[Kabar-Irian] News: August 29-312006
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August 29-21 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS
TOPICS
* Demonstration marks court hearing of Timika shooting case
* Foreign fishing boats without investment concept banned in RI`s waters
* NZ needs to put West Papua on Pacific Island Forum
* Papua trials may continue without defendants
* HIV/AIDS campaign criticized
* Papuan fishermen's relatives wait for news from PNG
* PNG arrests Indonesian fishermen
* Eye-witness: Timika Case
* SMup demonstrates in Makasar
* West Papuan protesters give the US the 'bottoms up'
---
Demonstration marks court hearing of Timika shooting
case (via indoleft)
Detik.com - August 29, 2006
Kris Fathoni W, Jakarta -- After holding a long-
march from the State Palace, West Papuan protesters
demonstrated at the Central Jakarta State Court
demanding that the defendants in the 2002 Timika
shooting case be released.
The action was held by some 50 activists from the
United West Papua Popular Struggle Front (Pepera) in
front of the courthouse on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central
Jakarta on Tuesday August 29. The hearing had
scheduled the reading of a preliminary verdict at
11.25am but this had not taken place yet.
The protesters gave speeches demanding that Reverend
Isak Onawame be released unconditionally. Banners
were brought to the demonstration reading "Release
Reverend Isak Onawame unconditionally" and "Close
Freeport" as well as a flag with a picture of a
lion.
The defendants in the case are Hardi Sugumol,
Agustinus Anggaibak, Yohanes Kasemol, Yulianus
Deikme, Yairus Kiwak, Reverend Isak Onawame and
Antonius Wamang. (aan)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
****************************************************
The INDOLEFT news service is produced by the
Institute of Liberation, Media and Social Studies
(LPMIS) and Action in Solidarity with Asia and the
Pacific.
INDOLEFT News Service
Jl. Tebet Timur Dalam VIII No. 6A
Jakarta Selatan 12820
Indonesia
E-mail: jamesbalowski@yahoo.com
---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/seenws/?id=19190
Foreign fishing boats without investment concept banned in RI`s waters
Surabaya (ANTARA News) - Marine and Fishery Affairs Minister Freddy
Numberi has banned Phillipine, Thai and Chinese fishing boats from
entering Indonesian waters without any concept favorable to the Indonesian
people.
"In the past they could enter Indonesian waters under a license concept,
but now they are only allowed to operate in our waters under an investment
concept," he said when speaking at a seminar on illegal fishing at
Surabaya University (Ubaya) here on Wednesday.
He also said that the license of the Philippines fishing vessels had
expired last year, while at the end of this year is the turn of Thai
fishermen to have their fishing cooperation terminated. The license of the
Chinese fishing boats will expire next year.
"They will be allowed to operate in Indonesian waters only under an
investment concept. Their 30-year cooperation under a licence concept had
inflicted a loss of about Rp30 trillion to Indonesia every year because a
great deal of the country`s marine resources had been exploited by other
countries," he said.
Under an investment concept, foreign fishing vessels have the right to
enter Indonesian waters on the condition that they build a fish processing
industry in Indonesia.
In this way, Indonesia`s marine resources would not go to other countries
and in practice Indonesians will also be provided with job opportunities.
"Foreign fishing vessels violating this concept will be deemed as poaching
in Indonesian waters. Therefore the Philippines this year will enter
Indonesian waters again under an investment concept by building fish
processing industries in Bitung, Papua and Riau," he said.
According to him, the cooperation under the investment concept will enable
the fishery industry in this country to grow well.
"Practically, we will no longer see cooperation with foreigners as a taboo
as long as it bring us a benefit."(*)
COPYRIGHT © 2006 ANTARA
August 31, 2006
---
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0608/S00520.htm
NZ needs to put West Papua on Pacific Island Forum
Tuesday, 29 August 2006, 4:17 pm
Press Release: Green Party
29 August 2006
NZ needs to put West Papua on Pacific Island Forum agenda
The Government should put the issue of West Papua on the agenda of the
Pacific Island Forum being held in Tonga in October, Green Party Foreign
Affairs Spokesperson Keith Locke says.
The leader of the Baptist church in West Papua, Rev Socratez Sofyan Yoman,
is being hosted in Parliament today by Mr Locke.
"The rights of the Papuan people used to be discussed at the Forum, and
were addressed in Forum communiqué for four years,
from 2000 to 2003. However, for the past two years the issue has dropped
off the agenda altogether," Mr Locke says.
