[Kabar-Irian] News: April 17-18 2007
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KABAR IRIAN NEWS
March Apr 17-18
TOPICS
* Mining giant board members a no-show
* West Papua Looks to East Timor
* Human rights group says New Zealanders help destroy Papua’s precious...
* Freeport optimistic about Grasberg labour meeting
* Tight markets lift commodities
* Rally may disrupt copper mine work
* Copper Rises for Third Day in London on Grasberg Strike Threat
* Metals - Copper rallies as industrial action at Grasberg mine confirmed
* Metals - Copper softens on profit-taking as tin hits 18-yr high
* Greed, vanity leads to horror stories for wildlife
* China's demand for timber is destroying forest in Indonesia, PNG
* Six murderers of Freeport employees appeal to Supreme Court
* NO SUCH "CHRISTIAN SHARIA"
* Strike demo at Freeport
----
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070417.G07&irec=6
Mining giant board members a no-show
Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika
Gold and mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia failed to attend a meeting
Monday regarding their native
employees' welfare needs in Timika, Mimika regency, Papua.
But Freeport's government relations manager Jhoni Lingga said Freeport
boardmembers failed to attend
the meeting with Tongoi Papua because they were busy preparing for a
meeting on Tuesday with the
same group.
Tongoi Papua is an informal organization that facilitates communication
between companies and native
Papuan employees.
While some representatives from Freeport attended the Monday meeting, the
invited boardmembers were
a no-show, a local councilor said.
Freeport spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan said Tongoi Papua had already
conveyed to management the
employees' requests and that these were currently being evaluated.
The meeting Freeport boardmembers failed to attend Monday was sponsored by
members of Mimika's
local legislative council.
But legislator Stefanus Rahangiar said Freeport management paid no
attention to the council's invitation to
help find a solution to the employees' needs.
"The demand for a salary increase raised by Tongoi Papua is being
discussed with the labor union at
Freeport," Rahangiar said.
"A threat from Tongoi Papua that employees will go on strike (has been put
in writing) to management as
well," he said.
Chairman of the local council, Yoseph Yopi Kilangin, said Freeport was not
serious about their native
employees' wants or needs because they had for 40 days made no response to
Tongoi Papua.
"The fact is that Freeport management sent only its representatives to the
(council-sponsored meeting),"
Kilangin said.
"(When there is an) internal problem, the company's (upper) management
should settle it as soon as
possible."
---
http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-4-17/54216.html
West Papua Looks to East Timor
By Linda Haywood
Special to The Epoch Times
Apr 17, 2007
Indigenous resistance continues to build in West Papua amidst growing
discontent with Indonesian
authorities. (Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images)
On April 9, East Timor went to the polls in the first round of
presidential elections that the country has held
since independence from Indonesia in 2002. In the whirl of publicity that
has been afforded to this newly
liberated nation, and Australia's role in its transition, parallels have
been drawn with the situation in the
Indonesian province of Aceh, but little has been said of the relatively
unknown Special Autonomous
Region of West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya.
Benny Wenda of the Free West Papua campaign, in the UK, says West Papuans
are increasingly
looking towards the East Timor example.
"The East Timor liberation struggle has shown West Papua the way.
Indigenous resistance from within,
international pressure from outside. We Papuans wish we had the same
democratic freedoms to freely
elect our leader!
"Anyone who stands for election in Indonesia's 'new democracy', whether
for a local regent or for
governor, has to swear an oath that they support the 'territorial
integrity of the Unitary Republic of
Indonesia'. As an independence leader, I somehow don't think they would
allow me to stand for governor!"
Wr Wenda said.
Numbering 1.5 million, the fragile native population is swamped by the
military presence of 20,000 TNI
troops and the state policy of migration to Papua that has swelled the
island community with over a million
non-Papuans. According to Jim Elmslie of the Centre for Peace and Conflict
Studies, the University of
Sydney, Papuans will be a minority in their own country by 2011.
Around 250 indigenous Melanesian tribes exist precariously in West Papua
along with around 350 unique
languages. Rumours abound of tribes untouched by foreigners.
