[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - 12/29/05 (Part 1 of 2)
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Antara
Dec 22 18:51
Legalization of Papua'a Redivision Slightly Delayed
Jakarta (Antara News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla admitted here Thursday
the process to legalize the redivision of Papua into several provinces had
been delayed a little due to the sudden death of Governor JP Solossa on
Monday.
"Because of the death of the Papua governor, the process to legalize the
provincial redivision is hampered a little but it can be overcome in the
next few days," Kalla said after opening a working meeting of Provincial
Legislative Assembly (DPRD) chairmen at the vice presidential palace here
on Thursday.
He said the process of Papua’s administrative redivision had already taken
place but its legal foundation had yet to be approved in accordance with
the law on special autonomy.
Kalla said discussions about the matter in the Papua People’s Council
(MRP) and Papua Provincial Legislative Assembly (DPR Papua)were almost
completed.
The late Governor Solossa said here on November 29 he had proposed to the
MRP and DPR Papua about the redivision of Papua into five provinces and
the need for a special institutions to protect the new provinces.
Solossa said Papua should be redevided into five provinces whose names
were Western Papua, Teluk Cendrawasih, Mamata (eastern Papua), Pegunungan
Tengah and Southern Papua.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antara
Dec 21 10:30
Andi Baso Bassaleng Appointed Acting Governor of Papua
Jakarta (Antara News) - Andi Baso Bassaleng, secretary of the Papuan
administration office, has been appointed acting governor of Papua
following the death of Papua Governor Dr Jacobus Perviddya Solossa on
Monday.
Home Minister Moh Ma’aruf at the presidential palace here said on Tuesday
that he had appointed an acting governor in Papua.
The letter on the appointment was immediately sent by facsimile, as a
vacuum in the administration was no longer tolerable, he said.
The acting governor will later make preparations for the election of
governor in that easternmost province of Indonesia. "I think the process
is likely similar to a regional election," he said.
In the meantime, Papuan people mourned over the death of a noted Papuan.
Administration office in Jayapura was closed on Tuesday.
Antara in Jayapura reported that all adminstration offices in 29 districts
and cities were closed, while some private offices and shopping centers
also did the same.
Such expressions of condolence from the public were also extended by local
and national print and electronic media.
Mourners of various components throughout Papua continued to flow into the
state building of Dok V in Jayapura where the remains of the noted Papuan
was laid in state to enable visitors to pay their last respects.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paras Indonesia (formerly Laksamana)
Police Rule Out Foul Play In Governor’s Death
Posted by: Roy Tupai on 12/23/2005 @ 10:21 pm
Police have rejected speculation that the recently deceased governor of
Papua province, Jacobus Perviddya Solossa, was murdered, even though no
autopsy was conducted.
Solossa suddenly collapsed on the night of December 19 after attending the
25th reunion of his senior high school. He was rushed to hospital but
doctors were unable to revive him.
Doctors said the cause of death was a heart attack, but the governor’s
supporters speculated he might have been poisoned by political rivals who
opposed his intention to stand for re-election next month.
Solossa’s supporters claimed he was healthy and had no history of heart
problems. But some Papuans and foreign businessmen who knew the governor
have told Paras Indonesia that he was extremely overweight, very fond of
drinking whisky, rarely exercised and had a history of heart problems.
Papua Police chief Brigadier General Tommy Jacobus said an investigation
had not found any “criminal elements” in the death of the governor.
He played down the refusal of Solossa’s wife to allow an autopsy to be
conducted, saying it was well known that the governor had a history of
heart disease.
Jacobus said police had questioned Solossa’s adjutant, who was with him on
the night of his death. He said the adjutant explained that Solossa did
not consume any food or drink at the high school reunion, so therefore he
could not have been poisoned.
He said police consider the case of Solossa’s death to be closed.
Police Rule Out Foul Play In Governor’s Death
Solossa had been due to stand for re-election in January as the candidate
of Golkar Party.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is chairman of Golkar, on Wednesday
(21/12/05) named John Ibo as the party’s replacement candidate for the
governorship of Papua. Ibo is presently head of Golkar's Papua chapter and
speaker of the provincial legislative assembly.
Kalla, who was in Papua for Solossa’s funeral, expressed confidence the
Papuan people would give their backing to Ibo in the upcoming election.
”Because Solossa, who was our candidate for governor, has died, Golkar
Party agreed to replace his candidacy. After listening to aspirations from
the region, John Ibo was decided on as the replacement,” he after leaving
the Tanah Hitam Christian Cemetery in Abepura.
