[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - 1/06/06
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The Jakarta Post.com
Latest News
1/5/2006 2:59:46 PM
Small plane crashes in Papua: Report
Jakarta (Agencies)
A small plane with two people on board crashed in Indonesia's easternmost
Papua province on Thursday, but it was not immediately known whether the
two survived, state media reported.
The Cessna aircraft, operated by Associated Mission Aviation, crashed in
Burmey district after take-off from the provincial capital Jayapura, the
state Antara news agency said.
The fate of the two passengers was not immediately known as rescuers
rushed to the crash site, the agency said.
Papua, a province of mountains and thick jungle in the western half of New
Guinea island, relies heavily on air traffic for transport in the absence
of a substantial road network.
Papua is about 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) east of Jakarta
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antara
Jan 05 14:29
Mission Aircraft Crashes on Indonesia's Remote Papua
Jakarta (Antara News) - A mission aircraft crashed on an area in Indonesia
s easternmost province of Papua on Thursday on its way from Sentani
district to Pegunungan Bintang district.
Antara reported in Jayapura, capital of Papua province that the Cessna
which was operated by the Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) had
registration number of PK CF and was piloted by Welly Kocu.
The ill-fated aircraft carried one passenger, Alex Sony Rumbey, it said.
Military airport commander in Sentani Col. Anang confirmed the accident.
Antara also reported a search and rescue team was sent to Omba area in
Pegunungan Bintang district where the light airplane possibly crashed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
January 06, 2006
Aircraft crash kills two in Papua jungle
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
A light Cessna 185 aircraft operated by Associated Mission Aviation (AMA)
crashed in a remote jungle in Papua province on Thursday, killing two
people on board.
The aircraft, which took off from Sentani airport in Jayapura at 9 a.m.,
crashed in Omban village, Borme district in Pegunungan Bintang regency,
some 550 kilometers south of the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura.
The two people on board, pilot Welli Kochu, 28, and passenger Alexander
Tomi Rumbarar, died when the aircraft crashed on its way to Borme
district.
"An official we contacted in Omban village received a report from
residents of the crash at 10 a.m. We have not received a report on whether
there are other casualties among residents," AMA's director Joseph Leroux
said in Jayapura.
The bodies of the crash victims were evacuated by another AMA aircraft and
reached Jayapura at 2:30 p.m. The bodies were immediately taken to Dok II
Hospital in Jayapura for autopsy.
Leroux could not identify the cause of the crash, which will be
investigated by a commission from the Ministry of Transportation.
However, he said the aircraft's engine was in good condition as it had
only run for a total of 50 hours flying time and regular checks prior to
the flight had revealed no engine damage. The weather at the time of the
crash was clear, he added.
"I can't provide information on the cause of the crash but according to
the radioman we contacted, the weather at the crash location was clear.
Let's wait for the investigation results from the ministry's team," he
said.
The crash on Thursday was the second for pilot Welli Kochu, a native of
Sorong in Papua who was an alumni of a pilot school in Curug, West Java.
In October last year, the pilot, who had been a member of the AMA since
2002, with 2,200 hours flying time under his belt, reportedly crashed his
aircraft into a swamp, located some 500 meters from Domine Eduard Osok
Airport in Sorong. In the crash, two passengers and Welli suffered light
injuries.
Meanwhile, two military helicopters made emergency landings in Pekalongan
regency, Central Java and in Indramayu regency in West Java.
Bad weather forced a Superpuma navy helicopter to make an emergency
landing on Wednesday night in a field in Pakis Putih village in Kedungwuni
district in Pekalongan regency. However, no report has been made on the
passengers of the helicopter, which took off from Halim Perdanakusuma
Airport in Jakarta enroute to Juanda Airport in Surabaya, Antara reported.
On Thursday, a N Bell 412 military helicopter made an emergency landing at
4:30 p.m. in a soccer field in Benda village, Karangampel district in
Indramayu to the surprise of residents and local police officers. The
helicopter's four crew and two passengers suffered no injuries. The
helicopter had left from Jakarta for Semarang, Central Java, but bad
weather and low fuel forced it to make an emergency landing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
January 05, 2006
Conflict resolution in Papua
Jaap Timmer, Jakarta
As an anthropologist dedicating much research to Papua, I follow
developments in the region closely. Encounters with critically informed
people and careful reading of public sources highlight to me an ongoing
paradox in the way Papua and Jakarta approach each other. Both sides often
fall back upon long-standing, more often than not stereotypical
assumptions. In light of the progressive democratization in Indonesia, I
would like to share my ideas about ways to overcome this paradox with the
policy-makers responsible, in Jakarta as well as in Papua.
