[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - 1/25/06
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- Indonesia increases military presence in Papua
- Jakarta sought access to Papuan asylum seekers
- Papuans Worthy Asylum Seekers?
- What now that West Papuans got under our guard?
- West Papuans must not be held incommunicado
- Probe Into Papuan Shootings
- Indonesia accused of not delivering aid to Papua famine victims
- Developing capacities for special autonomy in Papua
- Regents demand delay of Papua's election
- DJ Indonesia Min: To Probe Freeport Payments To Military
- Amien Critizes Freeport for Environmental Destruction
- TNI wants legal recourse in protecting firms
*****************************
The World Today/Radio Australia
Indonesia increases military presence in Papua
Wednesday, 25 January , 2006 12:34:00
Reporter: Hamish Fitzsimmons
PETER CAVE: A military build-up in the Indonesian province of Papua has
heightened tensions between the Government and independence activists, and
is said to have been prompted by the arrival in Australia last week of 43
Papuan asylum seekers.
There've been numerous reports of reprisal attacks, and local leaders say
the military operations are intended to terrify the local population and
quash separatist sentiments.
The Indonesian Government has also warned relations with Australia will be
damaged if it accepts the Papuans as refugees.
Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.
HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: In recent weeks, the Indonesian military has been
boosting its numbers in the province of Papua. It says it needs to bolster
security, but local activists are wondering on what grounds.
The Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman is the Chairman of the West Papua
Baptist Church.
He says Indonesian tanks have been patrolling the streets of the
provincial capital Jayapura and that the military build up is having its
desired effect.
SOCRATEZ SOFYAN YOMAN: We are very, very afraid, very, very, very afraid,
and the terrible situation in all Papuans in the provinces, also in the
islands, in the coastal area. Because everywhere is military, now it's
military base, everywhere they take their guns they go round and round. I
think in West Papua now - right now - it's more military in here.
HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: After the 43 Papuan asylum seekers landed in Australia
last week, there was an incident in the region many of them came from.
At least one person was killed and others were wounded when the Indonesian
military said it broke up a gang demanding illegal road tolls. But Sofyan
Yoman claims it's part of a plan to terrorise the population.
SOCRATEZ SOFYAN YOMAN: They can't do that, terrorise the people,
intimidate the people. For example, they kill the people in Waghete, they
want to create a conflict like East Timor. They will justify, justify for
the Indonesian military in West Papua, military operation in West Papua.
We'll become… we'll be like East Timor.
HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The Indonesian Government has warned that if Australia
accepts the 43 Papuans as refugees, relations between the two countries
could be damaged.
The Federal Government maintains its respect for Indonesia's current
sovereignty but Indonesian politics expert, Dr Richard Chauvel, says
there's lingering suspicion of Australia after East Timor's independence
in 1999.
RICHARD CHAUVEL: Australia as we'd all remember, supported Indonesian
sovereignty and occupation of East Timor for decades, but in Indonesia
eyes when the crunch came, that policy changed around very quickly.
They clearly recognised as the case was with refugees from East Timor that
by granting asylum seeker refugee status to people the Indonesians regard
as their citizens, that is by definition saying something about our views
on human rights conditions within Indonesia.
HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The Australian Government says it will assess the
claims of the Papuans according to its legal obligations and the merits of
their cases. The 43 people remain on Christmas Island awaiting news of
their claims.
PETER CAVE: Hamish Fitzsimmons reporting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
Jakarta sought access to Papuan asylum seekers
By Andra Jackson
January 25, 2006
A Catholic bishop has warned that Indonesian authorities are "trying to
get to" the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers on Christmas Island.
Melbourne auxiliary bishop Hilton Deakin told about 130 people
demonstrating outside Immigration Department headquarters in Melbourne
yesterday: "We know that already the Indonesian authorities, in Canberra
and beyond, are trying to get to them."
The Indonesian embassy in Canberra has strongly denied it has made any
approach, with its second secretary, Dino Kusnadi, saying on Sunday: "I
can guarantee that there has been no contact whatsoever, it hadn't been
requested, it was never even sought."
But the Immigration Department has confirmed to The Age that "a junior
delegation" from the embassy went to Weipa last Thursday seeking access to
the asylum seekers.
