[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - 12/19/05
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- A call upon African Nations to Request UN Review of West Papua
- Lack of funds stalls Papua aid mission
- Famine kills at least 80 in Indonesia's Papua province
- Government Prepares Communication Tools for All Villages in Papua
- Govt ignores polio in remote provinces
- Australia to train Kopassus again
- PM congratulated for maintaining Indonesia ban
- Licensed to kill
- Bad cops undermine illegal logging raids
- BP, CNOOC hire 7 lenders for a $1.3b Tangguh loan
- CNOOC Denies Seeking Cut in LNG Imports
*****************************
For Immediate Release
Date: December 16, 2005
Washington, D.C. --
Faleomavaega and Congressman Donald Payne call upon African Nations to
Request UN Review of West Papua
Congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa), Ranking Member of the
House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and
Congressman Donald Payne (D-New Jersey), Ranking Member of the House
International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights &
International Operations, announced today that they have called upon the
African nations to request a review of the United Nation’s actions in West
Papua.
The Congressmen’s request comes in response to a petition letter they sent
to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on March 14, 2005 in which they
requested his support in conducting a review of the 1969 Act of No Choice
in which 1,025 Papuan elders were coerced and manipulated into voting
unanimously on behalf of 80,000 Papuans to become a part of Indonesia
rather than an independent nation. Although the UN sanctioned the 1969
Act of No Choice, the Act is generally regarded in the international
community as a fraudulent tactic that was used by former President Suharto
and his military regime to claim control of West Papua, a territory rich
in natural resources including gold, silver, copper, oil and gas. In
fact, recently declassified US documents show that the Indonesia
government knew that allowing an open referendum would lead to West Papuan
independence.
In a letter dated September 26, 2005, the Secretary General informed
Congressman Faleomavaega and Congressman Payne that he would consider a
review of the 1969 Act and the UN’s conduct in West Papua if the General
Assembly called for it. Should the Assembly decide to revisit this issue,
Secretary General Annan has assured that he will do his utmost to
implement the Assembly’s mandate.
For this reason, Congressman Faleomavaega and Congressman Payne have
called upon the Ambassadors representing the African nations before the UN
to initiate a call for a General Assembly review. Historically, the
African nations raised objections to the 1969 Act of No Choice. Bolivian
Ambassador Ortiz-Sans, who monitored the vote on behalf of the United
Nations, also noted that the referendum had occurred in the absence of
political freedoms guaranteed by the 1962 New York Agreement brokered by
the United States that set the framework for Dutch withdrawal from West
Papua.
Ambassador Otiz-Sanz issued the following statement in his report:
“I regret to have to express my reservation regarding the implementation
of Article XXII of the (New York) Agreement relating to ‘the rights,
including the rights of free speech, freedom of movement and of assembly
of the inhabitants of the area.’ In spite of my constant efforts, this
important provision was not fully implemented and the (Indonesian)
Administration exercised at all times a tight political control over the
population.”
In spite of the Ambassador’s report, testimonials from the press, the
opposition of fifteen countries and the cries for help from the Papuans
themselves, the UN sanctioned Indonesia’s act and, on September 10, 1969,
West Papua became a providence of brutal, Indonesian rule. Since
Indonesia seized control of West Papua, the native Papuans have suffered
blatant human rights abuses, including extrajudicial execution, torture,
sexual violence and mutilation as well as, according to Afrim Djonbalic’s
1998 statement to the UN, “environmental degradation, natural resource
exploitation, and commercial dominance of immigrant communities.” This
exploitation of resources includes reserves of gold, copper, nickel, oil
and gas which have been valued at over $54 billion. Local labor has been
used in the extraction of these resources with little or no compensation
to Papuans.
A recent study by the Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic at Yale University
states:
“The historical and contemporary evidence strongly suggests that the
Indonesian government has committed proscribed acts with the intent to
destroy the West Papuans as such in violation of the 1948 Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the customary
international law prohibition this Convention embodies.”
In view of this study, it should be noted that native West Papua New
Guineans differ linguistically and racially from the majority of
Indonesians. The Papuans are Melanesian and believed to be of African
descent while the majority of Indonesians are of Javanese descent.
Studies like the aforementioned show that there is a strong indication
that the Indonesians are committing genocide against the West Papuans
through oppression and acts of violence and these acts of genocide may be
race-based.
