[Kabar-Irian] News: May 11-12 2006
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May 9-10 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS
TOPICS
* Papuan students tell of violence
* Australian academics accused of supporting Papuan separatists
* Papuans say Indonesian military guilty of revenge attacks
* China Olympics 2008: Destroying Papua's Ancient Rainforests
* VANUATU: Government Declares Support Of West Papua Freedom Struggle
* Freeport-McMoran Chief Finds Gold Close to Home
* Downer 'unaware' of Papua killings claims
* Latest Papuan asylum seekers held in Australian resort
* Diarrhea outbreak hits Merauke
* Vanuatu government officially backs Papua's self-determination
* Downer plans meeting over Papua row
* Scomi Engineering Lands OCTG Contract from Saudi Aramco
* Papua at Center of Fight Against HIV
* We Think of Our Neighbours as Colonies
* Indonesia says asylum rejection a positive move
* Interview: Freeport's CEO Sees Copper Staying Buoyant
* Papuan woman threatened with her life to go public
* Freeport CEO: Indonesian Exploration On Hold Due To Govt
* Radio Austarlia: Mother says military forced her into public stataments
---
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
TV PROGRAM TRANSCRIPT
LOCATION: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2006/s1635641.htm
Broadcast: 10/05/2006
Papuan students tell of violence
Reporter: Steve Marshall
KERRY O'BRIEN, PRESENTER: Proposed new laws intended to deter
asylum seekers from the troubled Indonesian province of Papua are
already being tested. The new laws would see asylum seekers who
arrive by boat, processed offshore and resettled in another country
if they are found to be refugees. The tough new policy was announced
after 42 Papuans were given temporary protection visas after
arriving here in January, a decision which, you'll recall, enraged
the Indonesian Government. Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says
another group of Papuans found off the Queensland coast this week
will be sent back to Papua New Guinea, their last port of call
before Australia. Underlying the tension is a long-standing
independence movement in Papua and claims of brutal reprisals by
Indonesian troops. ABC correspondent Steve Marshall recently
travelled inside Papua and he filed this exclusive report.
STEVE MARSHALL, REPORTER: The Indonesian province of Papua
looks peaceful enough, but in these hills, young Papuan students are
hiding. On the run, they say, from Indonesian soldiers intent on
revenge.
YUSAK LOGO, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: They smashed windows and they
shot two of my friends.
MELIANUS PIGAI, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Students were captured.
They were shot, cut up, sliced up. Others were arrested while
selling papers. They were killed and thrown into the forest.
STEVE MARSHALL: Melianus Pigai and Yusak Logo are among
hundreds of people local political activists say are in danger.
Yusak Logo found sanctuary in neighbouring Papua New Guinea.
YUSAK LOGO: The Indonesian Government thinks all us students
are terrorists.
STEVE MARSHALL: Student protests erupted near the capital,
Jayapura, just last March. The violence evidence of the radicalision
of the independence movement. For years, the focus of discontent has
been the foreign-owned Freeport gold and copper mine, one of
Indonesia's biggest export earners. Papuans have long accused
Freeport of environmental vandalism and complicity in human rights
abuses. Five Indonesian security officers were killed in the latest
unrest. According to the Brussels-based think-tank, the
International Crisis Group, the Indonesian military responded with a
violent crackdown. Students say they're still in fear of their
lives.
MELIANUS PIGAI, UNIVERSITY STUDENT:If they capture us we may
as well be dead.
STEVE MARSHALL: We found this group in a small hut near
Jayapura. Melianus Pigai recounts the disturbing story of their
attempt to flee Papua by boat at night.
MELIANUS PIGAI: We boarded the boat. Then we set off and there
was the navy. They chased us from behind, then the boat sank. People
drowned. One was killed. He was stabbed by the military.
STEVE MARSHALL: Indonesian authorities deny chasing the boat
and describe the death as accidental drowning. The students were
trying to get to Australia, hoping to be granted refugee status as
are the 42 Papuans who reached Australian shores in January before
being granted temporary bridging visas. In response to Indonesian
anger over the visas, the Australian Government has effectively
slammed the door shut on any more asylum seekers. From now on, all
new boat arrivals will be processed offshore. Even if they are found
to be refugees, Australia plans to send them to a third country for
resettlement.
MELIANUS PIGAI: I don't think it's right. People are
frightened. They've been chased. Why should they go elsewhere?
JONAH WENDA, PAPUAN ACTIVIST: We are dying in any brutal acts
of Indonesia.
STEVE MARSHALL: Papuan activist Jonah Wenda says despite
Australia's change of rules, it will remain a prime destination for
asylum seekers. Will it stop you sending people to Australia?
JONAH WENDA: No, no, they will never stop us. We will continue
to come to Australia. Whichever way, we will try to come to
Australia. I believe they are grass roots people and some in the
Parliament who will support this.
STEVE MARSHALL: For more than four decades, the Free Papuan
Movement or OPM has engaged in guerrilla warfare against the
Indonesian military. This is where Papua New Guinea stops and
Indonesia starts and this is the one and only official border
crossing post across an entire 740km border line. In late 2003 this
was the scene of a shoot-out between the OPM and the Indonesian
military where bullets flew back and forth across here throughout an
entire day and while no shots have been fired here since then, out
here in the jungle, such skirmishes still continue to this very
day.This OPM northern commander has been fighting the Indonesian
military for the past 38 years. Tonight, he also takes aim at the
Australian Government.