”We expect all of the people will support him because he is well known as
a good leader and a religious man,” he added.
Ibo’s running mate for the election will be Paskalis Kossay, who was
nominated by the Indonesian Unity and Justice Party.
The four other pairs of candidates for the five-year governorship and
deputy governorship are: former 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).
The Home Affairs Ministry has appointed Papua administration secretary
Andi Baso Basaleng to temporarily handle Solossa’s duties until a new
governor is elected.
Tribute
Kalla said Solossa had contributed much to the birth of special autonomy
in Papua and his life could serve as good example to the Indonesian
people.
"The deceased had rendered us a lot of good examples in many ways," he was
quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
He said Solossa’s rise from a low-ranking civil servant to governor, and
his attempts to bring hope of a better life in the underdeveloped
province, should be a good example to younger generation.
Kalla also called on the people of Papua to carry on Solossa’s dreams for
the development of the province. "Let us continue the idea and the spirit
of the deceased as our high respect to him," he said.
Critics of Solossa said he had not done much to curb rampant corruption in
Papua.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Courier Mail
Foul play feared in governor's death
Greg Poulgrain
27dec05
Supporters of Papuan Governor Jacob Salossa have raised allegations of
foul play over his sudden death last week.
They are concerned that no autopsy was performed on the man who led
Indonesia's easternmost province for five years.
Jakarta media reported that the 57-year-old politician died on December 19
while being taken to hospital in Jayapura.
Some reports said he had stomach pains and was foaming at the mouth;
others said he had difficulty breathing and died of a heart attack.
Salossa, from Sorong in the far west of Papua, served two terms after
being appointed by Jakarta in 2000.
He envisaged a third term next year when – after many delays – Papua will
hold its first elections for governor.
Salossa's interim replacement is John Ibo, chairman of the parliament in
Jayapura. He comes from Lake Sentani on the northern coast of Papua and
was nominated as an election candidate only two weeks ago.
After Salossa's funeral last Wednesday, intense political and tribal
rivalry surfaced between supporters from Sorong and Sentani.
Other candidates for governor include Constan Karma, formerly Salossa's
deputy, former governor Bas Suebu, also from Sentani, and
Australian-trained Lukas Enembe, who is a popular highland political
figure untainted by corruption.
Salossa had a leading role in introducing special autonomy for the Papuan
people over the past five years – a strategy aimed at bringing revenue
back into the province.
However, much popular support for autonomy was lost when he could not stem
rumours that Papuan politicians had Swiss bank accounts.
An anti-corruption drive by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already
netted two provincial governors.
Salossa has worked with Jakarta to dampen down separatist activity in the
province.
This year he ordered that no one was to fly the "Morning Star"
independence flag on December 1 – as Papuans do each year – to commemorate
the parliament they had before Indonesia took control in the 1960s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
December 29, 2005
Root of conflict and peace agendas for Papua
Muridan S. Widjojo, Jakarta
The meeting between Vice President Jusuf Kalla, flanked by Coordinating
Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS, Minister of
Home Affairs Mohammad Ma'ruf and Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto, and the official leaders of the province of Papua on
Nov. 24, followed by the talks with the leaders of West Irian Jaya
province the next day, resulted in a positive consensus.
The conflict over the election of local leaders in West Irian Jaya will be
settled based on Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy and Government
Regulation No. 54/2004 on the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP). This implies
that the process of creating a legal umbrella for West Irian Jaya will
start with a white paper drafted by the governor of Papua, which will then
be studied by the Papuan provincial council and brought to the MRP for
approval. Subsequently, it will be forwarded to the central government via
the minister of home Affairs.
This process is expected to last a month. According to the consensus, the
central government will issue a regulation in lieu of law to provide legal
protection for West Irian Jaya. If Jakarta firmly adheres to the accord,
the door will likely be open for a comprehensive resolution of the root
causes of the Papuan conflict.
However, it is worth noting that the agreement was reached only after the
provincial council and MRP had rejected the unilateral plan by the
Ministry of Home Affairs to hold local elections in West Irian Jaya, and
threatened to reject the government initiated special autonomy and demand
a referendum. This threat reflected the pinnacle of disappointment and
anger among Papuan people and provincial leaders at the government's
arbitrary policies and disregard for the Special Autonomy Law.
