[Kabar-Irian] News: June 18-26 2007
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KABAR IRIAN NEWS
June 18-26
TOPICS
* Papua's rural poor await govt initiative
* House wants new agency for mining
* Half in Indonesia's remote Papua province unaware of HIV/AIDS
* Half of Papuans unaware of AIDS: Indonesian report
* Half in Indonesia's remote Papua province unaware of HIV/AIDS, research
finds
* Papua Governor says 80 percent in rural areas live in absolute poverty
* Freeport Surging After Phelps Dodge Buy
* West Papua refuges rally in Melbourne during...
* Around 70 percent of mangrove forests damaged
* U.S. House of Representatives Calls for Rights Accountability
* WW II bomb explodes on Papua`s Hamadi Beach, two injured
* Kosovo and Taiwan
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070619.G10&irec=9
June 20 2007
Papua's rural poor await govt initiative
JAYAPURA, Papua: The governor of Papua, fresh off a tour of remote
villages, said past development
efforts have failed to lift the majority of rural Papuans out of poverty.
Governor Barnabas Suebu, who visited villages in Supiori, Biak Numfor and
Waropen regencies during
his two-week tour, said more than 80 percent of people in rural areas were
living in absolute poverty.
He said the impression he received during his visits to the villages was
that most of the people were
unable to fend for themselves, resulting in local administrations being
overwhelmed by aid requests.
Suebu said the standard of education in rural areas was far below that in
urban areas.
Many schools have just one or two teachers, which means the quality of
education and the attention
students receive is lacking.
He said there were cases of students graduating high school and moving on
to Cenderwasih University,
but still being unable to write.
Health and nutrition are also major concerns in more remote areas of the
province.
"That's why we need a program that directly involves people in the
villages in order to improve their
standard of living," said Suebu.
He said considering Papua's natural wealth, which the governor likened to
a "sleeping giant", it was
incomprehensible that so many residents were living in poverty.
"The people are sleeping on mountains full of gold and when they die they
are buried in earth filled with
gold, but they have never benefit from it. Why is this? What has gone
wrong? We must answer these
questions."
The provincial administration is making efforts to address this problem
through its Rural Development
Strategic Plan, or Respek.
It will allocate funds from its annual budget for the program, which is
designed to bring development to
previously untouched areas.
Suebu said development must begin in rural areas for a prosperous Papua.
He said part of the program is dedicated to tracking true conditions in
rural areas, which will help the
administration pinpoint needs and problems, and address them more
effectively.
The provincial administration will provide each village with Rp 100
million (approximately US$11,100) this
year.
During his tour of villages, Suebu said the money should not just be
divided among residents, but used to
fund village-level development programs. -- JP
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20070619.@01&irec=0
June 20 2007
House wants new agency for mining
Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representative is proposing the setting up of a special
agency specifically tasked with
handling the Contracts of Work (CoW) for big mining projects, a senior
lawmaker says.
He added that provision for the new agency would be made in the mining
bill, which is still under
deliberation in the House.
The agency would represent the government in negotiating mining contracts
with investors, according to
the chairman of the House energy commission, Agusman Effendi.
"We haven't decided whether the agency will be an independent one like BP
Migas (the upstream oil and
gas regulator) or take a similar form to that of a state agency," Agusman
said.
He revealed that the commission had decided that the CoW system would
continue in existence for large
mining projects involving a total investment of more than US$250 million.
The proposed setting up of an agency to negotiate and issue CoWs
represents a compromise between
those favoring the current contractual;system and those favoring the
introduction of a permit system.
Under the permit system, the government -- including the local governments
in the areas where the
projects are located -- has the right to revoke the permits should
investors fail to satisfy the requirements
set out in their permits.
The business community has long favored the COW system, which they say
places the government and
the investors on an equal footing.
Those opposed argued that the system disadvantages the government as it
enables mining firms to bring
disputes to international arbitration, causing massive losses to the state.
According to Agusman, the establishment of the agency was first suggested
by the Golkar Party faction,
the largest faction in House.
Simon Sembiring, the director general of geology and mineral resources at
the Energy and Mineral
Resources Ministry, said the government welcomed the proposal as it was in
line with the its goal of
ending its business role under the CoW regime.
"The government's role is to regulate, not to act as an entity that can
engage in business deals and sign
contracts with third parties," Simon explained. "That's why we need this
special agency."
At present, all licensing processes are handled by Simon's ministry.