Over the last few years, Papua has experienced the often-unsettling
effects of inconsistent policies. Attracting greatest criticism on these
lines are the conflicting laws for special autonomy for Papua as a whole,
on the one hand, and a policy of pemekaran (administrative subdivision)
allegedly designed to divide the people of Papua on the other.
Policy-makers at all levels, both in Papua and in Jakarta, find themselves
caught between protest and support for the new province of West Irian
Jaya. At the same time, special autonomy did not get off the ground
properly because of a four-year delay in the establishment of the Papuan
People's Assembly (MRP) due to political scheming in Jakarta. On top of
that, there is lack of capacity in the formal sector in Papua to implement
special autonomy properly and to control mounting corruption.
It was feared that the MRP would become a "superbody" for Papuan
separatists, as if such sentiments cannot be accommodated in a country
that is fostering democracy with rapid strides. For the lack of control
over corruption in Papua no excuse has been given, which is curious at a
time when the nation's leader are intent precisely on curbing corruption.
At the same time, we see that demonstrations, statements to the news or
efforts at pressing Jakarta to enter into dialog with Papua are often
perceived as a threat to the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia.
The unity of Indonesia is also supposedly threatened by non-governmental
organizations, activists and government forces in the outside world.
Papua is Indonesia's problem. What the people of Papua need from Jakarta
is a sustained engagement with the myriad problems they face. These
problems range from extreme poverty, unsustainable extraction of resources
to lack of capacity in implementing proper models of governance.
Poverty levels in the highlands are the highest in Indonesia and economic
disparities lead to regional tensions. Poor governance is widening the gap
between local people and the government. On top of that, decades of poorly
controlled military action have generated a widespread collective memory
of violence and humiliation. These accumulated factors conjure up the
demon of independence that so easily mobilizes Papuans and paralyses
Jakarta.
There are two reasons for both sides to refrain from frenetic reactions.
First, local demands for independence vary immensely and are generally not
about an independent state. Instead, they signal the widespread demand for
full political participation, respect for people's dignity, and equal
sharing of the benefits of resource development projects.
Second, policy paralysis reflects the fact that Jakarta knows very little
about Papua.
What to do? What has often been suggested but never actually pursued
constructively is a frank dialog between leading people from all political
and social movements in Papua. This would involve representatives of the
DPR Papua (Papuan Legislative Council, Dewan Adat Papua (Papuan
Traditional Council), Presidium Dewan Papua (Papuan Presidium Council),
non-governmental organizations and all religious organizations searching
together for policy strategies for development of the region.
Instead of Jakarta reacting to demands from Papua, the President should
proactively initiate such a dialog with a precise plan. This plan should
focus on interests of the most vulnerable people (women and children) and
the poorest regions, and on ameliorating the social and economic
disparities between Papuans and non-Papuans. Obviously, positive results
will not occur if the skills and workforce are inadequate.
The plan must include a comprehensive capacity-building program for the
government in Papua, beginning at the lowest levels. This
capacity-building component should above all tackle the incompatibility
between models of governance structured upon institutional principles of
modern statehood and a variety of everyday social realities.
Local ways of organizing communities and their ways of managing resources
should form the backbone of development efforts. This is a formidable
challenge, currently beyond most administrator's imagination, and not
anticipated in by the legislative or executive bodies. Special autonomy
regulations provided for this, but these were not implemented due to lack
of capacity, and distraction by other concerns, such as meeting the
inconsistent policies from Jakarta.
People's protest against the special autonomy and the Papua's Legislative
Council and the MRP's current involvement in the forthcoming gubernatorial
elections indicate that there is strong involvement in politics at most
levels of society. Last year, the high turnout of voters and the generally
smooth implementation of the national elections in Papua clearly
demonstrated the will to support civilian-led government and the rule of
democracy in Indonesia.
Jakarta should capitalize on these positive developments and assist those
in Papua who are keen to foster democratization. In so doing, Jakarta
should refrain from the current inclination to intervene in Papua's
internal politics. Those most appalled by Jakarta's interference are those
provincial leaders whose political agendas show sincere commitment to the
region and its people. In fact, Jakarta should engage these leaders in a
genuine partnership with the central government.