The 43 were found the day before at Mapoon, on the Cape York Peninsula,
after making a perilous six-day voyage to Australia to seek asylum.
A spokesman for the Immigration Department said the Indonesians arrived in
Weipa on Thursday but by then the Papuans had already been put on a plane
for Christmas Island.
The department does not provide consular access to detainees without their
permission, because this would contravene the Vienna Convention. But the
West Papuans were told they had a right to Indonesian consular assistance
if they choose. "Not one has chosen to do so," the spokesman said.
Refugee advocate Pamela Curr told the demonstration that with Jakarta an
hour's flight from Christmas Island, supporters feared for the safety of
the asylum seekers.
"The majority of these 43 people are … leaders for free expression and
self-determination and possible independence because of the oppression
from which they suffer," Bishop Deakin said. "Massacres, rapes and all the
rest of it have gone on in that country for almost 30 years."
He called on the Australian Government to cancel its training program with
the Indonesian military.
Democrats leader Lyn Allison said it was important to send a strong
message to the Australian Government that "you have got it wrong on this
issue". The 43 asylum seekers had been "whisked off" before they could
tell their story, she said.
Australian Greens senator Kerry Nettle said Australia was honour-bound to
offer the Papuans asylum, citing those Papuans who looked after Australian
troops in World War II.
The Immigration Department's Victorian director, John Williams, accepted a
letter from the demonstrators, which he said he would pass on to
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone. It calls for the Papuans to be
released into the community on bridging visas while their protection claim
is assessed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paras Indonesia (formerly Laksamana)
Papuans Worthy Asylum Seekers?
January, 25 2006 @ 06:54 am
By: Roy Tupai
Ever fearful of another East Timor-style secession scenario, Indonesia is
warning Australia that bilateral ties could suffer if Canberra grants
asylum to a 43 Papuans who fled the province earlier this month.
The 43 asylum seekers were found at a remote beach on Australia's Cape
York Peninsula on January 18 after sailing for five days in a 25-meter
traditional boat. They have accused the Indonesian military of conducting
genocide against Papuans.
The Australian government initially held the 30 men, 6 women and 7
children in Weipa and on January 20 put them on a seven-hour flight to
Christmas Island, where they are now being held in a detention center
while their request is assessed.
Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin has denied the genocide
allegation and warned that Australia could face an influx of asylum
seekers if grants the request. "This has the potential to disturb
relations between the two countries that have recently become very tight,"
he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"The new Indonesia is not a fertile ground for human rights abuses,
especially genocide," he added.
Thamrin said that if the Papuans were granted asylum, it would strengthen
perceptions within Indonesia that Australia supports or sympathizes with
Papua’s separatist movement.
"We will not consider this as an ordinary immigration matter… I would like
to underscore the need to manage this issue very carefully in order not to
jeopardize the robust, positive and constructive bilateral relationship
existing now between Australia and Indonesia," he was quoted as saying by
Japan’s Kyodo news agency.
Ties between Canberra and Jakarta have often been strained and hit an
all-time low in 1999 when Australia led a UN-sanctioned peacekeeping force
into East Timor to stop the military and its militia proxies from
slaughtering civilians after the territory had voted overwhelmingly to
secede from Indonesia.
Relations between the two nations have since improved, partly due to joint
operations to combat terrorism and natural disasters. Australia has long
reassured Jakarta that it considers Papua part of Indonesia.
Human rights groups, refugee activists and Catholic church officials in
Australia have protested the decision to shift the Papuans to Christmas
Island, arguing they should be processed on the mainland.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Tuesday (24/1/06) defended the
move. “That’s entirely appropriate. Their position will be assessed, they
will be interviewed and they will be dealt with in accordance with the
law,” he said.
Rights groups, such as the Australia West Papua Association, have claimed
the asylum seekers’ lives may be at risk if they are sent back to
Indonesia. They further claimed that families of the Papuans could be
targeted in reprisal attacks by the Indonesian military.
This concern was strengthened after security forces opened fire on
civilians in Papua’s West Paniai regency last week, leaving one person
dead and two others injured. The fatality, Moses Douw (15), was said to be
a close relative of one of the asylum seekers.