For this and other reasons, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and 174
parliamentarians and 80 nongovernmental agencies from around the world
have written to Secretary General Kofi Annan asking that a review be
initiated. In turn, Faleomavaega and Congressman Payne have called upon
the African nations to call for a General Assembly review. Additionally,
the Congressmen included historic language in the U.S. Foreign Relations
Authorization bill for FY 2006 and 2007 which requires the U.S. State
Department to submit to Congress a report analyzing the 1969 Act.
The language also requires the State Department to submit a report
detailing implementation of special autonomy for Papua and Aceh. Such
reports shall include (a) an assessment of the extent to which each
province has enjoyed an increase in revenue allocations and decision
making authority; (b) a description of access by international press and
non-governmental organizations to each province; (c) an assessment of the
role played by local civil society in governance and decision making; (d)
a description of force levels and conduct of Indonesian security forces in
each province; and (e) a description of United States efforts to promote
respect for human rights in each province.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed this legislation on July 20,
2005. As this matter is now pending between the House and Senate,
Congressman Faleomavaega and Congressman Payne are determined to keep
Indonesia under the spotlight until exploitation, violence and racism in
West Papua is brought to an end.
-- (Note: Congressman Payne is the Chairperson of the Black Caucus in the
U.S. Congress)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
December 17, 2005
Lack of funds stalls Papua aid mission
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post/Jayapura
Food aid continued to pile up in Wamena, Dekai and Timika on Friday, as
the local government said it did not have the money to transport the aid
to the remote Yahukimo regency, where food shortages have reportedly left
55 people dead since November.
"The aid can only be transported by air, but costs are unbearable," said
Ones Pahebol, the regent of Yahukimo, which is located about 800
kilometers from the provincial capital Jayapura.
Aid continued to trickle into the affected regency on Friday, but
officials warned the flow of aid would soon stop completely as money for
transportation ran out. The cost of flying food and medicine into Yahukimo
is currently being covered by the central government and the regency
administration.
Ones calculated the regency administration needed at least Rp 125 million
(US$12,500) a day to purchase fuel for the relief flights. Currently,
government airplanes are making two relief flights a day from Wamena, the
nearest large city to Yahukimo.
The regent said there were four airplanes currently on standby in Wamena,
said Ones.
"The four planes require 10 tons of airplane fuel a day, which costs Rp
125 million," said Lt. Col. Sarjono, who is heading the relief task force
in Wamena. He said it would take about a month to transport all of the
food and medicine already piled up in Wamena and Dekai.
Ones said cash donations were now needed to pay for the delivery of food
and medicine to the people of Yahukimo.
The regency also needs about Rp 120 million to build food barns, install a
communication network and set up clean water installations in 32 areas in
Yahukimo most at risk of food shortages.
As the local government struggles with transportation problems, a
spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned on Friday that food
shortages in Yahukimo could be played up by foreign interests to undermine
the integrity of Indonesia. The ministry has prepared a strategy to deal
with any such threats, Yuri Thamrin said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Famine kills at least 80 in Indonesia's Papua province
Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
19 Dec 2005
Jakarta (dpa) - The death toll from a famine that has reportedly plagued
remote villages in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua rose to 80
with dozens of other people falling seriously ill, local media said
Monday.
Local church leaders and health officials said severe hunger had struck
hundreds of residents living in seven subdistricts in the Yahukimo regency
since September, the local Suara Pembaruan daily newspaper reported.
Yahukimo district chief Ones Pahebol told the daily that the death toll
from starvation rose to 80, up from 57 reported over the weekend.
Pahebol quoted local church leaders and health workers as saying the food
shortages came after residents living at the foot of the mountains failed
to harvest sweet potatoes because of heavy rains.
To help overcome further shortages, the Indonesian government recently
dropped food supplies by military helicopter to the famine-hit regions in
Papua, home mostly to Melanesian ethnic communities.
However, the government has strongly denied reports of a famine as well as
dozens of deaths from starvation, arguing that some of the villagers died
from other illnesses, such as malaria.
Newly installed Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie
returned from the Yahukimo regency last week, claiming the "people in the
area are fat, the pigs are big, and the corn and cabbage are growing
well".
"I will show you the pictures," Bakrie was quoted by the Jakarta Post as
saying. "The people there are fat."
But local media reports said the food shortage has caused about 55,000
people in the seven districts to be without any stocks of tubers, the main
food consumed in the province.
Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, is home to about
220 million people, most of whom live on less than 2 dollars per day.