As a response to the Papuan gambit of "independence" Jakarta should not
back off but stress to all stakeholders that it knows how to channel into
non-dependency within the republic. The suffering of Papuans at the hands
of the state also informs that with people's distrust of Jakarta,
reconciliation needs to take place.
It is time to reflect on what has gone wrong over the last few decades and
formulate adjustments. When the formal sector in Papua functions properly,
the judicial system serves local communities, development materializes for
all the people of Papua and the presence of the military no longer leads
to violations of human rights, then the demands for secession will become
groundless.
The final chapter of full integration of Papua into the Republic of
Indonesia is around the corner; it is now the President's turn to address
the root causes of growing local dissatisfaction by delivering the
long-promised reform.
-- Dr. Jaap Timmer is a research fellow at the Centre for Pacific and
Asian Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He is
conducting research on the culture and history of Indonesian Papua,
Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. He can be reached at
jaap.timmer@chello.nl.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antara
Jan 06 13:41
Human Right Issues Remain Challenge to RI Diplomacy in UN
New York (Antara News) - Issues related with human rights enforcement in
Indonesia will remain a challenge to its diplomacy in the United Nations
this year, Indonesia’s envoy accreited to the world organization said
here.
"Human right issues related to East Timor and Papua will probably continue
to come under the spotlight in our diplomacy at the UN," Indonesian
Permanent Representative to the UN Rezlan Ishar Jenie told Antara here on
Thursday.
Rezland said the human rignt issues in Indonesia were not only mentioned
by UN member countries and other UN bodies but also by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs).
"It is therefore my responsibility as a diplomatic representative at the
United Nations to communicate about various achievements in the
enforcement of human rights in Indonesia," Rezlan said.
He said the solution to the human tights issue in East Timor after the
referendum in 1999 and the achievements made by the Friendship and Truth
Commission (KKP) should continue to be discussed with UN member countries
that had experssed their trust in Indonesia and East Timor to solve the
matter.
The recommendations of the Commission of Experts set up by UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan last July were never discussed in UN Security Council
meetings.
"The Commission of Experts was even requested to give its positive
contribution to the Friendship and Truth Commission in solving the past
problems," Rezlan added.
In relation with the human tight issue in Papua, Rezlan said certain
groups would probably try to raise the issue through an "indigenous
people" forum.
Another important task the Indonesian permanent representative to the UN
was bearing affected the issue of continuing the rehabilitation process in
Aceh after the tsunami.
"We will continue to get in touch with the office of the UN Secreatary
General’s speical envoy, Bill Clinton, because rehabilitation in Aceh will
take a long time and the attention of the international community should
be maintained," Rezlan said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
January 06, 2006
U.S.-RI ties: Partnerships on impunity?
Rafendi Djamin, Jakarta
On the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to
Indonesia next week, it was challenging to read the article written by
Eric G. John, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of
East Asian and Pacific Affairs, on the strategic partnership between the
U.S. and Indonesia (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 2-3).
This article focused on the question of whether double-standards in
security sector reforms and human rights will be applied by the U.S.
government in its changing view on Indonesia.
It not a coincidence that Gen. Endriartono, Indonesian Military (TNI)
chief, stated that the ongoing reform within the TNI is not meant to
please the U.S. government or Congress. Instead, it is part of the TNI's
genuine commitment to be part of a new democratic Indonesia.
As stated in John's article, there has been a systematic effort since the
U.S. imposed a military embargo on Indonesia to re-establish
military-to-military cooperation between the countries.
One policy related to U.S. national interests is the foreign policy on the
question of criminal impunity. The U.S. government has been consistently
opposed to and has attacked the credibility of the Rome Statute for the
establishment of International Criminal Court (ICC), which as of December
2005 has been ratified by 100 states. ICC is able to investigate and
prosecute those individuals accused of crimes against humanity, genocide
and crimes of war.
The U.S. government has launched a global campaign to put political and
economic pressure on small and weak states which have not yet ratified the
Rome Statute to instead ratify the so-called "Article 98" agreements.
These agreements are alternately referred to as "Article 98" agreements,
bilateral immunity agreements (BIAs), impunity agreements or bilateral
non-surrender agreements. Other instruments adopted by the U.S. Congress
to undermine the ICC is legislation that restricts U.S. foreign assistance
to countries that do not sign these bilateral immunity agreements and
legislation that restricts foreign assistance to countries that do not
sign bilateral ICC non-surrender agreements with the U.S.
