[Kabar-Irian] News: August 16-20 2006

Sun Aug 20 18:42:41 MDT 2006

August 16-20 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS

TOPICS

*
* PRESS RELEASE*

 From: "West Papua" <westpapuancl at gmail.com>

* Church leader condemns 'genocidal' policies

* LOW POPULATION IN PAPUA AN INDICATION OF GENOCIDE, ACCORDING TO A
CHURCH LEADER

* Howard says relations with Indonesia will remain strong
* Ericsson Wins 3G Contract in Indonesia
* Howard's law only to trick RI: Legislator
* West Papua Supporters target Pacific Islands Forum

---

From: "West Papua" <westpapuancl at gmail.com>

* PRESS RELEASE*

24th July 2006 became an historical moment for the West Papuan National
Liberation Army Force (WPNLAF), they all agreed to

become one (united) and
committed to working together in-order to achieve the aims of revolution for
the West Papuan people to

be Independent and fully stand as a Nation
separated from the Republic of Indonesia. West Papua Guerillas Leaders
Meeting

(WPGLM) was held from the 22 nd – 24th July 2006 and there, the
Madang Declarations were made together with the signing of

Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) which was successfully undertaken and signed by the five
different groups of the WPNLAF that

are scattered all over West Papua and
also along the Border of Papua New Guinea.

The five different groups
involved are, Central Head Quarter of the West Papuan National Revolutionary
Council, Intelligence

operational Commander, 3rd Regional Commander of
Nemangkawi and Regional Commander of the 2 nd Division of PEMKA Paniai.  The
meeting was also a follow-up of the 2nd West Papua Leaders Meeting which was
held on the 1st December 2005 in Lae, Morobe

Province, Papua New
Guinea.

Download.PDF
<http://www.geocities.com/wpncl/download/Media_Release_English_Version.pdf>
)

---

Title -- 4988 PAPUA: Church leader condemns 'genocidal' policies

Date -- 20 August 2006
Byline -- None
Origin -- Pacific Media Watch
Source -- Te Waha Nui Onlinel, 18/8/6

Copyright - AUT Journalism
Status --
Unabridged
--------------------------
* Pacific Media Watch Online - check the website for archive and links:
www.pmw.c2o.org

<http://www.pmw.c2o.org/>
* Post a comment on this story at PMW's Right of Reply:
www.voy.com/166636/

<http://www.voy.com/166636/>

PAPUAN CLERGYMAN CONDEMNS INDONESIA'S 'GENOCIDAL' POLICIES
http://www.tewahanui.info

AUCKLAND (TWN

Online/Pacific Media Watch):

A visiting West Papuan
church leader has accused Indonesia of genocidal policies in the
Jakarta-ruled Pacific province and

has called on New Zealand to press
for an end to human rights violations in his homeland.

Rev Socratez Sofyan Yoman, president

of the Fellowship of Baptist
Churches of West Papua, appealed to Jakarta to free West Papuan
political prisoners.

He named 12

prisoners - Filep Karma, Yusak Pakage, Ferdinandus Pakage,
Luis Gedi, Selvianus Boby, Rev Ishak Onawame. Antonius Wamang,
Agustinus Anggaibak, Yulianus Deikme, Esau Onowame, Hardi Sugumol,
Yairus Kiwak - and called for the release of "others not

named" on his
list.

But Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has declined to meet Rev
Yoman during his month-long New

Zealand visit.

Rev Yoman spoke at a public forum at AUT University on the theme "West
Papua- a hidden Pacific conflict" and

was keynote speaker at a weekend
seminar on the troubled province.

He called on Indonesia to:

• 	Stop sending more illegal migrants to West Papua

• 	Abandon the controversial transmigration policy which has led to
Javanese settlers now outnumbering the indigenous

Papuans in their
homeland.

• 	Block the sale of alcohol

• 	Halt plans to divide West Papua into provinces.

Rev Yoman said Papuans wanted the United Nations to initiate a review
of the so-called Act of Free Choice on 1969, the

document claimed by
Indonesia as granting Jakarta legitimacy to annex the former
Dutch-ruled colony.