JONAH WENDA: I am critical of the Australian Government, not
just Australia but other Western countries, the ones who exploit
Papua but pay no attention to Papuans.
STEVE MARSHALL: Young Papuans have been radicalised by what
they see as a failure by Indonesia to deliver on a 4-year-old
autonomy offer. Now they're in hiding, but their struggle for a
fully independent Papua shows no sign of letting up.
---
Radio Australia
May 8, 2006
-transcript-
Australian academics accused of supporting Papuan separatists
The Indonesian and Australian governments have distanced themselves from a
row threatening ties between Australian and Indonesian universities. At the
centre of the dispute is the controversial Papua issue. Indonesia's Education
Ministry is objecting to the views of two academics from Victoria's Deakin
University, claiming their teachings support Papuan separatism.
Presenter/Interviewer: Claudette Werden
Speakers: Dr Damien Kingsbury and Dr Scott Burchill from Deakin Univeristy's
School of International Relations; Sabam Sirait, former head of an Indonesian
parliamentary committee on Special Autonomy Law for Papua
Claudette Werden
Dr Damien Kingsbury and Dr Scott Burchill from Deakin Univeristy's School of
International Relations; Sabam Sirait, former head of an Indonesian
parliamentary committee on Special Autonomy Law for Papua
WERDEN: Collateral damage is how Dr Damien Kingsbury describes he and a
colleague's blacklisting by Indonesia's Ministry of National Education.
He says he and Dr Scott Burchill from Deakin Univeristy's School of
International Relations have been caught up in a political power struggle
between
Indonesia reformists and hardliners.
He's accused Indonesia's military and state intelligence agency BIN of being
behind the move.
KINGSBURY: Quite frankly I think they're trying to use the situation and to
distort it in order to push a domestic political agenda which is essentially
around trying to role back the reform process of the government especially in
relation to the military and its presence in West Papua.
Sabam Sirait, the former head of an Indonesian parliamentary committee on
Special Autonomy Law for Papua agrees both the military and BIN have
influence
but he says the Education Ministry should be able to act indepently of them.
SARAIT: Yes they can influence minister of education of course but I hope
minister of education will can say the truth about what really need of the
aceh
people and papuans.
In a widely circulated memo sent to tertiary institutions in Indonesia, Dr
Kingsbury and Dr Scott Burchill have been accused of promoting separatism
in the
troubled province of Papua.
Dr Kingsbury says its a misunderstanding
KINGSBURY : What we have actually done is had some early discussions with
West Papuans about the possibility of a negotiated settlement which would
actually ensure west papua would stay within Indonesia in precisely the
same way that
Aceh stayed in Indonesia as a consequence of the peace settlement concluded
last year and in which I was a participant.
WERDEN: Dr Kingsbury says Jakarta is aware of his role in helping resolve
problems in Aceh as last year he met with the Indonesian Vice President and
several government ministers. The Australian government is keeping clear
of the
row, saying its a matter for the universities to deal with. Dr Scott Burchill
agrees.
BURCHILL: I think the australian government has enough on its plate with in
relation to the west papuan asylum seekers and the backlash against granting
them termporary protection visas, I'm sure they're probably not keen to
involve
themselves in this particular issue.
WERDEN: For its part Deakin University is standing by its academics, saying
it supports the freedom of staff to comment on matters within their area of
expertise.
---
Last Update: Wednesday, May 10, 2006. 6:37pm (AEST)
Papuans say Indonesian military guilty of revenge attacks
By Port Moresby correspondent Steve Marshall
Papuan student activists are alleging that the Indonesian military
murdered fellow students in revenge attacks following the
deaths of five Indonesian security officers during a protest last March.
In an exclusive report on the ABC TV's 7:30 Report tonight, Papuan
students claim they witnessed the Indonesian military
commit murder on two separate occasions.
One student's account described Indonesian soldiers stabbing a student to
death in the water when the boat they were using to
escape Papua sank.
Another student claims the Indonesian military shot up university
dormitories in the Highlands, killing two people.
The Brussels-based think-tank, the International Crisis Group, said the
Indonesian military responded to the March riots over
the Freeport gold and copper mine with a violent crackdown.
---
China Olympics 2008: Destroying Papua's Ancient Rainforests to
Raise the Olympic Torch
By Rainforest Portal, project of Ecological Internet, Inc.
http://www.rainforestportal.org/
April 30, 2006
TAKE ACTION
Protest China's Plundering of Ancient Indonesian Rainforests to
Build 2008 Olympic Facilities
http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=olympic_timber
With two-and-a-half years to go until the start of the 2008
Olympics to be held in Beijing China, the Chinese government has
recently placed a $1 billion rush order for endangered
rainforest timbers from Indonesia's Papua province to be used in
construction for the games. A proposed timber processing factory would
industrially harvest 800,000 cubic meters of the famous
and threatened merbau (intsia spp) rainforest timbers, to be
exported to China for the construction of sports facilities.
