[Kabar-Irian] Irian News - Feb 6, 2006 (Part 2 of 2)
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- West Papuan asylum seekers call for help
- Indonesia pressures govt on boat people
- Papua students in Yogyakarta demand justice over Wagete shooting
- Rising seas force Papua evacuations
- Dark future for forgotten people
- Terror-Razing the Forest: Guns, Corruption, Illegal Logging,
- Draft regulation bans company payment for troops
- Indonesia: Foreign Cos. to Get Guidelines
- Indonesia's LNG Price Talks With CNOOC Ends In Deadlock
*****************************
Green Left Weekly
February 8, 2006
West Papuan asylum seekers call for help
Sarah Stephen
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle received a warm welcome when she finally
managed to get to Christmas Island on January 28-30 to visit the 43 West
Papuan asylum seekers and a family of West Timorese being held there. NSW
Greens immigration spokesperson Max Phillips, who accompanied Nettle, told
Green Left Weekly that it seemed like half the town had turned out to
greet them.
“When we arrived at the community housing, there were a couple of West
Papuans on the verandah of the house occupied by the West Timorese family,
but no sign of Global Solutions Ltd (GSL) guards.” Phillips wondered
whether this hands-off approach was because politicians from the Joint
Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories were
also visiting the island.
Nettle and Phillips were taken to meet Herman Wainggai, the main
spokesperson for the group, and the other West Papuans living in community
detention. (The single men are being held in detention, while family
groups are allowed to live more freely in community detention.)
Phillips said the West Papuans were “very excited” to see photos of
solidarity rallies in Sydney and Melbourne calling for the government to
grant them asylum in the days following their boat's arrival. “Before
that, they had no idea that Australians knew about them and supported
their struggle”, Phillips said. They were “ecstatic”, Phillips said, to
see a photo of their boat with its banner from one of the newspapers. The
banner had been strung from the boat in the hope that their asylum message
would reach the Australian people.
Nettle and Phillips discovered that the West Papuans had been travelling
for six weeks, not five days as initially reported. They began their
voyage on the mid-north coast of West Papua, where Herman Wainggai's
father had helped make the dugout canoe. They navigated the coastline of
West Papua, stopping along the way for food and fuel. At one point, they
drifted off course towards Ambon, which they were fearful of reaching
because of the numbers of Indonesian troops stationed there. They also had
to contend with big seas and high winds.
One of the young men told Phillips of their fear when they were hauled
into a Hercules plane after reaching Australia. They thought they were
being returned to Indonesia, but they were taken to Christmas Island.
“They thought it must be just off the coast of Australia. We showed them a
map, and they were horrified it was so close to Java”, Phillips said.
According to Nettle, “The West Papuans hope that Australia will help their
country as we helped East Timor. I hope that Australia gives them
protection and speaks out against the gradual genocide of the West Papuan
people at the hands of the Indonesian military.”
Video footage of Wainggai arguing the case for protection was shown at a
120-strong public meeting in Fremantle on January 31 where Nettle spoke
along with Ned Byrne from the Australia West Papua Association, refugee
campaigner Kaye Bernard and Project SafeCom's Jack Smit. Videotaped
messages from that meeting will be sent to Wainggai and the asylum seekers
on Christmas Island.
On February 2, Byrne visited Yunus and Anika Wainggai, the father and
daughter being held in Fremantle hospital. Both have been declared free of
active tuberculosis, though Yunus has a non-contagious form of the
disease.
Byrne told Green Left Weekly that Yunus, who was responsible for keeping
the dugout's motor going, told him it lasted until their final leg from
Merauke to the Torres Strait. They then drifted around for five days,
collecting fresh water and dribbling it into the children's mouths. They
also ran out of food, having expected the journey to take just 15 hours.
Byrne has been active in promoting the independence cause of West Papua
since 1999. His brother-in-law, Jacob Rumbiak, now based in Melbourne, is
one of the leaders of the West Papuan independence movement and a
co-founder, along with Dr Thomas Wainggai, of the non-violent resistance
in 1987.
