[Kabar-Irian] News: May 9-10 2006

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May 9-10 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS

TOPICS

* UNITED STATES: Debating Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua
* Downer to stay out of Papua uni row
* Three men apparently asylum seekers sail to Australian island
* Resolution on West Papua adopted by the Communist Party of Australia
* Troubles in Papua, East Timor and the Solomons pose a threat to our
regional policy writes Phillip Adams
* Old foes agree on the need to placate Indonesia
* More Papuan asylum seekers found by Australia
* Who shoots the sheriff?
* Maluku, West Irian Jaya miss immunization targets
* Militia leader criticises Papua asylum decision
* Special autonomy ensures Papua's freedom within Republic of Indonesia
* Australia slows tide of workers
* Liberal MPs revolt over boatpeople
* Papua asylum seekers found in Torres Strait
* Indonesia, China agree in principle to raise Tangguh contract gas price
* Trial preparations on Abepura clashes


---

Received via Eastnet:

Unfortunately Radio Australia failed to print the text of Faleomavaega's
speech.  You can hear what he said by accessing the May 8 issue of
"Connect Asia" on
the Radio Australia web site.

Here is the brief summary of the interview:

   UNITED STATES: Debating Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua

   While Indonesia and Australia continue their diplomatic tiff following
   Canberra's  decision  to grant temporary protection visas to 42 Papuan
   asylum-seekers, Jakarta may soon be also annoyed with America.

   Presenter - Helen Vatsikopoulos, Speaker - Eni Faleomavaega, U-S
congressman.

---

http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,19065333-5001028,00.html

Downer to stay out of Papua uni row

May 08, 2006

THE Federal Government planned to steer clear of a row between Indonesia
and two Australian universities over their teachings

on Papua, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.

The Indonesian Education Ministry has blacklisted Victoria's Deakin and
RMIT universities, barring the two from having ties

or pursuing contacts with campuses in Indonesia.

Indonesia claims academic staff at the two institutes support Papuan
separatism.

Mr Downer said he planned to let the two universities handle the matter
themselves.

"They are mature people, they can handle criticism and controversy, and
I'm sure they'll be happy to deal with that through

the Indonesian embassy and with the Indonesian government," Mr Downer told
Sky News.

"I mean, it's really a matter for them – universities are in Australia, as
they continually remind us, at arm's length from

the government, and I'm sure they'll want to remain at arm's length."

Mr Downer believed he would be able to meet his Indonesian counterpart
reasonably soon to discuss the broader Papua issue,

which has created tensions between the two nations.

Relations between the two neighbours have been strained since late March,
when Australia granted temporary protection visas

to 42 Papuan asylum seekers.

"I hope to have, before too long, a meeting with the Indonesian foreign
minister and it will be an opportunity for us to talk

through the residual issues that there are," Mr Downer said.

---

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20060509115308&irec=0


Three men apparently asylum seekers sail to Australian island



SYDNEY, Australia (AP): Three men believed to be asylum seekers from
Indonesia's restive Papua province have been found on a

remote Australian island, the government announced Tuesday.

The men's arrival could further heighten diplomatic tensions between
Australia and Indonesia that soared earlier this year

when Canberra granted asylum to dozens of people from Papua.

"The three men, who had traveled on a small unpowered native boat, were
intercepted by immigration officials at Boigu Island

on May 6," Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said in astatement.

"Early indications are that they arrived from Papua New Guinea after
having previously crossed from the Papua province of

Indonesia," she added.

Indonesia reacted furiously last month when Australia gave temporary visas
to 42 Papuans who arrived in the country in

January by dugout canoe, claiming they were fleeing genocide.

The move was seen as tacit acknowledgment that abuses by Indonesia's
military occur in the remote and poor province, which is

home to a decades-long separatist rebellion.

Vanstone said Australia will try to send the latest boatload of Papuans
back to neighboring Papua New Guinea, which shares an

island north of Australia with Papua province - thereby denying the men
the chance to apply for asylum.