Indonesia's Papua province on the island of New Guinea has some
of the world's last remaining large intact rainforests. These
rainforests are millions of years old, contain untold
biodiversity and evolutionary history, and provide critical
regional and global ecosystem processes. An investment of this
size will only serve to legitimize and further fuel illegal,
highly unsustainable, and ecologically devastating logging,
ensuring the destruction of this critically threatened ancient
rainforest. It is against the Olympic ideals of bringing "people
together in peace to respect universal moral principles" when
the events are housed in ancient rainforest timbers of
questionable legality and morality. Please insist the Chinese
government commit to hosting an "old-growth, ancient forest
free" Olympics. Please take action now at
http://www.rainforestportal.org/alerts/send.asp?id=olympic_timber
---
VANUATU: Government Declares Support Of West Papua Freedom Struggle
(PacNews/Vanuatu Daily Post) - The Vanuatu government has officially
declared it fully supports the West Papua cause for
self-determination, Vanuatu Daily Post reports.
After being accused of not having a clear policy on its support for West
Papua, the Lini-led government said in a statement
that Vanuatu as a democratic and independent nation would continue to
maintain its non-align foreign policy.
The statement signed by government public relations officer, Patrick
Crowby said the government’s support for West Papua was
reiterated to the Indonesian Ambassador to Vanuatu on 28 March in Port Vila.
Mr Crowby stated that while relations had been established with Indonesia,
it does not mean that its foreign policy on West
Papua would not be maintained. He said while there had been attempts in
the past to show dissatisfaction over the West Papua
issue, the current government has actually met with Indonesian leaders to
talk about the issue.
Source:
http://vanuatudaily.com/news/currentweek.php?subaction=showfull&id=1147297365&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&;
---
Bloomberg
May 10, 2006
Opinion
Freeport-McMoran Chief Finds Gold Close to Home
By Graef Crystal
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Chairman James Moffett looks all over the
world for gold to mine. Moffett, though, finds his personal treasure closer
to home.
With gold prices soaring, the good times are indeed rolling for Moffett's New
Orleans-based company. An 18 percent rise last year in the spot price helped
Freeport's per-share earnings increase more than fivefold to $4.67. Sales
jumped 76 percent to $4.2 billion.
With those sorts of results, Moffett's pay, not surprisingly, soared. For
2005, his total pay, including my estimate for the present value at grant
of his
2005 option grants, was $43.1 million, up from $9.5 million in 2004.
So what's wrong with that? Fantastic performance, fantastic pay. That's the
way the system is supposed to work.
There's just one problem. Moffett, 68, has received solid gold pay packages
even in bad times. For example, in 2002, when the company's earnings per
share
were 87 cents -- a fifth as much as last year -- Moffett's total pay was
$17.8
million.
Under the current proxy reporting system, information on Moffett's pay has
been available since 1995. Here, for each year between 1996 and 2005, is the
company's total return, followed by Moffett's total pay.
Total Moffett's Pay
Year Return (millions)
1996 9.4% $16.7
1997 -45.5% $6.8
1998 -32.8% $10.8
1999 102.4% $14.3
2000 -59.5% $5.3
2001 56.4% $6.7
2002 25.3% $17.8
2003 153.8% $12.9
2004 -6.4% $9.5
2005 49.0% $43.1
I correlated his pay against the company's total returns for two periods:
1996 through 2005 (according to my Bloomberg terminal, the first recorded
stock
price was July 10, 1995, thereby making it impossible to calculate a total
return for 1995); and 1996 through 2001. In both analyses, there was a
positive
relationship between the total return and the size of Moffett's pay
package, but
in no case did the relationship rise anywhere near the level of statistical
significance.
Mediocre Performance
Looking at total returns between July 10, 1995, and Dec. 30, 2005, Freeport's
return was 9.7 percent a year. That compares to a return of 9.5 percent a
year for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Freeport's stock price appreciation
during the period ranked it at the 49th percentile of the companies that
were in
the S&P 500 Index during the entire period, meaning that 51 percent of the
companies outperformed Freeport.
Yet for that ho-hum performance, Moffett's total pay averaged $14.3 million a
year.
On top of that, his pay was much less volatile than the company's returns to
shareholders. The standard deviation of his pay during the 10 years ended in
2005 was 76 percent of his average annual pay during the same years. Yet for
total return, the comparable statistic was 182 percent. So if his
shareholders
could have bought a call on his pay package, instead of buying Freeport's
stock, they would have enjoyed a much smoother ride.
Juicy Returns
Moffett's stock options have also given him juicy returns. Between 1995 and
2005, his realized gains were $115 million. And as of Dec. 30, 2005, he was
sitting on $157 million more of unexercised gains.
Let's go back to Moffett's $43.1 million pay for 2005. The figure is
incredible all by itself. But it becomes unbelievable when one focuses on
the fact
that Moffett wasn't even CEO last year, having turned over those duties in
December 2003 to Richard Adkerson. Adkerson, 59, by the way, knows a bit
about
digging for treasure himself, having taken home $32.8 million in 2005.
