of the Papuan people."

The governor also said that discussions already held with Freeport and the central government show that there is a strong commitment from the company to promote the development of Papua and improve the welfare of the people. He said that some minor problems still need to be discussed.

"I strongly believe that the company is very willing to to help us. We talked about things like building a railway and other matters," the governor said, "and they seem to be very willing."

[COMMENT: Freeport has for more than forty years been the largest tax-payer to Indonesia. If these taxes (back-dated) were to be paid to Papua, This would surely result in a huge source of income for Papua and to its people who are acknowledged to be the poorest   people in Indonesia. while providing huge fiscal and economic benefits to the central government.]

[Translated by TAPOL]

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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/freeport-may-restart-open-pit-mining-tomorrow-in-indonesia/

5) Freeport May Restart Open-Pit Mining Tomorrow in Indonesia

By Berni Moestafa & Eko Listiyorini on 8:02 pm May 29, 2013.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold may resume open-pit mining tomorrow at its Grasberg complex in Indonesia, the world’s second-largest copper mine, after an accident that killed 28 and halted output.
The mine may reach a full production rate of 140,000 metric tons of ore a day in 3-to-4 days, Rozik B. Soetjipto, president director of local unit Freeport Indonesia, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Freeport hasn’t got approval yet to restart its underground mine, he said.
The halt came one month after Rio Tinto Group suspended its Bingham Canyon mine in Utah following a landslide.
Copper in London retreated on Wednesday, paring its first monthly gain in four, as concerns for reduced supplies of the metal eased.
“If they resume work in three to four days, the impact from the operation halt will not be significant on ore production and shipments,” said Tetsu Emori, chief fund manager at Astmax Asset Management Inc. in Tokyo.
“The Freeport news will ease concern over mine supply disruptions.”
Copper futures declined as much as 0.6 percent to $7,276.75 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and traded at $7,306.75 at 12:12 p.m. in Singapore.
The price has risen 3.6 percent this month. Freeport Indonesia is still shipping some concentrate, Soetjipto said on Wednesday.
Bloomberg


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6) Australia supports Indonesia`s poor through good social protection policies

Wed, May 29 2013 16:37 | 125 Views
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Australia is working with the Indonesian Government to support social protection programs as one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty and inequality in Indonesia, the Australian Embassy here said.

Australia`s co-sponsorship of the Asia Public Policy Forum opening in Jakarta today is part of its growing commitment, bringing together some of the world's leading thinkers on poverty and influential policy makers from around the region to share their knowledge and expertise, the embassy said on its official web site on Wednesday.

The Indonesian Government provides social protection programs to poor people, families and communities to help reduce poverty. The programs provide subsidies to the poorest and most vulnerable families so they can invest in their future by keeping their children in school, feeding them sufficient and nutritious food, and providing them with health care.

"Australia has significantly increased its investment in social protection across the region. In Indonesia between 2009 and 2014 we are investing $57 million in supporting home-grown solutions that enable improvements and expansion of Indonesia`s social protection system," said the Head of AusAID in Indonesia, Jacqui de Lacy.

"This work is based on a strong relationship with the Indonesian Government to establish and maintain affordable, universal social safety nets," said de Lacy.

The assistance is helping the Vice President`s National Team for Accelerating Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) to develop a unified database to better target the government`s largest social protection programs such as those around conditional cash transfers, health insurance for the poor and rice subsidies.

It also includes assisting the Government to improve the management and monitoring of its successful community empowerment program, PNPM, which delivers grants to communities for small scale infrastructure and income generating activities.

"We anticipate this week's Asia Public Policy Forum will inspire lively debate and strengthen networks amongst policy makers, scholars and others interested in social protection in the region, and we're really pleased to be part of these efforts," said de Lacy.

(A014/O001)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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7) Freeport asked to give company shares to provincial government
JUBI, 29 May 2013

The Freeport mining company has been asked to grant the Papuan provincial government a 10 percent share in the company. This agreement came in advance of the re-negotiation of the company's Work Contract with the Indonesian government. This would be the first time that the provincial government would hold shares in the company and any agreement would  be as a result of efforts made by the current governor, Lucas Enembe and his deputy, Klemen Tinal.

The governor told journalists on 29 May that a preparatory agreement to this effect has been agreed. Initially, the provincial government pressed for ownership of 50 percent of the shares but the company was only prepared to allow the [central] government to hold 25 percent of the shares.

The governor said: "Renegotiation of the contract with Freeport will now include Papua. Along with the central government, we have been asking for 50 percent of the shares but they agreed only to 25 percent. Of this amount, 9.6 percent would be owned by the central government, 5 percent by the local communities and 10.4 percent by the provincial government. As far as I can see, this agreement is now final, with other matters still to be discussed.'

Governor Enembe went on to say that  the provincial government has asked Freeport  and the central government to ensure that all taxes that have until now been paid to the Jakarta provincial administration should be refunded to Papua. The other request is that the company should set up its office in Papua.

"There are various taxes, such as PPH and PPN which are paid by the company to the central government as well as taxes paid by the company's workforce which are currently paid to Jakarta which should be refunded to Papua. The purpose of all this is to promote development in Papua and improve the welfare of the Papuan people."

The governor also said that discussions already held with Freeport and the central government show that there is a strong commitment from the company to promote the development of Papua and improve the welfare of the people. He said that some minor problems still need to be discussed.

"I strongly believe that the company is very willing to to help us. We talked about things like building a railway and other matters," the governor said, "and they seem to be very willing."

[COMMENT: Freeport has for more than forty years been the largest tax-payer to Indonesia. If these taxes (back-dated) were to be paid to Papua, This would surely result in a huge source of income for Papua and to its people who are acknowledged to be the poorest   people in Indonesia. while providing huge fiscal and economic benefits to the central government.]

[Translated by TAPOL]
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1) Indonesian embassy in NZ says Papua still too dangerous for journalists.