Byrne is concerned that despite the Indonesian military repression in West
Papua, the Australian government wants to sign a new security treaty with
Jakarta. In 1995, then Labor prime minister Paul Keating negotiated a
secret security pact with the dictator General Suharto. It was junked when
the Howard government was forced to intervene to stop the carnage in East
Timor in 1999.
>From all reports, the new treaty is far more wide-ranging and is more
explicit about the importance of non-interference in the internal affairs
of Indonesia compared to the last one.
“They made the journey right on time”, Byrne said, referring to the
heightened public interest in and awareness about the struggle of the West
Papuan people for their independence. Byrne is optimistic that this may
force Howard to postpone signing the treaty with Jakarta.
Project SafeCom's Jack Smit is less optimistic. Indonesia's President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono phoned Howard on January 27 asking for the return
of the asylum seekers, and guaranteeing they would not be harmed. “It
remains to be seen whether Howard will, behind the scenes, manipulate the
outcomes of the visa processing under pressure from Yudhoyono”, Smit told
GLW.
Australian businesses have an interest in West Papua remaining open for
exploitation. Soon after the asylum seekers' arrival, the Cairns Chamber
of Commerce demanded the government adopt a “hardline approach”. This is
hardly surprising, as Cairns businesses are some of the biggest
beneficiaries of the Freeport mine at Grasberg in West Papua — the largest
gold and third-largest copper mine in the world. Cairns operates as
Freeport's supply base, with direct flights to Timika. Cairns is also
where many miners take their rest and recreation. West Papuan independence
would mean the loss of $50-70 million a year for local Cairns companies.
For Indonesia, it means a whole lot more: the Freeport mine is Jakarta's
biggest corporate taxpayer, contributing an annual $192 million in taxes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sydney Morning Herald
Indonesia pressures govt on boat people
February 6, 2006 - 8:49PM
Indonesia has ramped up pressure on the Howard government not to grant
asylum to 43 Papuan boat people, with a senior minister denying that human
rights abuses are systemic in the troubled province.
The Papuans case is threatening to intensify into a diplomatic row with a
series of Indonesian leaders, from the president down, insisting that
Canberra should send the group back.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono challenged claims by the group of
pro-independence activists of repression by Indonesian security forces.
"These were not asylum seekers because of internal repression by our
police or military," he told foreign journalists.
"But we find it difficult to persuade the media - international versus
local - because this is a very popular notion about repression by the
cruel Javanese over the poor Papuans for the past 15 years."
Sudarsono, a civilian who has pushed reform within Indonesia's military,
said the issue should not harm growing defence ties, including the
imminent resumption of training between Australian and Indonesian special
forces soldiers.
Sudarsono is the third senior Indonesian official to pressure Australia in
recent days, echoing the views of Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Yudhoyono has telephoned Prime Minister John Howard to promise the Papuans
would not be harmed if returned.
The Papuans have been taken to an immigration detention camp on Christmas
Island, an Australian territory just south of Java, while their claims are
being assessed.
Sudarsono admitted there had been sporadic incidents of violence against
separatists but denied it was policy driven.
"I grant there have been incidents of some brutality and torture and rape
involving some of our troops," he said.
"But there is a tendency to blanket or insinuate that all these incidents
are systemic."
He said Mr Howard had been "persuaded" the group should be returned as
soon as possible, he said.
"But of course its very difficult, because once it's in the hands of the
immigration officers in Australia, then Australian law must operate on the
ground there," Sudarsono said.
"I don't think it will destruct relations between defence ministries."
The Papuans arrived in Australia last month after a five-day voyage in an
outrigger canoe.
Sudarsono said reports from human rights groups that Indonesian army and
police numbers in Papua were being almost doubled with an additional
15,000 soldiers to help crack down on separatists were nonsense.
The cash-strapped military could not even pay for an additional
headquarters unit, let alone a division-strong deployment in the sprawling
province, which Jakarta won sovereignty over in 1969 following a UN
referendum widely seen as rigged.
If he tried to divert money earmarked for critical new combat aircraft,
ships and military housing, then Jakarta would be abusing the human rights
of its own troops, who receive "inadequate pay for a very important job",
Sudarsono said.
Instead of a draconian security crackdown, the way forward lay in stronger
efforts by mainstream political parties to win the support of Papuan
voters.