The first piece of legislation adopted by the U.S. Congress, in August
2002, is known as the American Servicemembers Protection Act (ASPA). This
legislation, also known as the "Hague Invasion Act", contains provisions
restricting U.S. cooperation with the ICC; making U.S. support of
peacekeeping missions largely contingent on achieving impunity for all
U.S. personnel; and even granting the president permission to use "any
means necessary" to free U.S. citizens and allies from ICC custody in The
Hague.
The legislation, however, contains waivers that make all of these
provisions non-binding, yet the Bush administration has not utilized these
waivers and continues to pressure countries around the world to conclude
bilateral immunity agreements -- or otherwise lose essential U.S. military
assistance.
In December 2004, Congress subsequently adopted the Nethercutt Amendment,
as part of the U.S. Foreign Appropriations Bill. This legislation is far
more wide-reaching than the ASPA and authorizes the loss of economic
support funds to all countries, including many key U.S. allies, which have
ratified the ICC treaty but have not signed a bilateral immunity agreement
with the U.S. While the President has the authority to waive the
provisions of the amendment, it poses the threat of broad cuts in foreign
assistance, including funds for cooperation in international security and
terrorism, economic and democratic development, human rights and promoting
peace processes.
The bilateral immunity agreement (BIA) provides: "When the United States
extradites, surrenders, or otherwise transfers a person of Indonesia to a
third country, the United States will not agree to the surrender or
transfer of that person by the third country to any international
tribunal, unless such tribunal has been established by the UN Security
Council, absent the express consent of the Government of the Republic of
Indonesia."
Moreover, it provides: "When the Government of the Republic of Indonesia
extradites, surrenders, or otherwise transfers a person of the United
States to a third country, the Government of the Republic of the Indonesia
will not agree to the surrender or transfer of that person by the third
country to any international tribunal, unless such tribunal has been
established by the UN Security Council, absent the express consent of the
Government of the United States."
The bilateral immunity agreement also defines "persons" as "current or
former government officials, employees, including contractors, or military
personnel or nationals of one party". This broad definition exempts the
nationals of each country from possible prosecution through the ICC.
Although Indonesia has not signed the Rome Statute for the International
Criminal Court, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims the
country has been active in all phases of deliberations on the Court and is
still in the process of giving meticulous consideration to the Statute.
The government has reportedly committed to study the implications of the
ICC, and will likely consider implementing legislation prior to accession.
The Indonesian government set up a Human Rights Action Plan which includes
overseeing consideration of the ICC. And in 2004 a presidential decree,
No. 40/2004 on the national action plan of human rights 2004-2009, was
issued, committing the government to ratifying the ICC by 2008
What are the implications for Indonesia?
If Condoleezza Rice urges President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to sign the
"Article 98" agreements, it is clear that double-standards are being
applied by the U.S. government on security sector reform and human rights.
Supporting the process to achieve democratic oversight of the TNI, one
main problem, among others, in security sector reform is the question of
impunity within the TNI and the National Police.
On one side the U.S. supports the struggle for justice in the murder of
rights activist Munir and justice for the victims of human rights
violations in Timika, Papua, while on the other hand it insists on a
policy of impunity from the Indonesian government.
For Indonesia, entering into this agreement, the government would violate
its own presidential decree on the national action plan. Furthermore, the
government would violate the provisions in the Law on Treaties which
stipulate that ratification of treaties should be conducted by way of a
law if they concern matters pertaining to politics, peace, defense, state
security, human rights and the environment.
The Indonesian government must resist any political or economic pressure
from the U.S. to sign this bilateral impunity agreement in order not to
negate its international obligations under the Vienna Convention on the
Law on Treaties.
This will show Indonesia is committed to protecting the rights of its
citizens by providing access to an international court that can prosecute
and penalize perpetrators of the gravest crimes of genocide, crimes
against humanity, war crimes and, in the future, crimes of aggression.
-- The writer is the coordinator of the Human Rights Working Group's NGO
Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy. He can be reached at
hrwg@cbn.net.id.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PoliticalAffairs.net
Rights Group Urges Secretary of State to Promote Justice and Rights, Not
Military Might
By The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)
01-06-06,13:44pm
January 6 - The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today urged
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to support justice, peace and human
rights - rather than military assistance and impunity - when she visits
Indonesia this weekend.