3) Residents Tingginambut 5 Reportedly Missing
4) More details emerge on West Papua massacre allegation

5) Copper Pares Monthly Gain as Freeport Can Start Some Mining

6) Freeport to restart mining activities at Grasberg open pit on Thursday

7) Border reopened to traditional border crossers

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Posted at 03:23 on 29 May, 2013 UTC
The Indonesian embassy in New Zealand says it may become easier for international journalists to visit Papua, but warns it is still a volatile area.
Achmad Gozali, the Minister-Counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy in New Zealand, says there are many separatist groups in West Papua and journalists still need to be accompanied by officials.
Human rights groups and journalists have for years been reporting on abuse and attacks by Indonesian military and police in the province, and that such violations are largely unpunished.
Mr Gozali says there is some consideration given to journalists but it is still on a case by case basis and he doesn’t see unrestricted access happening any time soon.
“There is also some armed forces there from the Papua separatist movement, so it is also very dangerous.”
Achmad Gozali, the Minister-Counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy in New Zealand.
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Posted at 03:23 on 29 May, 2013 UTC
A media freedom group is calling on the Indonesian authorities to release a radio host held in West Papua.
Abert Dimas Anggoro, a talkback host from Penyiar Radio FM, was arrested for criticising officials and claiming the district office in Papua was dilapidated, on his Matoa public affairs programme.
When he was detained over three weeks ago, colleagues from an alliance of Independent journalists, accompanied him to the police station.
The chair of the Pacific Freedom Forum, Titi Gabi, says each day Mr Anggoro is held further weakens the credibility of Jakarta, and warns that the whole world is watching.
“Sending out your men to arrest reporters and media workers is a bit heavy handed and that should be discouraged. We think the Indonesian government and the officials should use the system in place because there is one.”
Titi Gabi says there is a media complaints process and authorities have no reason to arrest and detain journalists.

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A google translate of article in Bintangpapua. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic. 
Original bahasa at


3) Residents Tingginambut 5 Reportedly Missing


Jayapura - Five residents Tingginambut District Puncak Jaya in Papua is lost and jungle until now unknown. It was the Deputy Speaker of the House diungkakan Papua Yunus Wonda. "From the report, there are 5 people missing and his whereabouts unknown. Before they allegedly got lost torture of security forces, "said Yunus Wonda workroom, Tuesday May 28.
Of 5 residents who lost 2 of them still a student. "Residents who lost only one still and one junior high school students high school students," he said.
In addition there are 5 missing residents, residents who had been Tingginambut area known as the headquarters of the movement of OPM leader Goliat Tabuni, also felt pressured by the actions of the security forces often make sweeping action or raids against civilians. "People always forces raided and often suspected, so it is always depressed and anxious," he said.

Even in action raids, officers often intimidate citizens as suspected OPM members only when ordinary citizens. "If the resident passes between Ilu with Honor, officers always mensweeping residents with intimidation and torture so that residents fear" he explained.
Action raids accompanied by reports of torture, said Yunus Wonda, taking place after shooting 8 soldiers. "Officials began aggressively sweeping and torture after the shooting of 8 members of the TNI in Tingginambut and Sinak," beber Yunus.

To that end, said Yunus Wonda, authorities immediately stop sweeping and torture of citizens. "The security forces should protect the people's right instead of creating fear with acts of torture," he said.
He also asked OPM to stop stigmanisasi Tingginambut citizens. "Stop with secessionist stigmanisasi attitude to people, if you want to hunt down the armed groups do not disturb people. Task forces to protect the right of the people rather than the opposite, "he said.

Do not all citizens are considered separatist group, this way of thinking is always hurting people. "Do not all citizens are considered OPM, the action is not commendable and should be stopped," he pleaded.  Yunus Wonda, arrogant and often torture innocent people obviously gross human rights violations that always triggers Papua always highlighted internationally. "It is this attitude that makes Papua into the world spotlight, so you should refrain from hurting the arrogant attitude of the people," he explained.
Yunus Wonda should also ask officers who served in Tingginmabut enough of the police and their Koramil.karena memahai and psychological situation of the citizens.
Democratic Party politician also said, to report the incident to the President. "DPRP will formally write to the President, to withdraw troops from Tingginambut and intimidate actors to stop the action and torturing people and let them know where 5 people are missing," he said. (Jir/don/l03)
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http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3769311.htm

4) More details emerge on West Papua massacre allegation

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

ASHLEY HALL: More details are emerging about a security operation in the central highlands of West Papua that activists describe as a covert operation of killing and forced disappearances.

They say 18 people have been killed in recent weeks by the Indonesian military.

The activists say the violence is pay-back for the killing of six Indonesia Special Forces soldiers in February.

The Indonesian Embassy in Canberra has issued a blanket denial, describing the reported violence as rumours and lies.

But the ABC has been provided further information that tells a different story, as Peter Lloyd reports.

PETER LLOYD: When Timor Leste went from being a mineral rich restive province to independence more than a decade ago, Indonesia's rulers drew a line in the sand.

They made it clear to the world that they would not tolerate losing West Papua too.

It's the nation's other big resource-rich province with a population violently agitating to go their own way.

Indonesia security forces were humiliated at the start of the year when six elite special forces troops were killed by members of the West Papua National Liberation Army.

The murders took place around Puncak Jaya in the central highlands.

It is this same district where activists say a pay-back operation has been underway since April.

Jonah Wenda is spokesman for the military wing of the Free Papua Organisation.

This is how he described the killings of 11 people, in a text message on Friday:

JONAH WENDA (voiceover): They were picked from different places like school, gardens, on the road and even taken from their home and kill them and throw them in the bush.

PETER LLOYD: An official at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra assured PM that the allegations of extra-judicial killings would be investigated.

He was provided with a list of people named as victims of the security forces to assist on checking to prove that they still exist and are alive.

Instead the Embassy released a statement full of angry denial.

STATEMENT (voiceover): With regard to the report, the Embassy was informed by relevant authorities in Papua that these rumours are completely unfounded and are false. Based on our inquiry, there is no such violence. It seems that these rumours and lies were spread by certain individuals and groups with the aim to discredit the government of Indonesia in its efforts to ensure the continued development in the Papua provinces.

PETER LLOYD: Mysteriously, seven more dismembered bodies have been recovered, according to Jonah Wenda from the Free Papua Organisation.

JONAH WENDA: There's a military operation is on. This area (inaudible) police are in this area, if they say there's nothing killing going on - they're a liar.

PETER LLOYD: Jonah Wenda has issued a challenge to the Indonesian government to allow independent human rights teams to come to the province to investigate.

Supporters of the movement have begun quietly documenting the killings. But asking too many questions seems a dangerous pastime.

There are reports that people who have gone in search of family and friends have themselves gone missing.

JONAH WENDA: There's no - very limited access, even local people, even pastors or some people able to stick out because there's military in everywhere in that particular place at Puncak Jaya.

PETER LLOYD: Among the 18 people who are alleged to have been killed recently are six village chiefs. A fortnight ago they'd been invited as guests for the inauguration of the new governor, Lukas Enembe, in the provincial capital, Jayapura.

It's alleged that on the drive home the six were stopped at a military check point where they were beaten, tortured and later killed.

Activists have published the names of the dead, and challenged the Indonesian authorities to prove them wrong.

ASHLEY HALL: Peter Lloyd with that report.