The Dani are the best known West Papuan tribe, famed for traditionally
wearing penis gourds. Recent
coverage on Australian network TV exaggerated the cannibalistic rituals of
some tribes – which are, in
fact, safely in the past. A greater threat looms from elsewhere. HIV,
falling birth rates and violent military
action threaten to obliterate these racially distinct and culturally
unique peoples.
Vanuaka (or Papua New Guinea) has been independent since 1980, following
rule under Australia.
However, its western neighbour has never seen freedom owing to a
US-brokered deal between the Dutch
and the Indonesian Government.
Despite never having achieved self-governance, West Papuan patriots
celebrate December 1, 1961 as
the day that the Dutch Government recognised their national symbols. On
the anniversary each year, they
raise the Morning Flag and sing songs. The flag raising ceremonies were
legalised briefly in 2000, but this
was rescinded by the military after participants were accused of
separatism. Pro-independence violence
is, however, generally low in intensity, with most activists opting for
non-violent protest led by the Church.
Although the Government of Indonesia has been more sympathetic to the
Papuan cause in recent years,
the army has a strong nationalist attachment to the territory. Until
recently, Tentara Nasional Indonesia
was two thirds self-funding and relatively independent from Jakarta's
control. A culture of impunity exists
that gives the military carte blanche to enforce what it calls "national
unity".
Nearly all of the reports of human rights abuses in West Papua relate to
the TNI. Soldiers are accused of
profiting from prostitution and illegal logging, assaulting civilians,
burning fields, clinics and schools, and
killing suspects in custody.
There are also some reports suggesting that the TNI arms and trains
militias to undertake illicit operations
and provoke violence with Papuan separatists. Laksa Jihad is one such
organisation that is tolerated, if
not trained, by the TNI. It has been linked to the al-Qaeda network. One
informant spoke of LJ's deliberate
policy of religious violence directed against the Christian indigenous
population in Papua. However, it is
difficult to corroborate such reports as access to West Papua for
journalists and human rights monitors is
severely restricted.
It is in this context that the agreement between Australia and the
Republic of Indonesia on the Framework
for Security Co-operation, or Lombok Treaty, is passing through the
Australian Parliament. It refers to
"non-interference in the internal affairs of one another" and "respecting
territorial integrity and solidarity",
which most commentators interpret as a restriction on Australia's ability
to question human rights abuse
and other irregularities in the region.
Some fear there will be an onus on Australian authorities to hush up
independence supporters and deport
Papuan refugees – whom it has previously sheltered – as shown in the
submissions to the Joint Standing
Committee on Treaties in Canberra. A report is not due until June.
As the International Commission of Jurists warns, the wide scope and loose
wording of the Lombok Treaty
could threaten the civil liberties of Australians and contradict
Australian obligations under international
human rights law. There is also little real benefit to be gained from
signing a co-operation agreement with
a country that provides a negligible threat to Australia – except through
nurturing jihadism and creating
refugees, which the treaty does not adequately address.
---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=31577
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Human rights group says New Zealanders help destroy Papua’s precious
rainforests
Posted at 08:11 on 17 April, 2007 UTC
The Indonesia human rights committee says the New Zealand government is
allowing its citizens to help
destroy the precious native rainforests in the Papua region of Indonesia.
The committee is again calling on the New Zealand government to ban the
import of kwila tropical timber,
which is mostly sourced in Papua.
Endangered kwila wood has a dominant place in the New Zealand retail
market for outdoor wooden
furniture and decking timber.
The committee’s Maire Leadbeater says Papua’s forests are quickly
disappearing due to rapacious illegal
logging and New Zealand’s demand for kwila is helping drive this.
She says it’s particularly ironic given the increasing focus on combatting
climate change:
“We’ve all been asked to do things in our daily lives to address that
issue, and the government is saying
that we should do that and we’re serious about emissions. But how can we
at the same time be complicit
in the depletion of one of the world’s most precious resources, in one of
the last strands of old growth
rainforest in our world?”
Maire Leadbeater of the Indonesia Human Rights Committee.
