Tuesday, January 14, 2020

1) 11 native Papuan students fail to leave Papua to resume their studies

2) Papua police chief deplores blockade against students

3) Jakarta Six trial postponed after defendants insists on wearing penis gourds

4) Raja Ampat’s government says to expel tourist ships for destroying coral reefs

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/139636/11-native-papuan-students-fail-to-leave-papua-to-resume-their-studies

1) 11 native Papuan students fail to leave Papua to resume their studies

19 hours ago

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Eleven native Papuan students who wanted to return to their universities in cities outside the Papua and West Papua Provinces could not board their aircraft at Sentani Airport on Saturday after some 15 other students prevented them from leaving.

The students who disagreed with their peers over getting back to their universities in the cities that they have been trying to leave since August 2019 had even stormed the Sentani Airport. They grabbed their peers' flight tickets and boarding passes.

This incident was narrated by Priest Alexander Maury, chief coordinator for returning the native Papuan students, during a press conference held in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Monday.

During the press conference, Maury was accompanied by his secretary, Matius Murib, and Chairman of the Papuan Customary Youth Organisation, Christian Arebo.

Some 700 native Papuan students joined an exodus by leaving their universities in various cities to return to their hometowns in Papua and West Papua in the aftermath of the alleged racist slurs against the Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on Aug 16, 2019.
Related news: President's youth staff to promote young Papuans' products in US
Related news: Papuan govt prioritizes national exam`s logistics to Jayapura`s remote areas
Related news: Social approach needed to settle Papua conflict: Kalla

Violence then erupted in several parts of Papua and West Papua in the aftermath of the Surabaya incident that had triggered public ire among native Papuans.

On August 29, 2019, the indigenous Papuan residents of Jayapura staged a violent protest, which ended with several buildings and vehicles being torched.

The Papuan students who are keen to return to their universities in Java and other islands would be escorted by security personnel until they board their airplanes, Matius Murib said.

According to Murib, who is also chairman of the PAK-HAM, a human rights watch, a group of students who disagreed with their colleagues' choice to return had repeatedly come to the PAK-HAM secretariat to echo their political stance over this matter.

They argued that returning the native Papuan students to the cities where they are studying cannot be done without a dialogue with the Papua governor and those from several related agencies, he said.

However, in fact, the students have failed to show goodwill over holding a dialogue with the Papua governor, he said.

The blockade that the students had caused had been reported to the Papua police chief and commander of the XVII Cenderawasih Regional Military Command.

EDITED BY INE

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/139696/papua-police-chief-deplores-blockade-against-students

2) Papua police chief deplores blockade against students

4 hours ago

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw deplored the blockade by 15 Papuan students against their peers wanting to return to their universities outside Papua and West Papua Provinces they had left in August 2019.

In dealing with this matter, Waterpauw pledged stern action against those preventing the native Papuan students from various cities outside Papua and West Papua from continuing their studies.

"As the Papua police chief and a native Papuan, I deplore the blockade because it will affect the students and security," he told ANTARA in Jayapura Tuesday commenting on the recent incident at Sentani Airport.

Eleven native Papuan students who wanted to return to their universities were prevented from boarding their aircraft at Sentani Airport on January 11, 2020 by some 15 other students.

The students who disagreed with their peers over returning to their universities had even stormed the Sentani Airport.

They grabbed the flight tickets and boarding passes of their peers, Priest Alexander Maury, chief coordinator, said at a press conference Monday.

He would take stern action against those preventing students from returning to their universities, Waterpauw said.

The exodus of several hundreds of indigenous Papuan students last year had hampered the progress of their studies while the students preventing them from returning to their universities were dropouts, he said.

Some 700 native Papuan students reportedly joined an exodus by leaving their universities in various cities to return to their hometowns in Papua and West Papua in the aftermath of the alleged racist slurs against the Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on August 16, 2019.

Violence then erupted in several parts of Papua and West Papua in the aftermath of the Surabaya incident that had triggered public ire among native Papuans.

On August 29, 2019 indigenous Papuan residents of Jayapura staged a violent protest, which ended with several buildings and vehicles being torched.