Despite an abundance of natural resources, Papua is one of least developed
areas in Indonesia with more than 40 per cent of the residents living
below the national poverty line, according to the U.N. Development
Programme (UNDP). dpa sh eu ls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tempo Interactive
Government Prepares Communication Tools for All Villages in Papua
Monday, 19 December, 2005 | 09:00 WIB
TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People’s
Welfare Aburizal Bakrie has said that the government will prioritize the
establishment of Single Side Band (SSB) radio in every village in Papua.
“There must be an SSB in every village to deliver fast information on the
condition of people in the villages,” stated Bakrie said after attending a
national media workshop on poverty at the vice presidential office in
Jakarta on Thursday (15/12).
Another matter that will be carried out to anticipate the possible hunger
disaster in Papua is the building of rice storage barns.
This is particularly important as regards anticipating transportation
difficulties in distributing food to villages in Papua.
In order to change the living pattern of Papuans so that they do not have
to depend on food provided by nature, the government is to send farming
councilors and doctors.
These councilors and doctors will teach healthy living styles to those
living in the hinterlands of Papua.
According to Bakrie, there is no hunger disaster in Yahukimo.
“Doctors have confirmed that there is no hunger disaster,” he stated.
-- (Sunariah-Tempo News Room)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
December 19, 2005
Govt ignores polio in remote provinces
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite the success of the recent third round of polio vaccinations, the
government has shown little commitment to boosting low vaccination rates
in the remote provinces of Papua, West Irian and North Maluku.
"We actually want to vaccinate all the children in those areas, but they
are difficult to reach ... In my personal opinion, I don't think polio
exists there anyway," Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari said late
last week after delivering the third polio vaccination report.
Siti said she was optimistic the areas were disease free because she had
received no reports of polio there.
"It just so happens, that there are no polio patients in Papua, nor
Yahukimo regency, which recently reported famine cases. Children are
running around healthily there," she said.
According to Ministry of Health data, there were 295 cases of polio from
April to December in 10 of the country's 33 provinces -- Banten with 161
cases, West Java (59), Lampung (25), Central Java (20), North Sumatra
(10), South Sumatra (5), East Java (5), Jakarta (4), Aceh (3) and Riau
(3).
During the last vaccination program in November, these 10 provinces are
estimated to have vaccinated between 90 percent and 100 percent of at-risk
children.
However, the ministry report said North Maluku could only vaccinate 86.4
percent of its 84,190 targeted children, with West Irian at 73.8 percent
of 64,594 recorded children and Papua a mere 50.3 percent of 143,918
children.
Siti said it would be difficult for the polio virus to spread to these
remote provinces because they were extremely difficult to reach.
"It is less likely that the polio virus would arrive there. People have to
struggle to the death to reach these areas. Even a helicopter cannot take
us to some of the remote villages in these provinces," she said.
If the government wanted to boost the vaccination rates in these areas,
Siti said the polio eradication team would need its transportation budget
increased. The government, in line with a recommendation of the World
Health Organization (WHO), plans to launch two additional nationwide polio
vaccination programs in January and February next year in a bid to
eradicate the crippling disease by March 2006.
"To hire a plane with six passengers for a trip to remote areas in Papua
will cost you Rp 30 million," Siti said.
WHO Indonesia country representative Georg Peterson said while polio had
not yet been found in many provinces, this should not be a reason to leave
children under five unvaccinated.
"For remote areas, the routine vaccinations of newborn babies should be
strengthened," he told The Jakarta Post.
The chairman of the Indonesian Health Consumer Empowerment Foundation,
Marius Widjajarta, dismissed Siti's argument, saying that the virus could
travel anywhere, even to the most remote areas on the planet.
"The Constitution says that it is our citizens' right, including the
Moluccans' and Papuans' right, to live a healthy life. Therefore, the
government will have to work hard to at least vaccinate 90 percent of the
children there," he said.
The country's latest polio outbreak came after it was free of the disease
for about 10 years. Some health experts believe the virus spread to
Indonesia from northern Nigeria, a country that still has polio.
To achieve the 90-percent vaccination target, Marius urged the government
to enable staff at community health centers (Puskesmas), integrated health
service posts (Posyandu) and new graduates of medicine schools to support
vaccination drives in the three provinces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stuff.co.nz
Australia to train Kopassus again
19 December 2005
Australian special forces will resume training Indonesia's most feared
army unit, which has been linked to the murder of New Zealand soldier
Private Leonard Manning in Timor, and in human rights abuses.