When asked for comment, Indonesian Coal Mining Association chairman
Jeffrey Mulyono told The
Jakarta Post that the mining companies would first have to study the
details of the proposal.
"We have no idea what the agency will be like. We will have to look into
the matter further," he said.
Similarly, Association of Indonesian Mining Professionals chairman Irwandy
Arif said that the government
needed to set out a detailed description of the agency and its powers in a
government regulation to avoid
misconceptions.
The mining bill, which has been under deliberation in the House for more
than a year, is expected to be
passed into law next month, said Agusman.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailtoplatest.asp?fileid=20070619131454&irec=0
Half in Indonesia's remote Papua province unaware of HIV/AIDS
JAKARTA (AP):Nearly half the residents ofIndonesia's remote Papua province
have never heard of
HIV/AIDS despite the virus' prevalence there being 15 times the national
average, a new internationally
funded research report shows.
The lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases is a major contributor to
the burgeoning epidemic in Indonesia's easternmost region, according to a
copy of the report obtained
by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The report urges more money be spent on education programs and condom
availability.
The report, which is due to be published later this week, mapped the
spread of the disease in Papua, one
of the most remote and poorest regions in Indonesia, a sprawling
archipelago home to some235 million
people.
The study was funded by the World Bank, the U.S government and U.S.
nonprofit Family Health
International.
Researchers found HIV infection rates in Papua were as high as 3.2 percent
in mountainous areas,
compared to 1.8 percent in easily accessible low-lying areas, indicating a
higher risk in isolated farming
communities where education is poorest.
Researchers found 48 percent of Papuans were unaware of HIV/AIDS. That
figure rose to 74 percent of
those who did not attend or complete elementary school.
HIV prevalence reached 5.6 percent among non-circumcised men in Papua,
compared to 1 percent
among the circumcised, reinforcing findings of previous international
studies that found
circumcisionreduces the risk of catching the virus.(***)
---
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n115216
Half of Papuans unaware of AIDS: Indonesian report
19 June 2007 | 13:37 | FOCUS News Agency
Jakarta. Nearly half the people in Indonesia's remote Papua region have
never heard of HIV/AIDS
despite having the country's highest prevalence rate of the disease, a
government study says, quoted by
Reuters.
While 48 percent of Papuans are unaware of AIDS, the number of cases per
100,000 people in Papua is
nearly 20 times the national average, said the report, funded by the World
Bank, the U.S. government
and U.S. organization Family Health International.
"Education on HIV needs to be extended. Education efforts have to target
populations at risk, particularly
groups with high-risk behavior such as those with multiple sexual partners
and who pay for sex," said the
report, to be released on Wednesday.
"Prevention services and condom availability have to be improved for the
entire Papuan region."
Papua, which lies on the easternmost fringe of the sprawling archipelago
of about 17,000 islands, has a
population of 2 million, many of them indigenous tribes that still live in
virtually Stone Age conditions.
---
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/19/asia/AS-GEN-Indonesia-Papua-Aids.php
Half in Indonesia's remote Papua province unaware of HIV/AIDS, research finds
The Associated Press
Published: June 18, 2007
JAKARTA, Indonesia: Nearly half the residents of Indonesia's remote Papua
province have never heard
of HIV, despite the virus's prevalence there being 15 times the national
average, new internationally
funded research shows.
The lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases is a major contributor to
the burgeoning epidemic in the country's easternmost region, according to
a copy of the report obtained
by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The 90-page document, Risk Behavior and HIV Prevalence in Papua 2006,
urges more spending on
sexual education and condom availability.
Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and has one of
Asia's fastest growing HIV rates,
with up to 290,000 infections out of 235 million people, fueled mainly by
injecting drug users and
prostitution.
Indonesia's HIV prevalance rate of 0.1 percent remains small compared with
an Asian average of 0.4
percent and 6.1 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.
But health authorities warn that a failure to take prompt action in areas
like Papua — the most isolated
and poorest part of the sprawling archipelago — could push Indonesia's
number of infections to a million
by 2010.
The disease has already infected 2.4 percent of the province's population,
according to the research,
which is due to be published Wednesday.
The number jumped as high as 3.2 percent in mountainous areas, compared to
1.8 percent in easily
accessible low-lying areas, indicating a higher risk in isolated farming
communities where education and
health services are the poorest.
Even so, researchers found 48 percent of Papuans were unaware of HIV/AIDS,
with that figure as high
as 74 percent among the uneducated.