The clergyman claimed

genocide was the result of militarisation of his
homeland by Indonesian troops and police, transmigration, an enforced
family

planning policy to "depopulate", alcohol and a rampant epidemic
of HIV/Aids widely regarded as the worst in the Pacific.

"The

Indonesian military and police presence in West Papua is to
protect multinational companies like Freeport McMoran, Rio Tinto

and
British Petroleum," said Rev Yoman.

"The military also protect transmigration and attack, arrest, torture,
kill, rape and have imprisoned Papuan people

continually between 1963
and now.

"The Papuan people watch only to see the migrants get more benefits
freely without fear," he

said.

Rev Yoman also condemned Indonesia's family planning programme as being
designed to reduce the indigenous population.

"The Indonesian government always promotes that two children are enough
for a family," he said.

"Evidence shows that this programme is implemented much more seriously
or intensively inWest Papuathan outside West Papua.

"Immigrant communities have several wives and Papuan men have only one
wife."

He said that Papua had been forced relentlessly

to change from a
Christian-Melanesian state to a Muslim-Asian one.

The clergyman showed graphic and chilling images of life

under a
repressive Indonesian regime.

Rev Yoman has frequently been harassed by military authorities in the
past and his vehicle was smashed by a mobile brigade

police in March in
an attempt to intimidate him.

"But I will not be silenced - I must speak out for my people," he said.

+++niuswire

PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH ONLINE

http://www.pmw.c2o.org

PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH is an independent, non-profit, non-government
organisation comprising journalists,

lawyers, editors and other media
workers, dedicated to examining issues of ethics, accountability,
censorship, media freedom

and media ownership in the Pacific region.

(c)1996-2006 Copyright - All rights reserved.

Items are provided solely for review

purposes as a non-profit
educational service. Copyright remains the property of the original
producers as indicated in the

header. Recipients should seek permission
from the copyright owner for any publishing. Copyright owners not
wishing their

materials to be posted by PMW please contact us. The
views expressed in material listed by PMW are not necessarily the views
of PMW or its members.

Recipients should rely on their own inquiries before making decisions
based on material listed in PMW.

Please copy appeals to PMW and
acknowledge source.

For further information, inquiries about joining the Pacific Media
Watch listserve, articles for publication, and giving

feedback contact
Pacific Media Watch at:

Email:
delaro at clear.net.nz
Fax: (+679) 30 5779
Mail: PO Box 78028, Auckland 1002,

Aotearoa/New Zealand
Website: www.pmw.c2o.org <http://www.pmw.c2o.org>

---

LOW POPULATION IN PAPUA AN INDICATION OF GENOCIDE, ACCORDING TO A
CHURCH LEADER

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=26186

WELLINGTON (RNZI Online/Pacific Media Watch):

There are claims that
the population of Papua province in Indonesia has declined dramatically
compared with neighbouring PNG

and that the Indonesian military is to
blame.

The Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman, president of the Communion of
Baptist

Churches in West Papua, and other Papuan activists will present
at a seminar in Auckland over the next two days, on West

Papua - The
Hidden Pacific Conflict.

Rev Yoman says in 1969 when Indonesia took formal control, the
indigenous population was

substantially larger than in PNG - but the
neighbour now has nearly six times as many people.

He puts the low population down to a range of factors, including poor
health care, alcoholism and HIV/Aids, but says the

principal factor is
the activity of the military.

"There are many murdered, many murdered and silent killings happening
in

West Papua. We need help. Assistance from the international
community to stop this terrible situation in West Papua."

Rev Yoman says they want New Zealand to encourage the UN to send human
rights investigators to Papua.

+++niuswire

PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH ONLINE

http://www.pmw.c2o.org

PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH is an independent, non-profit, non-government
organisation comprising journalists,

lawyers, editors and other media
workers, dedicated to examining issues of ethics, accountability,
censorship, media freedom

and media ownership in the Pacific region.

(c)1996-2006 Copyright - All rights reserved.

Items are provided solely for review

purposes as a non-profit
educational service. Copyright remains the property of the original
producers as indicated in the

header. Recipients should seek permission
from the copyright owner for any publishing. Copyright owners not
wishing their

materials to be posted by PMW please contact us. The
views expressed in material listed by PMW are not necessarily the views
of PMW or its members.