"Senior New Zealand army intelligence officers were in no doubt Manning's
death involved Kopassus," the Australian newspaper reported today.
Kopassus is Indonesia's elite special forces group, and was alleged to be
involved in training of militia, and intelligence, beatings, and torture
in Timor in 1999.
Pte Manning became the UN's first combat fatality in Timor on July 24,
2000, when he was shot in an ambush during a security sweep in a rugged
border region: the attackers also slit Pte Manning's throat and cut off
his ears.
East Timor militiaman Yacobus Bere is serving a six-year jail sentence
imposed by a court in Jakarta after he was prosecuted as one of five
people who sneaked into East Timor and killed Pte Manning, 24.
But at the time of the shooting senior New Zealand army officers were
reported to have speculated that not only had the Indonesian army been
training and equipping the militia, they might also have been part of the
group which attacked the New Zealand troops.
"A follow-up operation by Kiwi troops scouring the area of the ambush
recovered several items of military paraphernalia including a special
forces first-aid kit and a discarded Kopassus tunic," the Australian said.
Manning was killed when the New Zealand patrol moving up a hill came under
heavy fire from at least nine, probably more, attackers armed with
grenades, automatic weapons and semi-automatic rifles.
As the New Zealanders retreated, their attackers continued to shoot.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time that several senior
Australian and New Zealand army officers had expressed concern over the
high level of military training shown by the attackers: "They showed no
hesitation in attacking soldiers from a professional force," said one
officer who asked not to be named.
"They did not know how many New Zealanders were tracking them but they
still attacked - that shows a high level of commitment, discipline and
training, not shown by previous militia".
Pro-Indonesian militia had not been thought to have had access to a large
cache of rapid-fire, modern weapons, but the grenades and automatic
gunfire in the firefight left peacekeepers worried that the Indonesian
army, possibly Kopassus, participated in the attack.
Kopassus has separately been accused of involvement in numerous human
rights abuses stemming from operations in Aceh, Maluku, West Papua and
East Timor.
The Australian Defence Force trained Indonesian army personnel up to 1999,
as did Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment specialists in the art of
hostage rescue, counter-insurgency, long-range surveillance and
clandestine operations.
Now the Bali bombings and the war on terror have led the Australian
Government to announce that counter-terrorism exercises between the
Perth-based SASR and Kopassus will resume early next year.
A spokesman for East Timor's most prominent and respected human rights
group, Yayasan HAK, Jose Oliveira, said the extent of Kopassus'
accountability in the violence that swept East Timor in 1999 was still
unresolved.
At his war crimes trial in Dili in 2001, East Timorese militia leader Joni
Marques, facing 13 counts of murder, assault, kidnapping and torture
including the cold-blooded killing of a nun, fingered Australian SAS and
Indonesian Kopassus special forces as his former trainers.
The then 37-year-old militiaman told the Dili court he had been recruited
and trained by Kopassus, Indonesia's special forces, in exercises that
also involved Australian troops.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Press Release: Indonesia Human Rights Committee
PM congratulated for maintaining Indonesia ban
Monday, 19 December 2005, 1:23 pm
-- Helen Clark congratulated for maintaining ban on military ties with
Indonesia
The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has written to the Prime Minister to
express its support for her statement made at the East Asia Summit that
re-starting military ties with Indonesia is not on the agenda.
Helen Clark’s concern about the lack of accountability for the
perpetrators of human rights abuses in East Timor is also welcome.
“Helen Clark is to be commended for placing human rights ahead of possible
trade gain. The military generals responsible for atrocities in East Timor
have gone on to serve in new conflict areas and the military remains
unreformed. New Zealand must continue to resist all calls to resume
military ties with Indonesia.”
For further information: Maire Leadbeater 09-815-9000 or 0274-436-957
Letter Follows:
Rt Hon Helen Clark,
Prime Minister,
Parliament Buildings,
Wellington.
16 December, 2005.
Dear Helen Clark,
The Indonesia Human Rights Committee was pleased to note that the military
ties to Indonesia will not be restored and wishes to support the
government for taking this position. We affirm also that that the lack of
justice for the victims of human rights atrocities in Timor Leste is a
matter of grave concern.