In dealing with the blockade, a human rights activist, Matius Murib, demanded that security be provided to Papuan students until they board their aircraft.

A group of students who disagreed with their colleagues' choice to return had repeatedly come to the human rights watch, PAK-HAM secretariat to echo their political stance over this matter, according to Murib, chairman of the PAK-HAM.

They argued that students should not be allowed to return without a dialogue with the Papua governor and others from several related agencies, he said.

However, the students failed to show goodwill over holding a dialogue with the Papua governor, he said. (INE)
Related news: 11 native Papuan students fail to leave Papua to resume their studies
Related news: Yahukimo District head confirms 600 Papuan students returned home

Monday, January 13, 2020

1) Police strengthen forces in five newly formed police precincts in restive Papua

2) Papua police chief warns his men against arms trafficking

3) Papuan regent found dead in Jakarta hotel

4) Pacific predictions: 2020

5) Wilem Walilo prosecuted one year sentence for carrying a sharp weapon to feed pigs

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https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/13/police-strengthen-forces-in-five-newly-formed-police-precincts-in-restive-papua.html

1) Police strengthen forces in five newly formed police precincts in restive Papua

News Desk The Jakarta Post

Members of the Indonesian Mobile Brigade head to Nduga, where 31 construction workers were believed to have been shot dead, from Wamena on Dec. 4, 2018. (AFP/Anyong)

Jakarta / Mon, January 13, 2020 / 04:53 pm

The police are reinforcing five newly formed regional police units in five regencies of the restive Papua province, which has been rocked by unrest over the past few months.

Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said that officials were ready to be placed at five new police precincts in Puncak, Intan Jaya, Deiyai, Yalimo and Nduga, and that their respective chiefs had been inaugurated in the capital, Jayapura.

“We are transferring personnel to the new police precincts, [however] we are not yet able to assign all of them at once, most likely only about 30 percent of them now. That is good enough,” Paulus said as quoted by Antara on Monday.

The five regencies have seen outbreaks of violence, sometimes involving armed assailants.

In Nduga on Saturday, an officer of the police’s Mobile Brigade was shot in the thigh by a person the police claimed was member of an armed criminal group (KKB) operating in the area.

Paulus said that following the incident, the situation had returned to relative normalcy.

“Indeed, one of our officers was shot on his left thigh while chasing KKB members who carried out attacks around the Kenyam Airport complex on Saturday. But overall, it has been relatively under control,” Paulus said.

Clashes and fatal shootouts between security personnel and armed assailants have also been reported in the other regencies. Two military officers and a policeman were killed in Intan Jaya in December while on security duty as the district prepared for Christmas celebrations.

Paulus hoped that the presence of the five new police precincts would strengthen communication and guidance and would help local communities in the areas.

“I advise the people in the five areas to accept and build harmonious communication with our personnel who will be serving in these areas,” he said.

Paulus said the police would gradually establish a headquarters for the five new precincts and would continue to equip personnel so that their duties at the district level would run optimally.

In the meantime, the police would ask the local administrations to lend building and housing facilities to be used as temporary dormitories and barracks by police personnel serving in the areas, he said. (syk)

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/139632/papua-police-chief-warns-his-men-against-arms-trafficking

2) Papua police chief warns his men against arms trafficking

4 hours ago

Timika, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw warned his men against getting involved in arms trafficking activities with the armed criminal groups in Papua Province and said he would take stern action against them. "There will be no pardon for those getting involved in arms trafficking activities. We are definitely sacking them. They will also be brought to court," he told journalists in Timika, the capital of Mimika District, Papua Province, Monday.

He believes that a majority of police officers, posted in the Indonesian province of Papua, are highly dedicated, loyal, and reliable. However, there would likely be one or two who misbehave, Waterpauw said.

Investigators from the Indonesian police and military in Mimika District, Papua Province, are still probing the mystery behind 60 bullets and two active grenade launcher modules (GLMs), found at a dumpsite in Iwaka Subdistrict.