"Some people are already disillusioned with democracy and parliamentary
politics, and even some have openly cried for a return of the military,"
Sudarsono said
"So the ball is in the court of our friends in the political parties, to
get organised, get real and get things done on the ground."
But in calling for a strengthening of democracy, Sudarsono also defended a
de facto ban of foreign media visiting Papua, warning it would only harm
efforts to build more "unity and cohesion" and give a platform to
disgruntled separatists.
He said there were many Indonesians, including members of the country's
powerful elite, who harboured deep suspicions that foreign nations
including Australia, the US and the Netherlands wanted to break up
Indonesia.
"Your role as a magnetic attraction to Papuans of all stripes of political
as well as ethnic sense of identity will create this sense of danger among
people from outside of Papua that foreigners are trying to instill this
sense of division," he said.
"There is a clash of notions of human rights which I think you must
understand."
-- © 2006 AAP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liputan6.com
February 4, 2006
Papua students in Yogyakarta demand justice over Wagete shooting
Yogyakarta – Dozens of students from West Papua demonstrated at the
intersection in front of the Yogyakarta central post office on Friday
February 3.
The demonstration was held to express their concern over the Wagete
shooting incident in the Tigi sub-district of the Paniai regency on
January 20. They are demanding that the government of President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla take responsibility for
the incident in order that the victims and their families receive justice.
The students also demanded that the perpetrators of the shooting be tried
in a human rights court and be dismissed from their posts. They consider
the shooting to be a gross violation of human rights. The demonstration
took place while a number of road construction workers in the village of
Gakokebo were also raising questions about the wage payments.
The Wagete incident resulted in the death of Moses Douw, a Wagete state
senior high-school student, and the wounding of three others. The
perpetrator of the shooting, Infantry Second Lieutenant Situmeang who
holds the post of the platoon commander of the Infantry Battalion Special
Team 753/Arga Viratama and Police Second Brigadier Ronald Isac Tumena who
is a member of the Wagete sectoral police have already been dismissed from
their posts.
(TOZ/Tim Liputan 6 SCTV)
-- [Translated by James Balowski - INDOLEFT - News service.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
February 03, 2006
Rising seas force Papua evacuations
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
Rising sea levels along the coast of Merauke in Papua forced about 2,000
people to leave their homes and seek temporary shelter, Merauke Regent
John Gluba Gebze said Thursday.
John Gluba said the evacuation of residents, which began Wednesday, was
caused by rising seas that inundated houses.
Waves along the coast reached 2 to 2.5 meters in height. Waves off
Arafura, to the south of Merauke, reportedly reached a height of 5.2
meters, the regent said.
"The rising tide was accompanied by high waves, strong winds and heavy
rain," Gebze said. "Residents were evacuated from their homes to avoid any
casualties."
Residents are being housed in nearby buildings, including a church hall,
sports halls, an elementary school and a building owned by the Air Force.
Gebze said residents would remain in the temporary shelters for about two
weeks, returning to their homes once the weather improved.
He said that in Okaba kampong, eight houses had been destroyed by strong
waves. No casualties were reported.
"I have already sent a disaster response team and assistance," the regent
said, pledging to rebuild the destroyed houses as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Mujahiddin, head of the information bureau at the
Jayapura office of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, said the peak of
the local rainy season, which had brought with it high waves along Papua's
southern beaches, was forecast to occur between January and February.
Mujahiddin urged people in affected areas to remain vigilant. "However,
there is no need to worry about a possible tsunami. This is merely the
impact of high waves sparked by strong winds," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Warrnambool Standard
Dark future for forgotten people
February 7, 2006
They asked for her help to give them a future, but there was little she
could offer.
Confronted by malaria, HIV-AIDS, prostitution, malnourishment, corruption,
unemployment, poverty and death, all Marilyn Woodward could do was her
best.
The Warrnambool teacher returned last month from Iowara in the Western
Province of Papua New Guinea, the official refugee camp for West Papuans.
With the financial support of Warrnambool's King's College staff and the
Christ Church Anglican Church, she went to teach English to a group of 35
other teachers, church and community leaders.
Many families cannot afford to send their children to school, but without
a year 12 pass they have no future, Mrs Woodward said.
