[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - 12/20/05
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- Papua Governor Dies, Supporters Suspect Foul Play
- Papua governor Solossa dies
- Papuan independence activists confident new body will help their cause
- Report of 'Sham' Vote Sparks Papua Activists
- Wantok ambassador goes finish
*****************************
Paras Indonesia (formerly Laksamana)
December, 20 2005 @ 12:24 am
Papua Governor Dies, Supporters Suspect Foul Play
Papua Governor Jacobus Perviddya Solossa, who intended to stand for
re-election next month as a candidate of Golkar Party, has died at the age
of 57. Doctors said the probable cause of death was a heart attack, but
Solossa’s supporters suspect he was poisoned, claiming he had no history
of heart problems.
There were conflicting reports on the circumstances surrounding the death
of the rotund governor, who was known for his strong temper.
Solossa had at 7pm Monday (19/12/05) gone to his senior high school’s 25th
reunion, held at the Cendrawasih Building in the provincial capital
Jayapura. Earlier in the day he had attended a hotel seminar on the
implementation of Presidential Decree No.24/2005 on Standards for
Government Accountancy.
Some reports said he was scheduled at 8pm to open a meeting of the
Communication Forum of the Sons and Daughters of Retired Military Officers
(FKPPI) – a group known for its attacks on pro-democracy activists.
Other reports said that after the high school reunion he was to have
attended a Trikora Day commemoration being held at his office. Trikora
(Triple Command of the People) was announced by founding president Sukarno
on December 19, 1961, in proclaiming his intention of integrating West
Papua (then a Dutch colony) into Indonesia.
Solossa, who was accompanied by his wife and adjutants, left the high
school reunion at about 8pm. Some reports said he began experiencing
breathing difficulties after being driven no more than 500 meters from the
Cendrawasih Building and soon lost consciousness. Others said he
complained of stomach pains, began foaming at the mouth, ordered his
driver to take him to hospital and then fell into a deep coma.
He arrived at Dok II Public Hospital at 8.55pm but did not regain
consciousness and was pronounced dead at 9.40pm. Solossa was treated by
Doctor Theophilus Obed Lay, who tried unsuccessfully to restore the
patient’s breathing and heartbeat.
The governor’s supporters are demanding an autopsy and a police
investigation. They suspect the food served to Solossa at the high school
reunion was poisoned.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his condolences over
Solossa’s death. "On behalf of the state, I extend my deep condolences on
his passing and hope the members of his bereaved family will have strength
in undergoing this ordeal," he was quoted as saying by state news agency
Antara.
He praised Solossa’s dedication and services to the state over the past
five years as governor of the country’s easternmost province.
"I will assign Vice President Jusuf Kalla to represent me and the
government in leading the funeral ceremony in Jayapura," he said. Reports
said the funeral was likely to be held on Wednesday or Thursday.
“There’s a strong possibility the funeral will take place tomorrow
[Wednesday] at the Jayapura Military Cemetery," former provincial
legislator Agustien Tanaman was quoted as saying by detikcom online news
portal.
“His family and the people of Papua are very shocked because they did not
think he would die so fast,” he said.
Solossa’s grieving wife Ema said that although she was sad, she felt her
husband’s death was God’s will. "Thank you Lord for taking him to heaven,"
she cried.
Yudhoyono said he could not personally attend the funeral because he of a
prior engagement to attend graduation ceremonies at the Police Academy and
Military Academy in Java.
The president expressed hope that Solossa’s death would not cause further
delays in Papua’s gubernatorial election, which was to have been held this
October but was postponed to next year because of a racial dispute – two
of the candidates for the position of deputy governor were non-Papuans.
"I hope the activities of the provincial administration will not be
affected and an acting government in charge of making preparations for the
regional election will be appointed immediately," said Yudhoyono.
Golkar is yet to name a replacement candidate for Solossa, whose running
mate for the January 2006 election was Paskalis Kossay (nominated by the
Indonesian Unity and Justice Party).