The ammunition and GLMs that were discovered on December 31, 2019 and January 1, 2020 along with
household garbage at the dumpsite belonged to the military and police, Mimika Police Chief I Gusti Era Adhinata revealed.

The joint team of investigators were attempting to trace the origins of the ammunition and GLMs and uncover the identity of the person or persons who could have taken them out of the weapon storage facility, he said, adding that the investigators had grilled several witnesses.

One of the witnesses who had been questioned was the driver of the garbage truck who might have carried the ammunition and GLMs along with the household waste, to the Iwaka dumpsite, he said.

The weaponry, packed in a plastic bag, was first discovered by Hendra, a 17-year-old operator of a backhoe at the dumpsite on December 31, 2019.

The weaponry was carried by a Mimika District Government-owned garbage truck with license plate DS 9593 MA, according to Darjo, Hendra's colleague.

Ten bullets were found on December 31, 2019 while 50 others along with two GLMs were discovered on January 1, 2020. The weaponry had been handed over to the Papua Police headquarters' Battalion B of Mobile Brigade Unit.

Meanwhile, the case of selling and purchasing 600 bullets involving three civilians is being handled by the Timika District Court's panel of judges while two army personnel who were involved in the case are being tried at a military tribunal in Jayapura.

Amid this case, the security situation in Papua remains vulnerable to the acts of deadly violence by notorious Papuan separatists.

The rebels were engaged in repeated exchanges of fire with the Indonesian military and police personnel. The rebels also launched deadly attacks on civilians over the past years and killed a number of them.

The Papua Police recorded that from early January to December 28, 2019, a total of 23 shooting and criminal cases involving the armed Papuan groups had claimed the lives of 10 members of the Indonesian police and military as well as 10 civilians.

The armed Papuan criminals committed such criminal acts in the administrative areas of the districts of Puncak Jaya, Jayawijaya, Mimika, and Paniai in 2019, Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw remarked on December 28, 2019.

Related news: Timika police probing case of bullets, GLMs found at a dumpsite

Related news: Sorong police's probe ongoing into airport's attackers

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https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/13/papuan-regent-found-dead-in-jakarta-hotel.html

3) Papuan regent found dead in Jakarta hotel

News Desk The Jakarta Pos

Jakarta / Mon, January 13, 2020 / 05:59 pm

Benediktus Tambonop, the regent of Boven Digoel, Papua, was found dead in his hotel room in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Monday morning.

The 44-year-old Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician was in the capital to attend the party's national working meeting.

Central Jakarta police chief Sr. Comr. Heru Novianto said that Benediktus's body was found at around 5 a.m. on Monday morning and that the regent was suspected to have died of illness.

"We found medicine in his hotel room," Heru said, as quoted by tribunnews.com. "We will provide more information when the investigation is concluded."

Papua regional secretary Hery Dosinaen confirmed the news and expressed his surprise at hearing of Benediktus' passing.

"We received a phone call from the Home Affairs Ministry one hour ago that the deceased was brought to a hospital for an autopsy," Hery said on Monday, as quoted by Antara News Agency.

"As for the administration of Boven Digoel regency, it will continue according the prevailing regulations," he said. "What's clear is that for now [Benediktus] will be replaced by the deputy regent."

Hery added that the provincial administration was still waiting for the autopsy results and would later arrange for the body to be sent back to Papua. (kmt)

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https://devpolicy.org/pacific-predictions-2020-20200114/

4) Pacific predictions: 2020

January 14, 2020 Add Comment by Tess Newton Cain 6 min read

As we enter not only a new year but a new decade, there is much to anticipate in the Pacific islands region.

Elections and domestic politics

A number of countries in the region will have elections during 2020: Kiribati, Niue, Palau and Vanuatu. The lingering discontent in Kiribati surrounding last year’s switch in diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China may have an adverse impact on the incumbent government. In Vanuatu, Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabismasmas can point to having served a full parliamentary term as Prime Minister as a reason why he should remain in the top job but that may not be enough. The current premier of Niue, Sir Toke Talagi, has been suffering from ill health recently casting doubt on whether he will contest this year. Meanwhile, there have been calls for more young people to stand for parliament in that country.

