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KABAR IRIAN NEWS
Sep 11-18
TOPICS
* More troops eyed for Papua by 2014
* Remote Papuan town gets new radio station
* Vanuatu open to giving West Papuans MSG observer status
* Pacific churches put spotlight on plight of Papuans in Indonesia
* Increasingly sophisticated Yudhoyono will leave an impressive
legacy
* More troops in Papua 'necessary'
* Mimika regency strives to improve education sector
* Chinese boat poaching in Indonesian waters
* Indonesian Papua To Accommodate Russian Satellite's Launching In
2010
* Indonesian Army looks to establish third Kostrad division in Papua
* Lack of information during 2005 famine triggers set-up of new
Papua radio service
* Iftar for Indonesian orphanages
* Alcoholism in Jayapura,
- ---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070913.H01
More troops eyed for Papua by 2014
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Army has proposed a third infantry division for
their Strategic Reserves Command
(Kostrad) in Papua, which would see more guards made available to
patrol Papua border areas and
other conflict-prone regions.
The Army needs financial assistance from the government however
before its proposal can be realized.
"Indonesia is a huge archipelagic country, which is geographically
and politically strategic among the
international community," Army Chief of Staff Gen. Djoko Santoso
said.
He spoke to reporters after chairing the handover ceremony for the
post of Army's Special Forces
(Kopassus) chief from Maj. Gen. Rasyid Qurnuen Aquary to Brig. Gen.
Soenarko at the Kopassus
headquarters in East Jakarta on Wednesday.
"We need a strong armed forces to maintain the unity of our country.
"If we can secure financial support from the government, the third
infantry division of Kostrad is
expected to be established by 2014," Djoko told Antara.
He said they have also considered establishing more cavalry and
engineering battalions to guard the
country's border areas and conflict zones.
The establishment of a third division was first suggested in the
early 1980s.
"But the idea (was not made a) reality until I became Army chief,"
he said.
"The expansion (of Kostrad) is necessary ... to establish a
stronger defense system."
"Ideally, Kostrad must have three divisions.
"But financial constraint has... (seen us with) two infantry
divisions and an infantry brigade," he added.
Currently, Kostrad has two divisions -- the first is in Cilodong,
Bogor, south of Jakarta and the second is
located in Malang, East Java.
- ---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnation.asp?fileid=20070913.G06&i
rec=4
Remote Papuan town gets new radio station
JAKARTA: People in Yahukimo, Papua, enthusiastically welcomed the
launch of a new radio station,
Pikonane, which was inaugurated Monday by State Minister for
Disadvantaged Regions Lukman Edi.
The radio station, which can be reached on 1278 kHz all day long,
is run by Radio News Agency 68 H.
Besides broadcasting news from 68 H, Pikonane radio also broadcasts
information related to the
interests of local residents on issues such as farming and health.
Minister Lukman expressed his appreciation for the new station,
saying that he expected the new
broadcasts to help educate the local population.
At the inauguration, 68 H, in cooperation with the Nusantara Media
Development Association, distributed
1,500 radio sets to people in Yahukimo and Paniai. -- JP
- ---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=34994
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Vanuatu open to giving West Papuans MSG observer status
Posted at 03:24 on 10 September, 2007 UTC
Vanuatu’s government has expressed enthusiasm for the idea of
granting observer status at the
Melanesian Spearhead Group to West Papuans.
This follows a call by the Australia West Papua Association for
native Melanesians living in the
Indonesian region of Papua to be accorded the same status at the
MSG as the Kanaks of New
Caledonia.
The Association has sent an open letter to all MSG leaders
reminding them that part of the Group’s
founding principle was to assist other Melanesian states that are
not yet free.
The Association says the MSG can begin to facilitate proper West
Papuan dialogue with Jakarta by
granting them observer status at this month’s scheduled meeting in
Vanuatu.
Vanuatu’s Foreign Minister, George Wells, says the idea is viable.
“Yeah I think so, because West Papuans are part of our
Melanesian culture. So we think it’s best if
they can be (given) observer status inside the MSG, same as New
Caledonia with the FLNKS movement.
Yeah we have no problem with that.”
George Wells
- ---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=35056
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Pacific churches put spotlight on plight of Papuans in Indonesia
Posted at 03:29 on 12 September, 2007 UTC
The Pacific Conference of Churches 9th Assembly in American Samoa
wants the international
community and the World Council of Churches to look in to human
rights violations and denials of self-
determination in Indonesia’s Papua region.
