Monday, February 25, 2019

1) KNPB members questioned by Indonesian police over clothes


2) Municipal Environment Office promote less plastic movement
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1) KNPB members questioned by Indonesian police over clothes
9:40 pm on 25 February 2019


The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) says nine of its members were questioned by police in Merauke for wearing the Papuan Nationalist emblem.
The Morning Star flag a symbol of the West Papuan independence movement.  Photo: RNZ PAcific/ Koroi Hawkins
The KNPB's secretary-general in the southern Papuan city, Yoris Yapo, said a five-year old child acompanying the members was also taken in by police.
Mr Yapo said the incident occurred yesterday when the KNPB group was walking in the city, wearing Morning Star flag designs on their clothing.
He said officers from the local Indonesian military (TNI) and Kopassus special forces confronted and blocked the group.
"Because they used Morning Star motif on their clothes the TNI blocked them in.
"Then the TNI and Kopassus, they called police, and police came and took our friends to the police office and interviewed them."
Yoris Yapo said that after being interrogated, the group was released without charge.
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2) Municipal Environment Office promote less plastic movement

Published 18 hours ago on 25 February 2019 
By pr9c6tr3_juben
Jayapura, Jubi – Department of Environment and Hygiene of Jayapura Municipality (DHKL) continues to encourage people to use less plastic through a public campaign and support environmental activities such as waste cleaning movement organised by the community concerned with the environment.
The Head of DHKL Jayapura City, Ketty Kailola, said this action could be regarded as an initial step to minimise the use of plastic. If in previous similar activity, plastic bags often used as garbage container but now it’s no longer used.
“So far, if we conduct a cleaning activity, we always use plastic bags as the waste container, but now it is no longer used,” said Kailola in Jayapura Mayor Office, Wednesday (20/02/19).
According to her, this is a follow-up action towards Mayor Regulation Number 5 of 2019 about plastic waste reduction in Jayapura City. Furthermore, she explained that the purpose of the regulation is to anticipate the negative impact on the environment by plastic waste because it cannot be decomposed easily and pollute the soil, river, and the sea. As a result, it affects the marine biota.
Meanwhile, an environmental activist Albert said that he supports DLHK to reduce the use of plastic bags. Also, He suggested that the government can take another approach such as decreasing the production of plastic goods.
“It should be not only focused on people’s behaviour for not using the plastic bags, but the government also must stipulate another policy, such as pressing the companies to change their management of production. So they don’t use the plastic bags and conduct community-based waste management,” he said. (*)
 Reporter: Ramah
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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Sunday, February 24, 2019

1) Social Affairs Ministry deploys counsellors to Papua after conflict


2) World Church Council visit expected to boost suffering Papuans
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1) Social Affairs Ministry deploys counsellors to Papua after conflict
News Desk The Jakarta Post

Jakarta   /   Sat, February 23, 2019   /   01:48 pm
Children in Jayawijaya regency, Papua, who have been traumatized after fleeing a recent armed conflict between the Indonesian Army and a rebel group in Nduga regency, are receiving social and psychological assistance from the central government, a senior official at the Social Affairs Ministry confirmed on Saturday.
Social Security and Protection Director General Harry Hikmat said that a psychology counseling team had arrived at the camp for the displaced people.
“Our team is already at the camp. We have also sent some supplies and logistics to the location,” he said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
Harry said the ministry was currently providing counseling to 210 children at the Sinakma Church through recreational activities and sports.
He added that the counsellors were also listening to the local school teachers’ concerns and offering suggestions and recommendations, particularly in relation to the upcoming national exam.
An armed rebel group is believed to have been responsible for the killing of dozens of construction workers on Dec. 1, 2018, in Nduga regency, prompting the security authorities to launch a military crackdown to hunt down the suspected perpetrators. (das/swd)
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2) World Church Council visit expected to boost suffering Papuans