Elsewhere in the region, some of what happened on the political scene in 2019 will continue to play out. In Marshall Islands, the Niitjela (Parliament) met last week and elected David Kabua as the new President further to last year’s elections. In the immediate aftermath of Solomon Islands’ switch from Taiwan to China last year there were indications that Prime Minister Sogavare might face a motion of no confidence. Whilst that did not eventuate in 2019, it remains on the cards for this year. In Papua New Guinea, this year will be crunch time for the Marape/Stevens government. The grace period that protects them from a challenge by way of a motion of no confidence comes to an end in late 2020 and there are already whispers of this paving a comeback for Peter O’Neill who was ousted from the PM’s seat in the middle of last year.

There will also be elections in New Zealand, which will be closely watched given that country’s closeness to the Pacific islands region, and the centrality of the Pacific Reset to the Ardern/Peters government’s policy platform. The incumbent, Jacinda Ardern, was named Islands Business’ ‘Pacific Person of the Year’ for 2019.

There are also significant elections taking place at sub-national level. In Vanuatu, the SANMA provincial elections taking place this month will be closely watched to see if they cast any light on what we can expect in the general elections in March. In Bougainville, there will be elections for President and government of the autonomous region. These elections will be heavily influenced by the results of last year’s referendum on independence. However, there is currently some debate as to whether constitutional arrangements should be modified to allow the current President, John Momis, to run for another term. If this is what is to happen, the elections may need to be delayed.

Geopolitics

The last couple of years has seen a proliferation of policies, programs and photo opportunities as established and emerging Pacific partners seek to (re)establish their influence in the region. This is expected to continue through 2020, including by way of high-level visits to the region. For example, President Emmanuel Macron will visit French Polynesia in April. This is significant given France’s displeasure at the territory having been reinscribed onto the UN’s Decolonisation List.

The impacts of Solomon Islands and Kiribati switching their diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China will continue to be felt during 2020. We have already seen some developments with the visit of President Maamau of Kiribati to Beijing where he met with President Xi Jinping and signed up to the Belt and Road Initiative. Whilst the Taiwanese government has expressed confidence of the continuing relationship with Marshall Islands, Taipei will be watching President Kabua’s early movements closely and has already announced a high-level visit to Majuro to help keep this relationship on track. Taiwan now has four allies in the region (Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu) and will continue to expend diplomatic and political capital to avoid losing any of them during 2020.

Independence and self-determination

Work will begin on the negotiations between the Bougainville and Papua New Guinea governments further to the result of last year’s referendum which saw 97.7% of those who voted opt for independence. This will have to be ratified by the Parliament of PNG, under the terms of the Bougainville Peace Agreement. Positions on the future of Bougainville vary among PNG parliamentarians, including Prime Minister Marape’s suggestion of ‘economic independence’. Moreover, that agreement does not provide a timeline for how long this process should take. There will need to be a lot of work done around managing community expectations and keeping the flow of information moving in order to avoid frustration.

In New Caledonia, the second of a possible three referendums on independence from France will be held on 6 September. In 2018, the result was much closer than many had predicted with 43.6% voting in favour of independence, exceeding the 30% that some had been predicting.

After some considerable delay, the people of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia will hold an independence referendum in March.

The question of self-determination for West Papua and addressing issues of alleged human rights abuses by the Indonesian state will loom large during 2020, particularly during the meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders in Vanuatu. At last year’s meeting of Pacific Islands Forum leaders Vanuatu lobbied successfully for the issue of West Papua to be given more prominence in the final communiqué than had been the case in the preceding couple of years. This includes a strong signal from leaders that they expect the government of Indonesia to facilitate a visit to the region by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in order for her office to report to leaders when they meet this year in Port Vila.

Meanwhile, in a region dominated by relatively young countries, Fiji will mark its 50th anniversary of becoming independent this year and Vanuatu its 40th.