A resolution approved by the assembly expresses the PCC’s
solidarity with the people of West Papua.
The resolution deplores the ongoing denial of self-determination
for the indigenous peoples of Papua
and specifically the violation of the basic rights of those peoples
by the Indonesian government.
The resolution also highlights the widespread exploitation and
destruction of Papua’s natural resources
by the administration and by foreign investors, without consent and
against the interests of the peoples
of West Papua.
- ---
Increasingly sophisticated Yudhoyono will leave an impressive legacy
Hamish McDonald
September 15, 2007
ALONGSIDE the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summitry last
weekend, there was an impressive roadshow from an Asian country
that
once dominated our regional outlook, but whose story has more
recently been drowned out by the big-budget epics of China and
India.
Last Sunday night, the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, showed a new sophistication in his country's diplomacy,
in
a carefully crafted appeal in English for Australians and
Indonesians
to forget hostile stereotypes, even invoking the memory of Steve
Irwin to make his point.
In different forums, some of his ministers - such as the Trade
Minister, Mari Pangestu, and the Environment Minister, Rachmat
Witoelar - were showing off the infusion of civilian expertise that
the former general has handpicked for his cabinet. The progress
they
make in reforms, before Yudhoyono's term ends in 2009, will be
important for our neighbourhood. A handy take on progress came from
the Australian National University's annual Indonesia "update" this
month.
Ten years after the Asian financial crisis that precipitated the
collapse of the Soeharto regime in May 1998, the economy is
sustaining economic growth of about 6 per cent a year, despite
tough
measures such as the cutting of fuel subsidies last year. But it is
still below the 7.5 per cent growth it averaged before the crisis,
and unemployment is still massive, perhaps 30 per cent.
As the Australian National University economist, Chris Manning,
points out, Indonesia has not got back into the large-scale
manufacturing that flourished in the later Soeharto years, and
relies
more on small and medium scale sectors. About 39 million of the 230
million population are below the Government's poverty line - 4
million more than in 2005. However, population growth is slowing
and
looks like levelling off at about 280 million mid-century - at
which
point the "furphy" about starving, landless Asian hordes arriving
on
our shores may recede from Australian thinking, hopes the ANU's
veteran Indonesia specialist, Jamie Mackie, author of a new Lowy
Institute paper on bilateral relations.
Against this tough background, the deepening of the country's
democratic reforms is even more impressive. As well as three
national
elections since Soeharto, Indonesia has conducted about 320
elections
for provincial and district chiefs and legislatures, replacing a
system of top-down executive appointments and manipulated assembly
votes. About 40 per cent of incumbents are tipped out, reports
Douglas Ramage, the Asia Foundation representative in Jakarta.
Along with the decentralisation of power, economic activity and
wealth is being dispersed, as measured by bank deposits and credit,
which before 1999 were overwhelmingly held and disbursed by Jakarta
bank branches, Dr Ramage said. Surveys show about 75 per cent of
Indonesians say they are happy with the new political arrangement,
despite the tougher economic times since Soeharto.
Addressing another Western fear, ANU political specialist Greg
Fealy
says political Islam is stagnating, and the once strong parties of
leaders such as Abdurrahman Wahid and Amien Rais are in disarray.
The
main secular parties may take on an Islamic tone and promote a
Muslim
way of doing things in education or banking, but they are not
pushing
for an Islamic state.
The spread of sharia law by provincial and local governments seems
to
have stopped, and the Koranic code is not being enforced in some
areas where it has been officially adopted. "No Islamic firebrands
have been elevated in any local elections, anywhere in Indonesia,"
Dr
Fealy reported.
Under Yudhoyono there's also been a long overdue attack on backward
institutions. The national police force, detached from the Defence
Ministry soon after Soeharto fell by President B.J.Habibie, is
being
re-educated as a crime-fighting and protective agency - rather than
a
repressive apparatus - through anew curriculum at its academy.
"It's
an example of how a deeply corrupt and brutal institution can
change," Dr Ramage said.
The Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, sacked her
director-general of taxation last year, and recently dismissed or
transferred 1351 staff of the customs service at Jakarta's Tanjung
Priok port, doubling the salaries of those remaining, to cut the
notorious corruption. Throughput of containers has jumped
dramatically. The judiciary and prosecutorial machinery remains
problematic, witnessed by this week's Supreme Court decision
upholding 1 trillion rupiah ($128 million) in damages awarded to
Soeharto against Time magazine, or the early release of Soeharto's
son Hutomo (Tommy) Mandala Putra from his jail sentence for a
judge's murder.
The lagging investigation of intelligence links to the murder of
the
human rights lawyer Munir Said Thalib, by arsenic poisoning aboard
a
Garuda flight in 2004, still drags down Indonesia's international
standing, as does reluctance to account for abuses in East Timor
between 1975 and 1999.
Military reform has also slowed. The army retains its "territorial"
role giving it domestic powers similar to an occupying colonial
army.
In 2004 parliament passed a law ordering the armed forces to divest
all their business arms. "More than two years on, nothing's been
done," said Clinton Fernandes, a specialist on the Indonesian
military at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
The failure particularly aggravates problems in Papua, where the
army
has rotated several officers accused of serious abuses in East
Timor
earlier in their careers. It helps keep the region under a mantle
of
Soeharto-style fear and secrecy, subverting political efforts to
calm
separatism among the Papuans. With the army running protection
rackets at big resource projects or protecting illegal loggers, it
undermines the new effort to preserve forest cover.
Yudhoyono is a new and attractive face of Indonesia, able to
address
foreign audiences in English and postgraduate of US universities.
Yet
only in January last year, he became the first Indonesian president
to recall an ambassador from Canberra, in the row over Papuan
asylum
seekers, a step that Soekarno never took at the height of
"Konfrontasi", Soeharto during his many bilateral chills, or
Habibie in 1999.
Whether we escape this diplomatic cycle of euphoria and dispute,
and
investors flood capital back into Indonesia, will depend a lot on
how
much progress the "Thinking General" makes, over the remaining two
years of his term, in regulating his former army colleagues,
backing
Sri Mulyani in her bold anti-corruption drive, and tracing
responsibility in cases like the Munir murder.
etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan
ETAN welcomes your financial support. For more info:
http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm
- ---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070917.H02
&irec=1
More troops in Papua 'necessary'
Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Army's plan to establish a third infantry division in Papua is
necessary and feasible, as long as the
proposal is first approved by the Defense Ministry, a legislator
and an analyst said Saturday.
Legislator Yuddhy Chrisnandy of the House of Representatives'
Commission I overseeing defense and
foreign affairs said the Indonesian Military needed to expand its
forces, especially in border and
conflict-prone areas, like Papua.
"It is necessary for the Indonesian Military to have more troops,
considering that the number of its
personnel is still low compared to the country's population,"
Yuddhy said.
"Ideally, the military should have about 600,000 active personnel
to guard the country, which has 220
million people. Currently, it only deploys around 325,000 personnel
from the military's three forces."
"Besides, Papua is prone to conflict and separatism. So, we need to
build a stronger defense system by
expanding our forces for the sake of sovereignty."
The Army has proposed establishing a third infantry division from
the Strategic Reserves Command, or
Kostrad, to patrol Papua border areas.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Djoko Santoso has said the plan was first
suggested in the early 1980s, but
was never realized due to budget constraints.
The Army expects to establish the third division by 2014 after
securing financial support from the
government.
Currently, Kostrad has two infantry divisions -- in Cilodong, West
Java, and in Malang, East Java -- and
an infantry brigade.
Yuddhy said, "It is suitable to add infantry troops since it will
require less of a budget than to have more
artillery or cavalry."
He said the House would have no problem with the Army's plan as
long as it was approved by the
Defense Ministry and the ministry allotted the necessary budget to
fund the expansion.
"But the ministry should first discuss it with the House."
Military analyst J. Kristiadi from the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) has a similar
view, saying the Army's plan was a political decision that needs
the approval of the Defense Ministry.
"It all depends on the ministry, as the decision-maker, whether to
go ahead with the plan or not. The
military is just the executor," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said any expansion of military forces had to take into
consideration the country's geographical
conditions and threats to the defense system.
- ---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20070917.G0
4
Mimika regency strives to improve education sector
- - September 17, 2007
Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika
A large number of children in Mimika are not aware of the
importance of attending school, Mimika's
acting regent said.
Acting Regent Atanasius Allo Rafra said children in the regency's
outlying areas were most affected by
this trend.