"An intensive and specific strategy needs to be developed and established
to prevent further spread of
the disease (to avert) a generalized epidemic as already happened in
sub-Sahara Africa," they wrote,
recommending awareness programs for sex workers and young adults.
"Misperceptions about HIV/AIDS are still widespread among the majority of
the population."
HIV prevalence reached 5.6 percent among non-circumcised men in Papua,
compared to 1 percent
among circumcised men, reinforcing previous international studies that
found circumcision reduces the
risk of catching the virus.
Twice as many ethnic Papuans tested HIV positive, compared to non-Papuans,
resulting mainly from
poor education, unsafe sex with multiple partners, and a lack of access to
condoms, the research found.
The population survey was based on interviews and blood samples from 6,300
respondents, aged 15 to
49, in September and October. It was funded by the World Bank, the U.S
government and U.S. nonprofit
Family Health International.
The number of AIDS cases in Papua at the end of March 2007 was the second
highest in the country
after Jakarta. However, as a proportion to the entire population, the case
rate was 60.93 per 100,000, or
15.4 times higher than the national average of 3.9.
---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=33104
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Papua Governor says 80 percent in rural areas live in absolute poverty
Posted at 03:17 on 20 June, 2007 UTC
The governor of Indonesia’s Papua province, Barnabas Suebu, says more than
80 percent of people in
rural areas are living in absolute poverty.
The Jakarta Post newspaper reports that Governor Suebu has visited a
number of remote villages over
the past two weeks.
He says the impression he received was that most of the people were unable
to fend for themselves,
resulting in local administrations being overwhelmed by aid requests.
Mr Suebu says the standard of education in rural areas is far below that
in urban areas.
Many schools have just one or two teachers, which means the quality of
education and the attention
students receive is
lacking.
He said there are cases of students graduating high school and going to
university but not being able to
write.
The Governor also says health and nutrition are major concerns in more
remote areas of the province.
He says this calls for a program to help raise the standard of living in
the villages.
Governor Suebu says considering Papua’s natural wealth it is
incomprehensible that so
many residents live in poverty.
---
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/20/ap3838288.html?partner=alerts
Freeport Surging After Phelps Dodge Buy
By CHRIS KAHN 06.20.07, 1:59 AM ET
Related Quotes
FCX 81.31 - 1.55
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s $26.4 billion purchase of Phelps
Dodge Corp. is turning out
better than expected.
The company, now the largest publicly traded copper producer, is surging
from copper prices that
remain three times what they were in the 1990s, and the company could pay
off $10 billion in debt that
came from the Phelps Dodge deal by the end of this year, CEO Richard C.
Adkerson said.
"We feel excellent," Adkerson told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "We're
really benefiting by the fact
that we have such high prices right now, because it generates so much cash."
The company's stock price has shot up 48 percent since Freeport announced
the acquisition of Phelps
Dodge in March. And the copper market has blessed the deal with prices
remaining well above $3 per
pound, compared with $1 per pound throughout the 1990s.
Freeport officials had expected it would take three to four years to pay
off the loan to acquire Phelps
Dodge. But after raising an unexpected $5.6 billion by issuing new stock,
the company may pay it off by
December if copper prices remain high, Adkerson said.
Even so, the company still would have about $7.6 billion in debt, Freeport
spokesman Pete Faur said.
Adkerson, 60, said he and former Phelps Dodge Chief Executive J. Steve
Whisler had been informally
talking about some kind of partnership for years.
"We always recognized there was a good match strategically between
Freeport and Phelps Dodge,"
Adkerson said.
Freeport focuses its attention on one primary asset, the Grasberg mine in
Papua, Indonesia - one of the
world's largest sources of precious metals. Meanwhile, Phelps Dodge
manages numerous operations
around the world.
Adkerson saw the Phoenix-based miner as a quick way to diversify
Freeport's assets and boost its
copper reserves. But it wasn't until Phelps Dodge canceled its bid to take
over Toronto-based Inco Ltd.
last fall that Adkerson got serious, he said.
"At that point, I felt Phelps Dodge was at a turning point," he said.
"They had the situation with
shareholders who were critical of their financial policy and were trying
to get the company to return more
cash to shareholders in the form of dividends or stock buybacks. So the
company was, strategically, in
an unusual place."
Buying Phelps Dodge put Freeport $17.6 billion in debt. The company
already has paid off much of that
with the $5.6 billion in new stock. It also deposited another $500 million
in April. It's possible, Adkerson
said, that the company could raise another $3.9 million by the end of the
year.
Though its debt is under control, Adkerson told the AP that he still is
thinking about selling off some of the
company's assets.
