[Kabar-Irian] News: Sept 29- Oct 03 2006
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Sept 29-Oct 3 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS
TOPICS
* Third Gathering Of Coalition For West Papua
* Papuans demand release of defendant in Timika...
* HEAR US, FORUM LEADERS
* Australians 'relaxed and comfortable'
* Illegally logged timber from the rainforests of Papua
* Poll: Australians and Indonesians view each other with ignorance, suspicion
* Kamoro festival showcases art, culture
* Army 'saving' Papua from tribal warfare
* Army must be part of Papua solution, Indonesia says
* Army must be part of Papua solution, says Jakarta
* Papua Opens Doors for Donors
* More Papuans bound for Australia
* Papuan boatload not wanted: Vanstone
* Vanstone hopes Papuan boat is not coming
* Australia won't support Papuan independence movement: Vanstone
* Papuan asylum seekers bring political struggle to Australia
* Papuan dissident warns of refugee 'exodus' to Australia
---
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0610/S00001.htm
Third Gathering Of Coalition For West Papua
Monday, 2 October 2006, 9:45 am
Press Release: Australian Coalition of West Papua Support
Australian Coalition of West Papua Support Groups
The 3rd Annual National gathering for the Australian Coalition of West
Papua Support Groups affirmed the right of the people
of West Papua to Self-determination and decolonisation.
The gathering called on the Australian government to suspend Security
Treaty talks and military training with the Indonesian
military, and to request the United Nations' Special envoy on the
prevention of genocide to undertake its own investigation
of West Papua.
The gathering condemned the colonial abuse, exploitation and
state-sponsored crimes against humanity still being committed by
Indonesian forces and militia in West Papua.
The gathering also condemned the massive environmental destruction
resulting from the Indonesian Military's involvement in
illegal logging and the mining practices exemplified by the world's
largest mine Freeport McMoRan.
The gathering also called for:
The United Nations
to resume the decolonisation process for West Papua.
The Republic of Indonesia:
to halt the military build up in West Papua and remove all non organic
troops from the territory; to release all West Papuan
political prisoners and to halt all migration to West Papua and to assist
the creation of a "zone of peace.
The Pacific Islands Forum:
We call on the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Fiji in October to
grant observer status to West Papua as the forum
has to other Pacific colonies and East Timor; to seek support from the
Indonesian Government for a Forum fact finding
mission; and to assist in creating a framework for ongoing dialogue
between the West Papua leadership and the Indonesia
government.
For More Information Contact:
Neil. (08) 93281970 Australia West Papua Association-WA
Joe. Mb. 04077 857 97 AWPA (Sydney)
Andrew Johnson Mb: 04 3400 3131
---------------------------------------------------------
PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE
3RD NATIONAL GATHERING of
Australian Coalition of West Papua Support Groups
16-17 September 2006
---
=================^==================================
I N D O L E F T - News service > >
=================^==================================
Papuans demand release of defendant in Timika
shooting case
Detik.com - September 26, 2006
Ari Saputra, Jakarta -- Dozens of West Papuans
demonstrated in front of the State Palace in Central
Jakarta on Tuesday September 26 demanding that
Reverend Ishak Onawame, a defendant in the shooting
case near PT Freeport Indonesia be released.
The demonstrators, who came from the West Papua
Peoples Front for Struggle (FPRPB), arrived at the
State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara at around
10am. Not wasting any time, they immediately began
holding speeches.
"We call for him (Ishak) to be released. He is not
linked with the shooting incident four years ago in
Timika. Witnesses have said that the shooters were
people wearing camouflage uniforms", said FPRPB
chairperson Martin Cao.
The protesters brought two guitars to the
demonstration and accompanied by guitar music, they
sang local Papuan songs. They also brought a number
of large posters with the message "Release the
reverend who is not guilty. He only spread the word
of God". A red FPRPB flag measuring 3x2 metres was
also put up.
The action did not continue for long. After several
minutes of giving speeches they moved off to the
Central Jakarta District Court intending to attend
the court hearing into the shooting case.
The shooting took place in the area of PT Freeport
Indonesia at Tembagapura Mile 62-63 in Timika on
August 31, 2002. Two US citizens, Ricky Lynn Spier
and Edwin Leon Burgen, and their Indonesian
colleague FX Bambang Riwanto, were killed in the
incident. Seven people have been indicted over the
case, all of them West Papuans, one of which is
Reverend Ishak Onawame. (djo/sss)
[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.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=16823/overide
SkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl
Letters: HEAR US, FORUM LEADERS
The West Papuan people need all the support from the international
community they can get.
On behalf of the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA — Sydney), I am
writing to you concerning the issue of West Papua.
It was disappointing that concerns for the human rights situation in West
Papua were not mentioned in last year’s Pacific
Islands Forum communique, as it has been in previous years.