He said parents in Mimika often failed to encourage their children
to attend school. A lack of qualified
teachers and teaching facilities was also adding fuel to the fire.
He said teachers in remote areas of Mimika often had to stay in
residents' houses due to a lack of
suitable accommodation, meaning teachers often failed to extend
their contracts.
He said the local government was aware reform was needed in the
education sector and as such had
allocated a greater amount of funding to education in the regency's
2007 budget.
As part of its plan to improve the standard of education in the
regency, the administration will improve
the welfare of teachers and upgrade education facilities in remote
and coastal areas of Mimika.
"I expect people to fully support education reform in Mimika. I am
counting on parents playing a large
role in this process. Parents should pay more attention to their
children's education to ensure they are
not left behind later in life," Atanasius said.
He said Mimika's proposed budget in 2007, which amounted to between
Rp 700 billion (US$77.7 million)
and Rp 800 billion, prioritized public services and the development
of infrastructure.
Papua's regional autonomy funds for Mimika, which amount to more
than Rp 50 billion, would be largely
channeled into the education and health sectors, Atanasius said.
Mimika Education Office head Ausilius You said education standards
in Mimika continued to be low
because the local Development Planning Board (Bappeda) often failed
to implement programs planned
by his office.
He said Bappeda had ignored education office proposals in recent
times because it was more focussed
on development in remote areas.
One of the largest obstacles to improving the standard of education
in Mimika, according to You, is the
motivation of parents.
"The government regularly motivates parents to encourage their
children to go to school," You said.
However, he said thousands of school-aged children in remote areas
of Mimika had not been registered
to attend school, which has contributed to a high level of
illiteracy in the regency.
He said teachers from Mimika also regularly left their posts to
seek employment in urban areas due to a
lack of attention paid to their welfare.
"A national policy on the improvement of teachers' welfare is
urgently required," You said, adding that
the local administration plans to build houses for teachers working
in remote areas this year.
"We will equip teachers with everything they need so they will feel
at home in the places they are posted
to," he said.
- ---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/9/16/chinese-boat-poaching-in-
indonesian-waters/
National
09/16/07 15:43
Chinese boat poaching in Indonesian waters
Biak, Papua (ANTARA News) - An Indonesian Navy patrol boat
intercepted a Chinese Siong Siong Hay
boat when it was poaching in Padaido waters in Biak Numfor district
early on Sunday, an official said.
The KRI Taliwangsa ship had trailed the Chinese boat carrying 19
crew members since Saturday
afternoon before the latter was caught 10 miles east of Padaido
island, Indonesian ship commander
Capt Toto Irianto said here Sunday.
KRI Taliwangsa crew members did not find any compulsory document on
Siong Siong Hay`s activity
when they searched the Chinese boat, he said.
The Siong Siong Hay boat was now held in a pier belongs to Mina
Jaya fishery firm in Semau village
here.
Toto said the local officials found hard to interrogate the Chinese
farmers as they could not speak
English and were looking for a Chinese interpreter for a question.
(*)
Copyright © 2007 ANTARA
- ---
http://www.space-
travel.com/reports/Indonesian_Papua_To_Accommodate_Russian_Satellite
_Launching_In_2010_999.ht
ml
Indonesian Papua To Accommodate Russian Satellite's Launching In
2010
Frans Kaisiepo Airport.
by Staff Writers
Jakarta, Indonesia (XNA) Sep 10, 2007
Frans Kaisiepo Airport in Biak Numfor district, Papua province of
Indonesia, has been designated as
the location from where a Russian satellite will be launched in
2010, Indonesian Antara News Agency
reported Saturday. "The Russian satellite will be launched using an
air launch system. And this will
certainly require a huge investment," Biak Numfor, District Chief
Yusuf Melianus Maryen, was quoted as
saying.
As the location chosen for the satellite's launching, Biak Numfor
would be built with high-tech facility and
modern infrastructure by that time, which has positive impact to
the local economy and promotion of
technology, Yusuf said.
Frans Kaisiepo Airport is one of a few international airports inthe
eastern part of Indonesia.
The designation was finally made when Russian president Vladimir
Putin had his first visit to Indonesia
and reached bilateral agreement with Indonesia on space technology
cooperation on Sept. 6, according
to the report.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
- ---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=35110
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Indonesian Army looks to establish third Kostrad division in Papua
Posted at 01:05 on 14 September, 2007 UTC
The Indonesian Army, the TNI, has proposed a third infantry
division for their Strategic Reserves
Command, or Kostrad, in Papua.