That's a total of $75.9 million in pay for this Dynamic Duo, a figure that is
outrageous for a company that at the end of 2005 had a market value of $10
billion.
So what do we conclude from this? Either Adkerson is a CINO (CEO in name
only), while Moffett is still running the company; or Adkerson is in
charge and
Moffett deserves an entry in the Guinness World Records book as the Most
Overpaid Non-executive Chairman. Neither choice would offer any appeal for
shareholders.
Pay-for-performance is a wonderful concept. But it's supposed to work in both
directions. That's the part that Moffett prefers to ignore.
Graef Crystal is a columnist for Bloomberg News.
The opinions expressed are his own.
---
Last Update: Thursday, May 11, 2006. 8:17am (AEST)
Unaware: Mr Downer says Indonesia is committed to upholding human rights.
Downer 'unaware' of Papua killings claims
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says he is not aware of claims
by Papuan student activists that the Indonesian
military has murdered fellow students in revenge attacks.
The students claim their colleagues were murdered after the killing of
five Indonesian security officers during a protest
last March.
One student claims Indonesian soldiers stabbed a student to death in the
water when the boat they were using to escape Papua
sank.
Mr Downer says he has not been briefed about the claims.
"I'm not denying or accepting these claims, I simply don't know about the
veracity of them," he said.
"The issue here is that, of course, Indonesia needs to fulfil its
responsibilities to uphold international norms of human
rights.
"I know the president of Indonesia and the Cabinet are very committed to
that."
Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Yuri Thamrin, says that the claims
need to be investigated.
"I just heard from you about this allegations and if that is the case,
then as an open society we have no problem at all in
terms of of clarifying the fact," he said.
Mr Thamrin has also reiterated Indonesia's position that Siti Wanggai, the
mother of Anike Wanggai, who has been granted
asylum in Australia, is still living in Papua.
He says she is still seeking custody of her daughter.
---
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Accessibility Information
Latest Papuan asylum seekers held in Australian resort
Posted at 03:31 on 11 May, 2006 UTC
The three asylum seekers from Papua who are being held on Horn Island in
Australia’s Torres Strait are under guard at a
three-star holiday resort, which is surrounded by security fences.
The editor of the Torres News, Corey Bousen, who went to try and see the
men, was denied access to them and says he was told
that any photographs which might facilitate their identification, would
enable possible reprisals by the Indonesian
government in Papua.
The Australian government says it wants to talk with Papua New Guinea
about taking the three men.
Australia’s immigration department says the men arrived at an excised
offshore place and therefore may not make applications
under the Migration Act.
In a statement it said that as they arrived from PNG, which is party to
the Refugees’ Convention, return options to PNG first
need to be explored.
But Mr Bousen says it’s the government would like the whole story to
disappear.
“Without access to these guys it’s certainly harder to keep this story
ongoing - I think the government is quite aware of
that. And that’s why they do their best to make sure as little as possible
newsworthy item emerge, such as photographs and
backgrounds on people and that sort of stuff.”
---
Jakarta Post May 12 2006
Diarrhea outbreak hits Merauke
MERAUKE, Papua: A diarrhea outbreak has hit the Papuan regency of Merauke,
afflicting 1,060 people between January and May
and killing one, an official said.
Josep Rinta, head of the Merauke Health Office, said that his office was
unclear about the cause of the outbreak and was
waiting for the results of laboratory tests from the Papua Health Office
in Jayapura.
Josep acknowledged that diarrhea outbreaks usually occurred at the start
of the rainy season, when local residents usually
use rainwater found in potholes for drinking and other purposes.
"During the dry season the potholes are usually used by livestock or even
used by people for defecating," he said in Jayapura
after meeting Papuan acting governor Sodjuangon Situmorang.
The residents affected by the diarrheal disease are mostly those living
along the coastline, especially in densely populated
Gudang Arang kampong which is notorious for its poor sanitation. -- JP
---
Vanuatu government officially backs Papua's self-determination
Posted at 8:10am on 12 May 2006
The Vanuatu government has officially declared it fully supports the
Indonesia province of Papua's cause for
self-determination.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reports the Lini-led government says Vanuatu as a
democratic and independent nation would continue to
maintain its non-align foreign policy.
In a statement, the government says its support for Papua was reiterated to
the Indonesian Ambassador to Vanuatu on 28 March in Port Vila.
A government spokesman says while relations had been established with
Indonesia, it does not mean that its foreign policy on
Papua would not be maintained.
He says while there had been attempts in the past to show dissatisfaction
over the Papua issue, the current government has
actually met with Indonesian leaders to talk about the issue.
Vanuatu had been accused of not having a clear policy on its support for
West Papua.
Copyright © 2006 Radio New Zealand International
---
Last Update: Thursday, May 11, 2006. 6:50pm (AEST)
Downer plans meeting over Papua row
Foreign affairs ministers of Australia and Indonesia are expected to meet
on Monday in an effort to repair the damage caused
by Australia granting visas to Papuan asylum seekers.
Indonesia withdrew its ambassador to Australia after the decision to grant
refuge to the 42 asylum seekers from the
Indonesian province.
Mr Downer says he and his Indonesian counterpart will be in Singapore on
Monday, and it might be a convenient time to meet.