I congratulate the Forum on granting observer status to Tokelau, joining
New Caledonia, East Timor and French Polynesia.
The granting of observer status to West Papua is one of the issues we
would like to raise.
I understand that at the 2005 Forum, it was decided to adopt a policy
which “establishes a new category of associate
membership which governs the admission criteria and entitlements for
associate membership and observer status”.
We believe the time is now right for West Papua to be granted observer
status at the Forum.
We point out that the Melanesian people of West Papua have always been
considered part of the Pacific Community.
Netherlands New Guinea as West Papua was then known, was a member of the
South Pacific Commission (now known as the Pacific
Community) and Papuan leaders continued to participate in SPC meetings
until the Dutch ceded their authority to the United
Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in 1962.
Since last year’s Forum meeting, the human rights situation has continued
to deteriorate in West Papua.
West Papua people face great challenges including human rights abuses,
exploitation of their natural resources (with little
or no benefit to themselves), in danger of becoming a minority in their
own land and a possible HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The West Papuan people need all the support from the international
community they can get.
The Pacific Islands Forum can help the West Papuan people by:
* Granting observer status to West Papua. By granting observer status,
West Papuan representatives can dialogue with
Indonesian representatives at the ‘Post-Forum Dialogue’, to try and solve
the many problems in West Papua.
* Seeking support from the Indonesian government for a Forum fact
finding mission to West Papua to investigate the human
rights situation in the territory.
* Encourage the Indonesian government to release all political
prisoners as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan
people.
* Urge the Indonesian government to control its military and police in
the territory and to remove all non-organic
troops.
* Encourage the Indonesian government to dialogue with the West Papuan
leadership, to work towards peacefully solving the
many issues of concern in the territory.
* Urge the Australian government not to be involved in the training of
the Indonesian military and in particular, the
Indonesian special forces troops such as Kopassus.
AWPA believes that by their very nature, troops such as Kopassus will
always be used in conflict areas such as West Papua and
such training will only increase the danger to the West Papuan people.
We also urge the Forum to encourage the Australian government (as one of
the best resourced countries in the region) to
support the West Papuan people in the areas of health and education
programmes, and to support not only West Papua but all
Forum countries economically, by involving the people of these countries
in a guest worker scheme.
Such a scheme would be of enormous benefit to the people of the Forum
countries.
—Joe Collins
Secretary
Australia West Papua Association
Sydney
Australia
---
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20511452-5001028,00.html
Australians 'relaxed and comfortable'
October 02, 2006 12:00
Article from: AAP
DESPITE the increased focus on terrorism, rogue countries developing
nuclear weapons and the impacts of global warming,
Australians are confident and relaxed about world events, a national poll
has found.
The poll by the Lowy Institute for International Policy has found 86 per
cent of Australians feel safe or very safe with what
is happening around the globe.
It has said that in order of rank, the top critical threats to Australia
are international terrorism, the possibility of
unfriendly countries becoming nuclear powers, global warming, Islamic
fundamentalism and AIDS and other deadly epidemics.
The war in Iraq has done nothing to lessen the terror threat, according to
84 per cent of people surveyed by the poll, while
67 per cent disagree that it will lead to the spread of democracy in the
Middle East.
Nearly all, 91 per cent, think the war has worsened American relations
with the Muslim world.
But the poll has found Australians remain relaxed and comfortable in the
face of this pessimism.
"This may be an era of terrorism but Australians generally feel safe or
very safe," the institute's executive director Allan
Gyngell has said.
The poll includes similar questions asked in the institute's preceding
poll from 2005, which canvassed Australian views
towards other countries.
"Our relationship with the United States is more complex than other
relations with other countries and we see it as important
to our security but we also seem to resent its influence," Mr Gyngell said.
More than two-thirds of people have said the US has too much influence on
Australian and foreign policy and 79 per cent have
said the US is playing the role of "world policeman" more than it should be.
But China poses little threat to Australia.
Only 25 per cent of people have ranked "the development of China as a
world power" as a possible threat, ranked it last in a
list of 13 threats to Australia in the next 10 years.
Australia's relationship with Indonesia has a "mixture of ignorance and
suspicion" Mr Gyngell has said, since most
Australians know about Indonesia only through the media.
After a poll which canvassed both Australian and Indonesian attitudes,
only 50 per cent of respondents from both countries
said they felt warmly towards their close neighbour.
Nearly half of Australians said relations were worsening, even though the
Federal Government is considered to have improved
relations.
"Although Indonesia has been a successful democracy since 1998, most
Australians think Indonesia is controlled by the
military," Mr Gyngell said.
Indonesians have said Australia has a tendency to interfere in their
country's politics, as borne out in its perceived
support for the separatist movement in the Indonesian province of Papua.