Published 2 hours ago on 24 February 2019 
By pr9c6tr3_juben

Jayapura, Jubi – The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) appreciates the visit of the World Church Council in Papua.
“ULMWP appreciated the visit of the delegation of the World Church Council in West Papua,” said Markus Haluk to Jubi reporter on Monday (18/02/2019) in Waena, Jayapura City.
Meanwhile, the Rev. Benny Giay, the Chair of Papua Gospel Church Synod (KINGMI) said the church has moral obligations and burdens in the process of resolving the Papuan problem.
“It’s part of the church’s political sins of in Papua in the past, and now it’s duty is to recover it,” said Giay during a discussion on a book “Pastoral Letters” held at P3W Building, Padang Bulan, Jayapura City, some time ago.
Further, he exemplified two cases as the past political sins of the church. “It contributed to give away Papua to the Republic of Indonesia,” Giay said. After that, he continued, the church also supports the killing of Papuans. Thousands of people died with the approval of the church.
” In 1977 to 1978, with the Paniai regent and Nabire Military Command to hold a military operation in Jila and Bela. Many congregations of KINGMI were killed at that time,” he wrote. Therefore, according to him, the churches must talk about the issue of Papua for the sake of upholding human values. (*)
 
Reporter: Benny Mawel
Editor: Pipit Maizier




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Saturday, February 23, 2019

1) Two KNPB activists arrested in Bitung for carrying morning star t-shirts


2) National Police Chief urged to evaluate Mimika Police Chief’s performance
3) Papua police reject UN call for investigation into snake interrogation
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1) Two KNPB activists arrested in Bitung for carrying morning star t-shirts
Published 17 hours ago on 23 February 2019 
By pr9c6tr3_juben


                                       KNPB activists detained in Bitung. – Jubi / Dok KNPB Consulate

Jayapura, Jubi – The police arrested two activists of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in Bitung, North Sulawesi Province for carrying clothes with a morning star logo.
The activists Yus Iyai (Chair of KNPB Dogiay) and Siska Auswe (KNPB Consulate member) who were going to return home to Nabire arrested at the port on Sunday (17/02/2019).
“The police checked our bags and found seven pairs of clothes with ‘morning star’ logo among 23 pairs of clothes, two books about the struggle of Free Papua. It is a wrong act because the police cannot distinguish between flag and logo,” Iyai told Jubi by phone on Tuesday (19/02/2019).
Meanwhile, according to officials, both activists carried the Morning Star Flag. Therefore, they were interrogated and stayed one night at the police detention before being released. As a result, they forced to delay their travel because their ticket was forfeited.
“We produced these clothes for sale in Papua because we need extra money for tuition fee. They interrogated us with silly questions, “Are your OPM? Do you have a Papuan flag? Do you want Papua to be free? When do you think you’ll be free?”
In regards to this case, Bitung Police Chief Adjunct Commisionaire Stefanus Michael Tamuntuan refused to give information when contacted by Jubi via cellular phone. He asked the reporter to confirm him directly. “I am sorry, the issue like this cannot be confirmed by phone. So, I cannot give further information,” he said. (*)
 Reporter: Piter Lokon
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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2) National Police Chief urged to evaluate Mimika Police Chief’s performance

Published 2 days ago on 22 February 2019 
By pr9c6tr3_juben

Jayapura, Jubi – Human Rights Attorney, Gustaf Kawer urged National Police Chief and Papua Police Chief to evaluate the performance of Mimika Resort Police Chief, Adjunct Senior Commissioner (Pol) Agung Marlianto concerning his statements in public.
Kawer assessed that in his public statements, the Chief Marlianto did not represent himself as a public guardian and the defender of the community. As a result, people who seek justice will even feel any distance to law enforcement.
“His acts and statements are very threatening the justice seekers in Timika, in particular, and Papua, in general,” Kawer told Jubi reporter on Monday (02/18/2019).
Because he continued, the chief does not act as a law defender, for instance, accommodating people seeking for justice to Freeport, especially the former Freeport employees whose contract terminated unilaterally.
“Talking about layoffs or labour issues is not his authority, but the Manpower Office. But this police chief acts as if he is a legal counsel of PT Freeport,” said Kawer.
Earlier, Agung Marlianto responded the letter of Papua Provincial Government urging Freeport to reinstate 8,000 laid-off employees.
“In principle, I obey and respect the law, because the legal proceedings and policies taken by PTFI are based on the applied provisions and have been declared valid. I do not know what made the governor sent a letter through the Head of Provincial Manpower Office saying that PT. Freeport obliges to re-employ (former employees). Of course, this raised a clash. We (the police) do not want this legal decision to intervened by politics,” said Agung as quoted by Mitrapol.com, Thursday (02/14/2019). (*)
Reporter: Benny Mawel
Editor: Pipit Maizie
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3) Papua police reject UN call for investigation into snake interrogation