As you know the non-release of the report of the Timor Leste Commision for
Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Report has been a point of controversy
in that country. Many prominent East Timorese, such as Parliamentarian
Leandro Isaacs, are continuing with a strong campaign for an international
tribunal. He pointed out that the people of Kosovo and the people of
Yugoslavia have been granted the right to have the war crimes committed
against them considered by the international community. Why not the people
of Timor Leste?
Moreover, Indonesian human rights defenders believe that impunity is a
kind of cancer eating away at the heart of Indonesian society and
threatening the prospects for a secure democratic future. Human rights
defenders remind us that no human rights trial held in Indonesia has yet
succeeded in holding the guilty to account. For example, the two senior
police officers in command at the time of the killing of defenceless
students at Abepura, West Papua in 2000 were recently acquitted.
It is also important to note that the high ranking military personnel who
served during the brutal military occupation of Timor Leste have gone on
to serve in posts in other conflict areas such as West Papua and Aceh. The
current military commander in West Papua, Major General George Toisutta,
has served terms of duty previously in both Aceh and Timor Leste. The
current reports from West Papua are of deepening military repression,
large new troop deployments and even a significant famine causing the
deaths of at least 55 people in an isolated highland region.
New Zealand should therefore continue to support justice and
accountability for the crimes against humanity committed in Timor Leste
and should maintain the ban on all military aid and training assistance to
Indonesia. Instead New Zealand should offer to play a constructive role in
the ongoing peace process for Aceh, for example by offering to send
election observers to be present at the forthcoming Aceh elections. New
Zealand is also well placed to play a role in dialogue and peace making
initiatives for both Aceh and West Papua.
In both Aceh and West Papua civil society leaders encourage the presence
and participation of peace-minded countries in helping to broker lasting
peace for their troubled territories. New Zealand’s past experience in
helping to resolve the conflict in Bougainville is often mentioned.
We hope that there will be ongoing dialogue with the Indonesian
authorities about the positive contributions that New Zealand can make to
supporting sustainable peace.
Yours sincerely,
Maire Leadbeater
(for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee)
CC Hon Winston Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Hon Phil Goff, Minister for Defence, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Tim Barnett, MP
Tim Groser MP
John Hayes MP,
Hone Harawira MP
Keith Locke MP
Parliament Buildings, Wellington
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Licensed to kill
-- The Bali bombings and the war on terror have led Australia to resume
joint training exercises with Indonesia's most feared army unit,
implicated in human rights abuses, writes Mark Dodd
December 19, 2005
At his war crimes trial in Dili in 2001, East Timorese militia leader Joni
Marques, facing 13 counts of murder, assault, kidnapping and torture
including the cold-blooded killing of a nun, fingered Australian SAS and
Indonesian Kopassus special forces as his former trainers.
In an admission that stunned the Dili court, the then 37-year-old Team
Alpha militiaman said he had been recruited and trained by Kopassus,
Indonesia's special forces, in exercises that also involved Australian
troops.
Asked by his lawyer how the training was conducted, Marques replied: "It
was guerilla warfare. We trained together."
Lawyer: "In the exercise, what was the Australian army's role?"
Marques: "The Australian troops tried to catch me."
A Defence Department spokesman said later it was a matter of record that
the Australian Defence Force trained Indonesian army personnel at the
time. It is also a matter of record that so did the Perth-based Special
Air Service Regiment specialists in the art of hostage rescue,
counter-insurgency, long-range surveillance and clandestine operations.
East Timor's most prominent and respected human rights group, Yayasan HAK,
last week cited the Marques case as a good example of why Canberra should
reconsider its decision to resume joint training with Indonesia's most
capable but also most feared army unit.
HAK spokesman Jose Oliveira says in April 1999 he witnessed Kopassus
special forces directing pro-Jakarta militia in a massacre in the Catholic
church at Liquica, which left 52 unarmed civilians dead and dozens
injured. "Kopassus were involved right across East Timor, directly and
indirectly. They operated intelligence gathering, supervised beatings and
torture and supported the militia with training. I saw what happened with
Kopassus and the militia in Liquica when I went to organise humanitarian
assistance. I saw the Kopassus directing the Besi Merah Putih (Red and
White Iron) militia."
Oliveira says the extent of Kopassus's accountability in the violence that
swept East Timor in 1999 is still unresolved. On July 24, 2000, New
Zealand soldier Leonard Manning became the UN's first combat fatality
during a security sweep in East Timor's rugged border region; he was shot
dead in an ambush, said at the time to have been led by well-trained
militia.