---
http://www.mineweb.net/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page504?oid=19694&sn=Detail
INDONESIA
Freeport optimistic about Grasberg labour meeting
Freeport-McMoran is optimistic that a meeting with workers, demanding
fairer career opportunities, at its
Grasberg mine in Papua will head off protests.
Author: Harry Suhartono and Fitri Wulandari
Posted: Tuesday , 17 Apr 2007
JAKARTA (Reuters) -
Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold said it was optimistic a meeting with
disgruntled Papuan workers would
head off a protest planned for Wednesday, as armoured vehicles, riot
police and protesters massed
outside its Papua headquarters.
Workers from the massive Grasberg mine in Papua, operated by U.S.-based
Freeport-McMoran
<FCX.N>, were pouring in for the protest at the offices at Timika, near
the mine site, and have vowed to
press ahead with a rally if Tuesday's talks fail.
The workers are demanding fair career opportunities for Papuan workers,
improved recruiting and better
pensions in a growing dispute that has helped push world copper prices
<MCU3> to seven-month highs.
Around half a dozen armoured vehicles guarded the Freeport office in
Timika along with about 200 police
and military personnel armed with anti-riot gear and firearms.
"This is a surprise to us. It is just like a war. We just want to hold a
peaceful rally, why do they have to
deploy Panzers," said Penina Karma, secretary of Tongoi Papua, an internal
group set up as a
communication channel between native Papuan employees and the firm.
Indonesian police chief General Sutanto urged the workers to protest
peacefully.
"It is their right to achieve their aspiration. What is important is they
should do it in an orderly and lawful
manner," Sutanto told reporters in Jakarta.
The mine has been a frequent source of controversy since the discovery of
its massive gold and copper
deposit in 1988 over its environmental impact, the share of revenue going
to Papuans and the legality of
payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.
The meeting between the senior management and committee members of Tongoi
Papua will be held at
4:30 p.m. (0730 GMT).
Mindo Pangaribuan, a spokesman for Freeport Indonesia, said the company
was hopeful the meeting
would resolve the dispute.
"Sure, in the past we have had a number of discussions with Tongoi Papua,
we heard their aspirations
and gave them feedback, we have encouraged them to take their issues to
the proper channels,"
Pangaribuan said.
WORKERS MOVING TO TIMIKA
Frans Pigome, chairman of Tongoi Papua, said the group was demanding
Freeport Chairman James
Moffett and its chief executive, Richard Adkerson, take part in the
meeting via a teleconference.
"We plan to have a teleconference with Adkerson and Moffett ... If they do
not heed our demand as stated
in the convention results, we'll go ahead with the rally," Pigome told
Reuters.
"We hope the meeting will be successful. Some workers are now moving from
Tembagapura to Timika.
Some workers have already arrived in Timika. We expect another 15 buses of
workers to arrive in Timika
later today," he added.
Freeport's Pangaribuan, however, said the meeting will go ahead without
the two senior executives in the
teleconference.
Output of the Grasberg mine -- believed to have the world's third-largest
copper reserves and one of the
biggest gold deposits -- is expected to reach 1.1 billion pounds of copper
in 2007, down slightly from 1.2
billion in 2006, a spokesman said.
"Any discussion about how the possible strike might affect production is
speculative," Pangaribuan said
by telephone.
Pigome says around 6,000 workers, mostly native Papuans, will take part in
the the rally. This number will
include some 2,000 workers from companies that are hired by Freeport.
Freeport Indonesia has about 9,000 direct employees.
Freeport's operations comprises some 24,700 acres in Papua and the company
was conducting
exploration in another 500,000 acres, according to the company's Web site.
Indonesia has large quantities of mineral resources, but foreign business
executives say investment could
be much higher if the regulatory environment was simplified and issues
such as graft and labour laws
were addressed.
Mining investment in Indonesia, which has some of the world's largest
deposits of coal, copper, gold, tin
and nickel, averaged $800 million annually between 2001 and 2005.