"We bought this company to be a major copper producer, so the major copper
producing mines are
certainly assets that we would not be likely to sell," he said.
That leaves businesses such as Phelps Dodge's wire and cable company in
Coral Gables, Fla., and the
Henderson mine in Colorado that produces molybdenum, a metal used in
high-strength steels and other
alloys.
"There are several things that we might do," he said.
Freeport's Grasberg mine remains the company's primary asset. Company
officials still worry about a
separatist movement in Papua, and Adkerson said Freeport continues to
spend $6 million to $7 million
per year to help the Indonesian military protect the mine.
Indonesian officials also have questioned the environmental impact of the
mine, suggesting that the
company install a pipeline to dispose of rock from the mine instead of
dumping it into a river.
But the company has rejected that idea in government documents as "costly,
difficult to construct and
maintain, and more prone to catastrophic failure."
Adkerson said the rock from the Grasberg mine is "relatively clean,"
without the "heavy metals that some
places have to deal with like arsenic and cyanide."
"And there are environmental reasons which make our system better from an
environmental standpoint
than pipelines."
Adkerson said a pipeline would force Freeport to stack up billions of tons
of rock over the life of the mine.
"You'd end up with these huge stacks of waste material in the tropical
rain forest."
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
---
source: The Age, updated: 2007-06-20 09:42:07
For Picture Report click: West Papua refuges rally in Melbourne during
World Refugee Day
<http://www.fkmcpr.nl/?page=3326&picscat=33&view=pictures>
Australia's newest offshore detention centre will be like a
maximum-security jail with a section for children, according to a senior
senator.
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle told a rally in Melbourne on Sunday marking
Refugee Week that she had seen the government's "massive" new centre
being built on Christmas Island, which is situated 2,600 kilometres
north west of Perth.
"There is close to $500 million being spent building this new detention
centre," Senator Nettle said.
The centre contains non-contact visiting rooms akin to the maximum
security section of Victoria's Barwon Prison, she said.
"They've also built in there, areas for children, against the promises
that the government has made."
The government's "express intention" is that children only be detained
as a last resort, she said.
Among the hundreds of protesters at the rally were recent Papuan
refugees and representatives of the Tamil community who were calling for
the release of 83 Sri Lankans from detention on Nauru.
Organisers at the protest rang the Sri Lankans and broadcast their plea
for asylum.
"We are living in Nauru, we have been living here around three months
but not any action, please help us and free us, please understand our
situation," the voice on the phone said.
The men were intercepted by Australian authorities earlier this year.
Asylum seekers sent to Nauru are not detained under Australia law or the
laws of Nauru but are granted special purpose visas by Nauru to stay
while they await processing.
David Manne of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre said this
process was unfair on asylum seekers because it operated "outside of the
rule of law completely".
"They have been cast into possible indefinite exile, out of sight, out
of mind, out of rights," Mr Manne said.
Throughout the 2005-06 financial year, a total of 6,626 people were in
immigration or community detention in Australia.
Senator Nettle said the government should extend its policy of allowing
some asylum seekers to live in the community while they are assessed.
"That strategy of having people in the community is working, has worked
and that's what we need to be putting pressure on both of the major
parties to commit to," she said.
Senator Nettle plans to introduce a private member's bill to parliament
next week aimed at establishing a process to deal with a flood of
"climate refugees" displaced by environmental changes.
Sunday's rally in Melbourne coincided with a launch of Refugee Week in
Sydney in the lead-up to World Refugee Day on June 20.
For Picture Report click: West Papua refuges rally in Melbourne during
World Refugee Day
<http://www.fkmcpr.nl/?page=3326&picscat=33&view=pictures>
---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/6/25/around-70-percent-of-mangrove-forests-damaged/
Environment
06/25/07 15:13
Around 70 percent of mangrove forests damaged
Pontianak, West Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Around 6.7 million hectares or
70 percent of Indonesia`s
mangrove forest areas measuring a total of 9.4 million hectares were
damaged, an expert said.
"The damages of the country`s mangrove forest areas were mainly due to
human encroachment such as
for settlement, ponds, and plantation," Prof. Dr. Cecep Kusmana, a
lecturer from The Bogor Institute of
Technology, said here on Monday after visiting a mangrove development area
at Batu Ampar, Pontianak
District.
Data from the Indonesian forestry ministry showed that 4.5 million
hectares of mangrove areas were
moderately damaged, and 2.2 million hectares were seriously degraded.