CNN Indonesia - February 22, 2019

Jakarta -- Papua Regional Police Public Information Head Assistant Superintendent Suryadi Diaz is asking all parties not to dramatise or make a big issue out of the use of a snake during an interrogation by police.

The statement was made in response to calls by United Nations human rights experts for an investigation into the use of the snake. "The problem's already been resolved, so there's no need to make a big deal out of it anymore", Diaz told CNN Indonesia on Friday February 22.

Diaz stated that the investigation conducted by the Papua Regional Police Professionalism and Security Affairs Division (Propam) into the case has already been completed. "Propam has already dealt with the case, so it's resolved", he said.

Nevertheless, Diaz did not explain the results of the investigation or what sanctions will be given to the officers involved.

Speaking to journalists earlier however, Diaz said there were several sanctions that could be applied including a written reprehend, a maximum one-year postponement of education, a postponement in regular wage increases, a postponement of one promotional period or a transfer and demotion.

In addition to this, the heaviest sanction that can be given to officers who violate discipline is to be released from their posts or be assigned to a specific location for a maximum of 21 days.

Several UN human rights experts have urged Indonesia to investigate allegations of violence by the police and military in Papua related to the use of the snake during an interrogation.

"We urge the Indonesian government to take firm measures to prevent the excessive use of force by police and military officials involved in law enforcement in Papua", read a statement by the UN experts on Friday February 22.

"We are also deeply concerned about what appears to be a culture of impunity and general lack of investigations into allegations of human rights violations in Papua.", they said in the statement.

The experts, who are made up of UN special rapporteurs, also said that Papuans had been treated in "cruel, inhuman and degrading" ways.

Jayawijaya District Police Chief Deputy Senior Commissioner Tonny Ananda Swadaya claimed that it was the police officers own initiative to conduct the interrogation into the theft using a python.

According to Swadaya however, it was just trick used during the interrogation so that the perpetrator would confess to their crimes. He also asserted that the snake used to frighten the suspect was a pet snake that was not poisonous and tame.

"This ended up going viral on social media, it's been blown out of proportion in other parts of the country. Here [in Papua] the public is supportive. A tame snake, non-poisonous, it didn't bite [the suspect] and after being given the snake, the thief admitted to the crime", said Swadaya on Monday February 11. (dis/DAL)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Polda Papua Tolak Usul Ahli PBB soal Interogasi Pakai Ular".]

Source: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20190222132502-12-371791/polda-papua-tolak-usul-ahli-pbb-soal-interogasi-pakai-ular

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INDOLEFT News service
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Thursday, February 21, 2019

1) Indonesia: UN experts condemn racism and police violence against Papuans, and use of snake against arrested boy


2) How NZ decking timber choices compound a human rights crisis in West Papua
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1) Indonesia: UN experts condemn racism and police violence against Papuans, and use of snake against arrested boy