(Additional reporting by Muklis Ali)
---
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=566&fArticleId=3784141
Tight markets lift commodities
April 17, 2007
By From Bloomberg
Johannesburg - Supply concerns helped to lift the prices of commodities
from copper to cocoa
yesterday, while platinum led gains in precious metals.
Speculation that a protest at the world's second-largest copper mine might
disrupt operations lifted prices
of the metal, while cocoa gained on concern that supply from Ivory Coast,
the leading producer, might be
tight because of dry weather.
Platinum rose to a five-month high in London, leading gains in gold,
silver and palladium. It touched $1
286.50 in early trade, its best level since last November. It traded $7
(R50) higher at $1 276 an ounce
yesterday.
Zuercher Kantonalbank, the Swiss state-controlled lender, said it would
launch exchange-traded funds for
three precious metals, including platinum.
Copper rose in London for a second consecutive session after flooding
disrupted deliveries from
Argentina and a wage dispute at an Indonesian mine threatened to escalate.
Copper for delivery in three
months gained $205 to $7 910 a ton before 10am in London.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold has yet to clinch a deal on wages with
native Papuans at the world's
second-largest copper mine in Indonesia, and a rally that may disrupt
output will go ahead tomorrow.
Tongoi Papua had given Freeport until midnight today to agree to the
demands, Frans Pigome, the leader
of the group behind the action, said yesterday, without giving details.
Freeport's local unit said it had no plans to meet Tongoi Papua in the
near future
Cocoa contracts climbed as much as £7 (R100) to £1 032 a ton on London's
Euronext.liffe futures
exchange.
Credit Suisse said iron ore prices could remain at record highs until 2013
because mining firms could not
meet surging demand from China, while Deutsche Bank predicted coal was
poised to rebound from a two
-year slump as China bought more than it exported for the first time in
history.
---
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/16/business/sxbriefs.php
(abridged by KI for focus on Papua)
Briefly: Rally may disrupt copper mine work
Bloomberg News
Published: April 16, 2007
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and native Papuans who work at the world's
second-largest copper
mine in Indonesia have yet to clinch a deal on wages, and a rally that
could disrupt output is expected to
go ahead on Wednesday as planned.
Tongoi Papua, the group behind the action, has given Freeport until
midnight Tuesday to agree to the
demands, Frans Pigome, the leader, said Monday. Freeport has no plans to
meet Tongoi Papua in the
near future, Mindo Pangaribuan, a spokesman for the company's local unit,
said.
The possibility of disruption at the Grasberg mine from the rally, which
is to be held in the nearby city of
Timika, could squeeze global copper supplies at a time of surging demand.
Copper futures in London
have gained 24 percent this year.
---
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a8StOSjBALAs&refer=news
Copper Rises for Third Day in London on Grasberg Strike Threat
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose for a third consecutive session in
London after a meeting between
the management of Indonesia's Grasberg mine and a worker's group was
canceled, raising the threat of a
work stoppage at the world's second- largest copper mine.
Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange gained
$19, or 0.3 percent, to $7,749
a ton as of 12:12 p.m. local time. The contract earlier fell as much as
0.8 percent to $7,665 a ton.
To contact the reporters on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at
cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net
.
Last Updated: April 17, 2007 07:18 EDT
---
http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=7c1245c6-8431-4a00-9ead-d7ad11635474
Metals - Copper rallies as industrial action at Grasberg mine confirmed
Tue, Apr 17 2007, 13:05 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Copper rallied in early afternoon trade as
the market digested news that a
protest at Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc's Grasberg mine in Indonesia
will go ahead as planned
tomorrow, despite hopes it would be averted.
Workers at the mine, which the company said contains the world's largest
single copper reserve, called
off talks planned for today and said they will go ahead with tomorrow's
protest over wages.
At 1.40 pm, copper for three-month delivery stood at 7,810 usd per tonne,
against 7,730 usd at the close
yesterday.
Copper futures opened weaker this morning as investors took profits and on
hopes any supply disruptions
from the Grasberg action would be minimal, but moved higher soon after on
news the protest would go
ahead.
"The markets are still a little nervous over what will happen next," said
Man Financial analyst Ed Meir.