About 200 Papuans on Monday demonstrated at the provincial parliament
against the shootings. They called for the formation of an independent
team to investigate the incident and demanded the dismissal of Trikora
Regional Military Command chief Major General George Toisutta.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander has said there’s no evidence to
suggest the shootings were linked to the arrival of the asylum seekers.
‘No Problem’
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono on Monday said he was certain the case
of the asylum seekers would not damage Indonesia-Australia ties.
"We don’t need to exaggerate this problem because it has become a matter
of human rights," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
He said the government wants the 43 “Indonesian citizens” returned home as
soon as possible and is therefore discussing the matter with Australia’s
Foreign Ministry.
But he emphasized that the matter is in the hands of Australia’s
Immigration Department. "The 43 citizens will be discussed one by one, to
ascertain whether they can be categorized as genuine asylum seekers or
whether they will be returned," he said.
Legislators on Tuesday urged the Foreign Ministry to take swift measures
to resolve the case so that it does not create an international problem
for Indonesia.
Deputy chairman of parliament’s Commission I on foreign affairs, Yusron
Ihza, said the case must not be allowed to become a form of propaganda
that could make Indonesia look bad.
He therefore urged the Australian government to respect Indonesia by not
granting asylum to the Papuans. He also expressed hope that Australian
non-government organizations would “not spread rumors” that would tarnish
Indonesia’s image abroad.
"The Foreign Affairs Ministry must immediately resolve this. Don't let it
continue,” he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
National Resilience Institute governor Muladi has also warned the case
could sour Indonesia-Australia relations if not resolved appropriately.
Embassy Denies Contact
Thamrin said Indonesian diplomats in Australia were gathering information
on the identities of the 43 Papuans. “Our ambassador in Australia has
established coordination with the related institutions there," he was
quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
The Indonesian Embassy in Canberra has denied trying to meet with the
asylum seekers and have them sent home. "I can guarantee that there has
been no contact whatsoever, it hadn't been requested, it was never even
sought," the embassy’s second secretary, Dino Kusnadi, was quoted as
saying Sunday by The Age newspaper.
But the newspaper said the Australian Immigration Department confirmed
that "a junior delegation" from the embassy went to Weipa last Thursday to
seek access to the asylum seekers. By the time the delegation arrived, the
Papuans had already been put on the plane for Christmas Island.
Catholic Bishop Hilton Deakin on Tuesday expressed concern that Indonesian
authorities were "trying to get to" the asylum seekers.
“We know that already the Indonesian authorities, in Canberra and beyond,
are trying to get to them… The majority of these 43 people are… leaders
for free expression and self-determination and possible independence
because of the oppression from which they suffer. Massacres, rapes and all
the rest of it have gone on in that country for almost 30 years," he said.
He urged the Australian government to cancel its military training program
with Indonesia.
‘Attention Seekers’
Ian Siagian, a Sydney resident who represents ex-president Megawati
Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, has dismissed the
asylum seekers as nothing but attention seekers.
He said the asylum request was an attempt by the outlawed Free Papua
Organization (OPM) to bring the Papua issue before the international
community. "Thus, if Indonesia is not careful to lobby the politicians
abroad for the case, West Papua is feared to have the same fate as East
Timor," he was quoted as saying Monday by state news agency Antara.
Protection Visas
Australia offers protection to asylum seekers if they are found to satisfy
requirements under a UN convention on refugees and relevant Australian
laws.
Critics accuse Australia of seeking to deter asylum seekers who arrive
illegally by confining them for long periods in isolated detention
centers. Australia argues that such measures are necessary to prevent the
country from being swamped by refugees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OnLine Opinion (Australia)
What now that West Papuans got under our guard?
By Tony Kevin
posted Wednesday, 25 January 2006
The arrival on the Australian mainland of 43 asylum-seekers from West
Papua, many with prominent dissident backgrounds in that troubled
Indonesian province, is significant news for both Australian border
security and Australian-Indonesian relations.
Neither government would have welcomed it, and both governments will do
their best by overt and covert means to try to ensure that it does not
happen again.
The planners of this voyage clearly outsmarted Australian border
protection authorities, who will now do their best to make life as
unpleasant as possible for the 43 who made it here.
Sending them to detention on Christmas Island is the first step in
exemplary punishment, aimed at pressuring as many as can be persuaded to
return. Or, in any case, deterring other West Papuans from following their
example.