Pacific regionalism

We have already seen a change of leadership at the oldest of the region’s peak bodies, the Pacific Community (SPC). Dr Colin Tukuitonga was replaced as Director-General by Dr Stuart Minchin late last year. The meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders to be held in Vanuatu in August will be Dame Meg Taylor’s last as Secretary-General. By convention, it is Micronesia’s turn to nominate the person to take on this position. The front runner is Gerald Zackios, the current ambassador of Marshall Islands to the United States.

There will be ongoing work to further develop and embed the ‘Blue Pacific’ as a unifying narrative that speaks to the needs and aspirations of all members. However, this will take place in a context where there are multiple pressures on national governments, in domestic as well as foreign policy spheres. Divergences of approach when it comes to climate policy will continue to be a significant fault line at the meeting of PIF leaders. Vanuatu, the 2020 host, has already made it clear that the primary focus for that meeting will be climate change.

Tess’ past ‘Pacific predictions’ can be found here: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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https://eng.jubi.co.id/wilem-walilo-prosecuted-one-year-sentence-for-carrying-a-sharp-weapon-to-feed-pigs/

5) Wilem Walilo prosecuted one year sentence for carrying a sharp weapon to feed pigs

Published 12 hours ago on 13 January 2020 By Admin1

Jayapura, Jubi – Jayapura District Court resumed a trial against Wilem Walilo who suspects involved in the mass rampage of 29 August 2019 on Wednesday (08/01/20). The public prosecutor charged him with one year sentence for possessing a sharp weapon ‘badik’ which the purpose of feeding his pigs.

In the trial chaired by Judge Maria Sitanggang with other panel members Abdul Gafur Bunguin and Muliayan, public prosecutor Ismail Nahumarury asked the panel of judges to state the defendant Wilem Walilo was found guilty of carrying a sharp weapon.

“Wilem Walilo is guilty of carrying out a sharp weapon as stipulated in Article 2 verse (1) of the Emergency Law No.12 of 1951. Therefore, the defendant must sentence one year, which reduced with his current detention time,” said Ismail while reading the statement.

Walilo is a civil servant who arrested on 30 August 2019 for carrying a sharp weapon ‘badik’ holding between his waist on his way to feed his pigs. When passing in front of the Papua Governor Office to APO, he passed by the crowd of students. Therefore, he turned his motorcycle to the upper road Dok V Atas. On his way to APO, the police arrested him after finding he was carrying a sharp weapon.

A member of the Advocate Team for Papuans, Sugeng Teguh Santoso as his legal advisor, questioned the public prosecutor’s charge. He asserted that Article 2 verse (2) of the Emergency Law No. 12 of 1951 clearly states that carrying sharp weapons for agricultural affairs, domestic work, or other legitimate purposes cannot be considered a crime.

Sugeng further said his client could get a sentence if the Court can prove his guilty of carrying weapons to commit a crime instead of working. “In Walilo’s case, he brought ‘badik’ for working. We think the court must release him because it already found out that the reason he carried the weapon was for feeding his pigs,” Sugeng said.

Also, stated Sugeng, his client actually protected Buton people living nearby his house during the mass riot in Jayapura on 29 August 2019. “He could not feed the pigs that day. So, the next day on 30 August 2019, he left his house to feed the pigs, but the police arrested him in a sweeping on the road,” he said.

In the meantime, the Chief panel of judges Maria Sitanggang said the trial against Walilo would resume on 15 January 2020. “A hearing to hear responses from legal advisers on the charge aimed by the public prosecutor,” Sitangang said. (*)

Reporter: Hengky Yeimo

Editor: Pipit Maizier

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Sunday, January 12, 2020

Indonesia’s “Pacific elevation”: Elevating what and who?

https://blogs.griffith.edu.au/asiainsights/indonesias-pacific-elevation-elevating-what-and-who/?fbclid=IwAR3n6RmorwudoGHxj8h3WelQek5sC3SWc3dMPYPIw-QN37vjAYm4TdlKwl4

Indonesia’s “Pacific elevation”: Elevating what and who?