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5) Copper Pares Monthly Gain as Freeport Can Start Some Mining

By Jae Hur on 11:16 am May 29, 2013.
photo
A handout picture released by Freeport Indonesia on May 24, 2013 shows rescue workers at the site of a collapsed tunnel in Tembagapura, Papua on May 21, 2013. Rescuers pulled out the last remains of workers who were trapped after a tunnel collapsed at a mine in Indonesia’s Papua province, bringing the death toll from the accident to 28, the company said on May 22, 2013. Workers were undergoing safety training in a tunnel operated by the Indonesian subsidiary of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold when it caved in on May 14. (EPA Photo/Freeport Indonesia)

Copper fell, paring its first monthly gain in four months as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold said it can start open-pit production at Indonesia’s Grasberg mine after an accident halted operations.
The metal for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange retreated as much as 0.6 percent to $7,276.75 a metric ton and was at $7,311.75 at 10:46 a.m. in Tokyo. The price has risen 3.6 percent this month. Futures for delivery in July on the Comex were little changed at $3.3135 per pound.
Freeport can start open-pit work, though it has yet to receive permission to start underground mining at its Grasberg mine complex, Daisy Primayanti, a spokeswoman for the Phoenix-based miner’s Indonesian unit, said on Tuesday. Production hasn’t restarted yet at second-largest copper mine, where 28 workers were killed when an underground tunnel collapsed May 14.
“The Freeport news has eased concern over mine supply disruption,” said Tetsu Emori, the chief fund manager at Astmax Asset Management in Tokyo. While metals were also under downward pressure from the dollar’s strength, a decline in LME stockpiles and improving US economic data would limit further losses, he said.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against those of six major US trade partners, rose for a second day, adding as much as 0.3 percent. It reached 84.498 on May 23, the most since 2010. A rise in the dollar curbs demand from buyers holding other currencies.
US consumer confidence climbed in May to the highest level in more than five years, a Conference Board report showed on Tuesday. Separate data showed US house prices rose in the 12 months through March by the most in seven years as the recovery in residential real estate gained momentum.
Copper stockpiles monitored by the LME fell for a third day to 619,650 tons. Orders to remove the metal from warehouses climbed 0.5 percent to 223,150 tons, the first gain after three declines from the record on May 21.
The contract for September delivery was little changed at 52,690 yuan ($8,588) a ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
On the LME, zinc and lead declined, while tin climbed. Aluminum and nickel were little changed.
Bloomberg
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6) Freeport to restart mining activities at Grasberg open pit on Thursday

Amahl S.Azwar, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Wed, May 29 2013, 2:09 PM
A- A A+
Mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of Arizona-based Freeport-McMoran, is set to resume its Grasberg open pit mining activities, on Thursday, amid ongoing investigations into a tunnel collapse at an underground facility in which 28 workers were killed.
Freeport Indonesia president director Rozik B. Soetjipto said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the company would begin production activities at its open mine site as of Thursday although it would not be producing at its maximum capacity.
"We will restart the production activities slowly. It might take around two or three days, and perhaps a further three days before it can reach its maximum production capacity," he told reporters.
The Grasberg open mine produces 140,000 tons of ore per day on average; but, its mining activities have been temporarily halted following the cave-in at its training facility on May 14.
The facility is located 2.7 kilometers from the Grasberg open mine.
Rozik said Freeport would not restart production activities at the company's Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) mine, an underground block cave -- located a few kilometers from Grasberg -- which has a production capacity of 80,000 tons of ore per day, unless it was permitted by the government.
Last week, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's director general for minerals and coal Thamrin Sihite told reporters that the government prohibited Freeport from conducting "any production activity" until the investigations into the incident were concluded.
Rozik said on Tuesday, however, that it was only prohibited for Freeport to restart activities at its underground mining operations, not at its open mine. (ebf)
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7) Border reopened to traditional border crossers

The Jakarta Post | The Archipelago | Wed, May 29 2013, 9:45 AM
A- A A+
Paper Edition | Page: 5
The Indonesia-Papua New Guinea (PNG) border in Skouw-Wutung, just outside Jayapura, Papua, was reopened to traditional border crossers on May 20 after being closed for around three weeks.

“It was reopened after our consulate general in Vanimo actively lobbied the PNG government in Port Moresby,” said Indonesian consul general in Vanimo, Jahar Gultom, when reached by The Jakarta Post from Jayapura on Tuesday.

PNG previously banned Indonesian traditional border crossers from entering PNG on the grounds that their border crossing cards had expired on March 18.

Indonesian immigration officers in Skouw followed suit by banning traditional border crossers from Papua New Guineans from entering Indonesia.

“We also faced difficulties due to a surge in applications from residents in Vanimo who wished to visit Jayapura to visit sick relatives or attend funerals,” said Jahar.

Regarding the expired border crossing cards, Jahar said that matter would be on the agenda for the meeting between PNG prime minister and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on June 17.
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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

1) Police to focus on negligence in deadly Big Gossan collapse


1) POLICE TO FOCUS ON NEGLIGENCE IN DEADLY BIG GOSSAN COLLAPSE
2) SEMEN INDONESIA AIMS TO DOMINATE PAPUAN MARKET
3 PAPUA POLICE CHIEFS DISCHARGED OVER GRAFT ALLEGATIONS
4) INDONESIA: FEAR FOR THE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF MR. MATAN KLEMBIAP, A TORTURE VICTIM CURRENTLY DETAINED IN ABEPURA PRISON
5) LAND OF GHOSTS
6) INDONESIA DENIES REPORTS OF MASSACRE IN PAPUA PROVINCE.
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1) Police to focus on negligence in deadly Big Gossan collapse

Nethy Dharma Somba and Amahl S. Azwar, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua/Jakarta | Headlines | Tue, May 28 2013, 9:53 AM
A- A A+
Paper Edition | Page: 3
The Papua Police are focusing on whether negligence was the cause of the fatal tunnel collapse at Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc’s mine in Papua.

“If it were caused by nature, there’s nothing we can do. But if there was negligence or intent, it will be a crime,” Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya said in Jayapura, Papua, on Monday.

Police have invited a geologist from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi, to assist in the investigation led by Papua Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Bambang Priambada.

Police have questioned 12 witnesses, including Freeport executives and survivors of the disaster, since last Thursday.

Among the 12 witnesses were vice president for underground operations Sujatmoko, vice president for occupational health and safety Solihin, vice president for geoservice Wahyu Sunyoto, Roys Vittorio of the quality management
service division and quality management service superintendent Muhammad Roys.