There are key differences between this group and previous unauthorised
arrivals in Australia from Indonesia. First, the 43 are Indonesian
nationals. Second, they have come direct from their country of claimed
persecution, Indonesia, to Australia without passing through any third
country.
So (as experts like former Justice John Dowd have already said) they
fulfil the letter of the Refugee Convention to which Australia is
signatory, and so have a strong prima facie case for scrupulously correct
consideration by the Australian Government of their refugee claims.
Yet, already, the government is dishonouring such obligations, in denying
refugee claims have been made, and in sending the group hastily to
mandatory processing detention on Christmas Island, beyond the reach of
Australian legal support, NGO support and support from the small West
Papuan expatriate community here. In the isolation of Christmas Island
detention, these 43 hapless people (whose faces we were yesterday not
allowed to see, again recalling recent years’ abuses of human rights by
border protection agencies) can be more effectively pressured by
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs
interrogators into accepting outcomes more to DIMIA’s taste: i.e., their
voluntary return to West Papua by agreement with Indonesia (which would of
course guarantee their protection against reprisals). And if members of
the group refuse such “safe return”, they can look forward to long periods
of punitive detention at Christmas Island. Nothing has really changed.
Such dirty tactics on the government’s part give a lie to DIMIA’s
much-vaunted recent claims of a new humanitarian approach to border
protection. DIMIA will do everything possible, once the news of the voyage
fades from public memory - as it inevitably will in a few days - to evade
and circumvent Australia’s legal and humanitarian obligations.
Much of the border authorities’ rage will come from their having been so
comprehensively outwitted by West Papuans in an outrigger canoe.
No one would have predicted that such a flimsy craft could survive the
450km of open water in crossing from Merauke, due south to their landfall
north of Weipa, halfway down the western side of Cape York Peninsula.
All the border protection authorities’ interception strategies would have
been concentrated on the (safely immigration-excised) Australian islands
of the Torres Strait. They would have expected such a group to try to
island-hop to the Australian mainland, a much safer route navigationally,
and would have relied on technical means and the monitoring capabilities
of local police to pick them up on the way and quietly return them to West
Papua, out of the public eye.
DIMIA might well have even tried to do the same after the landing on Cape
York, had not the Torres News aircrew providentially captured,
indisputably, on film, the evidence of the group’s arrival on Australian
land. It was then impossible to try to claim (a claim which might have
been advanced, had the media exclusion zone succeeded) that the vessel had
been picked up at sea before it reached Australia’s 12-mile territorial
waters.
The authorities’ greatest fear now must be that other endangered West
Papuans may try to copy this remarkable feat. Australian border security
resources will now be stepped up - with the full support of the Labor
Opposition, no doubt - in the open waters between West Papua and the Gulf
of Carpenteria, joining waters north of Christmas Island and Ashmore Reef
as priority areas of Australian ocean surveillance, and the discouragement
by overt and covert means of passage of suspected illegal entry vessels
(SIEVs).
One may also expect that DIMIA, Australian Federal Police and Australian
Secret Intelligence Service disruption activities will be initiated or
stepped up in West Papua, with a view to detecting and perhaps helping
Indonesian authorities covertly to disrupt such attempted voyages. There
is no reason to think that the questionable Australian disruption
techniques used in Indonesia in 1999-2001, on which the Senate never got
proper answers from Australian agencies, will not be used again.
Would Australians tolerate such ruthless border protection techniques
against our most vulnerable near neighbours? Possibly, if we can pretend
that we did not know about it.
-- First published in The Canberra Times on January 21, 2006.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Press Release: Australian Green Party
West Papuans must not be held incommunicado
Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 3:48 pm
To show that the Department of Immigration has changed its ways, the
Government should allow access to the West Papuan boat people held on
Christmas Island, Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said today.
Senator Nettle was addressing a rally outside the Melbourne office of the
Department of Immigration in support of the 43 West Papuan boat people.
"It is a week since the West Papuans arrived in Australia, yet the
Government is still holding them incommunicado, Senator Nettle said.
"They should not be in detention and they certainly should be allowed to
communicate with the outside world. The Department of Immigrations actions
so far indicate that it still puts public relations before the welfare of
its prisoners.