A follow-up operation by Kiwi troops scouring the area of the ambush
recovered several items of military paraphernalia including a special
forces first-aid kit and a discarded Kopassus tunic.
While UN military spin doctors in Dili singled out "the militia", senior
New Zealand army intelligence officers were in no doubt Manning's death
involved Kopassus.
Peace has returned to East Timor but it is not hard to find legacies of
the Kopassus deployment to the former Portuguese colony rebelling against
its annexation by Indonesia.
A visitor taking any bush road winding up into the country's picturesque
mountains will come across long-deserted buildings marked with fading red
paint saying 'Kopassandha' (special forces). The name is stencilled on
dozens of deserted outposts littering former hot spots across the
territory.
While no Kopassus personnel have ever been prosecuted successfully for
East Timor war crimes, evidence of its handiwork is filed in extensive
records held by the now disbanded UN Serious Crimes Panel. But neither
East Timor nor Australia is keen to pursue prosecution of Indonesian
military personnel for war crimes committed during 25 years of brutal
occupation. Both Dili and Canberra believe the greater interest is served
by mending relations with Indonesia.
Now a new security imperative, the global and regional war on terror,
means the UN's SCP records are unlikely to see the light of day.
Australia did suspend military co-operation with Kopassus in 1999 over the
murky role played by the Indonesian military, including its special
forces, in organising, training and arming the deadly pro-Jakarta militias
in East Timor. But counter-terrorism exercises between the Perth-based
SASR and Kopassus will resume early next year, Defence Minister Robert
Hill announced earlier this month.
"In this era of heightened terrorist threats, it is in Australia's
interests to engage with regional special forces, such as Kopassus, to
safeguard the lives of Australians and Australian interests abroad.
"The bombings in Bali in October 2005 further highlighted the need for
regional countries to work together in combating this common threat.
Kopassus Unit 81 has the most effective capability to respond to a counter
hijack or hostage recovery threat in Indonesia," Hill said.
Senior Jakarta-based defence sources say informal contact between the SASR
and Kopassus has been occurring for the past 18 months. Kopassus Unit 81,
the specialised counter-terrorism unit that will train with the SAS, did
deploy to East Timor in 1999 under the command of then Colonel Pramono
Edhie Wibowo. He is the son of the late Lieutenant-General Sarwo Edhie
Wibowo, a Kopassus founder and close ally of disgraced former dictator
General Suharto.
There is no evidence any human rights abuses were committed by Pramono or
his group in East Timor. But it's believed his Kopassus unit was deployed
to Dili on September 5, the day of an attack on the Catholic diocese
office. Several hundred Timorese had sought protection at the office,
which was torched by militia just a day before Bishop Carlos Belo's house
was razed. At least 12 people died in the diocese inferno.
Brigadier-General Pramono is now the deputy commander of Kopassus and his
sister, Kristiana Herawati, is Indonesia's first lady.
Indonesia's most elite army formation, the "red beret" Kopassus comprises
a 5000-strong force trained in covert warfare. Kopassus troops have high
morale and esprit de corps, rare qualities among Indonesia's numerous
territorial defence units. Like their Australian special forces
counterparts, Kopassus soldiers get the best equipment and weapons.
The unit's inception dates to the 1980s when the head of Indonesia's Army
Strategic Intelligence Office (BAIS) formed a new Detachment 81, named
after an international hijacking of a Garuda DC-9 at Bangkok Airport on
March 31, 1981.
Troops who rescued the plane and its passengers were the first members of
what was later to be called Detachment 81.
William Wise is associate director of Southeast Asian studies at
Washington's Johns Hopkins University and an internationally acknowledged
authority on Kopassus, Wise's 30-year military career includes serving as
deputy national security adviser to US Pacific Command. In his book
Indonesia's War on Terror he says Unit 81 training focuses on hostage
rescue in both urban and jungle environments. Its facilities are equipped
for anti-hijacking scenarios involving buses and aircraft.
Wise cites a senior Kopassus officer as saying Unit 81 has had to become
virtually self-sufficient in training after joint exercises were curtailed
with Australia, the US, Britain, France and South Korea, but not with
Thailand and Singapore. In addition to Unit 81, the TNI (Indonesian
military) has 10 "raider" battalions trained by Kopassus for
counter-terrorism operations, he says.
According to Wise there is no co-ordinated program of co-operation between
Kopassus and Indonesia's national police paramilitary force, Brimob.