"There are concerns (workers) may up the ante and possibly look at a
strike. This is still a bit of a moving
target."
jan.harvey@thomson.com
har/ma/slj
COPYRIGHT
Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
---
http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=6a5e80fe-4743-4f47-9b60-e039950a7695
Metals - Copper softens on profit-taking as tin hits 18-yr high
Tue, Apr 17 2007, 11:24 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Copper prices softened as investors took
profits after last night's gains in
Asia, and on hopes that supply disruptions caused by industrial action at
the world's second largest
copper mine in Indonesia will be less dramatic than expected.
Rumours that demand from China, the world's largest importer of the metal,
is set to flag also held prices
down, analysts said.
"Copper has been closing weak in London every evening, then being bid up
in Shanghai overnight. We're
seeing the market selling into that strength," noted John Kemp, an analyst
at Sempra Metals.
At 12.03 am, copper for three-month delivery stood at 7,725 usd per tonne,
against 7,730 usd at the close
yesterday.
The metal has pushed higher in recent days on expectations of industrial
unrest at the Grasberg mine in
Indonesia, operated by the US' Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.
Investors fear the strike could further tighten supply of the metal.
Talks between Freeport-McMoran's Indonesian arm and workers at the mine
today failed to avert industrial
action planned for tomorrow, heightening already elevated supply fears.
However, investors are hoping supply disruptions from the rally will not
be as dramatic as originally feared.
Meanwhile, analysts doubt the high levels of demand seen from China this
year -- with imports of the metal
hitting record levels in March -- are sustainable at current prices.
"What China is prepared to buy at 5,000-6,000 usd is very different from
what it is prepared to buy at
8,000 usd," said David Thurtell, an analyst at BNP Paribas.
The market is now awaiting fresh direction before pushing higher, analysts
said. "Certainly the market is
in a bullish frame of mind, but it needs some positive news to give it
momentum," said Kemp.
In the longer term, analysts still see base metals well supported, with
supply remaining tight across the
complex and better-than-expected economic data from the US helping shore
up demand expectations.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said it has hiked its near-term
forecast for copper, nickel and lead,
citing tightness of supply and saying the booming economy has led to an
unexpected durability in the
buoyancy of metals prices.
"We have always believed that the strong economic environment would
support metals prices at a very
high level by historical standards, but have been wary about how long the
extraordinarily high prices for
copper, nickel and lead in particular could be sustained," the bank said.
"However, the simple fact is that metals prices have been at higher levels
for longer than we anticipated," it
added.
The strength of the global economy should ensure demand continues to hold
up, the bank said, while
supply remains tight among the base metals.
Meanwhile, tin reached an 18-year high of 14,680 usd, before falling back
to trade at 14,600 usd,
supported by strong fundamentals and continuing concerns over supply from
Indonesia, the world's
largest exporter of the metal.
"The market is very tight and stocks have been declining since the
beginning of the year," noted analyst
Perrine Faye of BaseMetals.com.
Among other metals, nickel was at 46,700 usd, up from 46,200 usd, while
zinc was at 3,522 from 3,500.
Aluminium dipped to 2,820 usd against 2,822 usd yesterday, and lead fell
to 1,985 usd from 2,005 usd.
jan.harvey@thomson.com
har/slj
COPYRIGHT
Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20070417.T01&irec=0
KI note: We are not sure what they mean by the white cockatoo being
endangered. Perhaps they are
refering to a specific species but the common white cockatoo is certainly
not limited to 6 in the wild.
Greed, vanity leads to horror stories for wildlife
Trisha Sertori, Contributor, Yogyakarta
On any day, a walk through Central Java's bird markets will net you dozens
of Indonesia's endangered
bird, reptile and mammalian species.
The auburn-coated orangutans from Kalimantan, Sumatran tiger cubs that are
bordering on extinction,
baby sea eagles, the almost extinct white cockatoo from Papua, a veritable
barrel of Sumatran gibbons,
and a Sun Bear or two thrown in for good measure can all be had for the
asking.