"I will go to Christmas Island this weekend and meet with the West
Papuans. The Minister of Immigration and the Department is obligated under
the Migration Act to allow me to meet with the asylum seekers.
"The invasion and occupation of West Papua has already cost over
100,000 lives. Like East Timor the Australian Government should shift its
policy and support human rights and independence."
"The restarting of military training and a new security agreement with
Indonesia makes Australia complicit in the escalating human rights
violations in West Papua. Refusing asylum for the West Papuans would
compound this complicity. Senator Nettle said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SBS.com
Probe Into Papuan Shootings
25.1.2006. 19:16:20
Indonesia's human rights commission says it will investigate the shooting
death of a student in the restive province of West Papua along with the
departure of a boatload of refugees to Australia.
The Papuan chapter of the independent National Commission on Human Rights
said it is sending two teams to Paniai and Merauke "as soon as possible".
Police have admitted that their officers and the military fired into a mob
of about 100 protesters at a police station in easternmost Papua's Paniai
district last week, killing 13-year-old Moses Douw and injuring two
others.
Rights activists said Douw was a close relative of one of 43 Papuan
refugees who arrived in Australia's Cape York last week, claiming military
oppression in the province.
The refugees were reportedly sent to Christmas Island.
Albert Rumbekwan from the Papuan chapter of the commission told AFP that
the decision to investigate follows mounting demands for an independent
probe into the shooting and the boat journey.
"In both cases, we want to see clearly what the human rights situation
there looks like and how come these incidents took place," Mr Rumbekwan
said.
A Papuan rights activist on Friday told SBS that Douw died along with
three other students when they were ambushed on their way to school in
what may have been a reprisal attack, in contrast to the Indonesian
account.
Demonstrators clashed with police during a protest rally outside the
provincial parliament this week, and around 30 refugee activists protested
outside immigration department offices in Brisbane on Wednesday, urging
the refugees be transferred to the mainland.
Separately, rights watchdog Elsham Papua is to send its own report and a
request for a probe into Douw's death to the national commission.
Spokesman Aloysius Renwarin said the group has an account of the deaths
that differs with the official Indonesian version, "including witnesses
ands our own people in Paniai".
HE said his group is finalising its own report which will be sent to the
national commission on Wednesday.
The group has said its report includes an account differing substantially
from the police version of events but has not divulged details.
A sporadic, low-level separatist insurgency has rumbled on in Papua for
decades, with many Papuans the victims of alleged military human rights
abuses and upset over their share of revenue from resources in the
province.
Separatists proclaimed the state of West Papua on December 1, 1961, but
Indonesia took control of the mountainous, jungle-clad territory from
Dutch colonisers the following year.
-- Source: World News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Radio New Zealand International
Indonesia accused of not delivering aid to Papua famine victims
Posted at 20:38 on 25 January, 2006 UTC
The human rights group ELSHAM has criticised the Indonesian government for
what it calls an ineffective response to an ongoing famine in Papua
province.
Reports from Indonesia last month estimated that at least 80 people have
died of hunger in the Yahukimo regency, mainly owing to poor food
management following the devastation of local crops by heavy rains.
ELSHAM’s Denny Yomaki says the famine had started six months before the
government took action when media reports surfaced late last year.
Mr Yomaki says the problem is now getting worse with food relief not
getting through, and the government’s sense of responsibility for the
security of its people in the province is very weak:
“Even though the government was already informed, they did nothing to help
them until six months later. The situation is getting worse. Already a lot
of foodstock has been collected to go to the area but until now it’s not
transported to the region where the famine is taking place.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
January 24, 2006
Developing capacities for special autonomy in Papua
Max Demetouw and Mochamad Indrawan, Jakarta
Peace and reconciliation have yet to settle in Papua. Papua's political
elite who are having difficulties uniting have yet to sit down. H.S.
Dillon of the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia noted that it
is imperative that the local leaders negotiate continuously, and reach
agreements on the main governance issues.
The people of Papua need to determine the future of Papua. The dialogs and
consultations should be carefully facilitated, and should integrate the
analytical approach with traditional methods of consensus building.