The four other pairs of candidates for the five-year governorship and
deputy governorship are: incumbent deputy governor Constant Karma and
Donatus Mote (nominated by the United Papua Parties’ Alliance), incumbent
Punjak Jaya deputy regent Lukas Enembe and Airobi Ahmad Aituarauw (Across
Archipelago Parties’ Coalition), former Irian Jaya governor Barnabas Suebu
and Alex Hessegem (New Papua Parties), and Dirk Henk Wabiser and S.P.
Inaury (Prosperous Papua Coalition).
Indonesian flags across Papua were flown at half-mast on Tuesday to mourn
Solossa’s death.
Hundreds of residents, government officials and even some human rights
activists came to the governor’s residence to pay their respects.
"All of us feel lost and we send our deepest sorrow and pay our last
respects," Aloysius Renwarin of the Institute for Human Rights Study and
Advocacy (Elsham) was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
December 20, 2005
Papua governor Solossa dies
The Jakarta Post, Jayapura/Jakarta
Papua Governor Jacobus Perviddya Solossa died on Monday shortly after he
was admitted to the hospital due to a suspected heart attack.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono immediately sent his condolences to the
family over the death of the governor, who was a persistent advocate of
special autonomy for the natural resource-rich but underdeveloped
province.
Speaking in an unscheduled media conference at the State Palace, the
President said he had ordered Vice President Jusuf Kalla to lead the
funeral of Solossa, scheduled for Tuesday.
Susilo said he had wanted to preside over the burial ceremony, but was
scheduled to induct military and police academy graduates in Surabaya on
that day. Susilo led the funeral of North Sumatra Governor Tengku Rizal
Nurdin, who died in a plane crash in September.
Solossa died at 59 years old, as Papua came into the media spotlight after
famine killed at least 55 people in villages in the remote Yahukimo
regency. One hundred and twelve others were hospitalized.
An on-duty emergency care doctor at the Dok 2 General Hospital in the
provincial capital of Jayapura, Theopilus O Lay, said Solossa was
unconscious when his driver admitted him at 8:55 p.m. East Indonesia Time
(6:55 p.m. Jakarta time).
Quoting the driver, Theopilus said the governor complained about
respiratory problems on his way from a Christmas celebration at the
Cendrawasih Sports Hall to commemorate Indonesia's fight for sovereignty
over Papua at his office.
"The driver said the governor fell unconscious en route to the hospital.
There was a little bit of a foam-like discharge from his mouth and we
detected no arterial beat, but we kept giving him a cardiac massage,"
Theopilus said.
Doctors immediately moved Solossa to the Intensive Care Unit but at 9:45
p.m. they declared the governor dead.
A holder of a doctorate in politics from Padjadjaran University, Solossa
is survived by his wife Emma Yacomina Maury and two children, Ekatherma MS
Solossa and Aquino LR Solossa.
Born in Sorong on May 8, 1948, Solossa started his political career in the
Golkar Party. One year into his second term as a House of Representatives
legislator, he won the Papua gubernatorial election in 2000. His tenure as
the governor had expired last month but the government extended it until
January next year to prepare for the first direct gubernatorial election.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABC/Radio Australia
Papuan independence activists confident new body will help their cause
Last Updated 20/12/2005, 21:09:09
Organisations campaigning for independence in the Indonesian province of
Papua hope that a new umbrella body will help them gain support from
governments in the Pacific.
The West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation was formed last month at
a secret meeting at Yambi, in neighbouring Papua New Guinea.
The new coalition joins together 18 Papuan organisations including the
Organisasi Papua Merdeka independence movement.
Spokesman for the new coalition, Rex Rumakiek, says the development of the
united body should improve Papua's chances of eventually gaining
independence.
"Those who attended have signed a memorandum of understanding that they
will stand united from now on to work for the liberation of West Papua and
they will establish a secretariat to make sure that all the framework is
established and consult everybody else to participate," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inter Press Service News Agency
Report of 'Sham' Vote Sparks Papua Activists
Fabio Scarpello
Jakarta, Dec 20 (IPS) - A recently published Dutch-report has rekindled
hopes of "correcting the course of history" in Papua, Indonesia's
easternmost province and theatre of a struggle for independence ignored by
most of the world.