"As they arrived from PNG, which is party to the Refugees' Convention,
return options to PNG first need to be explored,"

Vanstone said.

"My department is currently working with the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade in relation to this option," she added.

Boigu island is in the Torres Strait that separates Australia from Papua
New Guinea. (**)

---

Dear All,

Please find below the resolution on West Papua adopted by the Communist
Party of Australia. It will be published on the

Guardian issue on Monday coming.

Andy Ayamiseba

West Papua

The arrival of 42 refugees from West Papua and their acceptance as
refugees by the Australian government has highlighted the

plight of many West Papuan indigenous people and their long struggle for
freedom and independence from Indonesian rule.

The CC Executive of the CPA supports the call of the West Papuan Freedom
Movement (OPM) for independence and sovereignty and

pledges to support them and their call in whatever way possible. A recent
public opinion poll showed that a large majority of

the Australian people support their struggle for independence.

Their call for independence is justified by the fact that the indigenous
people or West Papua are ethnic Melanesians and that

the 1969 referendum, which it was claimed voted for Indonesian sovereignty
over the West Papuan territory, was a fraud. Only

1,022 tribal leaders appointed by Indonesia voted in this referendum
whereas the population of West Papua was, at that time,

upwards of one million. The referendum was a travesty yet it was used by
Indonesia, Australian governments and others to

justify the incorporation of West Papua as a part of Indonesia.

The fact that the demand for independence runs deeply and is widely
supported by the West Papuan people is confirmed by their

long struggle for this cause in the course of which an estimated 100,000
West Papuans have lost their lives at the hands of

the armed forces of Indonesia.

The time has come for a new referendum to be held under the auspices of
the UN Security Council and protected by UN Peace

Keepers. In a new referendum all West Papuan nationals must be enrolled to
vote and be encouraged to vote. At the time of the

referendum all Indonesian armed forces to be confined to barracks.

We reject the protests of the Indonesian government and their demand that
the West Papuan refugees be forcibly repatriated to

West Papua where they will face almost certain Indonesian harassment,
persecution even to the point of threatening their

lives.

We also reject the amendments to the migration laws introduced by the
Howard government which are clearly intended to

discriminate against West Papuans. Particularly obnoxious is the intention
that refugees seeking refuge in Australia will be

shipped off to island detention centres and even some third country while
their applications are assessed.

By this action the Australian government has shown that it will allow the
Indonesian government to determine Australia’s

migration and refugee policies. Other measures also being taken by the
Australian government show that it is willing to

collaborate with the armed forces of Indonesia to prevent the arrival in
Australia of other West Papuans who seek refuge in

Australia.

The fact that West Papua is rich in a number of valuable minerals and that
they are being exploited by rapacious corporations

is yet another reason to support the struggle of the West Papuans for
independence.

As appropriate we encourage Party organisations to invite representatives
of the OPM to address party gatherings on their

struggle and help in whatever practical ways that are within the scope of
their resources.

---

The Australian
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Opinion

Let's Not Be Afraid to Sort Them Out

Troubles in Papua, East Timor and the Solomons pose
a threat to our regional policy writes Phillip Adams

CAN you hear Jakarta saying "told you so" over East Timor? The troubles
couldn't have come at a better time for the Indonesians or for Australia's
influential Jakarta lobby.

With a bit of luck and a bit of encouragement, the disturbances in Dili may
destroy the fledgling democracy, lead to civil war and condemn the country to
the failed-state category. Then the Western and principally Australian
intervention could be characterised as a mistake, with clear implications
for the
future of the restive Indonesian province of Papua.

The problems in Solomon Islands also can be used in arguing against
Australian interventions in regional crises. John Howard's Regional
Assistance Mission
to Solomon Islands initiative was a coalition of the willing I supported in
principle and admired in practice. Until the post-election riots, the
worst that
could be said against RAMSI was that it was producing a cargo-cult mentality
among the population (RAMSI will provide) and had been slow in purging the
political hierarchy of its crooks.