Rehabilitation programs launched by the government could not catch up with
the phase of the damage.
Between 2004 and 2005, the government managed to rehabilitate 34,601
hectares of mangrove areas,
and in 2006 around 2,790 hectares.
"Despite the vast damages, Indonesia relatively has better mangrove forest
areas than other countries in
the region, because Indonesia still has intact mangrove areas in on Papua
and Kalimantan Islands," he
said.
He said that mangrove forests have crucial functions in the ecology.
Mangrove areas are habitats of
various animals such as bird and fish, and could prevent coastal area
abrasion and intrusion of sea
water.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Mangrove Development and Study
Institute (LPPM) Nyoto Santoso
said that his institute was currently replanting mangrove trees in Kubu
Raya and Batu Ampar subdistricts
covering a total areas of 65,000 hectares.
As part of the mangrove rehabilitation program, LPPM also provided
training programs for 15 groups of
crab breeders in Nipah Panjang, Suka Maju village, Batu Ampar, Pontianak,
he said.
"We also try to make them understand and urge local farmers to be
selective in cutting mangrove trees.
They should only cut trees above 20 years old," he said. (*)
Copyright © 2007 ANTARA
---
http://www.prlog.org/10021359-house-of-representatives-calls-for-rights-accountability-and-military-
reform-in-indonesia.html
U.S. House of Representatives Calls for Rights Accountability and Military
Reform in Indonesia
The U.S. House of Representatives today signaled continued congressional
concern for human rights,
accountability, and military reform in Indonesia and justice for East Timor.
Source: East Timor and Indonesia Action Network
Jun 21, 2007 23:33:23 Click to see PDF Version of this Press Release
(PRLog.Org) – Media Release
For Immediate Release
Contact John M. Miller (718) 596-7668; (917) 690-4391
U.S. House of Representatives Calls for Human Rights Accountability and
Military Reform in Indonesia
June 22 - The U.S. House of Representatives today signaled continued
congressional concern for human
rights, accountability, and military reform in Indonesia and justice for
East Timor. Several provisions in
the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2764) require reporting
on progress in these areas prior
to the release of certain military assistance funds, including reporting
on the impact of US assistance on
Indonesian security forces and any connections between US assistance and
human rights violations by
these forces. .
“Military reform in Indonesia remains stalled and human rights
accountability lacking,” said John M.
Miller, National Coordinator of the East Timor and Indonesia Action
Network (ETAN). “The Bush
administration’s policy of nearly unrestricted military assistance to
Indonesia has clearly failed.”
“The House appropriations bill highlights many of the most needed reforms.
In contrast, the Bush
administration appears to have no real strategy to promote basic reform of
the Indonesian military (TNI),”
added Miller. “Jakarta's failure to pursue effective reform underscores
the need for the U.S. to use the
only real leverage it has to press for change -- strong and binding
restrictions on military assistance.”
“After the dictator Suharto fell in 1998, Indonesia took important steps
toward reform. However, once the
U.S. began to re-engage with the Indonesia military, such efforts have all
but stopped,” according to
Miller. “Historically, the Indonesian military's (TNI) worst abuses took
place when the U.S. was most
engaged.”
Background
In November 2005, the State Department pledged that the Bush
administration would “carefully calibrate”
any assistance to the Indonesian military. Instead, the administration's
actions have demonstrated a
policy of nearly unrestrained engagement with the TNI.
Efforts to break up the military's legal and illegal business empire
appear to have failed. Indonesia’s
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono confirmed recently that according to the
government criteria, only
six military enterprises out of a total inventory of 1500 qualify as
businesses to be turned over to the
government. The military will retain control of its foundations and
cooperatives.
Colonel Burhanuddin Siagian, regional military commander in West Papua,
recently threatened to
“destroy” any Papuans seeking their political rights. He has been twice
indicted for crimes against
humanity by the UN-supported serious crimes court in East Timor. Recently,
Indonesian marines killed
four civilians engaged in a protest over a land dispute with the
Indonesian navy in East Java. In addition,
human rights defenders in Jakarta are currently protesting the promotions
of two military officers involved
in the 1998 forced disappearances of democracy advocates.
This past April, representatives from ETAN and other human rights groups
met with Sudarsono. Many of
his comments demonstrated a lack of urgency about key issues of military
reform and the failure to
address past human rights violations. Despite Mr. Sudarsono’s assertions,
shortfalls in the military budget
do not excuse the failure to take decisive action based on Indonesian and
international law.