Published on 21 Feb 2019

GENEVA (21 February 2019) - Prompt and impartial investigations must be carried out into numerous cases of alleged killings, unlawful arrests, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of indigenous Papuans by the Indonesian police and military in West Papua and Papua provinces, say a group of UN human rights experts*.
In the latest reported case, a video was circulated online of a handcuffed indigenous Papuan boy being interrogated by Indonesian police with a snake wrapped around his body. The boy, who was arrested on 6 February for allegedly having stolen a mobile phone, is heard screaming in fear while the laughing police officers push the snake’s head towards his face.
“This case reflects a widespread pattern of violence, alleged arbitrary arrests and detention as well as methods amounting to torture used by the Indonesian police and military in Papua,” the experts said.
“These tactics are often used against indigenous Papuans and human rights defenders. This latest incident is symptomatic of the deeply entrenched discrimination and racism that indigenous Papuans face, including by Indonesian military and police,” they added.
Representatives of the Indonesian police have publicly acknowledged the incident, and apologised for it. However, the UN experts say that prompt and impartial investigations must be carried out.
“We urge the Government to take urgent measures to prevent the excessive use of force by police and military officials involved in law enforcement in Papua. This includes ensuring those, who have committed human rights violations against the indigenous population of Papua are held to account,” the experts said.
“We are also deeply concerned about what appears to be a culture of impunity and general lack of investigations into allegations of human rights violations in Papua,” the experts stressed.
The incident in which the boy was mistreated comes amid an ongoing military operation in Papua, which became part of Indonesia in 1969 and which has seen the growth of an increasingly vocal pro-independence movement in the past decades.
ENDS
(*) The UN experts: MsVictoria Tauli Corpuz, **Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples; **Mr. Seong -Phil Hong (Republic of Korea),Chair -Rapporteur, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Mr.Michel Forst **(France), Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; **Mr. Nils Melzer (Switzerland), Special Rapporteur on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Ms E. Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
The Working Groups and Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Proceduresof the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page — Indonesia
For more information and media requests please contact: Ms Julia Raavad (+41 22 917 9288 / jraavad@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts: Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)
Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.
Concerned about the world we live in? Then STAND UP for someone’s rights today.#Standup4humanrights and visit the web page at http://www.standup4humanrights.org
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2) How NZ decking timber choices compound a human rights crisis in West Papua
 | Guest writer

A New Zealand ban on kwila would send a signal that we’re serious about protecting our planet, its ancient forests and the people whose lives depend on them, writes Maire Leadbeater of West Papua Action Auckland
Deforestation is said to contribute about 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In Brazil and Indonesia logging and forest conversion are the main source of the carbon emissions that have propelled them both into the list of the world’s top ten carbon polluters. Combating deforestation and helping to restore degraded forests could be the key to meeting the global target of no more than 2% rise in global temperature by 2030. Alarmingly, Brazil’s new development-minded President, Jair Bolsonaro has designs for mines and farms that threaten to escalate the destruction of the Amazon, and in our region West Papua’s paradise forests face multiple threats – escalating illegal logging, gigantic palm oil conversion projects and a highway project that will cut deep into intact forest abutting the World Heritage Lorentz National Park.
Almost all the rainforest kwila (or merbau) that comes to our shores originates in Indonesian ruled West Papua. Kwila used to grow across the Asia Pacific but these days it is close to extinction as a species and is only present in commercial quantities on the island of New Guinea. Merbau takes 75 to 80 years to grow to maturity and it grows sparsely, usually only five to 10 trees per hectare. Kwila isn’t suitable for plantation planting and targeting it for logging cannot be done without the collateral damage caused by building roads.
Kwila is an attractive wood that stands up well to climate extremes, so it has been sought after for decking and outdoor furniture. It is now over a decade since Greenpeace exposed the vast scale of illegal logging of kwila. A ‘Don’t Buy Kwila’ campaign got under way in New Zealand and a number of retailers agreed to cease selling kwila furniture. Unfortunately, in 2008, a Labour-led government decided not to regulate against kwila imports and illegally logged wood, instead opting to encourage importers and consumers to do the right thing. A subsequent National-led government reinforced this approach. The New Zealand Imported Timber Trade Group (NZITTG) developed a voluntary code that commits its members to source their wood from third party certified sustainable/responsible sources. On paper government backs listing kwila with the Convention on the International Trade in endangered species, but it hasn’t actively pushed the issue.
Despite the good intentions of the NZITTG, these half-hearted measures have failed. Kwila decking continues to pour into New Zealand and unsurprisingly there are importers who don’t subscribe to the voluntary code and source “dodgy” kwila at lower prices. TradeMe has a policy that requires sellers of new kwila to provide certification of sustainability but current listings suggest it is not enforcing its pledge. As far as I am concerned, none of it, certified or not, can be viewed as sustainably supplied. We don’t certify ivory, we ban it because we want the elephants to survive and we should follow the same preventative strategy for kwila.
At the end of last year, on-the-ground reports provided damning evidence that West Papua’s extensive forest cover is under renewed attack. A report published by the well-respected Indonesian journal Tempo set out the subterfuges used to get around the Indonesian government’s weak system of policing illegal logging. The report described “timber laundering” that included the manipulation of barcodes and the taking of timber from unpermitted community forests. Investigators compared the satellite imagery showing recent deforestation with the quantities of kwila and other tropical timber being exported and estimated that only about one third was being officially accounted for.
New Zealand is not the main market for West Papua’s kwila – Europe and China cannot get enough of it – but we contribute to the problem.
Linked to the logging scandals are industrial scale palm oil conversion scandals.
Plans for the “Tanah Merah” project would see 2,800 square kilometres of forest (larger than the size of Stewart Island and Lake Taupo combined) logged out to make way for palm oil. Tribal people were reportedly pressed for their consent under military and police intimidation, and environment groups are pushing the Indonesian President to revoke the web of permits.
Since Indonesia took control of West Papua in 1963, indigenous rights have taken a distant back seat as Indonesia and multinational companies exploit the territory’s timber and mineral resources. Jakarta touts development as the answer to Papuan discontent, but disrupting traditional subsistence living causes nothing but hunger and misery. This land grab is a significant contributory factor to a human rights crisis which is so bad it is a kind of “slow genocide”.
A New Zealand ban on kwila would not end illegal logging or stop climate change, but it would send a signal that New Zealand is serious about protecting our planet, its ancient forests and the people whose lives depend on them.