He says the meeting has not yet been arranged.
"The next stage should be that we'd get together at some time and this
might be a convenient time to do that. We'll just have
to wait and see," he said.
"And then at a certain point the Prime Minister and the President would
get together and I think that's the way to take
things forward but let's take things steadily forward."
---
Scomi Engineering Lands OCTG Contract from Saudi Aramco
Scomi Engineering Thursday, May 11, 2006
Scomi Engineering Bhd (formerly known as Bell & Order Berhad) has received
another major order from Saudi Aramco for the
supply of Oil Country Tubular Goods ("OCTG"). The order was awarded to
Scomi Engineering's Singapore machine shop unit, OMS
Oilfield Services Pte. Ltd for RM80 million.
This order is the single largest order received to-date since OMS
penetrated the market in 2003. The expected contribution to
Scomi Engineering's turnover is approximately RM80 million, which will be
realized
International Exploration Economics, Risk, and Contracts Analysis
in the fourth quarter 2006 and the first quarter 2007. The contract value
is more than doubled the previous contract awarded
by Saudi Aramco in March this year. With this new contract, the total
value of all contracts awarded by Saudi Aramco to OMS
for this year has increased to approximately RM115 million.
"We are very pleased with the excellent progress we have made with Saudi
Aramco. This is quite unexpected because we received
the same order from Saudi Aramco in March. It is a testimony of the
quality of our products and our ability to deliver as per
their requirement." said Hilmy Zaini, Senior Vice President of Scomi
Engineering.
This order, similar to the previous order, is for the supply of large
diameter casing pipes and connectors, equipped with our
proprietary JV-LW connectors. The order will be supplied in lengths of
between 38 feet to 42 feet each. The order is targeted
for delivery within the fourth quarter 2006 and the first quarter 2007.
This is the fifth straight successful orders for this material from Saudi
Aramco since OMS penetrated the market a few years
ago.
"We are expanding the manufacturing capacities of our Singapore machine
shop and we are confident of meeting the delivery of
this order to our client." continued Hilmy Zaini.
The machine shops unit which has 7 facilities in 6 countries continues to
remain the highest contributor to Scomi
Engineering's businesses, contributing 73% to its turnover for the
financial year 2005. The machine shops unit is also
embarking on an expansion program for its facilities. It plans for an
increase in size of facility as well as enhancing its
production capacity with an increase in machinery and equipment. This
expansion plan will initially focus on its Singapore,
Labuan and Brunei machine shops.
"With the ongoing business relationships with Saudi Aramco, we are also
currently looking at possibilities of setting up a
facility in the country." ended Hilmy Zaini.
Scomi Engineering continues to target the Middle East and Asia as its key
markets. With its global expansion plans, Scomi
Engineering is reviewing the feasibility of expanding its machine shop
operations into Sakhalin Island, Tanggu Island in
Irian Jaya and Saudi Arabia.
Scomi Engineering, as an energy and logistics engineering company, has
business units in energy engineering comprising of
machine shop services for Oil Country Tubular Goods; logistics engineering
comprising of design and fabrication of special
purpose vehicles, rail and defense, and fleet management services
---
The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Papua at Center of Fight Against HIV
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
Papua has the highest concentration of HIV/AIDS cases in the country,
according
to information provided by the public welfare minister Tuesday.
Aburizal Bakrie said that according to official records, of 10,156 cases of
HIV in the country, 20 percent, or 2,199, were in Papua. The minister was
speaking after attending the fourth regional meeting of the HIV/AIDS
Prevention
Commission in the Papua capital Jayapura, from May 7-9.
Aburizal warned HIV was spreading in the country at an alarming rate. He said
that in June last year there were 7,090 official cases of HIV, and that
figure rose to 8,250 in September, 9,655 in December and 10,156 in March.
These are official figures and most observers believe that the actual number
of HIV cases in the country is much higher.
"The spread was so quick. But authorities need to determine whether the rise
in HIV/AIDS cases was because of new infections or because of people finally
coming forward and reporting to the authorities," he said.
Aburizal said that while HIV could be spread through a number of ways, the
majority of cases in Papua were the result of sexual intercourse. "In
Indonesia
as a whole, the main means by which HIV is spread is through shared
syringes,"
he said.
He said nationally 50.1 percent of HIV cases were the result of shared
syringes, but in Papua 78 percent of cases were from sexual intercourse.
And nationally women account for 18 percent of HIV cases, but in Papua that
figure is 48.5 percent.
The minister warned there was an alarming rise in the number of infants in
Papua being infected with HIV by their mothers, indicating the disease had
penetrated into families and the general public. He said HIV in Papua
could be
classified as a generalized epidemic.
"If neglected, HIV/AIDS will not only affect families and the public in
Papua, but it will also affect all area of development, including those
dealing
with human resources, the social economy and politics, as well as security
stability," he said.
The fourth regional meeting in Papua was attended by all regents and mayors
from throughout Papua and West Irian Jaya, as well as Papua's acting
governor,
Sodjuangon Situmorang.
Sodjuangon said each regency and mayoralty had earmarked special funds to
stop the spread of HIV, with the money being handled by regional prevention
commissions.