“There were two young men who asked me to give them a future and I
couldn't. You feel very frustrated. You would love to help, but you can't.
“They were in their early 20s, they got to year 10 but their pass wasn't
good enough to get them into year 11. They will just go nowhere for the
rest of their lives.''
Mrs Woodward said the camp had no help from the United Nations for almost
10 years.
“People can see no future except to free West Papua ... they want
Indonesia out. It is a place where people feel forgotten by the rest of
the world and who were overwhelmingly grateful that I had gone to do
something for them.
“They have overwhelming needs but the one that came across most strongly
was that people should know of their plight and that of their country.''
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Terror-Razing the Forest: Guns, Corruption, Illegal Logging,
JI & the Indonesian Military in Papua Niugini [PDF 5581.64 KB]
This eye-opening report paints a disturbing picture of the situation in
the north-west border provinces of Papua New Guinea involving corruption,
gun-smuggling, illegal logging, sex slavery and the JI. The evidence
uncovered points to a concerted campaign of economic, social and
military/intelligence destabilisation and domination of East Sepik and
Sandaun provinces by Indonesia.
Information was gathered through interviews and conversations that were
conducted with West Papuan refugees, guerrillas, priests, bishops,
grassroots activists, aid workers, ex-premiers, members of Parliament, NIO
agents, PNGDF personnel, ADF personnel, expolice, pilots, fishermen,
villagers, journalists, bookmakers, vanilla growers, marijuana growers and
even gun smugglers and a pimp.
By Nick Chesterfield, January 2006.
http://www.dev-zone.org/cgi-bin/knowledge/jump.cgi?ID=9619
http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/Terror-razing_the_Forest.pdf
PNG Investigation Into Cross-Border Issues; Corruption, Rimbunan-Hijau,
Gun Smuggling, And Much More...
(Or “Tasmania Isn’t The Only Place Where Guns And Timber Go Together”)
Acknowledgments
This preliminary investigation is based on field interviews conducted in
Papua New Guinea throughout November 2005. Information was gathered
through interviews and conversations that were conducted with West Papuan
refugees, guerrillas, priests, bishops, grassroots activists, aid workers,
ex-premiers, members of Parliament, NIO agents, PNGDF personnel, ADF
personnel, expolice, pilots, fishermen, villagers, journalists,
bookmakers, vanilla growers, marijuana growers and even gun smugglers and
a pimp. Over twelve formal interviews were conducted in total, and the
majority of those interviewed asked not to be identified in any
preliminary investigations (in the hope of ensuring a full scale
investigation would be conducted). I received many little nuggets of
information from many other sources within our grassroots networks also.
Interviews were conducted personally in Port Moresby, Madang, Wewak,
Hawain, Moem, and several other undisclosed locations; Proxy interviews
have been conducted in Kaup, Hawain coupe 1, Green River, Blackwater and
Vanimo. Email contact has filled in the gaps.
Apologies also for the amount of time this has taken, but I have been
awaiting extra parts of information from many sources.
I wish to thank all the people and organisations without whose generous
assistance and cooperation this investigation would not have been
possible. First and foremost the entire network of supporters for West
Papuan Justice and liberation. In no particular order the following
provided invaluable support and insight, and deserve a big call out and
Respect to:
All my wantoks of MelSol, my brother Jacob Rumbiak, National Facilitating
committee for a Free West Papua PNG, Friends of the Earth Australia, (Cam
and Ila especially), Fred M, ELSHAM, Greenpeace PNG, Dorothy Tekwe,
Greenpeace International, AWPA (right across Oz), Dan M, ESCOW, Mary S,
Bruce S, JW, “Danny”, Toby, Peter Mario and all of the Kreer crew by the
little store, the Boram crew esp Paul, all villagers of logging areas, the
good people inside RH, BRG, JJ (in OZ), Jimi C, Jim H, MCF, NUS,
especially Anna Rose, Students for West Papua, Karina K, KNPBP, West Papua
National Authority, Environmental Law Centre POM, Annie Kajir, Vince, Leo,
Caritas in Wewak, HELP Resources, PRD, George Aditjondro, Lloyd Jones,
WPOZSOLNET, PNG Congress of Trade Unions, Ben Bohane, OPM Northern and
Southern Command, John Coconut, Bob Namah, all those that share Ivuta Koae
and Kevaro, Jerry Singirok, a certain Lt-Col from the ADF, Maj. AB AUSINT,
the Herc crew, two good people in NIO, my muses, the Cassowaries, and
those other people that know I am eternally grateful but cannot mention
them here, or have inadvertently forgotten them because I have done too
much writing..... and most especially the beautiful, ancient and powerful
land of One Papua: Mambesak, the Land of the Bird Of Paradise. May she fly
free and strong and high, over one old Land like the not so long ago....