The Bulletin is The Spinoff’s acclaimed, free daily curated digest of all the most important stories from around New Zealand delivered directly to your inbox each morning.
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Wednesday, February 20, 2019

1) Free Papua Movement calls for international mediation

2) Hundreds of students flee violence in Papua
3) I STARTED FREEPORT TALKS FROM NOTHING, JONAN SAYS IN RESPONSE TO EX-MINISTER'S CLAIM
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1) Free Papua Movement calls for international mediation
1:53 pm today 
The Free West Papua Movement, or OPM, has called on the international community to mediate negotiations with Indonesia's government to end conflict in Papua region.

OPM Free West Papua Movement members alongside two PNG MPs at a press conference in Port Moresby, February 2019. Photo: Supplied

Armed conflict in Papua's Highlands between the OPM's armed wing, the West Papua Liberation Army, and Indonesian security forces has intensified since last year.
Indonesia's military has increased it operations in the region after the Liberation Army massacred nineteen Indonesian road construction workers in December.
According to its co-ordinator for negotiation, Akouboo Amatus Douw, the OPM is willing to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
But he said it would only negotiate with the government of Indonesia through an internationally mediated process.
Mr Douw said the OPM rejected other forms of internal "dialogue" or "consultation" with Jakarta, citing the controversial referendum through which Papua's incorporation into Indonesia culminated in 1969.
"In that 'consultation' (the Act of Free Choice), 1025 men and women selected by the Indonesian military were threatened to accept incorporation into Indonesia," he said.
"That process, orchestrated by Indonesia with the support of the United States and the Netherlands via the United Nations, violated all internationally recognised principles of self-determination and was hence illegitimate.”

Indonesia's government insists its territorial sovereignty over Papua is final, and has vowed to crush the Liberation Army which it brands a criminal armed group.
The Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Wiranto, recently ruled out any negotiation with the OPM or its armed wing.
He warned that OPM was spreading misinformation through propaganda that was creating anxiety about the situation in Papua.
Meanwhile, the OPM welcomed current efforts by the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to send a team from her office to visit Papua.
Noting concerns about human rights abuses in Papua, Ms Bachelet last month said her office was talking to Indonesia in the hope of securing permission to access the remote region.
Mr Douw said that the OPM hoped Ms Bachelet could make recommendations for addressing the conflict towards a final peace agreement.
The OPM also urged the Netherlands, as West Papua's former colonial power, to accept moral responsibility and support the call for internationally mediated negotiations.