A number of investigations, including one by the police and one by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, are being carried out at Freeport’s underground training facility—the scene of the tragedy—2.7 kilometers from the Grasberg open-pit mine.

Twenty eight Freeport employees died and 10 others were injured when they were trapped beneath the May 14 collapse.

The evacuation and cleanup process took more than a week.

Freeport has ceased operations at both the Grasberg mine and the Deep Ore Zone (DOZ) mine, an underground block a few kilometers from Grasberg.

The Grasberg and DOZ mines produce 140,000 tons and 80,000 tons of ore respectively every day.

Freeport is one of the country’s biggest taxpayers and as a direct result of the closure the government is losing US$1.82 million in state revenue every day during the suspension of operation.

Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Susilo Siswoutomo said Freeport would resume its operations only after officials from the ministry concluded that it was safe for the company to carry on business. A subsequent investigation will probably take one to two months.

The government-led team of local mining experts is led by Ridho Wattimena, head of the mining engineering graduate program at Bandung Institute of Technology in Bandung, West Java.

“Based on our preliminary investigation, we believe that the collapse was caused by natural factors — perhaps there were cracks caused by erosion in the limestone of the tunnel’s ceiling,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday, adding the early conclusion would require a more thorough analysis.

“[Freeport] will only be allowed to recommence operations once our mining inspector’s assessment concludes that it is safe,” said Susilo over the phone.

Freeport Indonesia technical affairs director Rudy Seba said workers had returned to the field to ensure that all equipment was working safely.

“Up until now, however, we have not begun production,” he said in a text message to the Post.

The deaths of so many on May 14 was not the first time Freeport has been at the centre of multiple fatalities.

In December 2009, a worker died and four others were injured in another collapse. In May 2008, at least 20 Papuan gold miners, who was outsourced workers not employed by Freeport, were buried when the mine’s tailings heap collapsed on them after two days of heavy rain.

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HTTP://EN.TEMPO.CO/READ/NEWS/2013/05/29/056484015/SEMEN-INDONESIA-AIMS-TO-DOMINATE-PAPUAN-MARKET
WEDNESDAY, 29 MAY, 2013 | 01:11 WIB
2) Semen Indonesia Aims to Dominate Papuan Market
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TEMPO.CO, Sorong - state-owned cement producer PT Semen Indonesia Tbk (IDX: SMGR) is set to have 50 percent share in the Papuan cement market. Semen Indonesia's head of marketing development, Rudi Hartono, said the target is in line with the company's decision to build a packing plant in Sorong at the end of last year.
"We will maximize the utilization of the packing plant," he said after a company-held infrastructure seminar in Sorong, Tuesday, May 28.
Rudi said that the packing plant with 300,000 tons capacity will push Semen Indonesia's demand in Papua by 30,000 to 40,000 tons per month. Rudi said that cement demand in Papua quite unstable and relatively small, absorbing only 12,000 tons of Sement Indonesia's products per month.
Data from the Indonesian Cement Association shows that, from January to April 2013, the volume of cement sales in Maluku and Papua had increased by 14 percent to 449,000 tons. Cement sales in Maluku and Papua only account for 2.4 percent of the national cement sales, which amounted to 18.1 million tons.
Head of South Sorong's Department of Public Works, Amos Kasi, said that Semen Indonesia's packing plant will ensure the availability of cement supplies, which has been minimal in Papua. The lack of supply is one of the reasons that infrastructure development in Papua is sluggish.
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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/2-papua-police-chiefs-discharged-over-graft-allegations/

3 Papua Police Chiefs Discharged Over Graft Allegations

By Farouk Arnaz on 2:52 pm May 28, 2013.

Two former district police chiefs in Papua are facing an investigation over suspected involvement in a massive fuel smuggling and illegal logging case, an officer said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto, who heads the general information department of the National Police, said the two officers — Adj. Sr. Comr. Gatot Aris and Adj. Sr. Comr. Taufik Irpan — were discharged on Monday from their posts as Sorong district police chief and Raja Ampat district police chief, respectively.
Rianto said the two are under investigation because they should have been aware of what members of their staff were up to. Their subordinate, First Adj. Insp. Labora Sitorus, a member of the Raja Ampat district police, was arrested on charges of money laundering and illegal logging operations in Sorong.
“As to whether there is any flow of funds to them [from Labora], this is what we are in the process of investigating. We will see the development but what is clear is that morally, the leaders are deemed to be responsible over this case,” Rianto said.
Labora was arrested on May 18 by the National Police in Jakarta after being named a suspect in a fuel smuggling case, following the seizure of 400,000 kiloliters from a boat registered under his name. An estimated one million liters of fuel linked to the suspect has been confiscated.
He was allegedly also involved in illegal logging, with police having seized 115 shipping containers of timber at Surabaya’s Tanjung Perak Port that were reportedly traced to him and destined for China.
The containers held a total of 2,264 cubic meters of merbau wood, a rare hardwood prohibited for commercial logging and for export as rough-sawn timber.
The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has also linked him to Rp 1.5 trillion ($154 million) in transactions from 2007 to 2012.
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from Tapol

4) Indonesia: Fear for the safety and health of Mr. Matan Klembiap, a torture victim currently detained in Abepura Prison
*IDN 270513*

*Arbitrary detention/ Torture in police custody/ Lack of medical treatment/ Poor health/ Fear for safety/ Risk of impunity*

* *

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your *URGENT* intervention in the following situation in *Indonesia*.


  Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by TAPOL, a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the arbitrary detention and torture in police custody suffered by Mr. *Matan Klembiap*, a 41-year-old man originally from Maribu and living in Amai Kab village, Tablasupa in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia. OMCT has also been informed about his poor health resulting from the torture and the lack of proper medical treatment.

According to the information received, on 15 February 2013, at around 9 a.m., Mr. Matan Klembiap was driving home in Amai Kab village, Tablasupa from Deprapre when his car was stoped by five police officers driving a silver-painted car, wearing civilian clothes and carrying Pindad SS-1 assault rifles. The police officers pointed their rifles at Mr. Matan Klembiap and the other three men who were with him in the car. They took them to the Depapre Police Station moving them inmediately afterwards to Jayapura District Police Station. In Jayapura District Police Station they were ordered to take off their clothes before several police officers started to beat and electrocute them. While doing this the police started questioning them about the whereabouts of Terianus Satto and Sebby Sambom, two pro-independence activits. As non of them was able to reply the police officers reportedly continued torturing them. They were allegedly kicked, beaten with rattan sticks on the back and electrocuted in the face.