"This is not good enough. The Papuan people are a Melanesian Pacific
people whose aspirations for self-determination have been crushed by
successive Indonesian governments. The so-called Special Autonomy is not
working, and Papuans are still being mistreated, and sometimes killed, by
army units unaccountable to the provincial government.
"Reverend Socratez has confirmed that Papuans want the Forum to engage
with this issue again, which is the same message I received when I visited
the territory last year.
"New Zealand needs to live up to its role as a responsible Pacific
citizen, make a stand on this issue, and ensure that it is on this year's
Forum agenda," Mr Locke says.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20060830.H09&irec=8
Papua trials may continue without defendants
The trial of seven Papuans charged with the killing of two American
nationals and one Indonesian is likely to continue without the defendants
and their lawyers, after the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday
ruled against defendants' arguments that the case should be tried in
Papua.
"The change in the location of the trial (from Timika, Papua, to Jakarta)
is valid and therefore the Central Jakarta District Court is authorized to
try the case," presiding judge Andriani Nurdin said.
The seven Papuans continued to protest against being tried here. They
boycotted the trial session by coming to the courtroom but refusing the
judges' request that they sit in the defendants' seats. Failing to get
them into their proper seats, prosecutors asked the police to take the
defendants back to their cells.
As the prisoners began leaving the courtroom, dozens of Papuan supporters
(see picture) cried, "long live the Papuans!".
"We're not the perpetrators! We only have crossbows. We don't have guns!"
a protester cried.
The men are accused of killing the three Freeport mining company employees
near the company's controversial gold and copper mine in 2002. The trial
was adjourned until Sept. 4. (JP/Ary Hermawan)
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20060830.H07&irec=6
HIV/AIDS campaign criticized
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In a seminar Sunday on coordinating the fight against HIV/AIDS, professor
Hasbullah Thabrany from the University of Indonesia's Public Health School
posed some interesting, albeit rhetorical, questions.
"How many of you believe that HIV/AIDS is an important health issue in the
country? Or social issue? How many believe that we're coping with the
threat of HIV/AIDS?" asked the school's dean.
The questions sprang from the fact that despite the increasing rate of HIV
infections in the country, many citizens remain ignorant about the disease
and its cause.
The country has a National AIDS Commission, and there are many NGOs and
foundations dealing with HIV/AIDS, but experts said the national campaign
against the killer virus is not well coordinated.
The chairwoman of the National Family Planning Coordination Body (BKKBN),
Sumarjati Arjoso, said even trained medical staff were often ill-informed
about HIV/AIDS.
"They don't even know what HIV stands for. Even their reproductive health
knowledge is very limited. Once I asked somebody about the difference
between a woman who's already had sex, and a virgin. And she said a
virgin's vaginal opening is still completely shut. Then where on earth
does her period come from?" she said, looking troubled.
An official from the National AIDS Commission was reportedly fuming
because the seminar room, which was packed with her staff, fell silent
when she asked about the difference between HIV and AIDS. She later threw
a pop quiz for the employees.
Hasbullah said the current level of education, research and advocacy were
still far from sufficient to control the HIV infection rate.
He said despite the country's 50 medical schools, 50 public health schools
and more than 300 medical academies, the graduates they turn out have not
yet made a significant contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS.
"We need to have at least one course about HIV/AIDS in (medical)
university or academy because education on this matter is very important,"
Hasbullah said.
As of Sept. 30 last year, Indonesia's official statistics showed 4,065
people who were HIV positive and 4,186 people living with AIDS. Local and
international organizations, however, estimate that the real number of
people living with HIV/AIDS is between 90,000 and 250,000.
The easternmost province of Papua, with a population of only 2.5 million
(out of the country's total population of over 210
million), has reported at least 932 cases of AIDS. That puts the reported
case rate at 40 per 100,000 people, or 20 times higher than the national
average.
Antara reported Friday that more married women were living with AIDS in
Papua than were commercial sex workers, according to the local Commission
for HIV/AIDS Prevention.
"This warrants more attention from the government and the public alike,"
commission chairman Constan Karma said in Jayapura.
The commission's statistics show that as of March 31, the number of people
with HIV/AIDS had reached 2,199 throughout Papua, which has the nation's
highest infection rate.
The latest official data released in 2003 showed that 24 percent of those
with HIV/AIDS were homemakers and 3 percent were prostitutes.
Most of the people with HIV/AIDS were aged between 20 and 29.