The majority have said Australia wants to claim Papua as its own country.
But 77 per cent of Australians and 64 per cent of Indonesians have said
both countries should work together to develop a
closer relationship.
On climate change, the poll has found just over two-thirds of Australians
are willing to take steps to address global
warming, even if it results in significant costs to do so.
---
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/forests/media/pressrelease.cfm?ucidparam=20060929122642&CFID=5839930&CFTOKEN=89461401
Illegally logged timber from the rainforests of Papua New Guinea is being
used during renovation work at the Houses of
Parliament.
Greenpeace investigators have found the timber, in the form of at least
two tonnes of plywood, in the £5million restructuring
of the Press Area. The rainforest wood is protecting floors, stairs and
walls while work is being carried out.[1]
And this is the fourth time in as many years that Greenpeace has revealed
that the Government is using illegal and
unsustainable timber.[2]
As recently as July, Greenpeace exposed the use of the same rainforest
plywood at Admiralty Arch, the home of the Cabinet
Office. Although the Government initially said they had proof that the
timber was from 'legal and sustainable' sources, a
subsequent internal investigation sent to Greenpeace makes it clear that
this was not the case.[3]
The magnificent forests of Papua New Guinea form part of the few remaining
significant ancient forests on earth. They are
home to many unique species of plants and animals such as the tree
kangaroo and the world's largest butterfly, as well as
indigenous communities that depend on the forest for their livelihood. But
so-called 'robber barons' are plundering the
rainforest with impunity, their crimes ranging from illegal logging to
corruption, torture and rape. A recent report funded
by the UK Government on logging in PNG found that illegality,
environmental destruction and corruption were rife. But this
remains the place where Blair is getting his timber.
Belinda Fletcher, Greenpeace forests campaigner, said: "It's a disgrace
that Parliament is awash with tropical plywood ripped
from the world's last rainforests. While Tony Blair is busy worrying about
his legacy, the world's last rainforests are being
bulldozed for cheap throwaway products like plywood.
"If the Government is serious about ending its role in rainforest
destruction, the UK must sort out its shambolic timber
policy by ensuring that only Forest Stewardship Council certified timber
is used in public building projects, and by
introducing a ban on the import of illegal timber. This is the only way to
stop this destructive trade."
Central government procurement accounts for approximately 20 per cent of
all the timber used in the UK, while the broader
public sector accounts for as much as 40 per cent.[4] In 2001 Tony Blair
promised that the Government would only purchase
legal and sustainable timber. However, a combination of weak guidelines
and failed implementation has meant that the policy
is failing, as the illegal plywood found at the Houses of Parliament and
Admiralty Arch shows.
For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
Video and stills available, including clip reel of Papua New Guinea
rainforest destruction, previous Greenpeace protests over
government timber procurement and the plywood used in the House of Commons.
Notes for editors:
[1] Greenpeace tested two lots of tropical hardwood faced plywood being
used at the Houses of Parliament, which have been
confirmed as the species bintangor, sourced almost exclusively from the
rainforests of PNG. Chinese mills producing the
plywood found on site have confirmed to Greenpeace that the veneers used
are sourced from Papua New Guinea.
[2] Previous Greenpeace exposes of Government timber scandals include:
* in April 2002 Greenpeace occupied the Cabinet Office at 22 Whitehall
following an undercover investigation that
revealed the Government was installing new doors and windows made from
Sapele, sourced from companies known to be logging
illegally in the rainforests of Cameroon;
* in June 2003 Greenpeace occupied the new Home Office headquarters at
2 Marsham Street in Westminster after finding
plywood from Indonesia's last rainforests, supplied by companies notorious
for illegal logging, corruption and human rights
abuses;
* in July 2006 Greenpeace occupied the roof of Admiralty Arch, the
home of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, in
Westminster after finding plywood illegal logged from the rainforests of
Papua New Guinea being used as hoardings around the
site.
[3] Key findings of the Cabinet Office internal investigation include:
* bintangor faced plywood, manufactured in China, was used at
Admiralty Arch;
* recognition of "the strength of the supporting information provided
by Greenpeace";
* documentation supplied by timber companies was unsatisfactory proof
of compliance with Government policy;
* the need for 'legal and sustainable timber' was not passed down the
supply chain;
* there was insufficient comprehension of timber procurement and how
to audit it effectively.
[4] Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons (18th January 2006),
Sustainable Timber
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20061002123409&irec=0
Poll: Australians and Indonesians view each other with ignorance, suspicion
SYDNEY, Australia (AP): Most Australians and Indonesians cannot name the
leader of the other country, but both agree the two
countries should work to forge closer ties, according to a survey
published Monday.