According to the same information received, on 16 February 2013, the police released the three men who were in the car with Mr. Matan Klembiap. Mr. Matan Klembiap was kept in custody in Jayapura District Police Station facing charges of carrying, storing, possessing, concealing and reatining sharp of weapons under Article 2, paragraph (1) of Emergency Law 12/1951 because the police had found an axe in his car at the moment of his arrest. It is to be noted that it is very common for indigeneous Papuans to possess an axe that they use for chopping or splitting wood.

Mr. Matan Klembiap was held in Jayapura District Police Station till 18 February 2013 when he was moved to Abepura Prison. During the four days he was in Jayapura District Police Station he was continuously interrogated and asked about his relationship with TPN-OPM leaders. During the interrogation he was allegedly continuosly tortured. Mr. Matan Klembiap was beaten with a wooden beam, rifle butts and rattan sticks. His legs and arms were positioned under the legs of a table and crushed resulting in his toenail being pulled out. His fingers were wounded and his head suffered severe wounds due to the beating.

As of issuing this urgent appeal, Mr. Matan Klembiap remains detained in Class II in Abepura Prison while his trial is in process. According to the information received, Mr. Matan Klembiap is very weak, suffers from memory loss and becomes stressed when reminded of the torture. He has not received any kind of medical care since he was tortured in Jayapura District Police Station. Furthermore, he reportedly does not currently have legal representation and he has been denied family access.

The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its concern about the safety and physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Matan Klembiap and urges the competent authorities to guarantee his safety at all times and that he receives immediate adequate medical care as provided for by international human rights standards.

Furthermore, OMCT urges the competent authorities to carry out a *prompt*, *effective*, *thorough*, *independent* and *impartial investigation* into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment, in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Torture to which Indonesia is a State party, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law.

OMCT recalls that the authorities have to fulfil their obligations under international human rights law to protect the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to bringing to justice those responsible for violating this right.

In this regard, OMCT recalls Article 11 of the UN Convention against Torture which stipulates that “Each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture” and Article 15 of the said Convention which specifies that, “Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings (…)”.

*Action requested*

Please write to the authorities in Indonesia urging them to:

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Matan Klembiap and his family;
ii. Order his immediate transfer to a public hospital with adequate care;
iii. Guarantee unconditional access to all members of his family and a lawyer of his choice;
iv. Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international legal standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him promptly before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal that will ensure due process at all times;
v. *Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture*, in accordance with international human rights standards, *the result of which must be made public*, in order* *to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;**
vi. Guarantee that no evidence obtained under torture and ill-treatment, or threats thereof, be used in court proceedings against Mr. Matan Klembiap as stipulated in Article 15 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;**
vii. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation, is granted to Mr. Matan Klembiap;**
viii. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particular ensure that all acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment are clearly defined in law as offences in accordance with the provisions set out in Articles 1, 4 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and that they be made punishable with appropriate penalties which take into account the grave nature of the crimes as required.**
* *
*Addresses*

Ø Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Republic of Indonesia, Jl. Veteran No. 16, Jakarta Pusat, INDONESIA, Tel: +62 21 386 3777, 350 3088. , Fax: + 62 21 344 2223, 3483 4759, E-mail: presiden@ri.go.id <mailto:presiden@ri.go.id>

Ø Ms. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, General Director of Human Rights, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7, Kuningan, Jakarta 12940, INDONESIA, Tel: +62 21 525 3006, 525 3889, Fax: +62 21 525 3095

Ø Gen. Timur Pradopo, Chief of the Indonesian National Police, Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12110, INDONESIA, Tel: +62 21 384 8537, 726 0306, Fax: +62 21 7220 669, E-mail: info@polri.go.id <mailto:info@polri.go.id>

Ø Ir. Gen. Drs. Tito Karnavian, Chief of Papua Regional Police, Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8, Jayapura, INDONESIA, Tel: +62967 531 014, 533 396, Fax: +62967 533 763

Ø Mr. Otto Nur Abdullah, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Jalan Latuharhary No.4-B, Jakarta 10310, INDONESIA, Tel: +62 21 392 5227-30, Fax: +62 21 392 5227, Email: info@komnas.go.id <mailto:info@komnas.go.id>

Ø H. E. Mr. Triyono Wibowo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the UN Office in Geneva, Rue de Saint-Jean 16, 1203 Geneva, Tel: +41 22 338 33 50 , Fax: +41 22 345 57 33 , Email: mission.indonesia@ties.itu.int <mailto:mission.indonesia@ties.itu.int>

Please also write to the embassies of Indonesia in your respective country.

***

Geneva, 27 May 2013

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal
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http://www.insideindonesia.org/current-edition/land-of-ghosts?utm_source=All+Subscribers&utm_campaign=4b7a78d403-Weekly_20_May_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_32cd77f926-4b7a78d403-245871089


5) Land of ghosts

    Papua’s rural lowlands are being transformed by an encroaching global economy, but what happens to the people there is an open question

    Bobby Anderson


    Bauzi women in a health class for new and expectant mothers Bobby Anderson



    The political space of Papua and the space where Papuans live is not the same. This is especially evident in the rural and coastal lowlands, which hardly even rate a mention in the political debates about Papua that so often simplify the territory’s development issues. In many areas of the lowlands, Papuans are having their first interactions with the state. In the meantime, Indonesian NGOs and others are bridging the services gap left by the weakness of the state.