This tardiness has triggered big trouble. Continuing corruption, aided and
abetted by China and Taiwan competing for influence, has the Solomons
returning
to failed-state status, and it will take some brilliant work by Australian
diplomats, troops and police to stabilise the situation.

The troubles in Honiara and Dili are prompting scepticism and more than a
hint of isolationism in Australia. If the best intentions lead to chaos in
East
Timor and the Solomons, why waste our time and effort? By extension this
could
mean voters will tend to back Howard's gutless response to the Papuan refugee
issue and his capitulations to Jakarta. Peace in our time.

The best-known representatives of Fretilin in the past and East Timor today
are neither seen nor heard. Jose Ramos-Horta is dismissive of the
disturbances
while President Xanana Gusmao sits silently in his official residence. Yet
last week tens of thousands fled the capital, heading for the hills. And
there's
talk of an east-west divide that could descend into civil war.

As usual in these situations, reckless populists are fuelling the fears and
the flames. The focus of discontent is Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. There's
clear evidence of political and constitutional disagreements between him and
Gusmao. For example, it was Alkatiri who brought the troops in to control the
rioting. Given that the police oppose the PM, it was probably an essential
move,
but it usurped the President's constitutional powers. Only he can call in the
military. Initial reports spoke of 5000 rioters. I'm told the actual figure
was about 500. But the violence and arson by dismissed soldiers brought back
memories of 1999. Hence the widespread panic. And the UN advisers just
watched.

The country seems divided between pro-Gusmao and pro-Alkatiri factions. As in
the Solomons, there are outside forces playing games, with Alkatiri often
seen as some sort of commo bastard for his hard line in negotiations over
gas and
oil. And - shades of the new wave of leftist leaders in South America - the
PM refuses to take out World Bank loans.

Alkatiri recently told a Portuguese newspaper that foreign interests are out
to get him and he's probably right. For example, his insistence on having gas
production facilities in Timor's Suai area rather than Darwin may open the
door to China; PetroChina seems to have the deal stitched up. Many in the
Western
diplomatic and corporate communities think that's too close for comfort.

The wider world is well represented in and around East Timor. Apart from
being the meat in the sandwich between Indonesia and Australia, the
Timorese have
to contend with the Portuguese and other European Union players, and with the
US. And it's not just oil for the Americans: there's also the small matter of
the Ombai-Wetar Straits. As the deepest submarine trench in the Pacific, the
straits are of great strategic significance.

Another ingredient in the crisis is the Catholic Church. Its dislike of
Alkatiri is intense and the church looms even larger in the landscape than
the
enormous US embassy. It's not just that the PM is a Muslim; he's far too
secular
for the church. The bishops have been scathing; in a recent press statement
they called him a prostitute.

Alkatiri has another problem: himself. Colleagues concede he can be arrogant
and tactless. He's not widely loved by the populace or his party.

And here's Australia in a difficult position in an unstable region. From Bali
to Honiara, via Dili and Papua, we've got our troubles and their troubles.
Sometimes Howard's not just deputy sheriff: he has to pin on the sheriff's
badge
and slap leather outside the swinging doors of the saloon.

---

The Australian
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Opinion

Old foes agree on the need to placate Indonesia

By George Megalogenis

Don't let the populists undermine the Howard-Keating stance, warns
George Megalogenis

GUESS which issue unites John Howard and Paul Keating on one side of
the policy fence, and conservative radio host Alan Jones and The
Sydney Morning Herald on the other?

The answer is Australia's relationship with Indonesia.