The success of Vice President Jusuf Kalla in breaking the political
deadlock in Papua is in fact only superficial. The conflict over the
elections in West Irian Jaya is just a small symptom of a much bigger
problem.
Throughout 2005, the central government and provincial administration
found themselves at loggerheads over a number of issues. The most
significant consequence of this was a high level of Papuan dissatisfaction
with the application of special autonomy, as manifested in the
demonstration by 15,000 people organized by the Papuan Tribal Council in
August.
Their reasons are obvious.
First, socioeconomic development in the region is making little
significant progress. The public health service is seen as inadequate, and
the HIV/AIDS question is not being properly handled. The education sector
remains plagued by a lack of facilities and teachers. Widespread poverty
amid Papua's natural riches is still the order of the day.
Second, little progress has been made on the human rights and state
violence questions. To mention but a few cases, the legal process in
respect of grave rights violations in Wamena and Wasior has stalled in the
Attorney General's Office. A 2004 military operation in Puncak Jaya (2004)
that resulted in serious rights abuses has not even been officially
reported yet. Worse still, the first permanent Human Rights Tribunal
(2005) has failed to punish rights violators in Abepura (2000). The
victims in the case were taken aback by a defense attorney's statement
that the accused should be considered "heroes" and the injured parties
"separatists".
Third, the demand for "setting the historical record straight" in Papua
and hopes for reconciliation have not been responded to wisely.
The Papuans' demands for freedom are connected with the historical issue.
This problem will hamper Papua-Jakarta reconciliation and the effort to
build healthier political ties. The people of Papua will continue to
question their political history in various local, national and
international forums.
The Vice President, and even the President himself, have emphasized the
need to settle the problems of West Irian Jaya and Papua by taking account
of the aspirations of the Papuan people and provincial leaders. Whatever
course of action is decided upon in resolving the West Irian Jaya issue,
Jakarta must avoid unilateral action. The Papuan side, particularly state
leaders in the provincial council and MRP, and the governor, should be
fully involved.
The West Irian Jaya problem looks likely to be long drawn out and will not
be settled within one month as targeted by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Differing views will arise between the governor of Papua and the MRP, with
the governor accepting the splitting of Papua into five provinces and the
MRP tending to reject this. This is not to mention the possible
introduction of another agenda by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Jakarta,
which is apparently set on pushing through the local election plan.
If the West Irian Jaya issue can be properly resolved, the central
government and Papuan leadership will be able to prepare three peace
agendas to get to the root of the conflict in Papua.
First, Papua's development can be accelerated based on a new special
autonomy paradigm that prioritizes the empowerment of indigenous Papuans
in the social economy, health and education sectors. Conflicts over
natural resources should be resolved based on the principles of justice
and benefit to local communities.
Spending on the Papuan bureaucracy should be reduced and priority given to
community development spending. Parallel to this, corruption cases, such
as that involving the Jayawijaya regent, should be brought to trial.
Second, human rights should be upheld while at the same time putting an
end to the impunity enjoyed by the military and police. As a start, the
Abepura case should be appeared. The files on the Wamena and Wasior cases
should also be improved and delivered to the court for trial without
delay. The entire legal process and control over prosecutors and judges
should be tightened to prevent outside intervention on behalf of
defendants.
Third, the question of "straightening out Papuan history", the territorial
integrity of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia and reconciliation should
be addressed by opening a dialog between Jakarta and Papua. This should be
aimed at reaching a compromise between the "nationalist" and "separatist"
poles.
In this regard, all the important elements of Papuan society should be
represented, covering the grassroots like the Papuan Tribal Council, the
Presidium of Papuan Councils and Churches and official leaders in Papua.
The President should appoint a committee made up of members knowledgeable
about Papuan affairs and experienced in negotiating. President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono has promised that the Aceh peace deal will be a model
for Papua.
In the context of the internationalization of Papua, the government should
realize that the best diplomacy would be improved Jakarta-Papua relations
based upon concrete action in line with the three agendas described above.
There are two principal views in international circles on Papua.
Some NGOs and Indonesian experts believe that Papua could become a second
Timor Leste. Other NGOs and Indonesian specialists disagree with this view
because, first, Papua has been recognized as part of Indonesia by the
United Nations since 1969 and, second, there has been explicit
confirmation by influential nations like the U.S., Australia, the
Netherlands and Britain that Indonesia has sovereignty over Papua.
The second group tends to believe that special autonomy is more logical
and realistic for Papua.