"This is the evidence of the historical distortion. This is going to
change everything. It will change the future of the Papuans. Thanks to
this report, the international community will not be able to deny the
truth any longer," the general chairman of the West Papuan Baptist Church,
Reverend Socrates Sofyan Yoman, told IPS.
The 740-page report, 'Een Daad van Vrije Keuze' or 'An Act of Free
Choice', commissioned by the Dutch Parliament in 2000 and authored by
Pieter J Drooglever, was released in The Hague on Nov. 15.
The Act of Free Choice was the last straw of a very messy decolonisation
process by the Netherlands, who once ruled over most of the modern day
Republic of Indonesia, then called Dutch East Indies.
Papua, which occupies the western half of New Guinea Island, was not
included in the Indonesian declaration of independence in 1949.
Strategic reasons -- as well as the lack of substantial historical,
cultural, religious and ethnic links between Papua's native Melanesians
and Indonesia's mostly Malay Muslim inhabitants -- convinced the
Netherlands to hold on to Papua and set it on a path of self-determination
to be achieved by 1970.
Back then, Papua was called Netherlands New Guinea. Before assuming its
current name under Indonesia President Abdurrahman Wahid in 2000, Papua
was also called West Papua, West Irian and Irian Jaya.
The Dutch wish for Papua to decide its own future never materialised.
Leafing through the layers of history, it is clear that Papua was a small
token in an international game that saw Indonesia prevailing with the
blessing of the United States and the sanction of the United Nations.
Jakarta never stopped claiming sovereignty over Papua. Tension led to
low-level Indonesian military incursions at the beginning of the 1960s and
the threat of open war. Gripped by the Cold War syndrome, Washington
feared that Jakarta could fall under the spell of communism and pressured
the Netherlands to let Papua go. The United Nations watched powerlessly.
On Aug. 15, 1962, the Netherlands and Indonesia -- without consulting the
Papuans -- signed the New York Agreement on the future of Papua.
It specified that from Oct. 1, 1962 Papua was to be placed under the
control of an ad-hoc UN body that would hand it over to Indonesia on May
1, 1963. After seven years, Indonesia was required to consult the Papuans
on whether they wished to remain a part of Indonesia or become
independent.
This consultation was the Act of Free Choice, which Drooglever in his
study labels a "sham". The vote was cast over six weeks from July to
August 1969 by 1,022 representatives hand-picked and threatened by Jakarta
"The Act of Free Choice ended up as a sham, where a press-ganged
electorate acting under a great deal of pressure appeared to have
unanimously declared itself in favour of Indonesia," wrote Drooglever in
an English summary of the study, which is in Dutch.
Actually, the study says nothing that various historians had not said
before. What gives it an aura of "final word" is the fact that it was
commissioned by the Dutch government, and that it draws its information
from the archives of the Dutch, U.S., British and Australian governments,
as well as from interviews with some of those who were chosen to vote.
"They were flown to the Netherlands especially to give evidence in 2003.
One of these, Reverend Obed Komba, was arrested on his return to West
Papua and has been held in prison or under house arrest ever since,"
Richard Samuelson from the Oxford-based Free West Papua Campaign told IPS.
Samuelson also pointed out that Drooglever was banned from conducting
research in Indonesia thus had no access to Jakarta's archives.
Although the Indonesian and the Dutch governments have dismissed
Drooglever's endeavour as "irrelevant" -- the Dutch foreign minister who
commissioned the study has since moved on -- Papuan activists have pounced
on it hoping to use the report to propel "the Papuan issue" onto the world
stage.
"The book proves that Jakarta stole our rights of self-determination, our
history and our basic human rights," said Yoman, stressing that the
Indonesian Military (TNI) has been guilty of gross human rights abuses in
the province ever since the hand-over.