The fate of the province's special autonomy status and the geopolitical
division of Papua are prominently issues. To be effective, the special
autonomy should reflect emotional, spiritual and intellectual ownership by
the Papuans. Centralistic policy-intervention may cause further
misinterpretations and conflicts over the special autonomy status, and
should therefore be weeded out.
Regarding the geopolitical division for Papua, many among the central
government's political elite have yet to realize that the blossoming of
Papua is also the aspiration of many Papuan people. The question is how
that should be undertaken. Again, space needs to be given, and even
created, for the Papuan elements to decide how the emergence of Papua's
new regencies and provinces should take place.
The central government should play more of a role of facilitator. The
focus should be shifted to supporting reconciliation and capacity building
in Papua. With so many conflicts of interest and divergencies of opinion
in Papua, the central government may even help provide arbitration
capacities to support those of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP).
As pointed out in 2005 by Papua's late governor J.P. Solossa in his book
Mengangkat martabat rakyat Papua dalam NKRI (Upholding the dignity of the
people of Papua in the context of the Republic of Indonesia), the central
government needs to establish and mobilize the country's commission for
truth and reconciliation.
There need not be any fear in letting the Papuan people choose their best
course. Appropriately empowered, excellent opportunities remain that the
future of Papua and Indonesia can remain one, for the prosperity of both.
The average Papuan accepts the fact that close to 40 percent of the people
there today are migrants, and both sides can live side by side.
Development of local capacities in Papua is particularly important to make
the special autonomy (and its relatively generous funds) benefit the
people of Papua. Special autonomy should therefore benefit Papua's poor
and marginalized. Only in this way can the special autonomy gain
credibility, and dispel the justified concerns of its critics from within
the Papuan elements.
Capacity building should be spent on integrated civil service reform,
which entails major behavioral changes. The budgetary allocations to be
received by local governments can even be based on the cost effectiveness
of its services delivery. There is also the need to build meritocracy,
where promotions depend on the individual performance of each official.
The Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia noted that local
governments and civil society alike can successfully increase public
sector accountability from many regions in Indonesia. For instance, the
municipal government of Ambon has managed to establish an accrual-based
accounting system. Among the many results of this well-tested
international system, expenditure of regional budgets became more
efficient and more transparent.
Public control of procurement of goods and services, which are often the
main source of misappropriation of funds, can be increased in more ways
than one. For instance, Transparency International and the government of
Indonesia have developed an integrity pact which allows the public to
exercise relevant controls over local governments and corporations. The
pact includes the commitment to implement open tendering for the
procurement of goods and services, to ensure that a third party
effectively monitors the procurement processes, and there are even clauses
for establishing a witness protection system.
Measures should be taken to ensure the budgeting and administration of the
funds are properly accounted, and effectively presented through the
accountability reports of Papua's heads of regions.
In cases of misappropriation of funds, even figures of high political
standing can be held accountable by civil society. In Aceh, investigation
and advocacy by a local non-governmental organization, SoRak Aceh, helped
lead to the ousting of the incumbent governor himself over a procurement
markup. Investigation and advocacy led by Forum Perduli Sumatra Barat
(West Sumatra) in 2004 brought 43 provincial legislatures to court, on
charges of regional budget markups. This became a precedent for similar
public control measures throughout the country.
There could be lessons to be learned from the recent integrated civil
service reform being carried out by other provinces.
The then office of the state minister for the acceleration of development
in eastern Indonesia -- now Office of the State Minister for the
Development of Disadvantaged Regions -- has even embarked on developing a
blueprint for public services delivery. Best practices from pre-selected
regions were noted for possible adoption. In Pare-pare, South Sulawesi, as
part of the legislation process the regional regulation draft must include
evidence that the draft has been made in consultation with relevant
stakeholder groups, and equipped with regulatory impact assessment
documents. The integrated one-roof service in Pare-pare has also served as
an example for services delivery based on good governance principles.
Of course, there is no guarantee that innovations and lessons from other
regions can be directly applicable to Papua. Still, their full potential
should be explored, because the actual experiences of others are one of
the best sources for capacity building, as well as those from within.
-- The views expressed herein are personal opinions. Max Demetouw is a
member of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) representing Papua,
Mochamad Indrawan is a consultant at the Partnership for Governance Reform
in Indonesia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
January 25, 2006
Regents demand delay of Papua's election
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
Eleven of Papua's 20 regencies have requested a postponement of the direct
gubernatorial election scheduled for Feb. 16.