The National AIDS Commission's secretary general, Nafsiah, urged more
action in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
"We've received many proposals to finance seminars, workshops, etc. I'd
say stop the seminars. Let's work more on programs that will improve
coverage and effectiveness in fighting HIV/AIDS," she said.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060829.G04
Papuan fishermen's relatives wait for news from PNG
National News - August 29, 2006
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
When seven-year-old Alif heard that his father, Arman, was among 17
Indonesian fishermen arrested by the Papua New Guinea authorities, he had
only one question: whether his father had been shot.
"He asked me that immediately when he heard the news," Maisa, the wife of
Syarifuddin who owns the Nurkhasanah, a boat which
Arman helps crew, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Arman was aboard one of four fishing boats apprehended by Papua New Guinea
Navy on Saturday night for allegedly illegally entering that country's
waters. The men are currently in police custody in Vanimo.
The incident was the second this month, after one fisherman was shot dead
and nine others were apprehended by the Papua New Guinea Navy on Aug. 8.
Two of the men were wounded in the incident.
The survivors have all been repatriated after being fined in a Papua New
Guinea court.
The latest incident is the second affecting the Dok V fishing village in
the city of Jayapura.
"We are still in shock (after the first incident) and when we heard news
of the latest arrest, we all wanted to know whether there had been another
shooting," Maisa said.
When the Post visited the village Monday, it was quiet with many fishermen
preferring to stay ashore with their families.
Relatives of the 17 arrested Saturday night gathered at Maisa's house.
Most of the fishermen aboard the Nurkhasanah are related to each other and
all originally from the Palopo region of South Sulawesi. In Jayapura, they
live close to each other in a long house, partitioned into several spaces
for each family.
"I hope the government will help to free (the detained men) soon," Maisa
said.
She said the fishing operation had taken out a Rp 10 million (US$1,086)
micro loan for gasoline, and a single trip out to sea normally cost around
Rp 3 million.
"On a good day, a single fishing trip can earn Rp 10 million but when
things go bad, the earnings are only enough to cover operational costs,"
she said.
As long as the men were detained, Maisa said, the community was losing
vital income, as its livelihood depended on fishing.
She said many fishermen were routinely caught after unintentionally
crossing the border. Most relied on a wall along the beach and lighthouse
at night to get their bearings and these landmarks were often hard to
locate in bad weather.
According to Amir, a fisherman who witnessed the interception of the
Nurkhasanah, the boat had weighed anchor but was later dragged into Papua
New Guinea waters by a strong current.
"The ship was finally apprehended not on the Papua New Guinea side but
within Indonesian waters, as the ship was chased from Papua New Guinea,"
Amir said.
More Indonesian Navy patrols were necessary in the area to help police the
border area and resolve disputes, he said.
"The patrols are only conducted along the coastline and not into the open
sea, so fishermen are left without a guard," said Riwal, a fisherman.
Clear, mutually recognized borders are needed so traditional fishermen
would know where they could legally go, he said.
"That's our hope. If there's no clear border lines, we can be arrested at
any time and fined," Riwal said.
---
http://www.smh.com.au/news/WORLD/PNG-arrests-Indonesian-fishermen/2006/08/29/1156816892185.html
PNG arrests Indonesian fishermen
August 29, 2006 - 5:24PM
Papua New Guinea has arrested another 17 Indonesians for illegal fishing,
three weeks after its soldiers shot dead an
Indonesian man suspected of poaching.
Naval officers arrested the 17 inside PNG waters on Saturday, amid
simmering tensions with Jakarta over the shooting.
Jakarta has accused its neighbour of using excessive force after PNG
Defence Force soldiers patrolling a common border fired
on 10 fishermen on August 8.
An Indonesian man was killed, and two others were wounded. The PNG
government has ordered a top-level inquiry into the
shooting.
In Australia, Free West Papua Movement spokesman Nick Chesterfield said
he'd received information from sources on the border
suggesting the men fired upon on August 8 were suspected Indonesian spies.
But the Indonesian embassy in Port Moresby has denied the men were on a
spying mission.
And the PNG government rejected suggestions the Indonesians were paying
PNG officials for information on independence
activists from the separatist Indonesian province of Papua.
The government said the suggestions came from individuals hoping to draw
attention to Papuans seeking refuge in Australia.
A PNG fisheries officer said the 17 Indonesians detained on Saturday were
caught 250km inside PNG waters.
More than 400kg of fish was found in refrigerators on their boats, he said.
The fishermen are in police custody in the northern PNG town of Vanimo,
near the Indonesian border, and expected to face
illegal fishing and immigration charges.