The poll, published by the independent think-tank Lowy Institute for
International Policy, asked more than 2,200 Australians
and Indonesians to rate their knowledge and opinion of the other country.
Sixty-three percent of Australians could not name Indonesia's President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, while 73 percent of
Indonesians could not remember the name of Australia's Prime Minister John
Howard.
Although 77 percent of Australians and 64 percent of Indonesians agreed
with the statement that both countries should "work
to develop a close relationship," the survey also uncovered differences in
perceptions about the bilateral relationship.
Respondents were asked to rate a series of statements on a scale of 1 to
10, where 1 means "strongly disagree" and 10 means
"strongly agree."
Asked whether Indonesia was a "dangerous source of Islamic terrorism,"
most Australians agreed, with an average response of
6.5. Most Indonesians disagreed, with an average response of 3.8.
On the question of whether Australia "is right to worry about Indonesia as
a military threat," most Australian respondents
agreed, with an average response of 6.2. Indonesians were less certain,
however, with an average response of 5.
"While there is a degree of recognition that we need to work together,
there is a degree of mistrust, suspicion on both
sides," said Ivan Cook, the author of the study.
The institute's executive director, Allan Gyngell, said the survey
indicated "high levels of ignorance and suspicion" between
the two countries.
The poll of 1,007 Australians and 1,200 Indonesians was conducted between
June 22 and July 6, by random telephone sample in
Australia and face-to-face interviews in Indonesia.
It had a margin of error of 3.1 percent in Australia and 2.8 percent in
Indonesia. (***)
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20061001.@02
Kamoro festival showcases art, culture
Features - October 01, 2006
Papua's Kamoro tribe celebrated its art and culture with the opening of a
two-day festival Saturday by installing a Mbitoro,
akin to a totem pole (see photo), to praise their ancestors in Mimika
regency.
The festival, held since 1998, showcases dance and music performances,
traditional cooking demonstrations, as well as tribal
artisans at work making the tribe's popular carvings and woven cloth and
bags.
An auction of some 150 Kamoro carvings is to be the highlight of the
festival, which is aimed at preserving the Kamoro's
cultural heritage while also serving as a forum to generate income for
craftsmen and women weavers.
The chairman of the festival's organizing committee, celebrated
photographer and ethnologist Kal Muller, said the festival
was intended to introduce the arts and culture of the Kamoro to a wider
audience.
The Kamoro, one of dozens of tribal groups in Papua, consists of about
18,000 members living in the southwest coastal area of
Mimika regency.
Mining company PT Freeport Indonesia director August Kafiar said the
annual festival, the opening of which was also attended
by several ambassadors, would boost the Kamoro people's pride and identity
while developing their arts and culture.
"I hope Kamoro's carvers, dancers and artists will continue to come up
with new works that have a commercial value for the
outside world. The Kamoro festival itself is becoming known for the unique
carvings it displays," he said. -- JP/Markus Makur
---
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Army-saving-Papua-from-tribal-warfare/2006/10/02/1159641261109.html
Army 'saving' Papua from tribal warfare
October 2, 2006 - 7:59PM
The military presence in Indonesia's troubled region of Papua was
necessary to prevent a slide into tribal warfare, Jakarta's
defence minister said, amid allegations the army has abused indigenous
Papuans.
Papua, a region comprising two provinces on the west half of New Guinea
island, has long been under the scrutiny of Western
groups critical of how Indonesia treats the ethnically distinct area.
Soldiers were behind the killing of a Papuan independence leader in 2001
and some indigenous activists campaigning for a
split from Indonesia have recently accused the army of genocide.
"In regards to human rights violations, I think it is an old story. The
media circus, particularly the satellite television,
tends to recycle these images about past events," Indonesian Defence
Minister Juwono Sudarsono told Reuters in an interview.
After human rights abuses against indigenous Papuans under the autocratic
rule of former president Suharto were unearthed,
the Indonesian government issued a law in 2001 giving Papua a bigger share
of revenue from its rich mineral and natural
resources and more freedom in running its own affairs.
However, some foreign groups, especially those based in Australia, have
said the measures were not enough, and have
intensified their campaign against the Indonesian military presence in Papua.
Sudarsono, formerly a respected politics professor, said human rights
groups had failed to recognise the positive role the
military played in maintaining stability in Papua.
The army have "the understanding about the anthropology and sociology of
these cultures. They have worked very carefully with
the views from within rather than imposing the view from outside in," he
said.
"They must be there simply to prevent the outburst of subtribal warfare.
This is what human rights groups in Australia,
Europe and the United States do not want to understand," he said.
Papua, with a population of two million,has around 300 indigenous tribes,
some still living in virtually Stone Age
conditions, with different sets of languages and traditions.
Tribal wars using bows and arrows killed at least three people last month,
triggering a deployment of troops to the affected
areas. Some reports said Indonesia would increase its military presence in
Papua because of those events.