    A new district

    Other than the mountains on its southern border, Papua’s Mamberamo Raya District is a vast lowland expanse of jungle and swamp. Located on the northern coast of the province about 300 kilometres to the west of the provincial capital, Jayapura, it is still 90 per cent forested. The district’s primary geographic features, besides the vast Lake Rombebai, are the Tariku (née Rouffaer) and Taritatu (née Idenberg) Rivers, which begin in the highlands on Mamberamo Raya’s southern border with Tolikara; the  Tariku runs from west to east, and the Taritatu runs from east to west. The headwaters of both rivers run narrow and clear, and each runs through and drains the forested Lakustrin plain before they merge together to form the 670 kilometre Mamberamo River, which grows wider and slower with each passing kilometre as the river dissolves into a massive delta of mangrove swamp where it meets the Pacific Ocean.
    This lowland terrain is even more forbidding than the mountains to Mamberamo Raya’s south: the district’s rivers remain the primary mode of travel, and once one moves away from the trails between settlements along the rivers, one encounters an impenetrable landscape, much of which is traditionally viewed by indigenous peoples as an existential threat, with warnings posted in the form of spiritual beliefs. Dangerous areas are lands of ghosts.
    This barely-tread forest conceals undiscovered flora and fauna: a new kangaroo species and a long-nosed frog were discovered as recently as 2008, and vast areas of the district have never been penetrated by humans. Settlements and sustenance are found within earshot of the rivers. Such an environment as Memberamo Raya’s is incapable of supporting large populations, or even large social groupings. As we shall see, an unseen epidemiological topography exists as well, and wreaks havoc on the inhabitants. This combination of environmental threats has traditionally kept human populations both miniscule and isolated.
    In addition to being one of the newest districts in Indonesia, Memberamo Raya may be one of the most sparsely populated. The district population, according to 2010 government figures, is 18,365: 0.59 persons per square kilometre. The provincial average is eight persons per km2, while the country’s population density is 124 persons per km2. The greater Jakarta metropolitan area had a population density of 15,342 persons per km2 in 2011; if Jakarta had the same population density as Mamberamo Raya, it would have a population of 437.
    Much of the district’s population are subsistence hunters, gatherers, and occasional farmers who dwell in small family groups, although many only wander seasonally, remaining near to one of the roughly 56 settlements that groups return to in the rainy season, to live in birchbark houses built on short stilts. The locals hunt cassowary, cuscus and wild pig; they use dogs in these endeavours. They also fish and plant sago.
    Mamberamo Raya was created only in 2007, when it was separated from Sarmi and Waropen. The district capital, Kasonaweja, was created at Mamberamo Raya’s birth — built from scratch around a missionary airstrip near the river that was hacked out of the jungle with hand tools. Now it is paved and fenced, with dozens of blue-roofed, one-story concrete buildings and a skeleton population of bureaucrats administering barely-functioning structures.
    The forgotten lowlands
    While Papua’s highlands receive an undue amount of political attention, its lowlands are forgotten. The experience of highlanders with the church, and through that entity, the state, began in earnest in the 1950s. But in Mamberamo Raya, most of the population did not have first contact — that often terrifying and volatile encounter that uncontacted tribes have with outsiders — until the 1980s. Missionaries created the first airstrips there, and were the only outsiders with whom the indigenous peoples regularly interacted until the decentralisation policies of recent years. What has only recently started to occur in much of Mamberamo Raya, then, is the first regular interaction between a state and its citizenry.
    The experience of Mamberamo Raya’s Bauzi people is emblematic of this interaction. The Bauzi number roughly 2,000; they generally live along the banks of the Mamberamo River near the semi-permanent settlement of Noiadi, one and half hour’s flight from Sentani. The settlement consists of roughly 50 houses, a church that doubles as a school, and a grass airstrip.
    Since the 1980s, the Bauzi have tended to settle for part of the year in places like Noiadi, but they maintain their mobility. The Bauzi do not speak Indonesian. The first outsiders to live among them were an American missionary couple who both learned the Bauzi language and spent much of the next 30 years in Noiadi. The Indonesian organisation they work for, Yayasan Misi Penginjilan Pemuridan Papua (YMP3, Evangelisation and Discipleship Ministries for Papua), is solely responsible for the health services accessible to the Bauzi. YMP3 runs maternal and child health services (Pos Pelayanan Terpadu or Posyandu) with traditional midwives who they have additionally trained in hygiene, nutrition, and other health concerns.
    Another long-term volunteer has developed Indonesian language literacy programs for Bauzi adults. The outside world is encroaching, and in it, literacy and numeracy in Indonesian and English are forms of self defence. This new knowledge of languages cannot be disentangled from health knowledge and practice. YMP3 is integrating this knowledge, teaching about health and hygiene in a simplified alphabet they created for the Bauzi language, and teaching Indonesian simultaneously.
    Some lowland areas are being transformed by their contact with the modern economy. In Keerom, to the east of Jayapura District on the border with Papua New Guinea, a primordial forest is rapidly being transformed into a circuitboarded landscape of palm oil plantations, leaving the local population of hunters and gatherers ill-equipped to function, and often leading to their departure from their traditional lands. Only a few of the relatively successful groups have adapted to gold-panning.


    The struggle for health

    Unlike in Keerom, the necessity for literacy and numeracy in Bauzi areas remains theoretical. Modernity and its physical transformation of the land have yet to arrive, and the Bauzi live as they always have. A USAID-funded project, Indonesia Forest and Climate Support (IFACS), is working with indigenous peoples to try to preserve a minimum of 70 per cent forest cover in the coming decades, but the success or failure of this and other endeavours remain to be seen. Should the district remain in its primordial state, without major plantations or other modern economic activities, then literacy and numeracy would remain important, but not desperately so. Health knowledge, on the other hand, is a much more pressing need.
    The author’s recent visit to Noiadi amply illustrated Bauzi health needs: the area is rife with malaria, elephantiasis, and tuberculosis. Deaths from diarrhea, anemia, pneumonia and neonatal sepsis are common. And HIV looms just over the horizon, kept at bay because Bauzi men do not yet work as seasonal labourers in Papua’s cities.
    YMP3 is countering these health issues through equal parts knowledge and practice, with much of the progress being made among young mothers who attend weekly health and hygiene classes taught by YMP3 volunteers, from Sulawesi, West Timor, and further afield. These women are learning about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months (most Papuan women begin to feed their children sago mash in the weeks after birth, an inherently harmful practice; ironically because poorer women cannot afford to do this, their babies are the healthiest), supplemental feeding for children up to two years, and knowledge of healthy locally available foods. The Bauzi diet consists of hardly any vegetables other than sago, which has little nutritional value. Bauzi women are now using YMP3-imported mosquito nets for their infants — an import that had the benefit of keeping numerous large spiders from dropping on the author as he slept in Noiadi.
    The Bauzi population is about 60 per cent Christian, but that belief co-mingles with earlier beliefs: that the Memberamo river’s crocodiles are inhabited by the spirits of the ancestors, for example (interestingly, this doesn’t prevent Bauzi from eating crocodiles). Some of these beliefs are an impediment to health, because they prevent understanding of germ theory, instead ascribing disease solely to the realm of spiritual machinations.
    One of the most horrifying local beliefs concerns twins: the Bauzi people believe that only one is real, and the other in an evil copy. The twin that is born last is buried alive. The last twin burial was roughly half a year before the author’s visit. Such things still happen in Bauzi areas distant from Noiadi. On the author’s visit, a Bauzi man believed that he saw the signs of an aggressive and malign spirit in his home: he ran about, screaming challenges and waking the settlement at three in the morning, and a babel of screams and challenges to those same spirits from neighbouring men and women rippled across the settlement like a wave.
    Like the areas profiled in my earlier articles in Inside Indonesia, ‘Living without a state’ and ‘The middle of nowhere’, there has never been a military or police presence in Noiadi. Unlike those highland areas, however, Noiadi has a government teacher who is actually present and teaching. And the provincial government’s strategic village development project (Rencana Strategis Pembangunan Kampung or RESPEK) has had positive results. Unlike in the highlands, where RESPEK projects are often co-opted by the patronage needs of local elites, the program’s two grants to Noiadi have benefitted the people.
    In the first year that a RESPEK facilitator arrived, the heads of every family got together and voted on needs: electricity won, and so the grant went to two generators, wiring, and light bulbs. Every hut in the area was connected and the generator runs for a few hours every night, with regular tithes for fuel collected from every household. In the second year, the heads of families decided on rainwater catchment systems for every household. Plastic tanks and piping were duly purchased and transported by boat, and during the author’s visit, most families were constructing wooden one-story towers next to their huts for the tanks. While RESPEK is intended to capture every community voice in project selection, this does not occur in Noiadi. But it is still providing benefits, and the women voted through their husbands for the water systems.
    One of the reasons for such a positive outcome may have to do with the weakness of traditional leaders among the Bauzi. Each male head of family leads his family, and each head of household is more or less equal to the other. The area has never been subject to the ‘big man’ form of leadership that is prevalent in the highlands, and in Papuan politics. This is likely due to a topography that simply prevents large social groups from functioning effectively. A leader’s constituency does not go far beyond his immediate kin group.
    However, as the lowland landscape transforms, so will the viable styles of leadership. While dense lowland forest may have prevented strong leaders from rising, bureaucracies have a different natural law. The big man culture will become entrenched as aspirant leaders emerge and utilise the same systems of patronage and money politics that big men in the cities and in the highlands use. The encroachment of this style of leadership is already found in the hiring of civil servants: more on this will be discussed below.