-- Nick Chesterfield, Jirrbal Country (FNQ, “Australia”), January 2006
Introduction
Upon arriving in PNG the author had immediately started to observe the
massive corruption (without even passing customs). Hearing many stories
about the lack of support West Papua was receiving from Papuan leaders the
author started to ask questions why. Why are Papuans not supporting their
wantoks on the other side of the fictitious border, and selling them out
for business interests? Where is the loyalty of the father of the nation
to his own family? How do PNG leaders allow Indonesian military personnel
to run amok deep inside “sovereign” PNG territory and intimidate normal
Papuan people?
An opportunity presented itself to go into East Sepik and closer to the
border and investigate these issues personally. In doing so, the author
was presented with a much more worrying picture than had been previously
known, and was introduced to many people that helped join all the dots
together. The plan was to dig for dirt, but instead returned with
diamonds.
The trigger for this visit was the report into an “unidentified” C130
Hercules flying low over Vanimo at 2 am on October 27th. It was reported
in both “The National” and the “Post-Courier” for several days and was
accepted as “just one of those things that are so commonplace we don't
even notice”. This C130 was reported by many eyewitness to fly at less
than two hundred metres above the town, and then headed out to Aitape. It
is reported to have inserted an entire company (an entire Hercules-full)
into the grasslands and lowland forest around Aitape, an area still
traumatised after the massive tsunami of 1998.
This was the most direct and blatant example yet of of TNI incursions into
the Sandaun and East Sepik provinces. During a time when Australian forces
were present in the general area on an unrelated training exercise, it is
surprising that the TNI thought nobody would notice. It was postulated
that they were either there to help logging workers, to do a dry run for a
major insertion, or to scout for physical intelligence around the
AusAID-funded highway (that when completed will run from the Jayapura
barracks to Wewak).
Whatever their exact purpose in coming in, their presence certainly
provided an opportunity for people already frustrated with official
collusion with the Indonesian military forces and their logging company
proxies to talk about the real state of affairs in the border region. Both
local people and refugees expressed great relief and happiness that
somebody is starting to pay attention to what may become the greatest
peace and security threat that our region has ever faced, unless concerted
international action in solidarity is taken now. The only hope is that we,
as the international community, will not disappoint Papuans yet again, and
stand with them to end this Terror-razing of the forest.
--
Executive Summary
The resources of Papua, have always been attractive to colonialism and
plunder. The first, the Sultan of Tidore, started plundering the island
for slaves in the early 1300s. Every successive wave of colonialists from
the Portuguese to the Dutch and the Indonesians have had their sights set
on the gold and the forests of the land of the Bird of Paradise. What the
Australians haven't plundered in PNG is now being flogged off to the
highest bidder by those too greedy to realise the future of their land
lies in their land. And always the highest bidder tends to be the most
unscrupulous, the most immoral, and the one most willing to trample over
peoples' fundamental rights.
However, now the highest bidder tends to be the one with the guns, the
force and the blackmail to allow the most economically nonsensical
operations to occur in pursuit of a much more sinister goal. This sinister
goal is being facilitated by the so called fathers of the nation, who
either are completely naïve to the issue, or are a direct part of it.
The worst timber company in the world?
What has been uncovered in East Sepik is a disturbing picture of official
corruption allowing forests to be destroyed and communities intimidated,
taking bribes whilst being completely unaware of the true motives behind
the operations.
Almost everyone spoken to, especially former timber workers, are highly
suspicious of the activities of the logging companies in the area. Roads
are substandard, unlikely to last a wet season, and camp areas are built
speedily, for purposes other than logging.