However, Sudarsono dismissed the idea of new troops beefing up the 12,000
already in the region, saying there were no funds
for that and there had only been regular rotation of forces.
Indonesia took over Papua in 1969 under a vote by community leaders backed
by the United Nations, but many rights groups
consider that UN process was a sham.
© 2006 Reuters
---
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1753928.htm
Last Update: Monday, October 2, 2006. 10:26pm (AEST)
Army must be part of Papua solution, Indonesia says
Indonesia's Defence Minister has defended the military's presence in Papua
as necessary to prevent a slide into tribal
warfare, amid allegations the army has abused indigenous Papuans.
Papua, a region comprising two provinces on the west half of New Guinea
island, has long been under the scrutiny of Western
groups critical of how Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim
country, treats the predominantly Christian and ethnically
distinct area.
Soldiers were behind the killing of a Papuan independence leader in 2001,
and some indigenous activists campaigning for a
split from Indonesia have recently accused the army of genocide - charges
Indonesia denies.
Indonesian Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has told Reuters in an
interview that the issue of human rights violations is
"an old story".
"The media circus, particulary the satellite television, tends to recycle
these images about past events," he said.
After human rights abuses against indigenous Papuans under President
Suharto were unearthed, the Indonesian Government in
2001 issued a law giving Papua a bigger share of revenue from its rich
mineral and natural resources and more freedom in
running its own affairs.
But some foreign groups, especially those based in Australia, have said
the measures are not enough, and have increased their
campaign against the Indonesian military presence in Papua.
Mr Sudarsono, a respected politics professor and former ambassador to the
United Kingdom, says human rights groups have
failed to recognise the positive role the military plays in maintaining
stability in Papua.
He says the army understands "the anthropology and sociology of these
cultures".
"They have worked very carefully with the views from within rather than
imposing the view from outside in," he said.
"They must be there simply to prevent the outburst of subtribal warfare.
"This is what human rights groups in Australia, Europe and the United
States do not want to understand."
Papua, with a population of two million occupying a land area almost as
large as Iraq, has around 300 indigenous tribes, with
different sets of languages and traditions.
Tribal wars with bows and arrows killed at least three people last month,
triggering a deployment of troops to the affected
areas.
Some reports said Indonesia would increase its military presence in Papua
due to those events.
But Mr Sudarsono has dismissed the idea of new troops beefing up the
12,000 already in the region, saying there are no funds
for that and there has only been regular rotation of forces.
Indonesia took over the area in 1969 under a vote by community leaders
backed by the United Nations.
- Reuters
---
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK34070.htm
INTERVIEW-Army must be part of Papua solution, says Jakarta
02 Oct 2006 09:27:57 GMT
Source: Reuters
JAKARTA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The military presence in Indonesia's troubled
region of Papua is necessary to prevent a slide
into tribal warfare, Jakarta's defence minister said on Monday amid
allegations the army abused indigenous Papuans.
Papua, a region comprising two provinces on the west half of New Guinea
island, has long been under the scrutiny of Western
groups critical of how Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim
country, treats the predominantly Christian and ethnically
distinct area.
Soldiers were behind the killing of a Papuan independence leader in 2001
and some indigenous activists campaigning for a
split from Indonesia have recently accused the army of genocide, charges
Indonesia denies.
"In regards to human rights violations, I think it is an old story. The
media circus, particulary the satellite television,
tends to recycle these images about past events," Indonesian Defence
Minister Juwono Sudarsono told Reuters in an interview.
After human rights abuses against indigenous Papuans under the autocratic
rule of President Suharto were unearthed, the
Indonesian government in 2001 issued a law giving Papua a bigger share of
revenue from its rich mineral and natural resources
and more freedom in running its own affairs. Suharto left office in 1998.
However, some foreign groups, especially those based in Australia, have
said the measures were not enough and increased their
campaign against the Indonesian military presence in Papua.
Sudarsono, a respected politics professor, said human rights groups had
failed to recognise the positive role the military
played in maintaining stability in Papua.
The army have "the understanding about the anthropology and sociology of
these cultures. They have worked very carefully with
the views from within rather than imposing the view from outside in," said
Sudarsono, who was a former ambassador to the
United Kingdom.
"They must be there simply to prevent the outburst of subtribal warfare.
This is what human rights groups in Australia,
Europe and the United States do not want to understand," he said.
Papua, with a population of two million occupying a land area almost as
large as Iraq, has around 300 indigenous tribes, some
still living in virtually Stone Age conditions, with different sets of
languages and traditions.
Tribal wars using bows and arrows killed at least three people last month,
triggering a deployment of troops to the affected
areas. Some reports said Indonesia would increase its military presence in
Papua due to those events.