In the name of counter-terrorism, the TNI has sought to strengthen the
territorial command system, which
places soldiers in every Indonesian community. At the same time, its close
association with domestic
militias - which have terrorized civilian populations in East Timor, Aceh,
West Papua and elsewhere -
raises serious questions about its anti-terror bona fides. Under
Indonesian law, the police -- not the
military -- are to take the lead in addressing terrorist threats.
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), chair of the State, Foreign Operations and Related
Programs Subcommittee, is
currently leading the effort in the House of Representatives to emphasize
human rights in U.S.-Indonesia
relations.
ETAN advocates for democracy, justice and human rights for East Timor and
Indonesia. ETAN calls for
an international tribunal to prosecute crimes against humanity committed
in East Timor from 1975 to 1999
and for continued restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Indonesia
until there is genuine reform of its
security forces. For additional background, see www.etan.org.
Highlights of the Bill (H.R. 2764)
The bill would cut the administration's request for Foreign Military
Finance (FMF) funds nearly in half
from $15.7 million to $8 million and would delay the release of $2 million
of those funds until the State
Department reports on: “steps taken by the Government of Indonesia” to
prosecute and punish, “in a
manner proportional to the crime,” members of the Armed Forces who have
been credibly alleged to have
committed gross violations of human rights; cooperation with “civilian
judicial authorities and international
efforts to resolve cases of gross violations of human rights in East Timor
and elsewhere"; and military
reforms "to increase the transparency and accountability of their
operations and financial management.”
The bill would also delay provision of International Military Education
and Training (IMET) until the
Secretary of State reports on steps taken by Indonesia to “to deny
promotion to and to remove from
service military officers indicted for serious crimes”; Indonesian
government responses to East Timor's
Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste;
implementation of the 2004
Indonesian law requiring the Indonesian military to divest itself of
businesses; and the removal of
restrictions on travel to the provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya.
The House Appropriations Committee has also requested from the State
Department a report on the
impact of U.S.-provided equipment and training on human rights violations
since 2000 by the police,
military and other security agencies and “any strategy linking United
States military assistance to
Indonesia to progress on human rights.”
The Senate has yet to take up its version of the Foreign Operations
Appropriations Bill. Before becoming
law, any differences between the House and Senate bills must be reconciled.
-30-
---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/6/20/ww-ii-bomb-explodes-on-papuas-hamadi-beach-two-injured/
National
06/20/07 22:04
WW II bomb explodes on Papua`s Hamadi Beach, two injured
Jayapura (ANTARA News) - Two people were hurt after a bomb left by World
War II exploded in a beach
area behind the Hamadi market here on Wednesday.
Elisamarongggear (56) lost his left thumb and index finger while Eko
Jigibalom (10) had his face
wounded by shrapnel from the bomb.
Charles Youwe, a relative of Jigibalom, said the bomb blew up at 3pm local
time after Elisamaronggear
who had found it tried to open it.
"The explosion was very strong. It was probably heard by people within a
radius of one kilometer from
site of the incident," he said.
The two victims are currently being treated at a hospital.(*)
Copyright © 2007 ANTARA
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http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/22/opinion/edletters.php
Kosovo and Taiwan; Taxpayers and conscience; Getting down to business
Published: June 22, 2007
Kosovo and Taiwan
Although I approve of the plan for Kosovo recently promoted by the group
of 10 former foreign ministers
("Kosovo must be independent," Views, June 16-17), as a resident of
Taiwan, I find their stance
somewhat ironic.
As far as I know, none of them has ever openly supported a formal
declaration of independence by
Taiwan, despite the fact that Taiwan has been a de facto independent state
for over 50 years, has been a
democracy for over a decade, and is a major trading partner with all their
countries.
George W. Bush, who recently declared that "Kosovo must be independent,"
criticized Taiwan for
planning to hold a democratic referendum that would have upset
non-democratic China. So much for all
his talk of promoting democracy.
For that matter, have any of these leaders spoken in favor of independence
for Tibet, East Turkestan
(called "Xinjiang" by the Chinese government), Chechnya or West Papua
(called "Irian Jaya" by the
Indonesian government)?
Could their willingness to openly support independence for Kosovo while
remaining silent regarding these
other places have something to do with the fact that Serbia is a small
country still regarded as something
of a pariah state, whereas China, Russia and Indonesia are large and
influential?
While I accept the need for some degree of pragmatism in international
affairs, it would be nice to see
leaders of the "free world" show at least a little backbone.
Eric Scheihagen, Taipei
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