Brimob (Brigade Mobil) is organised into large military-style formations,
designed to conduct internal security operations across the archipelago.
David Bourchier, chair of Asian Studies at the University of Western
Australia, says Kopassus has a long history of involvement in human rights
abuses in Aceh, Papua and East Timor. "The main argument against getting
involved with Kopassus is their track record of operations on the fringes
of legality. They commonly involve an element of deniability. They were
certainly involved in the murder of [Papuan independence leader] Theys
Eluay," he says.
In line with recent moves by Washington, Bourchier says the Howard
Government is now seeking to improve its defence co-operation with
Indonesia. "The problem is, there are very few controls on what they do."
*****
Anatomy of a well-armed, ruthless elite
KOPASSUS is an Indonesian acronym taken from the name of the country's
elite special forces group, Komando Pasukan Khusus.
- Kopassus was founded in 1952 using the experience gained from fighting
Maluku-based insurgents. It gained valuable experience from Dutch army
defector Major Rokus Bernandus Visser, who was also a former special
forces operative.
- It has headquarters in Jakarta and Bandung and its troop strength is
estimated at 5000 soldiers -- the most highly trained in the Indonesian
military (TNI) -- divided into five groups.
- Groups one and two are strike formations, three is a training group,
four intelligence and five (Unit 81) is counter-terror. Its role involves
special missions, sabotage, hostage rescue, covert warfare,
counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering.
- Kopassus is the best equipped Indonesian military unit. Weapons include
variants of the MP5 submachine gun, Czech-made CZScorpion and Israeli Uzi.
Assault rifles include the Indonesian-made FN copy, the 5.56mm SS1, M16A1,
AK-47, Steyr, and FNFAL. Tactical shotguns are also used and recoilless
rifles, including the 84mm Carl Gustav.
- Known operations: Hijacking of Garuda flight GA 206 on March 28, 1981.
The DC-9 "Woyla" was hijacked on route from Palembang to Medan and ordered
to fly to Sri Lanka. Low on fuel, the jet proceeded to Bangkok where newly
trained Kopassus commandos stormed the aircraft and freed all hostages.
- Kopassus has been accused of involvement in numerous human rights abuses
stemming from operations in Aceh, Maluku, West Papua and East Timor.
-- Mark Dodd
*****
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The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
December 19, 2005
Bad cops undermine illegal logging raids
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Corrupt officers have undermined the police's largest crackdown on illegal
logging ever this year and could further endanger the prospects for future
operations, a top detective says.
Head of the Ordinary Crime Division at National Police Headquarters, Brig.
Gen. Suharto, told a seminar over the weekend that police had only managed
to recover Rp 40.1 billion (US$4 million) in state losses from illegal
logging, thanks in part to crooked police officers.
Police had set a target of contributing Rp 2 trillion to state revenues
from the sale of illegal timber seized during the Hutan Lestari (Preserve
the Forest) operation to eradicate the rampant practice.
"We found evidence that organizers set up the auctions to enable selected
buyers who were the previous owners of the illegal timber, or their
accomplices, to buy back the logs," Suharto explained.
A timber auction should be announced in at least one national newspaper
five days prior to the date, but in most cases auctions were announced in
an obscure newspaper so that the public were not aware of the event.
"We will launch an internal investigation into police officers allegedly
involved in setting up the auctions and find out why the amount of state
assets recovered was so low," Suharto said.
Police, Suharto said, would cooperate with the military, the intelligence
agency and the forestry office to stop the collusion.
Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban has estimated annual state losses
from illegal logging at Rp 40 trillion. He also said illegal logging
involved not only local government officials, but also police and military
officers.
While most of the money raised from sales of illegal timber goes to the
state treasury, some will be returned to the police to finance their
operations against illegal logging.
Suharto acknowledged there was still a large amount of timber that
remained unsold at forestry offices due to administrative procedures in
identifying the origin of the logs. Some of the timber had been kept too
long, causing it to decay and for its value to decrease.
"We found a large amount of timber whose owners could not be identified.
This is the most difficult part because we can't auction the timbers until
we identify the owners," Suharto said.
The police had discovered seven such cases in Papua alone.
With only Rp 40 billion collected from the auctions, the police are having
difficulty financing their next crackdown on illegal logging, Suharto
said.
The Hutan Lestari operation conducted in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua
cost almost Rp 12 billion.