These animals are destined for the backyards of the wealthy, chained to
dead tree limbs and shown off
when guests visit. Or in the case of Sun Bears, these honey-loving bears
from Kalimantan will have their
paws cut off, their livers cut out and their blood bottled to make
traditional Chinese medicines.
These are the animals that the Yogyakarta Wildlife Rescue and
Rehabilitation Centre (PPSJ) -- a non-
profit, non-governmental organization committed to animal rescue,
rehabilitation and release, and
education on conservation for the public -- searches out in the bird
markets, in back alleys, caged behind
shop fronts or dumped in garbage piles.
And there are those delivered to the center by disgruntled owners who are
no longer enamored with their
now adult gibbons, so unlike the cute and cuddly babies they once were.
Trapping, selling and buying Indonesia's endangered wildlife is illegal,
says zoologist Sugihartono, who
heads the PPSJ, but the money to be made, the ease of passage from the
archipelago's outer islands to
Central Java's bird markets and a failure to enforce the laws protecting
the nation's wildlife wealth means
it's open slaughter.
"There are laws protecting these animals. According to Law 5, 1990, people
caught dealing in protected
species face five years in prison or a Rp 100 million fine. But it is not
enforced," said Sugihartono.
"For example, two years ago we caught a guy selling eight Kalimantan
orangutans in Semarang. He went
to court but got off with a month's warning not to be caught dealing in
protected wildlife. If caught within
that month, he'd face the fine," he said, with evident bitterness at the
leniency of the punishment.
He adds that the orangutans also disappeared following the trial.
"We demonstrated every day of that trial, but to no avail. I feel very
angry and very sad because I see that
the process of law is not applied and it seems the police and the courts
do not know about conservation,"
he said. "They need to learn the importance of Indonesia's natural
heritage that is fast being lost."
And when it is understood that for eight orangutans to be in a Semarang
market has cost the lives of 40
other orangutans, the horror grows.
"We need to understand that for one orangutan to make it to market means
three mothers were killed
trapping three young. Two of the young die in transit, so for every one
orangutan found in the market, five
have died," Sugihartono explained. "It's tragic, and when that is coupled
with loss of habitat through illegal
logging and fires, you can see extinction written on the walls."
Rehabilitating these animals for release back into the wild is a long,
slow and costly process, he
continued, but highly worthwhile.
He recalled one orangutan found bound hand and foot in a sack, then thrown
onto a burning rubbish
heap.
"We rescued that orangutan and when it was healthy enough to travel, it
was sent to the Orangutan
Rehabilitation Center in Kalimantan. We work with several rescue and rehab
centers throughout the
country," he said.
But the story of Sumatran gibbons rescued and now living at the PPSJ has
no happy ending. According
to Sugihartono, these magnificently arboreal primates can be
rehabilitated, but never sent home to the
jungles of Sumatra.
"There is no longer a home for them to go to," he said, stroking the
human-like hand of one of the dozens
of gibbons now trapped in no man's land.
"We can't send them back to Sumatra. Their forests are disappearing too
fast and the minute we released
them, they'd be shot. Sending them home is a death sentence," said
Sugihartono, acknowledging that he
is watching extinction of Sumatran gibbons in action.
To prevent this inevitable extinction and offer the PPSJ gibbons a home,
what is desperately needed is the
creation of a gibbon sanctuary in Sumatra, he said, but to date no one has
stepped up to the plate with
the land or funds needed.
The news is better for the six Sun Bears discovered caged at the back of a
Chinese herbalist's shop on
Yogyakarta's Jl. Malioboro. The Sun Bears from Kalimantan had been bought
at a Central Java bird
market and were destined to be killed for their paws, a highly valued but
possibly useless ingredient in
some traditional Chinese medicines.
"We found them in cages at the back of the shop. Fortunately, we were able
to save them all.
Rehabilitation and release is successful with Sun Bears. We have sent five
Sun Bears home in the past
and these will also be returned to the wild," said Sugihartono, spraying
water to cool down one happy Sun
Bear that looks cute -- until she roars and flashes her 10-centimeter
claws in warning.