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2) Hundreds of students flee violence in Papua
News Desk Agence France-Presse

Jakarta   /   Wed, February 20, 2019   /   02:22 pm
Hundreds of students have fled fighting in Indonesia's restive Papua province, a local NGO said, amid unconfirmed reports of violent military reprisals after a massacre of civilian workers by separatist rebels.
The deaths of 16 government-linked employees at a remote jungle work camp in early December, marked a dramatic escalation from decades of mostly sporadic skirmishes between poorly armed and disorganised guerrillas and a powerful Indonesian military.
Subsequent clashes prompted the Nduga district government to evacuate more than 400 students to the neighbouring Jayawijaya district, according to Humanitarian Volunteers for Nduga and a local education agency official.
"Some of the students are suffering from trauma," said Ence Geong, a coordinator at the NGO, told AFP.
"When the military came to the school in uniforms, some of the students ran" in fear.
Scores of other residents are believed to have fled to neighbouring districts or into the jungle amid allegations soldiers carried out arson, harassment and the killing of livestock and civilians, residents and activists said.
Local resident Sripona Nirigi told AFP her elderly father Gemin -- a priest -- was shot dead in December during a sweep of the area by the military.
His burned corpse was found by one of her siblings some two weeks later, she added. Her account could not be independently verified.
Papua military spokesman Colonel Muhammad Aidi rejected claims the military had fired on civilians, calling it a "hoax".
"If there are claims of civilian victims, they're definitely not ordinary civilians," Aidi told AFP. 
"They are part of the (separatists) that are attacking the military."
Aidi said the army had investigated the alleged killing of the priest and denied he was shot by soldiers, saying it was still unclear whether he was alive or dead.
He added that two soldiers have been killed and several more were injured in clashes with rebels since the December massacre of workers who were building bridges and roads in Indonesia's most impoverished region.
The rebels claimed they were legitimate military targets.
Local commander Binsar Sianipar separately confirmed the students had been evacuated, but said it was due to a teacher shortage in the area not the military presence. 
Indonesian security forces have long been accused of rights abuses against Papua's ethnic Melanesian population including extrajudicial killings of activists and arrest of peaceful protestors.
Papua, which shares a border with the island nation Papua New Guinea, just north of Australia, has been the site of low-level insurgency since the 1960s.
The former Dutch colony declared itself independent in 1961, but neighbouring Indonesia took control of Papua two years later on the condition it hold an independence referendum.
Jakarta annexed the mineral-rich region in 1969 with a UN-backed vote that is widely seen as a sham.
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1) Papua Governor: No more negotiation with Freeport


2) West Papuan violence escalates 
3) Indonesia to get first payment from Norway under $1b REDD+ scheme
4) Indonesia’s domestically focused foreign policy
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1) Papua Governor: No more negotiation with Freeport
Published 17 hours ago on 20 February 2019
By pr9c6tr3_juben



Demonstration of former Freeport employees, students and Papuan people in  Papua Parliament building on Tuesday (21/08/2018). – Jubi / Mawel