"(These HIV prevention funds) are part of the regional administration's
commitment to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Papua," he said.
At the national level, Aburizal said, the HIV/AIDS Prevention Commission had
set up a special division to provide the public with information about
HIV/AIDS.
He said that by providing information, the special division would not only
help fight the spread of HIV/AIDS but also stop the stigmatization of people
living with HIV/AIDS.
---
The Age (Melbourne)
Friday, May 12, 2006
We Think of Our Neighbours as Colonies
By Jim Davidson
WHEN Keith Richards had his misadventure in Fiji -- as 62-year-old pop stars
are wont to do -- he was reported as having fallen out of a coconut tree.
Could that, by any chance, be related to a date tree? Whatever happened to
palms?
It's a good question. The old image of the Pacific in Australia was, in the
phrase of the adventurer Louis Becke, centred on reef and palm. It was the
title of one of his books. This image persisted, in photographs, on
postcards,
augmenting the older one of Tahiti, in particular as a tropical paradise.
"The Islands" were a real presence in the Australian imagination in the first
half of the 20th century. The term was loose, extending from New Guinea to
Fiji and beyond, but the resonance was real. Even as late as the 1960s, Radio
Australia broadcast "to the Inland and the Islands".
While those with cultural aspirations headed off for London, the wild men
headed north and east of Torres Strait.
Official Australia had long been interested in the island of New Guinea for
strategic reasons. In 1883, Queensland annexed a portion in an attempt to
forestall the Germans. Later, barely a fortnight after war broke out in
1914, an
Australian force occupied the German colony.
World War II, of course, saw much heroism as our troops reversed the Japanese
advance on the Kokoda Trail. But recognition of their indigenous helpers has
been slow. The contemporary designation "fuzzy-wuzzy angels" was as
patronising as it was genuinely grateful. It was the image of the loyal
retainer,
invaluable but ultimately dispensable.
Because we refused to think of ourselves as a colonial power, which is what
we were in Papua New Guinea, Australian thinking about Papua New Guinea
remained primitive.
At the time when Britain was moving towards granting independence to African
colonies, Australians were pressing their government for more 99-year leases
to open up the Highlands to coffee plantations. A decade later, the initial
proposal for a university was deferred. There was believed to be no
pressing need.
As Papua New Guinea advanced towards independence, Australian interest grew
for a time. Idealists sought employment there, in the university and
elsewhere;
students participated in development projects over long holidays. But there
was no equivalent to New Zealand's provision, whereby teacher trainees could
take their first schools in the islands rather than in country districts.
Australia was becoming more preoccupied with Asia; the Pacific was felt to be
marginal. After independence in 1975, Papua New Guinea gradually dropped out
of the news. A mine disaster, a change of government, or the problems of
Bougainville would puncture the silence, but long-term problems got little
mileage.
Some scholars warned of an "arc of instability", stretching from Timor to
Fiji. No one
took much notice. It was as though, once Papua New Guinea ceased to be an
adventure playground for whites, Australians weren't much interested.
In recent years, universities have shown no great interest either. Academic
expertise on Papua New Guinea, as with Asia, is running down. We are back to
"the Islands" again.
Meanwhile, the arc in general is now seen as marking the perimeter of
immediate Australian interests. John Howard, aware that we cannot afford
to have
failed states on our doorstep, has spoken of the rest of the world
recognising our
responsibility to maintain order in this part of the world. But then the
Government is also very reluctant to grant islanders working visas.
Unfortunately,
these policies taken together project an Australia operating from colonialist
assumptions.
In the early 1960s we recognised some obligation to mined-out Nauru: the idea
of moving the whole population to an island off Queensland was seriously
considered. Now it is simply seen as the site for "the Pacific Solution".
In fact
it's the Australian Solution, creating a series of little Bantustans to hold
unwanted immigrants.
There are no palm trees fringing our imaginations now — only coconuut
trees to
best English pop stars. Imperial Austria had the Balkans on its doorstep;
post-colonial Australia has the near Pacific. Culturally and linguistically
fragmented, impoverished, and stalked by AIDS, the arc of instability
shows every
sign of becoming a Balkans of our own. Yesterday the Solomons, tomorrow West
Papua.
We need to know more about our neighbourhood, and, as the recently released
white paper on aid has proposed, train more people here in a new venture like
the old Colombo Plan. Big challenges, when imaginatively the region scarcely
figures on our collective radar.
Jim Davidson is a visiting fellow at the Australian Centre, Melbourne
University
---
Indonesia says asylum rejection a positive move
By Rob Taylor and Olivia Rondonuwu
DENPASAR, Bali May 11 (AAP) -- Indonesia says Canberra's decision to
reject three Papuan asylum seekers and send them to Papua New Guinea
is a positive move which will help both countries get past a row over
visas given to 42 others.
The three Papuans were recently picked up by immigration officials on
an Australian island in the Torres Strait and were taken into
detention at a nearby resort hotel.
But under Australia's tough new asylum seeker rules, the three are to
be be sent back to Papua New Guinea, where they arrived first after
escaping their restive Indonesian-ruled homeland.