The Jakarta Post says the TNI wants to see more guards made
available to patrol Papua border areas
and other so-called conflict-prone regions.
But the TNI needs more financial assistance from the government
before its proposal can be realised.
The TNI Chief of Staff General Djoko Santoso says the third
infantry division of Kostrad is expected to
be established in Papua by 2014.
General Santoso says Indonesia needs a strong armed forces to
maintain the unity of Indonesia.
- ---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=35117
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Lack of information during 2005 famine triggers set-up of new Papua
radio service
Posted at 04:23 on 14 September, 2007 UTC
The head of a Indonesia’s only independent radio news agency, 68 H,
says their decision to establish a
new service in the Papua region was triggered by a deadly famine in
2005.
People in Papua’s Yahukimo district have welcomed the launch of a
new radio station, Pikonane, which
can be reached in their area on 1278 kHz all day long.
As well as news, Pikonane radio also broadcasts information of
local interest on issues such as farming
and health.
68 H’s managing-director, known as Santoso, says a lack of
available information and communication
hindered efforts to combat the famine which hit Yahukimo in 2005
and caused 60 deaths.
“There are many basic issues and problems on daily life here,
like education, health problems and
economic standards which are so low. So that’s why we want to
contribute by opening the programme,
especially in Yahukimo, to discuss the problem and find out the
solution.”
68 H’s managing-director, Santoso.
- ---
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=13313
Iftar for Indonesian orphanages
17-09-2007
(Muslim Aid):
This Ramadan Muslim Aid will be providing iftar for children in 114
orphanages across Indonesia.
Funds were donated from the UK and Australia offices, and totalled
more than £37,000. Over 35,000
orphans in Aceh, Yogyakarta, West Sumatra, Jakarta, Papua and
Eastern Indonesia will benefit, with
the programme aiming to provide support to orphans and marginalised
children.
Muslim Aid sub-field office in Yogyakarta was the first to start
the program on the first day of Ramadan,
followed by the Muslim Aid Jakarta sub-field office, Aceh field
office and Padang sub-field office.
All of the four offices in Indonesia are working together to ensure
that the aid distribution will be
maximised for the beneficiaries.
“We are here to deliver a blessing which was given from the donors
to the people in need, especially
orphans,” said Akhyari Hananto, Regional Coordinator for Muslim Aid
Indonesia.
Muslim Aid has been working in Indonesia since the devastating
Tsunami hit Aceh on December 26th
2004. Since then, Muslim Aid has shown its commitment to support
the government of Indonesia in
emergency relief and long-term poverty reduction programmes.
- ---
Forwarded message from Tapol <tapol@gn.apc.org> -----
Cendrawasih Pos, 17 September 2007
The lead article in today's Cepos once again draws attention to the
scourge
of alcoholism. It focuses on a 25-year-old man who is still in a
coma and
in a critical condition in hospital after a bout of drinking pure
alcohol,
and describes in detail the effects of the condition on his limbs
and
organs as he is treated in the intensive care unit. The man is
under
constant care of the doctors.
The latter part of the article reports that since January this
year, 68
persons have died of alcoholism in the Central Highlands, 23
persons have
died of alcoholism in Jayapura, 33 in the district of Jayapura, and
12 in
the district of Kerrom, according to Philipus Halitopo, chair of
the
neighbourhood organisation of Jayawijaya. He says that alcoholism
is not
part of the Papuan culture, and stresses the need for the practice
to be
ended.. He encouraged people continue to demonstrate in favour of a
ban on
drinking and says that the Papuan assembly, DPRP should press the
governor
to withdraw the licence for the distribution of alcohol. 'Many
people are
dying of heavy drinking, so why is the government doing nothing?'
he asked.
'What's going on?'
'Papua is rich in natural resources so why is the administration
relying on
taxes from alcohol which has such a dire impact on the population?'
The article concludes by reporting that of ten persons who attended
a
drinking party on Friday 7 September in the sub-district of
Yapsi, Jayapura, eight have since died.
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaigni
111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon CR7 8HW, UK.
tel +44 (0)20 8771 2904 fax +44 (0)20 8653 0322
tapol@gn.apc.org http://tapol.gn.apc.org
- ---
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