However, Sudarsono dismissed the idea of new troops beefing up the 12,000
already in the region, saying there were no funds
for that and there has only been regular rotation of forces.
Jakarta took over the area in 1969 under a vote by community leaders
backed by the United Nations. Many rights groups
consider that U.N. process a sham.
---
Australian Financial Review
Friday, September 29, 2006
Papua Opens Doors for Donors
Morgan Mellish Jayapura
A group of 40 international donor organisations, including the
Australian government and the World Bank, flew to the troubled
Indonesian province of Papua this week to meet recently elected
governor Barnabas Suebu.
At the end of a day-long meeting outlining his vision, Mr Suebu had
one simple message for the diplomats and aid workers: "If you have
any trouble getting a permit from the Indonesian government to enter
Papua, then come and see me." To reinforce this message, he put
the phone numbers of his aides up on the screen.
"If we want to build toll roads, airports and container facilities,
they are very expensive," Mr Suebu said after the meeting. "That is
why we require donors and they are welcome.
"This is the first time we've held a meeting like this and they [the
donors] are very enthusiastic."
Indonesia's easternmost province - which has huge natural resources
but is still one of the country's poorest - has in effect been a no-go
area for most Western organisations due to a low-level but politically
sensitive separatist campaign that has simmered for more than 30
years.
Because of this, the Indonesian government, which has ruled the former
Dutch colony with an iron fist, has been reluctant to grant access to
Western organisations, including media, fearing they would encourage
independence sentiments.
"Donors have been staying away from Papua for two reasons," said the
head of the World Bank in Indonesia, Andrew Steer. "One, operating
here is difficult and projects have a much lower rate of return [than
elsewhere in Indonesia]. Two, for political reasons it's been a little
more tricky for them to engage."
This is particularly so for the Australian government and Australian
non-governmental organisations, which Jakarta has long suspected of
supporting independence for Papua.
These tensions only grew earlier this year after Canberra granted
asylum to a group of 42 Papuan refugees who claimed there were
widespread human rights abuses.
As one Western diplomat put it: "You'll never hear Jakarta admit it,
but most diplomats have been banned from Papua for years."
At the moment, the United Nations has a small presence here and there
are Catholic missionaries. All foreigners wanting to enter the
province must apply to the Indonesian government for a travel permit
known as a surat jalan. It took The Australian Financial Review, for
example, six months to get one. Even then, movements are strictly
limited.
Mr Steer said that under new special autonomy laws aimed at quelling
the independence movement, the Indonesian government had vastly
increased revenue payments to Papua in recent years and it needed
advice rather than money, which donor organisations would be happy to
provide.
KEY POINTS
* Papua has in effect been a no-go area due to a separatist campaign.
* Because of the difficulties, donors have been staying away.
* Most diplomats have been banned.
---
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20516449-2702,00.html
More Papuans bound for Australia
AAP
October 03, 2006
ANOTHER group of Papuan asylum seekers will soon try to reach Australia, a
leading Papuan dissident says.
The statement from Edison Warom comes nearly 10 months after 43 Papuan
asylum seekers arrived in Australia by boat.
The asylum seekers were given temporary protection visas and all have
since been granted refugee status.
The decision to grant the visas rocked relations between Australia and
Indonesia, which considers Papua one of its
territories.
Indonesia withdrew its ambassador from Australia in March but he has since
returned.
"I can say that there will be more people leaving but I can't confirm what
day and what time," Mr Warom told ABC Radio
through an interpreter.
"Because, if I say, then Jakarta will surely monitor the southern waters
... but I will say there will be an exodus."
Mr Warom said those who had made it to Australia in January had been
carefully vetted over three years so their chances of
gaining a temporary protection visa were high.
---
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,20516254-1702,00.html?from=public_rss
Papuan boatload not wanted: Vanstone
October 03, 2006 09:00am
Article from: AAP
IMMIGRATION Minister Amanda Vanstone says she hopes another boatload of
refugees from Papua is not heading to Australia.
Her comments come as a Papuan dissident today said he was organising a
second group of Papuans to follow the lead of 43
others who were granted temporary protection by Australia after landing on
the mainland in January.
"I would hope that there isn't another boatload for a number of reasons,
it is the least safe way to seek asylum in
Australia,'' Senator Vanstone told ABC Radio.
A diplomatic rift opened between Australia and Indonesia after the 43
protection visas were issued earlier this year.
Jakarta considers Papua one of its provinces despite significant moves
from some Papuans to split from Indonesia.
Senator Vanstone said she expected strong cooperation from Indonesia if
any fresh refugees tried to reach Australia from
Papua.
"We have very close cooperation with the Indonesians,'' she said.
"I'm very grateful and I think if I could tell you all about it,
Australians would be very grateful for the cooperation we
get from Indonesia.''