"If Secretary Rice wishes to promote a forward-looking agenda, she can
start by making clear that military assistance remains contingent on
accountability and real reform," said John M. Miller, National Coordinator
of ETAN. “Secretary Rice’s message to senior Indonesian officials will be
a test of whether the U.S.’s support for democracy in Indonesia consists
of more than rhetoric.”
"By recklessly waiving restrictions on U.S. military assistance to
Indonesia late last year, Secretary Rice has abandoned the best available
leverage to press for genuine reform," continued Miller. “If she is
unwilling to withdraw the waiver, Secretary Rice should at a minimum
delineate clear benchmarks that must be met before the U.S. provides any
foreign military financing and lethal equipment. Otherwise, the
unreformed, corrupt Indonesian military will continue to perceive any U.S.
assistance as an endorsement of business-as-usual."
"One benchmark should be Indonesia’s acceptance of the UN Commission of
Experts’ recommendations that it cooperate with international efforts to
prosecute senior figures for massive human rights violations in East
Timor. A pledge to broadly circulate and discuss the findings of the East
Timor truth commission’s recent report upon its release should be another
marker," said Miller. "Such a call would have added credibility if the
U.S. government made a similar commitment."
"We hope media reports that Rice will seek a formal agreement from
Indonesia not to extradite U.S. citizens to the International Criminal
Court (ICC) are inaccurate. If true, such a request would make a mockery
of any calls for justice and accountability," he added.
"West Papua has been long-neglected by the international community.
Secretary Rice should use her visit to highlight ongoing human rights
violations and question the military build-up there. The Secretary of
State should press Jakarta to heed calls from West Papua for
demilitarization, a fair share of the income from its resources and
respect for fundamental rights. Finally, she should demand that Indonesia
fully open West Papua to the outside world,” said Karen Orenstein,
National Coordinator of ETAN.
"The recent publication of details of extensive cooperation between the
Indonesian military and the mining corporation Freeport-McMoRan highlights
the level of intimate U.S. involvement in West Papua. Secretary Rice
should make clear that U.S. corporate collusion with the Indonesian
military is unacceptable," Orenstein added.
"Secretary Rice should also warn that plans to deploy thousands of troops
to Aceh, supposedly to help with tsunami reconstruction, risk undermining
the peace accord that ended the conflict,” said Orenstein.
Last November, the Department of State issued a waiver removing all
remaining congressional restrictions on U.S. military assistance to
Indonesia. Congress had imposed various restrictions on military training
for Indonesia since 1992 and banned most types of weapons sales following
the 1999 destruction of East Timor by Indonesian security forces and their
militia proxies.
The U.S. government, as part of its campaign to undermine the ICC, has
negotiated bilateral impunity agreements with about 100 countries. These
agreements exempt U.S. citizens from extradition to the international
court. Like the U.S., Indonesia has not joined the ICC.
ETAN advocates for democracy, justice and human rights for East Timor and
Indonesia. ETAN calls for an international tribunal to prosecute crimes
against humanity committed in East Timor from 1975 to 1999 and for
continued restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Indonesia until
there is genuine reform of its security forces. For additional background,
see www.etan.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: This message was transmitted to Secretary Rice prior to
thepostponement of that trip.
4 January 2006
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madame Secretary:
The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for
Human Rights wishes you a safe and successful upcoming journey to
Southeast Asia. We write you out of a particular interest in your visit to
Indonesia.
As we have expressed to you in previous communications (most recently in
our letter of 29 November 2005), we are deeply concerned by current
developments in West Papua. We strongly urge that in your discussions with
senior Indonesian government leaders, you encourage them to pursue a
senior-level dialogue with Papuan civil society and local officials
regarding long-standing Papuan calls for the demilitarization of the
province, fair distribution of the benefits flowing from the exploitation
of Papuan natural resources, and protection for Papuan civil and political
rights. Given growing death threats and other intimidation faced by human
rights advocates, including those who have assisted the FBI in the Timika
case, we also urge you to underscore the importance the U.S. attaches to
their safety.
Your recent decision to restore full military relations between the U.S.
and Indonesian military imposes a moral burden to pursue vigorously and
transparently the long-delayed military reform that you and your
assistants contend will be facilitated by this action. That reform is most
urgently needed in the context of the continued and expanding repression
meted out to Papuans by the Indonesian military.
Recent statements by the Indonesian government regarding its intentions to
deploy a new Kostrad division to West Papua, coupled with multiple,
credible local reports of an expanding military presence in West Papua,
indicate a substantial militarization of that province. This
militarization cannot be explained in security terms inasmuch as there are
no credible foreign or domestic security threats there.