The symbiosis between Jones and the Herald has been apparent for some
time, though neither may realise it. The extent of the Howard-Keating
alliance, by contrast, has only just been confirmed by the diplomatic
tiff over Papua. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has become to Howard what
ailing former Indonesian president Suharto was to Keating: a friend
who risks the PM's standing. But Howard, like Keating before him,
believes the relationship has become too important to be diverted by
domestic politics.

Both Liberal and Labor acknowledge privately that voters don't like
seeing their leader being humble towards, let alone being humbled by,
Jakarta. Yet as one key player says, there is a duality to public
opinion. The electorate is suspicious of the Indonesian state and its
people, the source says. But it is also mindful that we need to get
along with Jakarta.

Papua places Howard on the wrong side of the popular calculus. The
proof comes from the Jones-Herald lobby.

Jones has taken the side of the Papuan refugees and suggests that his
friend Howard should teach Yudhoyono some manners.

''Senior diplomats are saying the more we allow Yudhoyono to talk like
this about Australia, and that viewpoint to prevail, the more
humiliated we will become,'' Jones said in an interview with Howard on
April 19. ''Is it time for you to pick up the phone to say to the
President, 'Listen, this language doesn't help'?'' Howard didn't take
the Jones bait.

Two days later, the Herald wrote a more measured editorial, but could
not resist pairing Howard with Keating and declaring that ''Australia
has again ended up at Indonesia's feet''.

The echo from Jones to the Herald will concern Howard because when the
Right and Left are on the same page they tend to speak for the mob.

Rewind to the start of September 1999, when the East Timorese were
being slaughtered by the Indonesian militias and the rest of the world
seemed paralysed by indecision.

Jones and the Herald called on Howard to send in peacekeepers ahead of
any UN resolution.

On September 6, 1999, Jones asked Howard: ''Even if the UN agreed to
send in some kind of peacekeeping force, are we to sit around and wait
a month or more for that to happen?''

Two days later, the Herald's editorial added its voice to the call for
direct action. ''Australia, however reluctantly and without waiting
for others, must lead the way -- in force,'' it said.

Howard ignored the advice. ''That was an absurd proposition, that we
could somehow or other have sent people in before we had a mandate
from the UN and without the consent of the Indonesians,'' he said
later. ''Hello, we would have been invading our nearest neighbour.''

The Indonesian relationship returns to the political frame this week
when Coalition MPs consider the legislation to make Australia a no-go
zone for asylum-seekers. But what if Jakarta can't be placated by
Australia's new border protection regime?

Here is where the debate gets tricky for Howard. Implicit in
Yudhoyono's response so far is that he has the power to unleash
another wave of boatpeople on Australia. He said last month he would
review, among other things, Indonesia's co-operation in dealing with
people smuggling.

Keating has said previously that the surge in asylum-seekers between
1999 and 2001 was, in part, a consequence of Howard's falling out with
earlier Indonesian presidents. ''The boatpeople weren't coming to
Australia when I was prime minister because the Indonesians didn't
want to send them on to us,'' Keating said.

Howard disagrees. He thinks the Indonesians were distracted by other
issues back then. ''I've never thought that [they unleashed the
boats],'' he says. ''I don't think they were really focused on that.
You had Megawati [Sukarnoputri] as president by then.''

Interestingly, Keating thinks the Indonesians were angrier with Howard
over the 1997 Asian financial crisis than they were about the loss of
East Timor two years later.

''The IMF ransacked Indonesia and the Indonesians wanted Australia to
intercede on their behalf,'' Keating says. ''Indonesia was left
without help and it is that matter more than anything else that
Indonesia holds against Australia. They lost five or six years of
economic growth and a massive increase in attendant poverty just made
them so sour on Australia and the US, more so than Timor.''

Howard rejects the criticism. He says his Government ''gave the
Indonesians quite a bit of help''. Howard replies that Keating was too
close to Suharto and this is still hurting Kim Beazley's Labor Party
today.

''The shadow of Keating hangs over them, this extraordinary sort of
thing he had about his relationship with Suharto, the bapak factor,''
Howard says. ''It's very, very strange.''