A report by the University of Sydney's Centre for Peace and Conflict
Studies released in August and titled 'Genocide in West Papua', details
eyewitness accounts of Indonesian military involvement in rape, arson and
torture in the province. Such abuses have also been widely documented by
various international organisations.
"The UN has not responded to our call for help, but now it is different.
Now they cannot refuse it anymore. Thanks to this report, the
international community will not able to deny the truth any longer," Yoman
added.
There are signs of a budding interest in the issue.
A Mar. 26, 2002 appeal to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review the UN
conduct during the Act of Free Choice is slowly gaining ground.
According to the West Papua Action website, in addition to 81 NGOs the
appeal has now been endorsed by 40 members of the European Parliament, the
majority of Irish MPs and several others from Britain, Finland, New
Zealand and the U.S. Senate.
On Dec. 12, 2004, Baroness Symons, the UK Foreign Office Minister, was the
first representative from a western government to acknowledge that Papuans
were coerced into joining Indonesia.
"He (the Bishop) is right to say that there were 1,000 handpicked
representatives and that they were largely coerced into declaring for
inclusion into Indonesia," Symons replied to a query from the Bishop of
Oxford in the House of Lords.
According to Samuelson, by far the most important pro-Papuan development
to date was a reference to the Papua issue in the U.S. State Department
Authorisation Bill last July. The reference was omitted by Congress in
early November and never made it close to being passed into law, yet it
gave the case a massive boost onto the international stage.
"It was important because it pushed the West Papua issue, and most
especially the Act of Free Choice, higher up on the international agenda,
and because it showed Indonesia that West Papua is now an international
issue, whether Jakarta likes it or not," added Samuelson.
-----
Fabio Scarpello
AKI - ADN Kronos International Southeast Asia Correspondent
Member of the UK Union of Journalists
Member of the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club
Indonesia + 62 (0) 815 85144305
Thailand + 66 (0) 41 593 663
United Kingdom +44 (0) 79 4913 8077
www.adnki.com
www.fabioscarpello.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The National (PNG)
Wantok ambassador goes finish
Monday, December 19, 2005
-- Winis Map profiles Indonesian Ambassador Johannes Djopari whose
three-year term in PNG ends this month.
IN the conference room at the Indonesian Embassy in Port Moresby one wall
is covered with portraits of all the past Ambassadors.
On the opposite wall hangs a lone portrait - that of “Wantok” Ambassador
Johannes Djopari who goes finish next Friday.
“These,” he says, pointing to the portraits, “are all military men. This
(pointing to his portrait) is the first non-military Ambassador to Papua
New Guinea”.
He is “wantok” because he is a Melanesian, from Manokwari on the northern
coast of Papua province.
He is also the first non-military appointee to the Port Moresby post.
Mr Djopari returns to Indonesia next Friday after completing his
three-year term, more than satisfied with his achievements.
Ambassador Djopari is optimistic that the kind of work he has put into
mending, shaping and strengthening the relationship between Jakarta and
Waigani would help bring politics and economies of both countries closer
than ever before.
While here he did his utmost best to elevate the bilateral relations
between both countries to a much higher level, at the same time trying to
establish understanding of any misconception.
Ambassador Djopari said when he first arrived in PNG he learned that the
PNG Government and people were always suspicious of Indonesia.
He said people became suspicious because of the activities and policies of
the previous governments, but he was quick to point out that Indonesia is
now going through reformation process that was started by the former
president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, and the process is continuing during the
reign of current leadership of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“We have new reforms -we are now moving towards democracy,” Ambassador
Djopari explained and urged PNG not to become suspicious of Indonesia but
work closely with its neighbour as it moves to establish democracy after
years of socialist or guided democracy rule.
He highlighted the election of the current president where for the first
time in the political history of Indonesia people were given the power to
vote for the president.
Mr Djopari said before the parliament voted for the president but the 2004
Presidential Election was the turning point of politics in Indonesia,
where people power was tested for the first time and with great success.