Nonetheless, all the optimism could dissipate if, first, rights violations
are ignored and the security forces continue to enjoy impunity; second,
Indonesian troops, perhaps also police personnel, go out of control and
commit new rights infringements; and, third, a unilateral policy on Papua
continues to be imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, thus increasing
antipathy on the part of both informal and formal Papuan leaders.
All this would give more reason to the international community to question
the 1969 decision on integration and encourage a referendum in Papua. If
this were to happens, a Jakarta-Papua political stalemate would be
inevitable. Political violence would increase and disintegration would
become part of the agenda.
-- The writer is a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI), Jakarta, and a PhD candidate in history at University of Leiden in
the Netherlands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Progressive Magazine
Bush Administration makes wrongheaded move on Indonesia
By Amitabh Pal
December 27, 2005
The Bush Administration has recently decided to take the unfortunate step
of reestablishing military ties with the abuse-prone Indonesian military.
The move is likely to encourage further human-rights excesses by the
Indonesian armed forces.
The Bush Administration’s move on November 22 to waive Congressional
restrictions on military relations with the Southeast Asian nation has
come under strong criticism.
"This is an abuse of discretion and an affront to the Congress," said Sen.
Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, a persistent critic of the Indonesian
military and the author of bills linking military aid to the improvement
of human rights in that country. "To waive on national security grounds a
law that seeks justice for crimes against humanity —without even obtaining
the Indonesian government's assurance that it will address these
concerns—makes a mockery of the process and sends a terrible message. The
Indonesians will see it as a clean bill of health.”
To be sure, the news looks promising in a region of Indonesia where the
military has had a horrendous record over the past few decades.
The province of Aceh seems to be headed for peace—a beneficial by-product
of the terrible tsunami that hit the area a year ago—as rebels announced
December 27 that they were ready to lay down their arms.
And Indonesia’s political system has reformed greatly since the end of the
Suharto era. At the direction of General Suharto, the Indonesian military
was responsible for killing hundreds of thousands, first during his
accession to power and then to stifle independence movements, most notably
in East Timor. Democratically elected governments over the past few years
have acted as an institutional check on the military, a counterweight
completely missing during Suharto’s reign from 1966 to 1998.
But there are still several problem areas remaining. The Indonesian
military has repeatedly used excessive force to suppress a secessionist
movement in the Irian Jaya (Papua) region.
“In Papua, operations by the security forces against the armed opposition
group, the Free Papua Organization, reportedly resulted in extrajudicial
executions,” Amnesty International states in its 2005 report. “At least
six civilians were reportedly killed and thousands displaced in Puncak
Jaya during violence which started when the security forces began
operations against the Free Papua Organization in August (2004).”
The military has also carried out human rights abuses for multinational
corporations such as U.S.-based Freeport McMoran, as a big investigative
piece in December 27’s New York Times reveals.
And there is East Timor, where the Indonesian military murdered at least
1,400 civilians in 1999 in a killing frenzy before vacating the newly
independent country. Human Rights Watch concluded in a June 2005 report
that the Indonesian prosecution effort to punish the guilty was a
masquerade and called on the U.N. Security Council to establish an
international tribunal.
“Indonesia’s trials for crimes in East Timor speak for themselves: The
process was a sham,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the organization.
So what is behind the Bush Administration’s decision to reward the
Indonesian military in spite of its horrible record?
First, Bush has been eager to do so for a long time, and the peace process
in Aceh may have been a catalyst, since it has the potential to remove one
of the biggest blemishes on the Indonesian military.
Second, the tsunami itself gave the United States an excuse to say that
the Indonesian military had proved how wonderful it was by helping out the
victims of the tragedy, even though it blocked some of the aid for the
intended recipients.
The Indonesian military has also supposedly helped in tracking down some
terrorists. But John Roosa of the University of British Columbia points
out that the military has been complicit in building up some of these
groups, and that it is the Indonesian police that has solved the terrorism
cases, not the Indonesian armed forces.
“The State Department's move ignores that the Indonesian military has
helped organize, funded and otherwise supported Islamic terror groups such
as Laskar Jihad,” Roosa says. “The Bali bombs, the Mariott [Hotel] bombs
[in Jakarta in August 2003]—all of these cases are being solved by the
police. The military has had no role. This whole idea of backing the
military to deal with terrorists is bogus. It's not necessary.”
So, the actual biggest reason for the move is that the Bush Administration
wants to cultivate the most important institution in the largest Muslim
country in the world, a nation with vast geostrategic and economic
importance in the post-September 11 world.