As well as mammals, bird life is also under threat across Indonesia, said
Sugihartono, citing the six white
cockatoos left in the wild in Papua, the 200,000 migratory birds trapped
annually and cooked for sale in
Indramayu, West Java, and the rare Java Sparrow that has made its home in
Prambanan Temple, Central
Java.
"The greatest population of Java Sparrows in Java is just 40 birds. They
breed at Prambanan Temple, but
the management there cleans out the nests and eggs every year, so we are
losing them also. We tried to
convince the management that the birds are endangered and need protection,
but the nests are still being
swept away," said Sugihartono.
The short-sightedness of aiding the endangerment or extinction of a
species through trapping or outright
shooting is staggering, according to Sugihartono.
He tells farmers the value of raptors, the birds of prey so often captured
and sold as status symbols
without recognition of the role these birds play in the health of rice
fields.
"Every day one raptor will kill five rats. That's 1,825 rats a year. And
that does not take into account that
those dead 1,825 rats won't be breeding. The figure then is exponential,"
he said.
"When the raptor is removed those rats have less predators and thrive on
the rice fields, costing the
farmers much of their harvest," said Sugihartono, adding that the
rehabilitation and release of raptors was
often very successful.
"We have rehabilitated and released many raptors. Rehabilitation takes at
least a year as the birds relearn
how to live in the wild.
"It's crazy, these birds sell for around Rp 100,000 in the bird markets.
The cost just to release them back
into the wild is as much as Rp 20 million. It would be far better if there
was greater enforcement of the
laws protecting these species and education on their importance," said
Sugihartono.
And education is another arm of PPSJ's conservation work, with PPSJ staff
and volunteers visiting
schools weekly to teach the younger generation about their natural
heritage and how to protect it.
But at the rate of habitat and species loss across Indonesia, these kids
may never have the opportunity to
put their conservation knowledge into practice.
'Adopt an Animal' program
Funding the rescue, rehabilitation and release of Indonesia's illegally
captured wildlife is an expensive
exercise.
Feeding, housing and preparing just one sea eagle for eventual release
into a national park costs Rp
81,000 per month.
Rehabilitating and releasing an orangutan costs Rp 191,000, and a
cassowary Rp 258,000 per month.
Over the past year, the Yogyakarta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation
Centre (PPSJ) has housed, fed
and rehabilitated almost 600 animals at a cost of around Rp 450 million.
To help in its fund-raising efforts, the center has started an animal
adoption program through which the
public can "adopt" an animal at the center.
Adoptive parents can choose the animal they wish to sponsor through the
rehabilitation and release
process.
For more information on the program, contact the PPSJ at (0274) 7493977 or
email
maskutilang@yahoo.com.
Indonesia's wildlife disappearing act
Indonesia's reputation for loss of species is growing legendary.
In 2003, the IUCN-The World Conservation Union identified in Indonesia that:
* 147 mammal species were on the verge of extinction
* 114 bird species were on the verge of extinction
* 91 fish species were on the verge of extinction
* 28 reptile species were on the verge of extinction
* 28 invertebrate species were on the verge of extinction
Four years later, it is reasonable to believe the numbers of species under
threat of extinction has grown,
and that some of these species have already been lost forever.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillbus.asp?fileid=20070417215415&irec=1
China's demand for timber is destroying forest in Indonesia, PNG
BANGKOK (AP):China imported thousands of cubic meters of illegal tropical
hardwood from Papua New
Guinea (PNG) and Indonesia last year to supply its booming furniture
industry and produce luxury goods
for overseas markets, Greenpeace alleged in a report Tuesday.
The report found that the Chinese importers were evading an Indonesian ban
on the hardwood known as
merbau by labeling it as sawn timber. Importers also used forged documents
which claimed the logs came
from Malaysia, despite the fact that much of the merbau has already been
logged out of the Southeast
Asian country.
"This is a highly prized species for luxury goods and the market demand in
China as well as in Europe,
North America and Asia Pacific is driving merbau to extinction," said
Tamara Stark, Greenpeace China's
Forests Campaign Coordinator.
"If the current trends are not reversed, even at the current legally
approved rates of logging merbau will be
extinct in the wild within 35 years. This illegal trade means we'll lose
it much sooner than that."