The interviews with Howard and Keating were held before the
relationship was jolted by the Papuan asylum-seekers. But they reveal
the true meaning of their legacy wars over foreign policy. The
argument is really about who is the better friend and the more
perceptive interpreter of Jakarta's feelings: Howard or Keating?

For Howard, success on Papua can be measured only in silence, in
Jakarta saying nothing more and returning its ambassador to Canberra,
in no more asylum-seekers landing on our shores, and in the Petro
Georgiou group of government MPs accepting the latest version of the
Pacific solution.

The worst case is that the relationship with Indonesia sours further.
While the latter may titillate and validate the Herald-Jones camp, it
will not serve the national interest.

George Megalogenis, a senior writer with The Australian, is author of
The Longest Decade (Scribe), from which the interviews with John
Howard and Paul Keating are drawn.

---

More Papuan asylum seekers found by Australia

CANBERRA, May 9 (Reuters) - Australia has intercepted three asylum
seekers from Indonesia's Papua province on a small remote island off
the country's northern coast, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone
said on Tuesday.

The arrival of the men comes just two months after ties between
Indonesia and Australia were strained when Canberra granted refugee
visas to 42 Papuans who arrived on Australia's remote northern coast
in an outrigger canoe.

Vanstone said the three men, who were travelling in a small unpowered
native boat, had been intercepted on an island excluded from
Australia's migration zone, which meant they could not apply for
asylum.

"If they were to seek protection, they will not be processed in
Australia and are not entitled to make any application under the
Migration Act," Vanstone said in a statement.

Vanstone said early indications were that the men had travelled from
Papua to Papua New Guinea, before trying to make their way to
Australia. She said the Immigration Department was exploring the
option of returning the men to Papua New Guinea.

Papuan independence activists have campaigned for more than 30 years
to split from Indonesia, while a low-level rebellion has also
simmered.

VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE

Human rights groups accuse Indonesia of widespread abuses there, and
the 42 Papuans who sought asylum said they feared becoming victims of
genocide. Jakarta denies such charges.

Australia's decision to grant refugee status to the 42 Papuans in
March angered Jakarta, which said the decision gave credence to the
Papuan claims off ill-treatment and gave support to Papua's
independence movement.

Indonesia withdrew its ambassador to Australia in protest against the
decision. There have also been protests outside the Australian embassy
in Jakarta, and calls for an Indonesian boycott of Australian goods.

Prime Minister John Howard reassured Jakarta that Australia respects
its sovereignty over Papua and repeated the commitment to government
MPs in a party meeting on Tuesday.

"He said the relationship with Indonesia has become difficult but not
unmanageable," said a government spokesman.

"The integrity and sovereignty of Indonesia is an important issue and
nothing would be worse for Australia than a Balkanised Indonesia," the
spokesman said.

Australia reviewed and changed its asylum-seeker policy last month
after the row with Indonesia. Anyone who arrives illegally by boat now
will be sent to immigration detention centres in the Pacific nation of
Nauru or on Manus island in Papua New Guinea.

The new rules mean those found to be refugees will be accepted by a
"third country" and will not be guaranteed entry to Australia.

---

Herald Sun (Australia)
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Who shoots the sheriff?

By Tim Lindsey and Jeremy Kingsley

IN the wake of calls for Papuan independence, Australians need to
think carefully about whether we want another new state in our
neighbourhood.

Let's forget the politics of self-determination for a moment and focus
on our national bottom line.

Over the past decade, the ADF and Australian Federal Police have
worked hard to bail out failed or fragile states in our region, facing
violence and civil chaos.

This has confirmed our unfortunate reputation as a self-appointed
regional sheriff, and it has cost us a lot of money and resources.

Take our role in Timor for the UN, which has required 1000 service
personnel since 2002.

And the cost? A colossal $1.1 billion was allocated in the 2000-2001
federal Budget alone. And don't forget the ''one-off' tax surcharge we
all had to pay.