The two fishermen injured in the August 8 shooting, and the seven others
who were with them, pleaded guilty to illegally
entering PNG waters and were fined and returned to Indonesia.
© 2006 AAP
---
From: - :
30 Aug. 2006 Wed 10:43:31 am
Here's the report of what happened at the hearing of the Timika Case
yesterday, Tuesday, August 2006:
The hearing started at 12.50 pm. Six of the seven defendants were present.
Hardi Tsugumol was absent because of illness.
After the session began the
lead judge asked the defendants to sit in the defendants' chairs, but they
did not respond to
that request. Then the defendants' lawyers asked the
defendants to sit in the defendants' chairs; the defendants again did
not
respond to the request. The judge then considered the situation and ordered
the the defendants to return to detention.
The judge then read the Provisional Verdict which in conclusion rejected
all of the defendants’ objections raised by the
defense lawyers, and declared
that The District Court of Central Jakarta had the authority to try the case.
The judge then
made the decision to begin the Witness Testimony phase on
Tuesday, September 5th, 2006.
The trial will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays during the witness phase.
sp
---
Makassar, South Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - At least 50 Papua students
grouped in the Makassar Solidarity for Papua (SMup) staged a rally in
front of the South Sulawesi legislative council building here on Monday
to urge the government to close down PT Freeport gold mines in Papua.
The protesters also expressed their solidarity with their fellows who
suffered from alleged violence when they staged rallies respectively in
Abepura on March 16, 2006, and in Plaza Kuningan, Jakarta, recently.
The injured protesters were victims of security personnel who always
protected the interest of PT Freeport, a US gold and copper mining
company operating in Timika, Papua Province, they said.
They also regretted that the government had so far ignored the fate of
Papua people who had been affected by the impact of the gold mining
activities.
The protesters accused PT.Freeport of having damaged and contaminated
the Amugme Tribe`s sacred places, Yet Segel Ongop, Segel Grasberg hills
and Wagon Lake.
They urged the Papua Legislative Council to hold an extraordinary
session to call for the closure of PT Freeport.
Several local legislators from the Golkar Party and the Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS) received the protesters.
Marzuki, a legislator from Golkar, said that the he would pass on the
Papua students` demands to the President and the House of
Representatives (DPR).(*)
---
West Papuan protesters give the US the 'bottoms up' (Via indoleft)
Detik.com - August 28, 2006
Arfi Bambani Amri, Jakarta -- Around 50 people
from the West Papua Peoples United Struggle Front
(Pepera) demonstrated in front of the US Embassy on
Monday August 28 calling for the defendants in the
Timika shooting case to be unconditionally released.
The protesters said that the arrest of the seven
defendants who have been charged with the shooting
of two US citizens and an Indonesian national in
Timika in 2002 is a conspiracy designed to serve the
interests of the United States.
The seven defendants are Hardi Sugumol, Agustinus
Anggaibak, Yohanes Kasemol, Yulianus Deikme, Yairus
Kiwak, Reverend Isak Onawame and Antonius Wamang.
The case is currently being heard by the Central
Jakarta District Court.
"We suspect that the TNI [Indonesian military] was
behind the shooting and the Papuan people have been
made the victims in order to serve the interests of
the US and the TNI," said action coordinator Rinto.
The protesters, who wore white headbands with the
writing "Close Freeport" and "Freeport the Number 1
imperialist", also brought a number of posters with
messages such as "Release Reverend Isak Onawame
unconditionally", "Try the TNI", "Close Freeport",
and "The TNI are the masterminds of the shooting".
Before leaving the embassy at around 10.50am, the
protesters turned around, bent over, and stuck their
butts out at the embassy for some five minutes.
"Raise your bottoms high comrades, give America the
bottoms up. America is the Number One human rights
violator. America and Bush have pressured the
Indonesian government to uncover the killings at
Timika Mile 62-63", said Rinto. The government is
weak and is scapegoating the Papuan people he added,
"Once again give the bottoms up to the US", he
shouted.
The protester then moved off in the direction of the
State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara singing
Papuan songs accompanied by the strumming of
guitars.
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski
compiled from two articles posted on the Detik.com
news portal on August 28.]
****************************************************
The INDOLEFT news service is produced by the
Institute of Liberation, Media and Social Studies
(LPMIS) and Action in Solidarity with Asia and the
Pacific.
INDOLEFT News Service
Jl. Tebet Timur Dalam VIII No. 6A
Jakarta Selatan 12820
Indonesia
E-mail: jamesbalowski@yahoo.com
****************************************************
---
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