Posted by Griffith Asia Institute | Published 13 January 2020

In July 2019, at the inaugural Indonesian Exposition held in Auckland, New Zealand, Indonesia launched its ‘Pacific Elevation’, laying claim to a Pacific islands identity and touting its elevated engagement with the region. The event was attended by dignitaries including the foreign ministers of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia plus representatives from some Pacific island countries. Jakarta also used the occasion to establish diplomatic relations and sign cooperation agreements with the Cook Islands and Niue.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Ms. Retno Marsudi described it as “a new era of Pacific partnership. A ‘Pacific Elevation’.” Jakarta used the occasion to peddle its claim that Indonesia is culturally and ethnically linked to the Pacific islands. Ms Marsudi said that she “saw Polynesian and Melanesian faces that would not be out of place all over Indonesia.” Indonesia’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Mr Tantowi Yahya, asked those from Papua, Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara to stand up as he said to the crowd, “Look at them. They 100 per cent look like you.”

Indonesia is laying claim to a Pacific islands identity by presenting itself as a Pacific island country and therefore asserting a right to be engaged in and influence in the region. But why does Indonesia claim to be a Pacific island country? What does Indonesia’s ‘Pacific Elevation’ mean for the region? Who and what is being elevated? What underlies this relationship? How does Oceania fit into Indonesia’s foreign policy agenda?

These are a few of the many questions that Pacific island countries should consider as they engage with Jakarta.

Central to the Pacific Elevation are two issues: trade and West Papua.

Indonesia’s trade with Pacific island countries is currently worth around Aus$656 million. Jakarta aims to increase it. In an opinion column in The Jakarta Post on March 21 2019, which was published at the time of the Indonesia-South Pacific Forum (ISPF) meeting in Jakarta, Ms Marsudi highlighted the negotiations for Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Ms Marsudi says, “The PTAs are expected to transform our similar sociocultural traits, historical traditions and political partnership into concrete economic benefits for the peoples of Indonesia and the South Pacific.”

However, concealed in its claim to a Pacific Islands identity is an issue that has long been a thorn in Indonesia’s sandal, but a gem in its bank account: West Papua.

Jakarta is determined to quell discussions about West Papua amongst Pacific islanders. In the past two decades, there has been an increasing awareness of the human rights abuses and atrocities committed by the Indonesian state against indigenous Melanesian West Papuans since the 1960s. Many Pacific islanders support indigenous West Papuans’ demands for the Indonesian state to be held accountable and for self-determination to be considered. This is even if their governments have different policies or are indifferent to the issue.

So, when the Melanesians were showcased at the Auckland event, what the Indonesian Foreign Minister and Ambassador conveniently glossed over was the fact that West Papuans have been abused and marginalised; their lands have been alienated, and about 500,000 of them have allegedly murdered by the Indonesian state in the past 50 years.

At the regional level, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) walks a tightrope. Since 2000, it has raised concerns about human rights violations, but acknowledges Indonesia’s sovereignty over West Papua.

Discussions about West Papua cause anxiety for the Indonesian Government. In an attempt to strengthen its presence in the region and drown out talks about the issue, Jakarta has inserted itself in regional and sub-regional organisations, becoming a Forum Dialogue Partner in 2001 and an Associate Member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) in 2015.

The Pacific Elevation therefore enhances Indonesia’s presence and interests in the region, aims to increase trade and suppresses any support for West Papua’s demands for independence. As icing on the diplomatic cake, in October 2019, Jakarta announced its plan to set aside a Aus$1 billion endowment fund by 2021, from which Aus$60 million will be allocated as aid to Pacific island countries annually.

Indonesia’s Pacific Elevation should also be understood within the context of Indonesia’s emergence as a Southeast Asian power with a growing economy, a large population, a sizeable military, and a government determined to make its mark in domestic and international arenas. Under President Joko (“Jokowi”) Widodo, Indonesia’s foreign policy is framed around its Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF) initiative, which aims to establish the country as a global maritime axis.