In the first sign the two-month diplomatic rift between the two
countries may be easing, Indonesia's foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda
said Canberra's decision was a conciliatory one.
"I appreciate it because it is the first test of the recent Australian
policy to refuse these claimants who seek asylum to Australia," he
said on the sidelines of a Bali summit.
"That's a positive move and we fully welcome it."
The three Papuans landed three months after 42 of their countrymen
arrived on Australian shores and were granted temporary refugee visas.
The decision caused widespread anger in Jakarta, which ordered home
its ambassador to Canberra in the worst row since Australia's 1999
military intervention in East Timor.
Indonesian officials said the ruling amounted to tacit support for
Papuan independence claims, despite Australian repeated promises of
support for Indonesian unity.
The refusal to accept asylum applications from the latest three
Papuans clears the way for ambassador Hamzah Thayeb to return to
Australia in weeks.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Wirajuda are due to meet in
Singapore on Monday for another round of closed-door talks on the
issue, which Downer has called a "crisis".
Wirajuda refused to confirm the meeting would take place, but
acknowledged the pair would cross paths in the island nation as Mr
Downer arrived for bilateral talks and his Indonesian counterpart
headed to North America.
"As far as I'm concerned the Indonesian foreign minister is going away
to Canada and the US," a smiling Wirajuda said.
"If we meet in Singapore and we go together for some shopping, I
cannot say that."
Mr Downer said the details of the meeting, which would be the first
time the two men have met face to face since a row blew up in March,
were still being finalised.
Wirajuda, meanwhile, refused to comment on incendiary allegations by a
Papuan woman that Indonesian intelligence officers forced her into
making a public statement begging for the return of her four-year-old
daughter from Australia.
Siti Wainggai's daughter, Anike Wainggai, was among the large group of
Papuans who landed in January.
She told Indonesian media her daughter had been taken by her father
without permission, prompting Wirajuda to demand her return.
But now in hiding in PNG, she has retracted the claim, saying she was
forced to make the statements by Indonesian intelligence officers or
be killed.
Indonesian foreign ministry officials as late as two days ago had
insisted Siti Wainggai was still in Papua and was in contact with
field staff over her daughter's abduction.
Wirajuda tonight reversed those claims and said Anike's mother was
still missing.
"I cannot say anything about it since we are not in contact yet with
the mother," he said.
"If the mother requests the Indonesian government to get her daughter
back, we will be happy to help."
---
Interview: Freeport's CEO Sees Copper Staying Buoyant
By Alison Guerriere Ciaccio
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK, May 10 (Dow Jones)--A lack of new development projects will
keep the copper market buoyant and supplies tight into the future,
said Richard Adkerson, president and chief executive officer at
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX).
Reached by telephone in Miami on Wednesday, Adkerson said the dynamics
of the copper industry in recent years has broke away from a normal
business cycle as development in supply slows amid an industry's lack
of new projects.
With many of the known resources of copper already being mined or in
the process of being mined, Adkerson said companies would have to go
to locations that are difficult to mine with rising political risk
factors.
The problem, Adkerson said, does not lie in a producer's ability to
finance projects or its technical capacity but its the lack of
development and exploration when copper prices were low that has led
to a lack of inventory of new projects now.
Asked what Freeport plans to do in the face of mounting exploration
challenges, Adkerson said the company will continue to focus on its
giant Grasberg mine project in Indonesia - said to be the world's
second-largest copper mine, based on production.
For the gold market, which Freeport mines as a by-product at its
Grasberg mine, Adkerson said the factors that resulted in gold
breaking the $700-an- ounce level on Tuesday are compelling enough to
keep prices high.
"Gold is being driven by investment demand because of the overall
level of interest in commodities, plus a combination of a weak U.S.
dollar and geopolitical concerns have resulted in a heightened sense
of concern," said Adkerson.
During after-hours trade on the Comex division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange, July copper hit a fresh record high of $3.7180
per pound. The rise to the new high marks a 243.5% increase in the
July contract since it began trading in July 2004.
Gold also reached new levels with the most-active June contract
trading as high as $710.10 an ounce - its best performance since 1980.
---
Papuan woman threatened with her life to go public
SYDNEY May 11 (AAP) -- A Papuan woman who claimed her daughter was
taken to Australia against her will now says she was forced to make
the allegation under threat of death.
Siti Wainggai's young daughter Anike and the child's father, Herman
Wainggai, were among a boatload of Papuans who arrived in Australia in
January this year seeking refugee status.
Following their arrival, Siti Wainggai appeared on Indonesian
television stating her daughter was taken to Australia against her
will.
She demanded the girl be returned to the Papuan province.
But Siti Wainggai has told ABC TV that Indonesian Intelligence
Officers forced her to sign a prepared statement demanding the return
of her daughter and demanded she make her statement public.
"They said if I refuse then certainly I will be killed," she told the ABC.
Ms Wainggai was also reportedly offered a large cash bribe and told
she would meet the Indonesian president, but she then went into
hiding, escaping to Papua New Guinea by boat.
Asked if she was in danger now, she said: "I'm being followed by
certain people who have been paid to carry out the plan to kill me."
"They (Indonesia) are sending their own people to look for me."