Today, Timor is still in trouble, with army mutinies and rioting in Dili.

Our contribution to Bougainville for several years involved 50 staff
for UN peace monitoring forces. This mission ended in 2003 with
Bougainville calmer, but still a mess.

In the same year, we sent 600 ADF personnel to the Solomon Islands.
This was the largest component of a 2000-strong police and military
force drawn mainly from Australia and supplemented by other Pacific
neighbours.

Numbers decreased, but then increased after the rioting in the capital
of Honiara.

OUR commitment goes beyond these well-known hot-spots. Take Papua New
Guinea, for example, a basket case in spite of decades of Australian
engagement.

In 2004, we pledged more than 200 federal police to support PNG's
Enhanced Assistance Co-operation Program. And then there are our
better known overseas obligations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The result is that Australia's army of 23,000, plus 17,000 reserves,
is constantly stretched.

Just compare it with the NYC police department of more than 39,000
members, and Indonesia's military of about 250,000, and the Chinese
military of more than three million. Although proportionate to
population, in absolute numbers the ADF is tiny. That matters if we
want to be regional sheriff.

And what about the aid bill? We have committed more than $1 billion to
Indonesia over five years on top of our existing aid budget of $301.8
million a year.

We also spend $160 million annually on aid in PNG and $42 million in East
Timor.

So, let's be blunt about this. Could we handle it if Papua became
independent and we had another chaotic, poor and politically
dysfunctional state on our doorstep?

Probably not. So why are so many of us so convinced the solution for
the problems faced by Papuans is self-determination?

Issues of ethnicity and nationalism in our region often seem simple
viewed from armchair Australia. It's about small ethnic groups, one by
one, freeing themselves from rule by other, bigger ethnic groups to
create new mini-states.

But in our neighbourhood, self-determination rarely results in states
that survive on their own or deliver prosperity or peace for the
unfortunate citizens who fought for them.

So we need to be careful about the popular idea that all ethnic
minorities should automatically be entitled to their own states.

And we also need to careful we aren't hypocrites. The common gut
reaction is that any group that asserts ethnic or religious difference
should get a referendum on independence.

BUT how does this sit with our strong, continuing support for
multiculturalism at home?

Most modern nation states contain ethnic and cultural difference
within their boundaries. We are a society that takes pride in the idea
that different ethnic groups and cultures live side by side within our
boundaries, usually accepting difference.

And we think all ethnic groups in Australia should accept our
secularist, tolerant, multi-ethnic nation state and its system.

Go home if you want sharia law, says Peter Costello.

But we don't apply the same values to groups in other countries that
want alternatives to other secularist, multi-ethnic states.

Somehow, that's OK in someone else's country. What we forget is that
is possible to improve the conditions under which ethnic minorities
live without creating more underfunded and struggling microstates and
then copping the bill to keep them afloat.

Australians should be more concerned about improving the living
conditions and human rights of Papuans than about whether they are
independent.

And Jakarta is more likely to listen to us if we are not suspected of
being indiscriminate supporters of universal self-determination,
always ready for another taxpayer-funded intervention we can ill
afford.

TIM LINDSEY is professor of Asian law and director of the Asian Law
Centre at the University of Melbourne, where JEREMY KINGSLEY is a
principal researcher

---

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Maluku, West Irian Jaya miss immunization targets

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Last month's fifth national immunization program (PIN) reached 99.6 percent
of its target audience in 33 provinces, with lower success rates in only
three
regions, the Health Ministry announced Monday.

The report says 23.6 million children under five years old in the country
received polio immunizations out of the nation's 23.7 million targeted
children.

Nineteen provinces met their targets or exceeded them. These included North
Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, Central Java, West Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Bali and
West Nusa Tenggara.