    The experience of Boven Digoel

    On the other side of the highlands lies Boven Digoel, a landlocked lowland district to the immediate southeast of the highlands that Mamberamo lies to the north-northwest of. This district borders Merauke to the south and Papua New Guinea to its east. The PNG border in the district is officially closed, but many of the locals move across it at will. To the north, the district’s flatlands grow into the hills that eventually turn into the  Pegunungan Bintang (Star Mountain) range, while to the west lies Mappi, a vast flatland of swamp that stretches to the sea. The district is defined by the Digul (nee Digoel) River. The Digul’s headwater is located in the mountains to the north. It flows 525 kilometres south and west through a landscape of mostly uninhabited swampland before it empties into the Arafura Sea.
    Boven Digoel has great similarities to Mamberamo Raya, although its experience with the state goes back nearly a century. The district served as a place of isolation for Indonesian political prisoners during the Dutch colonial area, with a penal colony, Tanah Merah (which grew into the district capital) constructed there after the failed communist uprisings in Java and Sumatra in 1926. A second penal colony, Tanah Tinggi, was constructed for those already-exiled nationalists who were regarded as ‘problematic’ by the authorities.
    Despite Boven Digoel’s long experience with the state, it is mostly empty of the evidence of human habitation outside of Tanah Merah and the multiplying palm and other plantations to the district’s south, on the border with Merauke District. The road from Tanah Merah to Merauke is nearly ruined: outside of the capital, the roads are dirt tracks in the dry season and nearly impassible mud in the rainy season. Entrepreneurial drivers in custom-built 4x4s for rent do a brisk business in the district. Other than the tenuous and seasonal road link to Merauke, transport to other areas of Papua is entirely by plane or by boat down the Digul.
    Unlike Mamberamo Raya, Boven Digoel has a large migrant population, but the migrants are concentrated in the capital. The indigenous peoples of the area maintain lifestyles like their brethren to the north, hunting the same animals and cultivating the same staple foods. There is also a marked absence of the ‘big man’ style of leadership in the virgin swampy landscapes of the district, where such social structures are not viable. Locals live in small settlements on the district’s many dirt tracks, and many still maintain a semi-nomadic lifestyle.
    Unlike in Memberamo Raya, the population of Boven Digoel benefitted from health and education services until the end of the New Order. There is a long-standing security presence, and there were once insurgents there too, in the form of a ‘chapter’ of the Free Papua Movement (it has since become inactive). Health and education services, outside of Tanah Merah, disintegrated after Suharto’s fall, and the decentralisation trend which created numerous new districts, subdistricts and villages in the area has done exactly the opposite of what decentralisation was supposed to notionally provide. Rather than bringing better services, services have declined.

    Creating new provinces and districts

    Indeed, as services wither with every new administrative invention, the solution only seems to become more decentralisation. The latest initiative is the proposed creation of a new Southern Papua province, including Boven Digoel and several other districts. Unlike many other campaigns to create new provinces, however, the idea of a Southern Papua province cannot be dismissed out of hand: the area has long been neglected, bureaucratically and otherwise, and the Catholics south of the Pegunungan Tengah have felt distinctly apart from the Protestant north and centre of Papua. Public support for such a province exists.
    But those who imagine a new province will be a panacea for the region’s development ills have not learned from the formation of the many new districts throughout Papua. It’s not only that the record of new districts suggests a new province will not make a difference in the lives of people at the grassroots, especially those being denied health and education services. Another problem is that the power to provide those services is found at the district level, and it is their responsibility to run the services that impact most directly on the daily lives of ordinary people.
    Such simple solutions as new districts or subdistricts misrepresent the problems that people face in Papua. There are exceptions to this: Memberamo Raya’s services are improving after the creation of that district, although just barely. In most cases, however, the creation of new districts is motivated by local elites seeking to directly access funding from the national-level government, via the ministry of home affairs: funds per district are set by the national government based on the district population, and this sometimes leads to an inflation of the population far beyond what the real population of a district is.
    In some cases, such as Memberamo Raya, this population inflation does not occur. In others, such as Yahukimo, the district population reported might be more than double what the actual population is: the district authorities there report a population of nearly a quarter of a million, but the churches (the GDI church in particular), who record local births and deaths, have the only accurate figures. Like all knowledge, population figures are closely guarded secrets in Yahukimo, but the actual district population is likely between 60,000 and 100,000. Any population figures for the province as a whole must be regarded skeptically.
    The flawed logic whereby new administrative structures are created to better serve populations, but services actually worsen, results in a blame game among civil servants that the author was again witness to in Boven Digoel among health bureaucrats, and which can result in patients being refused care. A puskesmans in an existing subdistrict will often direct people to use their new subdistrict’s puskesmas — especially if they try to use insurance — even if that puskesmas has not yet been constructed. Or, it has been constructed, but is still closed, because no head has been appointed. Or the head has been appointed, but no accommodation has been constructed. Or the accommodation has been constructed, but it is sub-standard. Or the puskesmas has been constructed and the head has been relocated, but there is no equipment and/or none of the other staff have arrived at the duty station. Or the healthcare staff refuse to relocate because there is no functioning school nearby for their children. And since they get paid only in the district capital, they have to travel there often and are not on hand to provide services to patients.
    Such excuses made by health care workers (and similar ones are made by education officials, teachers, and other civil servants), continue ad nauseum, to the point where people start suggesting the provision of laptops and DVD players for people with more remote postings in order to entice them to take these jobs and stay there. While some of these excuses are valid, too many are not, and district governments possess the resources they would need to act upon such complaints and needs. But they do not. For example, even though banking services are non-existent in much of Papua, districts could pay Puskesmas staff on site in the majority of locations. Across the highlands, local governments once utilised small air transport companies such as Mission Aviation Fellowship to transport payroll.
    The creation of these new health centres and other government offices, and the awarding of positions to fill them, is motivated by the need to award jobs to supporters and clan members. These are no-show jobs similar to those found on construction sites in New York that a mafia capo can then award to his crew. That’s the basic problem: district proliferation and the creation of new government offices often have nothing to do with the provision of services.