The State Department hints at this in its announcement on the issue,
invoking “national security” as a justification for its step. "As the
world's most populous majority-Muslim nation," it says, "Indonesia is a
voice of moderation in the Islamic world. It also plays a key role in
guaranteeing security in the strategic sea lanes in Asia and is a leading
member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.”
The Bush Administration has again shown that, notwithstanding the
President’s rhetoric, human rights are of minimal concern to the White
House.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
December 29, 2005
Rice to visit Indonesia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Jakarta in the second
week of January, an Indonesian government official confirmed on Wednesday.
Rice's itinerary in Indonesia, however, has yet to be confirmed, said the
official, who refused to be named because he was not authorized to
announce the visit.
Rice's visit will likely give further momentum to U.S.-Indonesia
relations. In her speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think
tank on Dec. 14, she said that Indonesia had set an example of how Islam
and democracy could coexist.
"One of the things that they have said is that they want to be a voice for
moderate forms of Islam that understand that democracy ... and Islam are
by no means enemies of one another and that people of all ethnic groups
and all heritages and religious heritages can live together," Rice was
quoted as saying by AP in Washington. "And so we need to support this
government, and we're trying to do that."
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is a graduate of the
U.S.'s International Military Education Program, was seen as a favorable
figure by the U.S. government. Rice was quoted by AP as saying that a
world leader who has been trained or educated in the U.S. tends to be more
open-minded about America and "less given to the kind of caricatures and
stereotypes about the United States".
In a recent hearing on Indonesia at the Senate Committee of Foreign
Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Rice's deputy
assistant for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Eric G. John said that the
U.S. wanted to "help Indonesia succeed as a modern, democratic power, one
that acts as a positive force on the global stage and ensures prosperity
for its people at home".
John proposes the areas in which the U.S. could work out to achieve the
goals. This includes the continuing U.S. assistance for tsunami
reconstruction, education, the justice sector and for the police and an
exchange of contacts between congressional/parliamentary delegations,
senior officials and student exchanges.
The deputy secretary of state also told the Sept. 15 briefing that the
U.S. should support Susilo's reformist program and further development of
democracy, respect for human rights and press freedom in Indonesia and
support military reform through constructive engagement. Finally, John
said the U.S. should bolster Indonesia as a ASEAN leader, and as stable
democracy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AsiaNews
22 December, 2005
Papua priests use planes for pastoral, aid work
by Mathias Hariyadi
-- Airplanes are the only possible means of transport in the mountainous
region. 90% of flights, even for transport of merchandise and aid, are
carried out by Christian organizations on the island.
Yahokina (AsiaNews) – Priests in western Papua use ultra-light airplanes
to reach believers in more remote areas. This allows for the “transport”
of pastoral and sacramental services as well as merchandise and material
aid. Communication is difficult in this remote region, where 55 people
died of hunger and malaria in November amid overall neglect.
The territory consists almost entirely of mountains and forests, without
roads or other pathways. In western Guinea, 70% of links and transport
take place by air; there are 600 airstrips for light airplanes, most of
them made by residents. The state air service covers only 10% of transport
needs: the rest is met by two religious organizations: the Catholic
Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) and the Protestant Mission Aviation
Fellowship (MAF).
In the dioceses, 75% of Catholics live in places which can be accessed
only by air. In 1959, Mgr Herman Ferdinand Maria Nunninghoff, bishop of
Jayapura, decided to use airplanes for visits to communities and he sent
six Franciscan priests to Holland to learn to pilot them. At the time,
Papua was a Dutch colony; it was annexed in 1963 by Indonesia. Western
Papua is made up of the archdiocese of Merauke and the sub-dioceses of
Agats-Asmat, Jayapura, Manokwari-Sorong and Timika.
Now AMA uses four Cessna-185 four-seater planes and three Pilate Porter
PC-6 six-seaters, which allow access to more remote communities. They are
not used only for pastoral ends. "Fifty percent of the load factor of AMA
planes has been marked with pastoral care, while the rest of another 50%
for commercial services," said Thomas Darmadi, an AMA official. AMA is
well known among the population and the authorities for its ability to
reach any part of the island and to deliver the necessary.