Rather, the ongoing deployment of Indonesian army and navy personnel
appears to follow the pattern of previous deployments to Aceh and other
areas dominated by the military. That is, it is intended to facilitate the
military's exploitation of local natural resources and the repression of
the local people. In addition, government travel restrictions continue to
obscure these abuses.
In particular, we are concerned by the continued unaccountability of
security forces before Indonesian courts for systematic abuse of Papuans'
human rights as in the recent failure to punish those responsible
for the Abepura incident, the jailing of peaceful dissenters such as Filep
Karma and Yusak Pakage, and lack of any progress to act on the Wasior and
Wamena investigations. We are also deeply troubled by recent revelations
regarding collusion of the Indonesian military with U.S. firms such as
Freeport-McMoran which has facilitated human rights abuse and
environmental degradation.
We trust that you will make clear to Indonesia's leaders that continued
improvement in US-Indonesia relations depends in part on their serious
attention to the above matters.
The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for
Human Rights will continue to monitor the human rights situation in West
Papua and would welcome the opportunity to discuss our concerns with you
and/or your staff upon your return from Indonesia.
Sincerely,
Emily S. Goldman Senior Program Officer
And the RFK Memorial West Papua Advocacy Team:
Abigail Abrash-Walton
Charles Farhadian
Eben Kirksey
Edmund McWilliams
Octovianus Mote
John Rumbiak
Miriam Young
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tempo Interactive
Freeport Not Licensed to Dispose of Tailing Waste
Friday, 06 January, 2006 | 09:28 WIB
Tempo Interactive, Jakarta: PT Freeport Indonesia does not yet to have a
license to dispose of tailing waste from gold and copper mining remains in
the Aghwagon Otonoma-Aikma Minajerni river basin, Papua.
“There has not yet been any license issued by the State Ministry for the
Environment for this,” Rasio Ridho Sani, Assistant to the State Minister
for Poisonous and Dangerous Materials (B3) Waste and Management Affairs,
told Tempo on Wednesday (04/01).
The license obtained from the Papuan governor, stated Rasio, was inadequate.
Now, the State Ministry for the Environment is discussing the matter of
the license with Freeport.
A team will be sent to monitor the disposed tailing.
Warnings have been issued between 1997 and 2001 by the Minister for the
Environment and the Environmental Impact Management Board (Bapedal) as
regards the disposal of tailing waste by Freeport.
On February 25, 1997, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, the then Minister for the
Environment and Head of Bapedal, sent a letter to Freeport requesting
supporting evidence that the disposed tailing was not included in B3
waste.
In this letter, the tailing was categorized as liquid waste and therefore
has to have a special license.
The letter also mentioned that the tailing has causes physical destruction
of the Ajkwa river.
On June 12, 2001, Bapedal also warned Freeport for having violated article
27 of Government Regulation No.35/1991 on Rivers, which bans the disposal
of solid or liquid waste into or nearby rivers.
Up to now, the Freeport is yet to provide further confirmation regarding
it license to dispose of tailing.
-- (Oktamandjaya Wiguna-Tempo News Room)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antara
Jan 06 23:07
Air Efata to Serve Jakarta-Papua Route
Jakarta (Antara News) - A new private airline company Efata Air will start
serving the route from Jakarta to eastern Papua on January 9 fourteen
times a week through Surabaya in East Java or Makassar in South Sulawesi.
"The flights will last only four to five hours or even shorter than the
flights by other operators which normally take more than eight hours
because of their stops in many cities," the president director of PT Efata
Papua Airlines, Frank Taira Supit, told newsmen on the sidelines of a
thanksgiving party to mark the start of the airliner’s operation.
He said Efata Air using wide-bodied aircraft like MD-88 would only make
transits in Makassar, Surabaya or Biak before reaching their final
destinations in Jayapura and Timika in Papua.
"We are not a low cost carrier but a traditional one which puts forward
good service at a fair price," he said.
He said Air Efata would sell its ticket to Papua at only Rp1.6 million for
the economy class, and Rp2.5 million for deluxe efata class which was
cheaper than those offered by other operators.
He said besides for business reasons, Air Efata also had a mission of
helping Papua grow by offering its flight services.
Efata Air’s majority shares are held by PT Tiara Markas and the rest by PT
Arpeni and former Papua governor Barnabas Suebu.
KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
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