This is particularly significant given Indonesia’s location between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which have become geopolitically important in the wake of the contests for influence between the US and it allies on one hand, and China on the other. Jakarta takes advantage of that rivalry and emerging geopolitical trends such as the Indo-Pacific “to establish sea connectivity, which will bring Indonesia closer to the South Pacific.” As part of this strategy, Jakarta has mapped Oceania into its sphere of influence and elevated its interests. In the process, it hopes to drown out any support for West Papuan independence.

As Pacific island governments embrace Indonesia, there is a need to ask: What/who is being elevated in the Pacific Elevation?

AUTHOR

Tarcisius Kabutaulaka is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The views expressed here are his personal opinion.

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1) The challenge for Jokowi 2.0: How to revitalise the economy

2) Papua police chief visits an injured policeman in Timika

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https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2020/01/12/the-challenge-for-jokowi-2-0-how-to-revitalise-the-economy/

1) The challenge for Jokowi 2.0: How to revitalise the economy

12 January 2020

Author: Hal Hill, ANU

Viewed in the long sweep of history, Indonesia’s first two decades of democracy have been quite remarkable.

In the late 1990s, the economy was in the midst of the one of the deepest economic crises in recent global history. The 32-year authoritarian rule of former president Suharto ended ingloriously, with no political roadmap for succession. There were various ‘Yugoslav’ scenarios of territorial disintegration. There were also ominous ethnic disputes, generating a million internally displaced citizens. Much of the modern banking sector had collapsed and public debt was spiralling.

With the benefit of hindsight, this gloom was misplaced. Indonesia has had five free and credible national elections, and robust democratic events in its more than 500 subnational tiers of government. Economic growth resumed in 2000 and has averaged 5 per cent this century. The country has weathered various storms, including the 2008–09 global financial crisis, the 2013 taper tantrums, and the end of the China-driven commodity boom. ‘Big bang’ decentralisation, which transferred major administrative authority and financial resources to the districts, is functioning. And thanks to swift and effective fiscal consolidation after the crisis, public debt is no longer a cause for concern.

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, whose legitimacy is enhanced by his lack of family dynasty, wealth and military connections, won a convincing second-term mandate in April 2019. The country is largely at peace with itself. Indonesia was not included in the now-forgotten BRICS, but its economy is doing much better than the three resource-rich members of that group.

This should be the best of times for Indonesia. But curiously, it is not.

The root of the problem is that living standards are not rising fast enough. This is because President Jokowi, like his predecessors, has not been able to implement a viable path towards accelerated economic growth.

The good news is that the macroeconomic policy framework is intact, with highly competent professionals running both the Ministry of Finance and Bank Indonesia. This now appears to be a durable feature of modern, democratic Indonesia after the bitter memories of the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis.

In practically every other area of economic policy, reform is difficult. The state is struggling to lift the performance of local governments, raise taxes to finance its ambitious spending programs, reduce inequality, and open the economy to new commercial opportunities abroad. Nor can it seem to reform the corruption-prone bureaucracy and judiciary, protect workers while creating a more employment-friendly labour market, or improve efficiency in the state enterprise sector.

The irony is that President Jokowi was returned to the palace with a ringing endorsement and this is his last opportunity to make a difference. Since he does not (yet) appear to be intent on trying to establish a family dynasty, he has nothing to lose by being politically bold.

In 2014, campaigning for his first term, he set an aspirational goal of 7 per cent economic growth. Within a month of taking office he boldly slashed the crippling fuel subsidies, freeing up fiscal space for his new spending priorities.

Two months into his second term, the growth target has not been resurrected. President Jokowi appears more cautious — opting for something approaching an all-party grand coalition government and even appointing his controversial erstwhile challenger, Prabowo Subianto, to the key defence portfolio.

But gone is any pretence at a ‘cabinet of professionals’ as he once promised. Only the occupants of the finance, research and education portfolios meet this criterion. Even the coordinating economics minister is a non-economist politician, as are ministers in the other economic portfolios such as trade, planning and investment.

Indonesia’s rainbow cabinet coalitions deliver a compliant House of Representatives, but the presence of powerful veto players inside government and the absence of a common and compelling reform narrative means that this will likely be a status quo administration. It reflects the fact that, without a strongly reforming leader — perhaps assisted by the threat of an economic crisis — the country is simply difficult to govern.