Among the 11 provinces that reached 90 to 100 percent of targeted children
were Bengkulu, Lampung, DKI Jakarta, West Java, Banten, South Kalimantan,
Gorontalo and Papua.

Maluku, North Maluku and West Irian Jaya were unable to meet their targets
for the fifth PIN on April 12 because of their geographical remoteness and
because the health workers in those areas were immunizing for both polio and
measles, the report says.

Workers in North Maluku managed to immunize only 75.1 percent of targeted
children, while in Maluku and West Irian Jaya province the figures were
45.7 and
47.6 percent respectively.

"Long distances between residential areas, minimal means of transportation
and poor communications caused a failure to meet targets," ministry
epidemiology
surveillance, immunization and community health director Yusharmen said on
Monday.

"To minimize our operational costs, we had to carry out the measles and polio
immunizations for people there at the same time."

Despite the low success rate, had been no recent outbreaks of measles in the
three provinces, he said.

The report also says the Health Ministry received data from those areas late
because of bad weather conditions and a delay in budget disbursements.

Immunizations for children from six months to five years old in Maluku is
still underway.

The Health Ministry started the PIN program in August 2005 with the aim of
completely eradicating polio in the country by 2008.

World Health Organization polio eradication initiative team leader
Christopher Maher said he was happy with the results of the program.

However, the gap between 2002 and 2005, when Indonesia did not hold any
national immunization days, was still cause for concern, Maher said.

WHO donated $US5 million to the PIN program in Indonesia.

The ministry plans to schedule another round of immunizations -- PIN-6 -- for
Aceh, East Java and Maluku in June because it has found populations at high
risk from polio in these areas.

---


Militia leader criticises Papua asylum decision
AM - Friday, 5 May , 2006  08:20:00
Reporter: Geoff Thompson
TONY EASTLEY: Last night the notorious East Timorese militia leader Eurico
Guterres arrived in Jakarta to begin a 10-year

jail sentence which has been reinstated by Indonesia's Supreme Court.

But before going behind bars he took aim at Australia and its decision to
grant asylum to 42 Papuans.

Guterres claims Australia's granting of asylum to the Papuans is the
beginning of the province's independence push. He said

the same thing had happened in East Timor.

Indonesia Correspondent Geoff Thompson:

(Sound of Eurico Guterres and a crowd of supporters)

GEOFF THOMPSON: Still sporting his notorious mullet hairstyle, the former
militia leader was as defiant as ever as he

prepared to begin a 10-year sentence for human rights violations in the
same jail which housed East Timor's one-time rebel

leader and current President Xanana Gusmao.

"If Indonesia wants Papua and Aceh to be a part of Indonesia," he said,
"how do you convince young nationalist men to defend

these places if the man who defended the red and white flag of Indonesia
is being punished for it?"

"It discourages people," he said. "It's such a pity."

In Dili, in April of 1999, Eurico Guterres ordered his militiamen to go
out and find independence supporters and kill them.

But the man who once did so much to incite violence in East Timor offered
no solutions to the ethnic conflict currently

threatening the former Indonesian province.

"I don't want to comment on what's happening, because I don't want to be
blamed."

But on Papua he had opinions, saying that the path to East Timor's
independence also started with grants of asylum.

"What's happening in Papua is like what happened in East Timor. It started
with granting asylum, getting out of the fence

first," he went on. "It began with getting out of the country first, and
then, surely, many will follow."

As Guterres goes to jail, four years after he was originally sentenced, a
just released report from the International Crisis

Group says that East Timor's militias are now a spent force, and that East
Timor has much more to fear from strife within its

borders than from Eurico Guterres' friends next door.

In Jakarta, this is Geoff Thompson for AM.

---

May 08 11:59

Special autonomy ensures Papua's freedom within Republic of Indonesia




*Jayapura (ANTARA News)* - The Papuan Parliament has conceded that the
Law on Special Autonomy ensures Papuan community`s freedom within the
Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

The enactment of the Special Autonomy Law is the best and an appropriate
solution to various problems facing this Indonesian easternmost
province, Chairman of Commission A of the Papuan Parliament Yance Kayame
said here Tuesday.