Jayapura, Jubi – Papua Governor Lukas Enembe consulted an ultimatum against PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) management and its subcontractors to reinstate 8,300 striking employees immediately.
This statement revealed by the Head of Labor Inspection Office of the Papua Manpower Office, Melkianus Bosawer, in Timika on Thursday (14 /02/2019). He said the governor gave a deadline of two weeks for PTFI to follow up the letter.
“The governor expects that the Mimika Regional Government, the regent and parliament members and all relevant offices of Mimika Regency to follow up this issue seriously. The problem of employment occurs in Papua, not in Jakarta. So, if within two weeks, the management of Freeport does not respond to the governor’s letter, we will report this issue to the governor,” he said as quoted by Antara News Agency.
Regarding the labour issue of PTFI that have been taking place since May 2017, the Manpower Office of Papua has sent labour inspectors to conduct investigations and inspections in Timika since May 2018. The results state that the strike by the employees of PTFI and its subcontractors in May 2017 was legal.
Meanwhile, related to the labour inspectors’ recommendation, the management of PTFI has been given seven days to clarify, but until now they have not yet submitted the requested data related to the labour issue.
Based on that, he said, Governor Enembe issued a decree covered three points, namely order the management of PTFI and other subcontractor companies to immediately pay wages and provide the right of workers who did a strike as included in the Collective Labour Agreement Handbook 2015-2017 and the Industrial Relations Guidelines.
Moreover, PTFI is asked to immediately reinstate all former employers on strike and prohibited from recruiting new employees before the employment issue is completely solved.  The governor also stressed that there was no more negotiation with the management of PTFI regarding the issue of on-strike employees.
“There are too many victims; 41 employees who joined the strike died, whereas other employees cannot access the health services because the company blocked it,” said Bosawer.
He added the governor’s attitude toward this issue driven by a humanitarian concern to many problems faced by the on-strike employees, given that more than two years 8,300 employees have not found a better solution to their problem. However, Papua Provincial Government suggested the former employees do not conduct any acts that possibly taken by PTFI to the court.
On the other hand, he said, the government is also ready if they should face PTFI in the court to stand for the right of thousands of employees who unilaterally dismissed by the company under the pretext of voluntary resigning.
Separately, Freeport spokesperson Riza Pratama said the former employees are part of around 3,500 workers of PTFI whose their contract has terminated due to prolonged absence. Based on labour regulation, they qualify to be considered resigned.
“The company have conducted some efforts to call these employees to return to work, including an announcement in newspaper and radio, advertisement, poster, a letter via the community letter, and direct letter to the employees calling them to work. However, only a small portion of them answer this calling,” said Riza Pratama. (*)
 
Reporter: Victor Mambor
Editor: Pipit Maizier


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2) West Papuan violence escalates 

Listen now(Link will open in new window) Download audio



The simmering tensions that have existed in West Papua for more than 50 years have again broken out into direct conflict in the Nduga region.
Diplomatic efforts for the United Nations to recognise West Papua's claims for independence also continue in Geneva.
The violent deaths of an estimated 20 road construction workers in the Nduga region has sparked retaliation from the Indonesian Army……..




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3) Indonesia to get first payment from Norway under $1b REDD+ scheme
by  on 20 February 2019


  • Indonesia and Norway have agreed on a first payment from a $1 billion deal under which Indonesia preserves its rainforests to curb carbon dioxide emissions.
  • The agreement comes nearly a decade since the deal was signed in 2010, with the delay attributed largely to the need for legislation and policy frameworks to be put in place, as well as a change in the Indonesian government since then.
  • The amount of the first payment still needs to be negotiated by both sides, with Indonesia pushing for a higher valuation than the $5 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent that Norway paid Brazil under a similar deal.
  • Indonesia still has work to do to ensure a consistent pace of progress and tackle the forest fires that account for much of the loss of its forests.
JAKARTA — It’s taken nearly a decade, but Indonesia is finally set to receive the first part of a $1 billion payment pledged by the Norwegian government for preserving some of the Southeast Asian country’s vast tropical rainforests.
Indonesia’s environment minister, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, and her Norwegian counterpart, Ola Elvestuen, made the announcement in Jakarta on Feb. 16. The payment, whose amount is yet to be determined, is for Indonesia preventing the emission of 4.8 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) through reducing its rate of deforestation in 2017.…………………...

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4) Indonesia’s domestically focused foreign policy

Indonesia, for a country of 260 million people covering a vast archipelago, is often remarked to have a small global profile. This wasn’t always the case. In the early years after gaining independence, for example, Indonesia’s Sukarno was a leader of the non-aligned movement during the Cold War. Indonesia even dramatically left the United Nations in 1965 after newly-independent rival Malaysia, who Sukarno had refused to recognise, was granted a seat on the UN Security Council. Indonesia thrn formed the short-lived left-wing UN alternative CONEFO (Conference of the New Emerging Forces…………………….


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