This is not to say that Jokowi is an inactive president. On the contrary, practically every day sees him inaugurating some major infrastructure project. For an infrastructure-deficit country like Indonesia this makes a lot of sense — provided the projects are subject to rigorous cost-benefit analysis, which not all of them are.

There is no greater symbol of Jokowi’s infrastructure vision than the creation of a new capital city in the remote jungles of East Kalimantan. This grand project may well be his lasting legacy. Symbolically, it also addresses the nationally cherished goal of promoting development in lagging eastern Indonesia — although it won’t contribute to resolving problems in the restive Papua provinces.

It is important to keep these challenges in perspective. Indonesia remains a functioning democracy. This ample democratic space and the vibrant civil society at least ensure that community grievances are not driven underground. Poverty is still falling. The macroeconomic policy framework, guided by able professionals, safeguards the economy in an era of global economic volatility. And Jokowi may well surprise on the upside, as he has in the past.

Indonesia’s recovery from the dark days of the late 1990s was little short of miraculous. But its economy is no longer an ‘East Asian miracle’, as the World Bank characterised it in its seminal 1993 volume.

Hal Hill is the HW Arndt Professor Emeritus of Southeast Asian Economies at The Australian National University.

This article is part of an EAF special feature series on 2019 in review and the year ahead.

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https://en.antaranews.com/news/139571/papua-police-chief-visits-an-injured-policeman-in-timika

2) Papua police chief visits an injured policeman in Timika

9 hours ago

Timika, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw visited Luki, a mobile brigade personnel who survived an armed Papuan rebel group's attack but sustained a gunshot wound on his left thigh, at the Mitra Masyarakat Hospital in Timika on Sunday.

Luki was shot by several members of the notorious rebel group when he was cleaning the yard of a security post near Kenyam Airport in the capital of Nduga District on Saturday morning. The security check point is located near a forest.

Luki would be evacuated from Timika, the capital of Mimika District in Papua Province, to Kramat Jati Police Hospital in East Jakarta on Sunday afternoon to get a better medical treatment.

During his visit, Waterpauw was accompanied by Mimika Police Chief Adjunct Sen.Coms.I Gusti Gede Era Adhinata and several top officers of the Papua police headquarters.

According to Fajar, a medical doctor who would accompany Luki during his evacuation from Timika to the Kramat Jati Police Hospital, Luki's health condition was good enough.

Luki is a member of the Maluku Police Headquarters' Mobile Brigade Division who has been working along with his colleagues in Papua Province since five months ago.

In December 2019, several Indonesian soldiers engaged in a gunfight with an armed Papuan group's members in the Kaliasin area, Keerom District, Papua Province, leading to death of an Indonesian army soldier.

The fallen soldier from the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea (PNG) border security task force is identified as Second Sergeant Miftakfur, according to spokesman of the XVII Cenderawasih Regional Military Command Col. Eko Daryanto.

The Papuan armed separatists engaged in repeated fire exchanges with the Indonesian military and police personnel. The rebels also killed and launched deadly attacks on civilians over the past years.

The Papua Police recorded that from early January to Dec 28, 2019, a total of 23 shooting and criminal cases involving the armed Papuan groups had claimed the lives of 10 members of the Indonesian police and military as well as 10 civilians.

The armed Papuan criminals committed such criminal acts in the administrative areas of the districts of Puncak Jaya, Jayawijaya, Mimika, and Paniai in 2019, Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw remarked on Dec 28, 2019.

Acknowledging this grim reality, Waterpauw's predecessor, Inspector General Rudolf A. Rodja, stated that security disturbances, fueled by the rebels, remain a tenacious challenge for Indonesia's security apparatuses in Papua.

Related news: Indonesian soldier in Papua loses life in shoot-out
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1) The challenge for Jokowi 2.0: How to revitalise the economy

2) Papua police chief visits an injured policeman in Timika

1) The challenge for Jokowi 2.0: How to revitalise the economy

2) Papua police chief visits an injured policeman in Timika

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