It is also a dangerous service: two Cessna were lost in the last three
months, they crashed in mid-November (the motor stopped a few metres
before landing) and in August. The November accident caused much concern
among all the population of Sorong, even non-Christians, because “the
Cessna has become the only means of transport to reach areas like that,”
said Darmadi. However, Hilarius Datus Lega, bishop of Manokwari-Sorong,
said these accidents would not stop pastoral services, nor would they
affect AMA’s activities. There are at least 50 landing areas for light
airplanes in the diocese.
Augustinian priest, Fr Anton Tromp, said: “These disasters will certainly
not stop our pastoral mission to communities in remote areas."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Features
December 22, 2005
Physicist puts Papua in the map
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
What is the last thing you would expect a young woman to do in planning
her future after winning a science olympiad?
Turn down an offer to study at Harvard University.
That was what Anike Nelce Bowaire, a winner of Poland's First Step to a
Nobel Prize in Physics (FSNPP), did recently, saying she preferred to
study at the country's state universities -- Bandung Institute of
Technology (ITB) and the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.
"I want to enroll at universities the same way as other Indonesians do ...
through university entrance examinations," the 18-year-old said, adding
that mentally, she was also not prepared to live far away from her
parents.
"I don't want to be accepted at a university solely because I win a
competition and I want to experience what other Indonesian college
students have gone through -- a students' initiation and other
unforgettable experiences as new students," she said.
These are the only things Anike has to think about because the graduate of
State High School SMAN 1 Serui in Papua province will not have to dream up
a way to finance her study.
Soon after Anike won the award, the Jakarta-based Freedom Institute
granted her a full scholarship, from a bachelor's degree to doctorate at
any university she liked.
Although she did not win any cash prize, she said the scholarship was
suitable compensation for her efforts to be the best in science.
"Back in my high school, I could only study science by reading books," she
said, adding that there was no way for her to carry out laboratory
experiments at the poorly equipped institution.
"Yes, there was a lab there, but the room was used for teaching activities
and all the lab equipment was stored on the shelves."
The daughter of Yohanes Bowaire and Yemima Woriori; both civil servants in
Papua's regional administrations, said "guidance" was the key that allowed
her to beat 78 other participants from 28 countries at the FSNPP.
"The difference between preparing myself in my high school and here in
Jakarta is that I got proper guidance from mentors, who are some of the
country's noted science professors."
Anike said the professors not only taught her how to master physics, math
and English, they also taught her how to be original.
Order from chaos
"My mentors always highlighted that my research should be original, it
should not came from previous studies already published," Anike said.
Due to this guidance and a systematic transfer of knowledge, Anike came up
with a project called "Chaos in an Accelerated Rotating Horizontal
Spring", which earned her a gold medal in at the competition in June.
"The idea is how to prove that horizontal spring movement can also be used
to study chaos, a study of random motion," she said.
Some scientists said the finding, which they named the "Bowaire Model"
could allow people to study earthquakes, human heartbeats, and soccer
players' running styles along with other forms of chaotic movement.
"The study of chaos is widely applicative. It could be applied to water
drops, weather forecasts and even share prices on stock exchanges. But I
haven't taken my research that far."
Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes. And Anike's achievement did
not come in an instant. She has spent about 16 hours a day during the past
two years mastering the methodology and the practical experiments of chaos
theory. It is unsurprising then, that with all this brain work, her
hobbies are largely sedentary -- sleeping, listening to music and reading.
"No time for TV soap operas and no boyfriend," said the girl who also won
the competition at the National Physics Olympiad in 2004 and a Special
Prize at the International Conference for Young Scientists in Katowice,
Poland, in May this year.
Yohanes Surya, one of Anike's mentors and the president of Indonesia
Physics Olympiad Team said Anike's hard work and her potential meant she
and other young Indonesians could become Nobel laureates in physics by
2020.
"The International Conference of Young Scientists (ICYS) held in Katowice
is a prestigious contest for senior and junior high school students
worldwide. I am proud that Anike and her friends won in such an
internationally recognized competition. This shows Indonesia can play an
important role in world-level scientific research and experiments,"
Yohannes said.
Besides hard work and brainpower, Anike's achievement also came from the
courage to make a vital decision.
"Before participating for the First Step to a Noble Prize in Physics
competition, I had to quit the International Physics Olympiad Team, which
I had been a part of since 2003," Anike said.
"It was a tough decision. It still makes me dizzy."
She was also motivated by the news about her home province of Papua, which
was mostly negative.
"After George Saa won the FSTNP in 2004, the news about Papua mainly
concerned health problems and a feud about the implementation of regional
autonomy. I want to put Papua in the headlines again, only this time with
good news," she said.
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