Recipients should rely on their own inquiries before making decisions
based on material listed in PMW.

Please copy appeals to PMW and
acknowledge source.

For further information, inquiries about joining the Pacific Media
Watch listserve, articles for publication, and giving

feedback contact
Pacific Media Watch at:

Email:
delaro at clear.net.nz
Fax: (+679) 30 5779
Mail: PO Box 78028, Auckland 1002,

Aotearoa/New Zealand
Website: www.pmw.c2o.org <http://www.pmw.c2o.org>

---

Howard says relations with Indonesia will remain strong (via joyo news)

CANBERRA, Aug. 16 (AP): The prime minister predicted Tuesday that Australia's
relationship with Indonesia would remain strong despite his government's
failure to toughen laws on asylum seekers, which was widely viewed as an
attempt
to appease Jakarta.

Indonesia "deeply regrets" the failure of Australian legislation that would
have forced all asylum seekers who arrive by boat into island detention
camps,
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told his Australian counterpart,
AlexanderDowner, on Monday.

Jakarta temporarily withdrew its ambassador in March after Australia granted
asylum to 42 refugees -- and refusing one -- from the restive Indonesian
province of Papua, which was interpreted by some as tacit support for the
province's long-standing secessionist movement. Canberra denies the
allegation.

Many saw the bill -- drafted soon after -- as an attempt to soothe relations
the Indonesian government. Howard's government scrapped the measure on Monday
after failing to gain enough support for it in the Senate.

On Tuesday, Howard predicted that the result would not have a negative impact
on his government's ties with Indonesia.

"I have no doubt that our relationship with Indonesia will continue to be
strong," Howard told Sydney radio 2UE. "I have a good relationship with the
president. We don't always agree. We won't always agree in the future."

Howard declined to comment on speculation that Indonesia would retaliate by
allowing people smugglers to traffic their human cargo to Australia.

"Indonesia has helped us stem the flow of boat people," Howard said. "Without
Indonesia's cooperation, our task would be harder."

Downer told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television late Monday that recent
comments from Indonesia's Foreign Ministry could mean a relaxation in
policies
preventing unauthorized boats traveling to Australia.

---

http://www.sda-india.com/sda/news/psecom,id,10511,nodeid,4,_language,India.html

Ericsson Wins 3G Contract in Indonesia , Ericsson ,

Ericsson has been selected by PT Telekomunikasi Selular Indonesia
(Telkomsel) to provide its 3G/WCDMA network in Indonesia.

In a three-year agreement, Ericsson will deliver 3G/WCDMA radio and core
network, including HSPA, with deployment. The

contract also includes three years of managed services, with Ericsson
providing a comprehensive services offering including

establishing, operating and managing the operations of Telkomsel’s 3G
network.

The deal expands Ericsson's geographical footprint in Indonesia, which
will cover 11 provinces -- East Java, South Sumatra,

North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali, Nusa
Tenggara, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

Bengt Thornberg, Country Manager of Ericsson Indonesia, says, "We have had
a longstanding cooperation with Telkomsel for more

than 10 years and we are honored to be selected to deliver its 3G network
in Indonesia," he says. "Our solutions will allow

Telkomsel to introduce new and advanced services in the country."

---

http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060818.K02

Howard's law only to trick RI: Legislator

World News - August 18, 2006

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An Indonesian legislator slammed Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday
over the withdrawal of a proposed new immigration law

in the country.

Djoko Susilo, member of House of Representatives Commission I overseeing
security and international affairs, said that the

proposed law was only aimed at appeasing Indonesia after the Australian
immigration office granted temporary protection visas

to 42 Papuans, who have continued a vocal campaign for independence from
Indonesia since their arrival in Australia.

"The withdrawal reflects hostile intentions. Howard was not serious from
the beginning. The initiative was taken only to

trick the Indonesian government so that it would send back its ambassador
to Canberra, and Howard could meet President Susilo

Bambang Yudhoyono in Batam," he told The Jakarta Post.

Djoko, a member of the National Mandate Party (PAN), argued that it was
incomprehensible that Howard could withdraw the

legislation although his party held a majority of seats in the Australian
parliament and senate.