More worrying however, is the total impunity in which the companies
operate. Or that should really read “company”. From the interviews and
evidence the author has uncovered, it seems highly likely that the nasty
Malaysian Tiong family conglomerate, Rimbunan Hijau is at it again.
Infamous in its use of labyrinthine corporate structure and family front
companies, it is so hand in glove with the Indonesian military business
empire now as to be indistinguishable.
The behaviour of the logging company workers can only be described as
inhuman, perpetrated by people who have had experience in impunity as
systemic human rights abusers. Their attitude to Papuan workers has been
institutionalised, and many of the workers are alleged to be Kopassus
members. These workers have established a sexual slavery trade,
deliberately introduced HIV into the local population, and are forcibly
prostituting local girls as young as ten. Violence meted out on the Papuan
workers is being passed on to Papuan women, with most people living in
constant fear. Women are bearing the brunt of all the aspects of the cross
border military and economic issues. And who can they turn to for help,
knowing that their “leaders” are taking money and in business with the
exploiters?
There is the repeated, and known, customs and immigration violations of
the Rimbunan timber boats, and evidence of at-sea transfers of personnel
and equipment without customs inspection. There is a question of money
and/or alcohol changing hands to Customs in PNG to allow ships in and out
without inspection. Witnesses have also reported the transfer of weapons
and smuggling at the beachheads. Known Jemaah Islamiyah and Laskar Jihad
identities have been attached to the operations, and are intimidating
local people also. There are also strong, repeated and confirmed reports
of the presence of a certain individual JI chief who is “officially” dead.
To put it simply, the vast majority of locals who have even a slight
exposure to what is really going are terrified by the possibilities. These
people know exactly the Genocide that happens to their wantoks across the
border in West Papua, and having witnessed the presence of foreign
military personnel working closely with Rimbunan, they are also worried
that some of the same figures connected with TNI-sponsored militia
violence across Indonesia are working hand in hand with the cross-border
timber operators.
The evidence uncovered is pointing to a concerted campaign of economic,
social and military/intelligence destabilisation and domination of East
Sepik and Sandaun provinces by Indonesia. Many people fear this is a
verbatim repeat of the pre-1962 violence, intimidation, corruption and
destabilisation that faciliated the takeover of West Papua, and all the on
the ground indications point to that terrifying possibility.
Given the heavy handed presence of the TNI business interests in ESP and
Sandaun, one can easily assert that the TNI is treating the PNG provinces
like a defacto occupied territory. There have been shootings and attacks
on peoples houses and villages. As this report was being written, another
village was burnt to the ground and its people left homeless near a timber
camp. There are also serious allegations about the involvement of PAPINDO
Inc. in the facilitation of TNI aims in PNG, a company that has documented
close association with the alleged Prime Minister of PNG, Sir Michael
Somare. Somare himself has been seen to be in direct and regular contact
with PapIndo figures on trips to Kaup, public events and soccer
tournaments, and even barbeques at his house in Wewak. As with RH, PapIndo
is very closely connected to senior Kopassus figures. They even share
vehicles and houses in Wewak. And of course, anything with Kopassus
involvement has the connection with terrorist organisations throughout
South East Asia and beyond.
PNG will lose its “independence” to the TNI killer general's unless people
across the world stand with all Papuans to fight for an end to corruption
and human rights abusers controlling the resources that bilong to all
Papuans. This includes standing with Papuans who are also fighting for
genuine independence from Australia.
This report purely relates to the data collected on a preliminary
investigation into cross border security and environmental issues. It is
by no means an exhaustive investigation into these issues, and actually
raises the need for a fully resourced full scale investigation. Nor is it
an investigation into the environmental aspects of the illegal logging,
looking more at the social and security aspects. Because of the
interconnectedness of every aspect of what is going on in ESP and Sandaun,
subject matter merges so cannot be separated easily. It looks closely at
the issues of cross border trading relationships, gun smuggling, sex
slavery and sexual violence against local women and children, intimidation
of villagers and illegal logging.