The concerned parties would prefer to wait for the completion of election
preparations, an official of the Papua General Elections Commission (KPUD
Papua) said Tuesday.
Commission chairman Marthen Ferry Kareth said a postponement of the
election was inevitable because only nine regencies had thus far expressed
their readiness to hold the polls, while 11 others said they were
concerned whether election materials could reach their respective areas on
time.
A decision on postponing the election will be made during a KPUD Papua
meeting on Jan. 25, Ferry Kareth said, reiterating that any postponement
would be due solely to the logistical difficulties of getting all the
materials delivered, and had nothing to do with political machinations.
"It's impossible to go ahead with the election as scheduled because many
regencies are not prepared. KPUD wants it all to be properly prepared to
prevent any vote rigging," he said.
Ferry Kareth said the 11 regencies seeking a postponement of the election
were Merauke, Asmat, Boven Digul, Mappi, Yahukimo, Jayawijaya, Tolikara,
Puncak Jaya, Mimika, Pegunungan Bintang and Paniai.
The regencies ready for the election are those located along mostly
northern coastal areas, namely Jayapura, Keerom, Yapen, Waropen, Biak,
Nabire, Supiori and Sarmi, in addition to Jayapura municipality.
"All the regents said they were ready as there are no problems with
transportation for the election materials," said Ferry Kareth.
The regencies not prepared to hold the polls are all located in the
southern part of the province, including Merauke, Mappi, Mimika, Asmat and
Boven Digul. Overland transportation in these areas is hindered during the
current rainy season, while travel by sea is risky because of high waves
caused by stormy weather, he said.
"Roads linking regencies in the southern part of the province are easily
damaged because most of them are still dirt roads," said KPUD Papua
secretary Hasjim Sangadji in Jayapura.
Regencies in the central part of Papua, like Jayawijaya, Yahukimo,
Tolikara, Pegunungan Bintang, Puncak Jaya and Paniai, depend heavily on
air transportation, but unfortunately pilots do not want to fly to the
areas during the rainy season, Sangadji said.
Sangadji said it would take between two and four weeks to get all the
election materials out in some areas. "For regencies in the southern part
of Papua it will take 13 to 15 days, while for those in the hilly areas up
to 26 days," he said.
KPUD Papua is scheduled to start distributing election materials to the 20
regencies on Jan. 27 and the work is expected to be completed on Jan. 30.
"The time schedule is so tight, while in practice some regencies might
need up to 26 days for the distribution of the materials," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dow Jones
January 25, 2006
DJ Indonesia Min: To Probe Freeport Payments To Military
(Comtex Business Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Jan 25, 2006 (Dow Jones
Commodities News via Comtex) --The pending military investigation into
Freeport-McMoRan's financial support for security forces posted around the
company's massive Grasberg gold mine in remote Papua province reflects the
widening fallout of a New York Times report last month that
Freeport-McMoRan made payments of nearly $20 million to military and
police officials in Papua from 1998 to 2004.
Freeport-McMoRan has said it gave "financial support" to Indonesian
security officials in Papua for items including infrastructure and
logistics, according to a letter by the firm's chief executive, Richard
Adkerson, posted Jan. 11 on the firm's Web site.
But Sudarsono said evidence that Freeport-McMoRan made direct payments to
military officials would indication violations of Indonesian and U.S. law.
"Based on government policy, all provisions of security support by foreign
companies should be made through an Indonesian civil executing agency," he
said.
"Direct payments (by firms to military personnel) are illegal and
shouldn't remain (and this view is) also in line with the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act in the U.S. which disallows this kind of behavior."
The Times' report prompted "informal inquiries" from U.S. government
agencies about the firm's financial payments to Indonesian security forces
that Freeport-McMoRan is fully cooperating with, Adkerson said in a
fourth-quarter 2005 earnings conference call last week, without
elaborating.
Payments by Freeport-McMoRan to the police and military in remote Papua
province were "logical" and not necessarily graft because of a lack of
government financing for effective security, the chairman of the
Corruption Eradication Commission, Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, said last
week.