The unlawful movement of people, Senator Vanstone said, was a regional
issue and one every nation had a stake in.
---
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Vanstone-hopes-Papuan-boat-is-not-coming/2006/10/03/1159641294431.html
Vanstone hopes Papuan boat is not coming
October 3, 2006 - 8:34AM
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says she hopes another reported
boatload of refugees from Papua is not heading to
Australia.
Her comments come as a Papuan dissident said he was organising a second
group of Papuans to follow the lead of 43 others who
were granted temporary protection by Australia after landing on the
mainland in January.
"I would hope that there isn't another boatload for a number of reasons,
it is the least safe way to seek asylum in
Australia," Senator Vanstone told ABC Radio.
A diplomatic rift opened between Australia and Indonesia after the 43
protection visas were issued earlier this year. Jakarta
considers Papua one of its provinces despite significant moves from some
Papuans to split from Indonesia.
Senator Vanstone said she expected strong cooperation from Indonesia if
any fresh refugees tried to reach Australia from
Papua.
"We have very close cooperation with the Indonesians," she said.
"I'm very grateful and I think if I could tell you all about it,
Australians would be very grateful for the cooperation we
get from Indonesia."
The unlawful movement of people, Senator Vanstone said, was a regional
issue and one every nation had a stake in.
© 2006 AAP
---
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1754141.htm
Australia won't support Papuan independence movement: Vanstone
AM - Tuesday, 3 October , 2006 08:04:00
Reporter: Tony Eastley
TONY EASTLEY: Only last week the Minister for Immigration Senator Amanda
Vanstone met Chinese immigration officials to discuss border security in
the Asia-Pacific region, so it's a subject dear to her heart.
Amanda Vanstone joins us now.
Good morning, Minister.
AMANDA VANSTONE: Good morning.
TONY EASTLEY: We heard Edison Waromi, the President of the West Papua
National Authority tells our correspondent that he wants to send more
people to Australia. Has Australia received any intelligence to that end?
AMANDA VANSTONE: Well, nobody who gets access to any intelligence
discusses it on air, but I do find this story a little bit depressing,
even though it was one that we would expect, because we said at the time
that this was an organised arrangement, and not, as you rightly say in the
introduction to the program, a spontaneous flight.
It was an organised arrangement, and it was clearly done to give the
opportunity for people in Australia to form a base for protesting the
civil issues in Indonesian West Papua.
Now, we don't support a separate Indonesian West Papua and I don't think
Australians want civil unrest on their northern borders. So the fact that
this has given some people some hope is in fact, I think, a pretty
depressing outcome.
TONY EASTLEY: But what's been arranged between Australian and Indonesia
since those last arrivals, the 43, which can head off further potential
diplomatic stoushes between Australia and Indonesia? And have you received
any information to suggest this is happening?
AMANDA VANSTONE: Well, if you want to talk about what you refer to as
diplomatic stoushes, I think you need to talk to Mr Downer. But from my
part in the immigration portfolio, we have very close cooperation with the
Indonesians.
I'm very grateful, and I think if I could tell you all about it,
Australians would be very grateful for the cooperation we get from
Indonesia. Their minister, Mr Awaluddin, is a very competent man…
TONY EASTLEY: Are you confident, though, he'll tell you that more Papuans
may be on their way to Australia?
AMANDA VANSTONE: Look, the first loyalty of any minister is to their own
nation, and that's just as true of Indonesian ministers as it is with
Australian ministers.
But I can say this: that we do understand that the unlawful movement of
people is a regional issue, and we cooperate on it between ourselves, and
with other countries in the region.
TONY EASTLEY: But are you confident, Amanda Vanstone, that if there is
another boatload of Papuans being arranged to come to Australia, you'll
know about it first?
AMANDA VANSTONE: Look, I don't think you can ever be sure of that sort of
thing. I would hope that there isn't another boatload, for a number of
reasons. It is the least safe way to seek asylum in Australia.
I did hear last night on another program on the ABC someone saying we
tried to pass a bill to send all asylum seekers to Nauru. That's not
correct.
We sought to pass a bill through Parliament to send all unauthorised boat
arrivals to Nauru. It is the least safe way for people to come to
Australia and seek asylum.
TONY EASTLEY: Minister for Immigration, Senator Amanda Vanstone, thanks
for joining us this morning.
---
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1754140.htm
Papuan asylum seekers bring political struggle to Australia
AM - Tuesday, 3 October , 2006 08:00:00
Reporter: Geoff Thompson
TONY EASTLEY: A pro independence Papuan leader who helped get 43 of his
people to Australia, where they were granted temporary asylum, has told AM
that preparations are being made for what he calls another "exodus".