It must be said also that this report does not follow any academic
formula. The author is not an academic, rather an activist, investigator
and human rights worker who goes into places and asks alll sorts of
difficult questions. Therefore this report presents the information in the
way that it was collected, with nothing major left out (only that which
protects people's safety and security). It is also focussed on an
Australian audience because of the reality that PNG is still not genuinely
independent from Australian colonialism.
Specifically, the report:
- examines the preliminary indications that allege the involvement in
Rimbunan-Hijau and other timber companies in corrupt activities, gun
smuglling, and the illegal movement of undocumented Indonesian workers who
are linked to both the Indonesian Military and terrorist groups.
- examines allegations of high level corruption and poses many questions
which need to be answered on the mess that could be created by inaction.
- questions on the role of the Australian government aid in the funding of
certain infrastructure projects that are faciliating TNI economic
colonialism, and may actually be assisting in the physical movement of the
greatest threats to peace and security in our region.
- questions about the Australian Government refusal to see verified
evidence, and to investigate allegations of aid misuse.
- recommends specific actions to commission a full scale investigation to
occur, to test and prove beyond all doubt the veracity of the allegations
raised here.
There is a therefore an immediate imperative for Australia to start paying
much closer attention to the goings on at the border, with 28,000 combat
soliders being stationed there. Even the drovers dog can see what is going
on, and these are no “rogue elements”. This is the greatest threat to
Australia's national security that has emerged in many years, and is a
critical challenge to broader peace and security in not just the wider
Pacific but the whole world. It is Australia's immediate choice how this
will eventuate.
-- 77 pages @ http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/Terror-razing_the_Forest.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
February 02, 2006
Draft regulation bans company payment for troops
-- Reports of huge payments by U.S. mining company PT Freeport-MacMoran to
Indonesian soldiers in Papua have caused controversy, with critics saying
such payments erode the professionalism of soldiers. Defense Minister
Juwono Sudarsono spoke with The Jakarta Post's Tiarma Siboro about the
government's plan to formulate a legal umbrella that will address this
issue.
Question: How will the Defense Ministry respond to the military
leadership's request for clearer guidance on troop deployments to guard
vital installations?
Answer: The issue is being discussed at the Office of the Coordinating
Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. Currently, the
military deployments to guard vital installations, especially those
belonging to joint venture companies, are governed under a 2004 decree
issued by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry. It says the
involvement of either military or police personnel depends on the
companies themselves.
Now that people are questioning the presence of troops at the compound of
PT Freeport, the TNI (Indonesian Military) chief (Gen. Endriartono
Sutarto) wants the government to set clearer guidelines for these kinds of
security arrangements. The regulation we are drafting will not only
concern Freeport, but also other vital installations elsewhere, including
in Aceh. Data from the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry show there
are no fewer than 8,000 joint venture companies operating nationwide. This
is a big number.
The guidelines will consist of two principles. First, the companies must
provide any support voluntarily. Second, the police will take the lead,
but military backing is possible.
Question: What is the level of the regulation? Will it be a ministerial
decree?
Answer: A directive from the coordinating minister for political, legal
and security affairs is enough. This means all government officials in
charge of political, legal and security affairs will take responsibility
for securing vital installations.
Question: People are questioning the transparency of direct payments from
companies to military commanders in the field. Will the directive respond
to this?
Answer: The directive will also address this issue, stressing the point
that the companies must provide the support voluntarily in the form of
facilities, such as trucks or other vehicles, dorms and health facilities
for the security personnel and their families. All the support must be
approved by a civilian agency. At the moment, we are considering asking BP
Migas (Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency) or state oil and gas company
Pertamina to manage the financial support. This, of course, would rule out
direct payments from the companies to commanders or soldiers.
Question: Will military or police personnel on duty at vital installations
receive additional payments?
Answer: Of course, the duty is an ordinary deployment (which is funded by
the state). Therefore, any additional support voluntarily provided by
companies shall not be perceived as a payment. Transparency is a must in
the disbursement of any extra funds. Because the security arrangements are
made in the interest of the companies, there should be no pressure on the
firms to provide the support. And the rules of the game are clear: the
companies must provide security guards to cover the area inside the
company compound. Outside the compound, security arrangements can be
entrusted to either the police or the military, especially in areas where
there is insurgent activity.