    Other actors enter the gap

    The failures of government means that other actors step in to provide the services that local people so desperately need. The activities of these actors often do not fit easily into the political and development discourses that exist about Papua. For example, on the Boven Digoel border with Papua New Guinea, it is the Indonesian military that provides free health and education services for locals. The military is attempting to formalise this arrangement by training their officers to be primary school teachers in Makassar.
    As for health care provision in this part of Boven Digoel, this mostly takes the form of army medics taking action to address whatever needs they witness in the field. For those who would say these services are just a propaganda exercise for the Indonesian military, those providing health services never advertised their acts externally. Instead, it was journalists working with the Jayapura branch of the Independent Journalist’s Alliance (Aliansi Journalis Independen or AJI), a group led by the iconoclastic journalist-activist Victor Mambor, that discovered this.


    In the villages to the north of Tanah Merah, an Indonesian NGO, Talenta Asia, is attempting to reinvigorate integrated maternal and child health services (posyandu) so that they can provide a bare minimum of services for expectant and new mothers and their babies, including by checking the health of pregnant women and infants on a monthly basis, providing vaccinations, information regarding nutrition, and so on. The group works in the subdistricts of Arimop and Iriyandit, where no health services exist, and they are re-starting posyandu services in the villages of Bukit, Ginggimop, Maju, Patriot, Ujung Autriop, Langguan, Ogenatan, Tetop, and Waritop.
    While puskesmas services aretheoretically provided only in the subdistrict capitals (but not in Arimop or Iriyandit), posyandu services are theoretically provided in every village on a fixed time schedule. In Boven Digoel, while the infrastructure providing these services fell apart, the human infrastructure — the midwives and others — remained, with some continuing to attempt to provide services even though they were no longer drawing a salary for it.
    It was this infrastructure that Talenta Asia tapped into, providing the midwives with equipment, training and some incentives to work. Although the intervention is not sustainable in the sense that funding is of a limited duration, at the very least the Indonesian health staff of Talenta are providing equipment that will remain behind after they leave, and they are providing knowledge to mothers. They are also intensively lobbying the local government to pick up on their lead and take over from Talenta and expand what they are doing. As an alternate, they are seeking funding to sustain their own work.
    Talenta Asia is witnessing small successes in the communities where they are working: rising baby weights, reductions in supplemental feeding for children under six months, and more nutritional diets for babies as they move onto solid foods. Despite this, however, the freshly dug graves of newborns that the author saw in Ginggimop testify to the work that is left to be done.

    The best and the worst

    In Memberamo Raya, services that were never offered are now beginning. In Boven Digoel, services once offered have ended. In both districts we witness the best and the worst. In Boven Digoel, as in many areas of the highlands, bureaucracies are so inefficient that they actually cause harm through their neglect. It remains to be seen whether such services will ever reach across Mamberamo Raya.
    But it is churches, NGOs, and — in a few communities on the PNG border — the Indonesian military that are attempting to fill the chasm that separates what is needed from what is there. There is a great element of simple heroism to all this, in the Papuan midwives in Boven Digoel who never stopped working when the health system ground to a halt, the TNI medics who decided to take care of sick and injured people in the villages near their posts, the YMP3 volunteers from as near as Sentani and as far away as Kupang who work with the Bauzi, and the young Bataks and Betawis from Talenta working with Papuan midwives and mothers. Despite all the bad news about Papua, and all the problems in the Papua-Indonesia relationship, there are many people who are bringing their conviction and their expertise together in the service of their own. And many Indonesians from across the archipelago are helping their Papuan sisters and brothers.
    The lowlanders, and their highland brethren, are a people too often rendered childlike and simple by the press and development actors. Papuans were perfectly adapted to survive in a world that has not just recently ended but that is still ending, in fits and starts. For many of the Papuans living in remote areas, a painful transition is underway: old skills are less needed, and new skills in literacy, mathematics and health practice grow in importance as the global economy makes inroads into places that were untouched by it just decades ago. But those new skills are not being delivered: many local governments pay lip service to such responsibilities while essentially functioning as nothing but distribution systems for cash, favours, and no-show jobs.
    The Papuans in places like Serui, Biak and Jayapura have benefitted from functioning education and health services for generations, and this is the reason they dominate the provincial bureaucracy. Highland Papuans who benefitted from church educations in the first mission stations such as Ninia, Wamena and Pyramid have status and power far above that of their uneducated brethren. In today’s Papua — highlands and lowlands — education and health are and will remain the determinants of success. And for Papuans to truly realise their potential, they need a functioning state to deliver such services.
    Bobby Anderson (rubashov@yahoo.com) works on health, education, and governance projects in Eastern Indonesia, and he travels frequently in Papua province.

    Inside Indonesia 112: Apr-Jun 2013


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    http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=76350

    Posted at 08:36 on 28 May, 2013 UTC
    The Indonesian embassy in New Zealand has dismissed claims there has been a mass killing in the remote province of Papua.
    Last week a report emerged from the KNPB, or National Committee for West Papua, that up to 41 people had gone missing in the remote area of Tingginambut, which is reportedly controlled by Indonesian Kopassus troops.
    Human rights groups, as well as the West Papua Media Alerts group, say up to 18 names have been confirmed of people whose mutilated bodies were found in ditches and in bags and sacks.
    It is the same area where eight Kopassus troops were killed by guerilla fighters earlier this year.
    Achmad Gozali, the Minister-Counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington says the reports are untrue.
    “That is a baseless accusation and of course we categorically deny the quote unquote reported killing. They just want to discredit the Indonesian government.”
    Achmad Gozali.

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