Without additional income to fund the operation, it is widely believed
that police will seek alternative sources of revenue, which ironically
includes illegal logging financiers.
Police are fully aware of the situation in some remote areas where many
police officers were backing the criminal activity, according to Suharto.
"We are doing our best to eliminate these cases. Police officers who are
involved in these activities will be investigated and punished just like
the illegal logging financiers," he said.
Referring to the financiers, Suharto said he regretted the light sentences
handed down by the courts on those who were prosecuted in connection with
illegal logging.
"This year we completed probes into 10 out of 87 cases, but nine of them
were thrown out by the court, acquitting the defendants. It's
frustrating," Suharto said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Latest News
BP, CNOOC hire 7 lenders for a $1.3b Tangguh loan
Singapore (Bloomberg)
BP Plc and CNOOC Ltd. have hired seven banks to help arrange a US$1.3
billion loan to develop the Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in
eastern Indonesia, a banker involved in selecting the lenders said.
The seven banks, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, BNP Paribas SA, Fortis Bank
SA/NV, ING Groep NV, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Standard Chartered Plc and
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., will be informed today of the mandate,
which is decided by the state oil regulator BP Migas, BP and CNOOC, the
banker said.
The 7 1/2-year loan, which will be signed January, is part of $3.5 billion
in financing for the project, which will cost about $6.5 billion.
The Tangguh LNG plant, the biggest such project in Asia, will help
Indonesia, the world's largest LNG seller, to meet its export commitments
as its reserves in the fields in Aceh province, operated by Exxon Mobil
Corp., are depleting. Indonesia supplies countries including Japan, Taiwan
and South Korea with about 25 million tons a year of LNG.
In an effort to stem the output decline, the country may allow foreign
energy companies to explore in remote areas for the first time, using
proceeds from their oil- and gas-producing units elsewhere in Indonesia,
Kardaya Warnika, chairman of the state oil regulator BP Migas, said on
Sunday. This follows a move in June to scrap taxes on equipment imported
for exploration, part of the government's initiative to lure energy
investors.
"Most of the LNG-related financing will likely be for projects in
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea," said Joris Dierckx, Head of Export and
Project Finance Asia of Fortis Bank. "These countries have lots of gas
reserves and they need money."
LNG is natural gas that has been chilled into liquid form so that it can
be transported on a ship. Buyers turn LNG back into gas so it can be piped
to power plants and households.
The rest of the $3.5 billion will come from the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a group of
Chinese lenders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRIENGLISH.com
CNOOC Denies Seeking Cut in LNG Imports
2005-12-19 12:47:48
Beijing- China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) has denied it plans to
cut liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Indonesia's BP-led Tangguh
project for its Fujian terminal, the company's spokesman said Friday.
Indonesia's oil minister said Thursday that the Fujian terminal wanted
only 1 million tons of LNG a year in the short term instead of the 2.6
million tons it had agreed to buy.
"Negotiations on the resources contract with Indonesia have basically been
completed. The contract will be signed in the near-term, probably very
soon," CNOOC's Liu Junshan said.
"There is no change in either volume or price of the LNG," Liu added.
The 5.5 billion yuan (US$682 million) Fujian LNG project, China's second
after Guangdong, is due to come on stream in 2007.
The multi-billion dollar Tangguh project in the Indonesian province of
Papua, operated by energy titan BP Plc., has secured contracts to supply
2.6 million tons per year to China over 25 years, 3.7 million tons per
year to the U.S. West Coast via Mexico, and 1.1 million tons per year to
South Korea.
CNOOC, parent of Hong Kong-listed CNOOC Ltd., is the leader in China's
nascent LNG market, building a string of terminals to receive imported LNG
along its coast, including Fujian.
It has a deal to purchase LNG from Australia's North West Shelf for its
Guangdong terminal, but disagreements over pricing have scuppered moves by
its unit CNOOC Ltd. to buy LNG from Chevron's Gorgon project in Australia.
China aims to expand the proportion of energy it gets from gas to 8
percent by 2010 from 3 percent now, as it strives to clean skies polluted
by coal-burning plants.
But analysts say the enthusiasm over LNG is fading in the face of rising
prices. Spot LNG has traded at record-highs this year as benchmark prices
in the United States and the U.K. jumped above US$15 per million British
thermal units (mmBtu). Long-term LNG contracts can be as low as US$2 to
US$4 per mmBtu.
-- (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)
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