Question: Does the existing legislation, including the law on the
military, fail to provide such guidelines?
Answer: We are drafting new guidelines because people, as well as
lawmakers, have repeatedly requested a legal umbrella to justify the
involvement of troops in guarding companies. They are not aware of the
existing legislation, including the law on the military and the
Constitution, which requires the involvement of all Indonesian citizens to
guard every inch of this country's territory. It is also quite clear that
Article 27 of the Constitution stipulates the participation of all
citizens in defending the state. Actually, we already have an adequate
legal basis, but still, clearer guidelines are needed.
Question: People are concerned about human rights violations in the areas
around companies that are guarded by troops.
Answer: The problem is that we need tough action against armed
disturbances that may threaten the companies' day-to-day activities. But
if an incident occurs, people will accuse the troops of perpetrating human
rights abuses without blaming the armed groups. As these groups commit
violations, the police have a right to take action. We cannot allow
demonstrators or separatist groups to perpetrate violence because that is
a crime.
Question: Will the directive prevent corruption among state officials,
including security authorities?
Answer: It totally depends on the three parties involved: the companies,
the civilian agency and the security authorities. They play a key role in
determining how much money will be spent on support funds for security
personnel who guard companies' property. They also decide on when the
support should be disbursed and who will responsible for it. These
decisions, of course, should be in line with the guidelines. For the sake
of transparency, the public can question these parties about anything
relating to the security arrangements.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia: Foreign Cos. to Get Guidelines
Feb. 6, 2006, 5:08AM
The Associated Press
Jakarta, Indonesia
Foreign companies will soon receive guidelines on seeking military
protection for their operations in Indonesia, Minister of Defense Juwono
Sudarsono Monday.
All payments to the military should be voluntary and made through a
civilian agency, not directly to soldiers or police, Juwono said, citing
regulations that could be complete "as early as next week."
His comments follow claims that direct payments by U.S. mining company
Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. to officers commanding units guarding
its massive gold mine in Papua province may have been illegal.
The New Orleans-based company has denied violating Indonesian or U.S.
laws, saying it has been transparent about providing support to soldiers
in the town of Timika.
Juwono said the practice of paying for protection from the armed forces
was not limited to Indonesia, but should be regulated and clearly defined.
"All across the world ... in-kind payments are made in various kinds of
arrangement, some legal, some illegal," he said. "It's a matter of scope
and degree."
The use of military units to provide protection for foreign enterprises
was instituted by former president Soeharto, himself a retired five-star
general, as a way of extorting additional funds for the military brass who
formed his principal power base.
But since Soeharto's ouster in 1998, the police force -- previously been
part of the armed forces -- has been made independent and is now tasked
with ensuring domestic security.
The practice of paying Indonesia's corrupt and often brutal military came
under renewed scrutiny after a 2002 attack on a convoy of teachers working
at Freeport's massive mine in Papua killed two U.S. citizens.
Local and foreign rights groups accused soldiers of taking part in the
attack, allegedly to extort more security payments money from Freeport.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRIENGLISH.com
Indonesia's LNG Price Talks With CNOOC Ends In Deadlock
2006-02-06 16:03:53
Jakarta - Early renegotiation of gas selling price with China National
Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) has ended in deadlock as the ceiling price
proposed by CNOOC is too low, an official said.
Indonesia has signed a long term contract to supply China's Fujian
province with 2.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually
from Tangguh, Papua.
Under the agreement in 1992 the LNG price was tide with crude oil price or
around US$2.4 per MMBTU based on a ceiling price of US$25 per barrel of
crude oil. The ceiling price is no longer acceptable to Indonesia with the
soaring crude oil price at present.
Currently the LNG price is around US$8 per MMBTU based on a crude oil
price of US$65 per barrel.
CNOOC rejected an offer from Indonesia and proposes a ceiling price lower
than proposed by the government, head of the upstream oil and gas
regulatory body (BP Migas) Kardaya Warnika said as quoted by the newspaper
Bisnis Indonesia.
The government hopes to discuss that matter again with CNOOC before the
first shipment is made in 2008 after the completion of the construction of
an LNG Plant to be operated by BP in Tangguh.
-- (Source: Asian Pulse)
KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
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