People voting for the president, this he says shows Indonesia’s move to
democracy with government recognizing the importance of civil society
movement.
He said Indonesia has now introduced new policies to complement the new
political system being introduced and will gradually disregard or replace
the old and outdated ones that are not acceptable in the new political
regime.
“We are moving towards democracy step by step, we are in the corridor of
democracy and we are now in the tract of changing old policies,”
Ambassador Djopari said.
One of the greatest challenges for the Ambassador was the on going border
problems caused by the West Papuan rebels for both the Indonesian and PNG
governments.
However, he is happy that no major trouble has erupted along the border
between PNG and Indonesia since the border crosser incident of Dec 28,
2002 and Jan 2, 2003, where some West Papuans crossed the border at Wutung
seeking refuge in PNG.
He said after that incident both countries have been working very hard to
bring peace for the people at the border because Waigani and Jakarta want
nothing but peace to prevail at the border, so people from both countries
can continue to trade.
He said he is satisfied that since then no major problems occurred along
the border and confidently declares that the current peace along the
border is because of the understanding by people from both sides of the
border.
“In my three years in PNG - I am happy that the border is quiet,” Mr
Djopari said.
He gave credit to the government of PNG especially PNG police and PNG
Defence Force for maintaining the peace.
He thanked the PNG Government of PNG for supporting the Indonesian
Government regarding the West Papua issue.
“The problem of West Papua is an internal problem for Indonesia; it is a
domestic problem like Bougainville is a domestic problem for PNG,” Mr
Djopari said.
“I believe that peace will prevail, I hope I can come into the country
again satisfied that there is peace at the border,” Ambassador Djopari
said.
Ambassador Djopari said he was confident that he had achieved his mission
to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
In fostering the relationship Ambassador Djopari enhanced and improved the
education and cultural exchange program, under this program he invited
journalists to travel to Indonesia and provided scholarships to students
from PNG to study in universities and colleges in Indonesia.
He said church and women groups from the National Capital District were
also invited to visit Indonesia.
One programme that he speaks highly of is the introduction of Bahasa
language classes in some schools in Port Moresby.
Ambassador Djopari thinks that learning a language of a different country
or place is a very important element in understanding cultures and
establishing relationship.
“Without language you can’t make relationship. Language is communication
and communication opens every door to your needs further, without
communication you can do nothing,” Ambassador Djopari said.
He was also very instrumental in persuading West Papuans living in PNG to
return home, that resulted in the repatriation of 186 citizens from PNG
this year.
He said the people were reluctant at first but he personally guaranteed
their safe return home and as the result of the first repatriation
exercise many applications have been submitted from West Papuans living
here who want to return home.
“I made them believe that their government (Indonesian government) has
changed and gave them guarantee to go back home to West Papua. I also made
them believe that they are Indonesians,” Mr Djopari said.
The Ambassador strongly believes that the opening of the border between
Vanimo and Jayapura will develop the trade between two countries.
“Right now goods from Indonesia go through Malaysia, Singapore or
Australia then they are shipped to PNG, but when the border opens goods
can easily be transported across the border by road and it will cost
less,” he said.
He explained that currently goods entering PNG using the existing trade
routes costs more for PNG consumers, but once the border opens and goods
start to enter PNG through Jayapura and Vanimo there would be significant
differences in prices of goods.
Ambassador Djopari is leaving PNG with a positive impression of the
country compared to when he first arrived because of the bad publicity
about criminal activities and the general break down of law and order.
“The problem of rascals in Port Moresby is not different from any other
city in the world,” he said.
He said PNG needs a well organized informal sector development because he
strongly believes that properly regulated informal sector would help
reduce criminal activities.
The outgoing Ambassador believes that things in PNG would improve if there
is a stable government and consistency in governance where a government is
allowed to complete its full term.
Mr Djopari will return to his former employment as the senior lecturer at
the Institute of Public Administration in Jakarta.
He is leaving everything to God to decide what his next assignment or job
offer would be because as a Christian he believes that everything comes
from God.
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