"I'm happy I've come out of Papua and my husband and my daughter are
in Australia, I do not want to return to Indonesia."
Ms Wainggai said she wants to join her daughter in Australia.
Her claim follows those of a group of Papuan students who said the
Indonesian military butchered their friends in retaliation for riots
in which four police and a soldier were killed.
The March riots in the Papuan capital Jayapura were sparked by
protesters calling for the closure of the giant US Freeport mine.
---
Freeport CEO: Indonesian Exploration On Hold Due To Govt
By Alison Guerriere Ciaccio
NEW YORK, May 10 (Dow Jones)--Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX)
said it is waiting to resolve issues with the Indonesian government so
it can actively explore reserves adjacent to its current operations in
Papua.
"We have exploration rights on the mountain range in the Indonesian
province and we look forward to having those issues resolved" so the
exploration can proceed, Richard Adkerson, president and chief
executive officer at Freeport, told Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday.
While Adkerson did not disclose the specifics of the "issues," he said
they involve a new provincial election in Indonesia as the political
development of the province is ongoing.
"Indonesia is an emerging democracy and it is moving cautiously under
the process of developing as a democracy," Adkerson said by telephone
from Miami.
He added, however, that he hopes the issues will be resolved by 2007.
Asked if the company's giant Grasberg copper and gold mine has been
impacted further since a disruption in February led to a four-day
closure of the operation, Adkerson said there has been no other
stoppage.
"We have proceeded on a continuous basis," said Adkerson.
Freeport-McMoRan has been a focal point of unrest in the province
since February after protesters demanded the right to mine its waste
ore and blockaded the facility.
---
Radio Australia
Last Updated 12/05/2006
PAPUA: Mother says military forced her into public stataments
A Papuan woman who says she was told to make a public statement by
Indonesian Intelligence Officers or face death has made
some more, astonishing claims. When a boatload of Papuan asylum seekers
arrived in Australian territory last January, among
them was a little girl called Anike Wainggai. Not long after, the girl's
Mother, Siti Wainggai, appeared on Indonesian TV
claiming her daughter had been taken to Australia against her will and
demanded she be returned to the Indonesian Province of
Papua. Soon after making this statement Siti Wainggai disappeared and
hasn't been heard of since. However, ABC PNG
Correspondent Steve Marshall has tracked down Siti Wainggai's.
Presenter/Interviewer: Steve Marshall
Speakers: Nick Chesterfield, Papuan independence activist; Siti Wainggai,
Papuan
MARSHALL: Now, our Papua New Guinea Correspondent Steve Marshall has heard
Siti Wainggai's exclusive story.
It poses another problem for Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone, and
puts the spotlight back on Indonesia's alleged
mistreatment of the Papuan people.
In an old house, somewhere in the Papua New Guinea countryside, I found
Siti Wanainggai resting on a thin mattress, in a
small room. Next to her were plastic bottles filled with water, and a
packet of biscuits.
Ever since she fled Papua more than a month ago, this has been her home.
Siti Wainggai is surrounded by a network of Papuan supporters, but she
tells me she still fears for her life.
(Sound of Siti Wainggai speaking)
MARSHALL: Siti Wainggai explains how the Indonesian military allegedly
threatened to kill her if she did not follow orders,
and how intelligence officers forced her to make a false appeal for her
daughter to be returned to her Papua.
(Sound of Siti Wainggai speaking)
"I was forced to obey what they wanted," she said. "I just followed what
they wanted me to do. You must weep so that your
child can be sent back to you quickly," they said. "We want the child
back, not his father," she said.
(To Siti Wainggai) Ms Wainggai, if you refuse to do what they wanted you
to do, what do you believe would have happened to
you?
(Sound of Siti Wainggai speaking)
"They said if I refuse, certainly I will be killed," she said.
Free Papua activist Nick Chesterfield says we have every reason to believe
Siti Wainggai's account.
CHESTERFIELD: Because this is totally consistent with Indonesian
intelligence operations in the past, and we have got very
credible reports of many members of her family who have been approached by
the Indonesian intelligence, both military
intelligence and civilian intelligence, and Siti is just not wanting to
play that game.
MARSHALL: Ms Wainggai's initial statement seeking the return of her
daughter, were widely reported in the Indonesian and
Australian media.
The Indonesian Government seized upon the statements. Its Foreign
Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, threatened court action against
Australia, claiming that the mother had the natural right to care for her
child.
He said as signatories to a convention on child protection, Australia and
Indonesia were obliged to secure the girl's return,
but no action was taken as Siti Wainggai fled Papua.
Indonesia is still fuming over Australian's decision to grant Miss
Wainggai's daughter, husband and 40 other Papuan asylum
seekers temporary bridging visas, when they arrived by boat in Australia
last January.
Canberra risks another backlash from Jakarta, should it show Ms Wainggai
the same compassion and reunite her with her child.
Activist Nick Chesterfield is calling on the entire International
Community to come to Ms Wainggai's aid.
CHESTERFIELD: The international agencies concerned are certainly showing a
few delays in processing according to their
obligations. We're a bit concerned that she still hasn't been met with
anyone directly from the agencies, so we certainly
wish for some clear action to be shown by the international community on
this.
---
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