Edison Waromi is the President of the West Papua National Authority, which
was set up to try and unite the different pro-independence groups within
the Indonesian province.
He told our Indonesia Correspondent Geoff Thompson that the asylum
seekers' journey to Australia was planned to bring attention to Papua's
independence struggle.
(Sound of drums, singing)
GEOFF THOMPSON: On the edge of Jayapura, a celebration of the Papua
Indonesia does not want you to see. A few years ago, a secret little
gathering like this would be an occasion to raise the morning star flag of
Papua's independence movement. Now a small separatist gesture is all that
is there, but there is a new hope here.
(Willy Mandowen speaking)
"Forty two Papuans have been accepted by Australia as our neighbour," says
the Papuan Customary Council's spokesman Willy Mandowen.
"It's the first time in history. What's going on? It's a sign of God's
blessing," he says, "that the Papuan's struggle in his plan."
Australia's granting of temporary protection visas to 42 Papuans was part
of a plan. But rather than being a spontaneous flight from Papua's
conflicted shores, the asylum bid was organised over three years and each
of the asylum seekers was carefully selected based on the likelihood of
their qualifying for protection because of family histories of involvement
in the independence movement.
(Sound of Edison Waromi speaking)
"This is a very encouraging for the Papuan people who are being pursued
and intimidated," says the West Papua National Authority's President
Edison Waromi.
"They can just go together to the kangaroo continent, until Papua's
problem, independent Papua's political status, can be resolved fairly and
peacefully," he says.
"Australia has a constitution that can guarantee asylum seekers so we need
to direct our struggle," he says. "And when West Papua gains its
independence in the future, Australia will be our closest neighbour."
Edison Waromi also claims that another asylum bid, what he calls an
exodus, is being prepared.
(Sound of Edison Waromi speaking)
"I can say that there will be more people leaving but I can't confirm what
day and what time," he says, "because if I say then Jakarta will surely
monitor the southern waters and borders of Jayapura. But I will say there
will be an exodus."
Edison Waromi offered no evidence to suggest that such an exodus was
imminent.
>From Jayapura this is Geoff Thompson reporting for AM.
---
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/03/asia/AS_GEN_Australia_Indonesia_Papua.php
Papuan dissident warns of refugee 'exodus' to Australia
The Associated Press
Published: October 2, 2006
SYDNEY, Australia A dissident from Indonesia's restive Papua province on
Tuesday predicted that an "exodus" of asylum seekers would flee to nearby
Australia in the coming weeks.
Edison Warom's comments came nearly 10 months after 43 Papuan asylum
seekers landed on Australia's northern coast, sparking a diplomatic rift
between Jakarta and Canberra.
"I can say that there will be more people leaving, but I can't confirm
what day and what time," Warom told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Radio through an interpreter.
"Because, if I say, then Jakarta will surely monitor the southern waters
... but I will say there will be an exodus," Warom said. It was not clear
whether he was speaking from Australia or Indonesia.
Indonesia temporarily withdrew its ambassador from Australia in protest
earlier this year after Canberra accepted the 43 Papuans, including
supporters of the province's secessionist movement, as refugees.
Australia's Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone criticized Warom for
encouraging people to flee Papua by boat, and sought to reassure Indonesia
that Canberra did not support independence for the troubled province, also
known as West Papua.
"We don't believe in a separate Indonesian West Papua," she told Macquarie
Radio on Tuesday. "Why on earth people would want to promote unrest in
West Papua? I for the life of me don't know, let alone promote people
getting on shaky boats and risking their lives. I think it's just crazy."
SYDNEY, Australia A dissident from Indonesia's restive Papua province on
Tuesday predicted that an "exodus" of asylum seekers would flee to nearby
Australia in the coming weeks.
Edison Warom's comments came nearly 10 months after 43 Papuan asylum
seekers landed on Australia's northern coast, sparking a diplomatic rift
between Jakarta and Canberra.
"I can say that there will be more people leaving, but I can't confirm
what day and what time," Warom told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Radio through an interpreter.
"Because, if I say, then Jakarta will surely monitor the southern waters
... but I will say there will be an exodus," Warom said. It was not clear
whether he was speaking from Australia or Indonesia.
Indonesia temporarily withdrew its ambassador from Australia in protest
earlier this year after Canberra accepted the 43 Papuans, including
supporters of the province's secessionist movement, as refugees.
Australia's Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone criticized Warom for
encouraging people to flee Papua by boat, and sought to reassure Indonesia
that Canberra did not support independence for the troubled province, also
known as West Papua.
"We don't believe in a separate Indonesian West Papua," she told Macquarie
Radio on Tuesday. "Why on earth people would want to promote unrest in
West Papua? I for the life of me don't know, let alone promote people
getting on shaky boats and risking their lives. I think it's just crazy."
---
============================================================================
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