Sudarsono said that his interest in clarifying Freeport-McMoRan's
financial relationship with security forces in Papua was the result of
allegations of impropriety by non-governmental organizations.
-- By Phelim Kyne, Dow Jones Newswires;-Edited by Craig Lewis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antara
Jan 25 15:21
Amien Critizes Freeport for Environmental Destruction
Jakarta (Antara News) - Amien Rais, former chairman of the People’s
Consultative Assembly (MPR), has critized PT Freeport Indonesia for what
he considered as major environmental destruction and alleged corruption.
"Mining contract for PT Freeport Indonesia should be reviewed because it
has destroyed our environment and exploit our natural wealth," Amien Rais,
chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN)’s advisory council, said in
an interactive dialogue broadcast by state radio RRI here Wednesday
morning.
Amien stated his determination to help fight corruption in Indonesia to
save the nation. He believed that the war against corruption should start
by fighting major cases such as those allegedly involving PT Freeport
Indonesia, a US mining company operating in Papua, Indonesia’s eastern
most province.
He cited information saying the authorities did not know exactly the
volume of gold and copper taken and shipped directly out of the country by
PT Freeport.
He admitted that it would not be easy to confront PT Freeport as it
involves prominent figures and former high-ranking officials in the United
States and Indonesia. However, he urged a number of the country’s elements
to consistently correct the condition.
In the radio dialogue led by Parni Hadi, senior journalist, Amien denied
that his commitment to fight corruption was reflecting his opposition to
the government. "Opposition is a waste. I want to save the nation,
therefore I support the government’s fight against corruption," he said.
He considered the environmental destruction caused by the mining
activities as serious corruption. Amien said he got information that due
to the mining activities in Papua, a mountain had disappeared and the site
had become a lake.
Another case that he considered as a corruption scandal in the country was
the selling of PT Indosat telecommunication company to a Singaporean
company. He regretted that such a strategic company was sold to a foreign
company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
January 24, 2006
TNI wants legal recourse in protecting firms
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With continuing questions over its role in safeguarding the property of
private companies, the military has asked for clear regulations to provide
a "legal umbrella" for its personnel.
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said Monday the
legal protection would prevent soldiers from being branded "mercenaries"
when their services were often requested by the police and government.
"I just want the government to issue a legal umbrella which regulates the
deployment of the troops to guard vital installations, such as PT Freeport
and PT Exxon," Endriartono said.
He was referring to firms operating in provinces with separatist activity,
with gold and copper mine company PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua and PT
ExxonMobil in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.
"The existing 2004 decree says companies should provide a self-protection
mechanism ... If they (the companies) fail to do so, they can ask the
police and if it is needed, the police can ask our assistance,"
Endriartono said.
Since the National Police separated from the military, the TNI formally
assists in internal security matters at the request of the police.
"For sure we will assist the police ... But the state has only allocated a
minimum budget ... to support our tasks there. And as we receive
facilities from the companies, many have accused us of being mercenaries,"
Endriartono told reporters after a coordinating meeting on political,
legal, and security affairs.
Present during the meeting were, among others, the head of the State
Intelligence Agency (BIN) Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsir Siregar and National
Police chief Gen. Sutanto.
Endriartono's request follows the recent publication of an investigative
report by The New York Times, which cited documents that Freeport paid
nearly US$20 million between 1998 and 2004 to military and police
generals, colonels, majors, captains and also military units, to safeguard
the mine.
Freeport denies suggestions that it is doing anything illegal.
Endriartono acknowledged that the military had received various
facilities, including operational vehicles, from the companies, but said
he was not aware of the value.
An ExxonMobil spokesperson has said that its security fees were paid to
and fully managed by the government's Oil and Gas Regulatory Body (BP
Migas).
Observers have also blamed the absence of clear regulations on the
coordination between the police and the military regarding security
measures, saying this contributed to rivalry between the institutions.
Usman Hamid from the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims
of Violence (Kontras) said Endriartono's request for the regulation would
"only justify the military directly receiving funds from the companies" it
renders security services to.
"Instead, that legal umbrella must be clear cut on any from of 'direct
assistance' from the companies to the security personnel in the field,
because such practices are considered as a motivation for nurturing
corrupt behavior among security authorities," Usman said.
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