"The government should question Australia's seriousness in improving
relations with us. From now on, we should review our

bilateral relations with Australia, and freeze current negotiations on any
agreements with that country unless the Australian

government shows serious intentions of stopping Papuan asylum seekers," he
said.

Canberra's decision to grant temporary visas to the 42 Papuans in January
sparked anger in Indonesia. Jakarta recalled its

ambassador to Canberra in response and Yudhoyono has flagged a fundamental
review of relations with Australia, including

joint efforts to stop people smuggling.

Immediately after the incident, Howard proposed a tough immigration law
called pacific solutions under which boat people who

landed on the Australian mainland would be taken to detention centers on
the island state of Nauru and on Manus Island in

Papua New Guinea.

Many saw the legislation as an effort to appease the Indonesian government
and to discourage further separatists from Papua

province from crossing the narrow stretch of water to Australia and
seeking asylum.

Under current laws only asylum-seekers who arrive on outlying islands or
are intercepted at sea are processed on Nauru.

Jakarta welcomed the proposed law, saying that the law would be an
important part of Indonesia-Australia relations. Shortly,

afterward Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda met with his counterpart
Alexander Downer in Singapore to pave the way for Howard

and Yudhoyono to meet on the island of Batam in July, with Jakarta sending
back its envoy to Canberra afterward.

Howard withdrew the legislation Monday fearing a humiliating defeat in the
parliament's upper house due to a revolt within

his own party.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said Indonesia "deeply regrets"
the outcome.

He said that the failure to pass the law could lead to an effort by
illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan

who are currently staying in Indonesia to get to Australia's shores.

Foreign Ministry Director General for Asia, the Pacific and Africa Primo
Alui Joelianto said that he hoped the Australian

government would find other ways to deter Papuans from crossing the border.

"Of course, we are very disappointed because the law would have been a
deterrence against asylum seekers. Although we have

said that there are many aspects to our relations aside from the law, it
is a key part of our relations," he told the Post.

International relations expert at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI) Dewi Fortuna Anwar said that Indonesia should

not interfere with Australia's political process, but warned Australia not
to issue policies that were seen by Jakarta as

supporting the separatist movement in Papua.

"The withdrawal (of the legislation) has been conducted through a
democratic process so Indonesia can't interfere with that.

Although the Australian government has repeatedly announced that it
supports Indonesia's territorial integrity, we know that

many groups in the country openly support the independence of Papua. The
Australian government should not give us more

difficulties with its policies," she told the Post.

---

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0608/S00235.htm

West Papua Supporters target Pacific Islands Forum
Monday, 21 August 2006, 10:43 am
Press Release: Indonesia Human Rights Committee
Indonesia Human Rights Committee
Box 68-419
Auckland

20 August 2006

West Papua Supporters to target Pacific Islands Forum who must address the
situation of a people threatened with genocide.

The participants at the successful weekend seminar "West Papua: the Hidden
Pacific Conflict" unanimously resolved to take the

West Papua issue to the leaders of the Pacific Island Forum nations who
will be meeting in Tonga in October.

The resolution calls for the Pacific Islands Forum to grant observer
status to West Papuan representatives and for the

Pacific Islands Forum to mount a fact-finding mission to visit West Papua.

Seminar speakers West Papuan Baptist leader Socratez Sofyan Yoman and
Australian academic John Wing both emphasise that the

people now believe that the word 'genocide' is appropriate to their
situation. West Papuans say that only this strong word

reflects the direct and indirect threats to their survival as a people.

The seminar participants agreed that the indigenous Melanesian people of
West Papua have been gravely disadvantaged by being

left out of the Forum deliberations. They have many problems which are to
some extent shared by their neighbours:

environmental devastation, illegal logging and an epidemic of HIV/Aids.
But what is worse the West Papuan people carry the

additional burdens of living with ongoing military and intelligence
operations as well as displacement from their traditional

lands to make way for a continuous stream of new transmigrants.

The Forum has expressed concern about human rights abuses in West Papua in
recent years, but was inexplicably silent on the

issue in 2005. This year the plight of the Papuan people was highlighted
by 43 asylum seekers who braved a dangerous sea

journey to escape deadly persecution. The Forum leaders cannot continue to
ignore this human tragedy on their doorstep.