China is now the second-largest wood manufacturing sector in the world,
and the largest trader in tropical
timber. One out of every two tropical logs traded globally is now destined
for China, and China is the
world's largest market for merbau, Greenpeace said.
Much of the timber is destined for markets in the United States, Europe,
Japan and Australia, with
companies often unable to prove the legality of the timber, the group
said. But Greenpeace did not name
any foreign companies that are buying the questionable wood.
Greenpeace called on the governments of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to
immediately propose
merbau for listing on the Convention on International Trade of Endangered
Species to better control its
trade.
It also called on governments in market countries such as the United
States and Europe to immediately
adopt legislation to ban the import of illegal timber into their
markets.(***)
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20070412165731&irec=37
Six murderers of Freeport employees appeal to Supreme Court
JAKARTA (Antara): Lawyers of the six convicted murderers of PT Freeport
Indonesia's employees
Thursday submitted appeal documents to the Supreme Court over those
sentences by lower courts.
Two American teachers and an Indonesian colleague were killed on Aug. 31,
2002 when gunmen
ambushed their convoy near the American-owned Grasberg gold and copper
mine near the Papuan
provincial town of Timika.
Seven people were found guilty over the incident. They are Antonius
Wamang, Agustinus Anggaibak,
Yulianus Deikme, Ishak Onawame, Esau Onawame, Hardi Sugumol, and Yairus
Kiwak alias Kibak. Hardi
died in a hospital.
Antonius, who was found guilty as mastermind of the incident got life
sentence in the Central Jakarta
District Court and the verdict was affirmed by the Jakarta High Court.
Agustinus and Yulianus were sentenced to six year jail term by the Central
Jakarta District Court, but the
Jakarta High Court granted tougher punishment with 8 years in jail.
Meanwhile, each of the four other people were sentenced to 18 months in
jail by district court, but the
Jakarta High Court changed the sentences into five years jail terms.
Ecoline Situmorang, the lawyer of the six people, questioned the
additional sentences for his clients,
saying that it only based on a consideration that the district court's
sentence is too light.
"Such a consideration is strange. Politics seems behind it," Ecoline was
quoted by Antara news agency
as saying. (**)
---
From: david chan <david@davchan.com>
(responding to previous article - South China Morning Post
Saturday, April 14, 2007 Biblical law plan alarms bishops)
NO SUCH "CHRISTIAN SHARIA"
We have to be careful in interpreting the news below. It is not a biblical
law which the prostestant leaders (of GKI church) want to introduce in
Manokwari. I think their message is not on the implementation of laws based
on the bible. The bill is totally different from what the readers have in
their mind such as the sharia law in Acheh.
In the bill of Manokwari as Gospel town, yes, it limits the use of veils and
calls of prayer. But they don't introduce any Christian law such as the
Canonic law which the Roman Catholic have.
Banning liquor or encouraging the placement of the Cross on the walls of
schools and government offices cannot be considered as "laws based on the
Bible."
What the Christian leaders want from the bill which is based on the
declaration of Manokwari as gospel town in Mansinam island on 5 February
2007 is the creation of an atmosphere which respects Manokwari as the gospel
town.
It is true that the Christian leaders do not want to see people get drunk on
the streets of Manokwari, prostitutes stand along the streets, or Muslim
calls of prayer being played loudly on big loudspeakers in mosques so the
whole town will listen that it is time to do the Sholat, or people wearing
veils inside public schools and government offices.
David Chan
PS:
GKI stands for Gereja Kristen Injili (meaning Evangelical Christian Church).
It is the largest denomination in West Papua. It is not member of
Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia. GKI is member of WCC (World Council
of Churches).
---
Submitted by SP at ....@yahoo.com
Translated and abridged by KI
Over 1000 protesters have walked through the night (of April 17-18) from
Tembagapura to Kuala Kencana.
Some estimate there may be as many as 3000 gathered in Kuala now. They
plan to walk to the DPRD (Local parliament) to protest. So far it has been
quiet... More have begun walking from Tembagapura.
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