He emphasized that the central government should consistently implement
with dignity the law in the interestof the Papuan people.

The celebration of the 43rd anniversary of Papua?s integration into
Indonesia on May 1, 2006 is a historical event that must be given
appreciation for the sake of the national heroes who have struggled for
the maintenance of Papua as an integral part of the Republic of
Indonesia, he said.

"If necessary, May 1 can be declared as a national holiday to
commemorate the integration of Papua into the Unitary State of the
Republic of Indonesia, the Papuan parliamentarian said.

He expressed his optimism that special autonomy will foster the
involvement of all components of the Indonesian nation in speeding up
development in Papua with a view of improving the people"s welfare and
security situation in this easternmost region of the country.(*)

Copyright © 2006 ANTARA

---

Australia slows tide of workers

By Michael Keats
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 8, 2006

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Love has the upper hand over labor in Australia,
where the government has put the brakes on its

intake of skilled workers while increasing the number of visas for migrant
spouses.
    Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone recently announced that the level
of skilled migrants to Australia will remain at

97,500 for the 2006-07 financial year after an increase of 20,000 in the
current financial year.
    However, an extra 3,000 spouse visas will be allocated for the
partners of Australian citizens this year, bringing the

total intake to 36,300, with a further increase of 1,000 in 2006-07, she
said. Humanitarian and family visas will account for

an additional 59,000 migrants.

    "Cupid's arrow is out and flying around," Mrs. Vanstone said.

    Labor and trade unions have long opposed any increase in the number of
foreign workers, accusing the government of

becoming reliant on imported cheaper labor.


    Glenn Withers, an immigration specialist and professor of public
policy at the Australian National University, said:

"Migrants create as many jobs as they take. So using the settler program
to deal with skill shortages overall is ultimately a

self-defeating exercise -- akin to a dog chasing its own tail."

    The government announcement comes on top of a lengthy row with
Indonesia over the granting of three-year protection visas

in January to 42 asylum-seekers from Papua, a territory claimed by
Indonesia but roiled by a pro-independence movement.
    Prime Minister John Howard appeared to bow to the Indonesian outrage
by redrawing rules so that future illegal arrivals

from Papua will be forced into offshore detention centers.

    But his decision drew the wrath of human rights groups and others, who
accused the prime minister of kowtowing to

Jakarta. Former diplomat Tony Kevin described the move as "unethical,
illegal and dangerous" and said it would lead to

further demands from Indonesia.

    A government plan for compulsory tests for prospective citizens also
has created furor. Under the plan, immigrants may

have to demonstrate skills in the English language and knowledge of
Australian values before being granted citizenship.
    Andrew Robb, parliamentary secretary to the immigration minister, has
said he is prepared to "have a serious look" at the

idea over the next couple of months.

    In a speech to the Sydney Institute, Mr. Robb also said the government
was considering establishing an institute of

Islamic studies that would help put the religion into an Australian context.
    "Many Muslim young people have grown up in Australia, and some of the
teachings of Islam and the customs of some Islamic

countries have no relevance for them," he said.

    "In the end, helping Australian Muslims become integrated and
connected to the mainstream community is the best way to

prevent extremists getting a toehold in Australia."


---


Liberal MPs revolt over boatpeople
Cath Hart and Dennis Shanahan
May 10, 2006
LIBERAL backbenchers have revolted against new refugee laws and demanded
that John Howard soften the proposed legislation as

it was revealed a second boat of Papuan asylum-seekers had arrived in
Australian waters.

But the Prime Minister warned outspoken MPs yesterday that the principle
of the Government's new policy on refugees would not

be watered down as the immigration laws had been last year.

The internal rift emerged as a group of three Papuans attempting to seek
asylum in Australia were detained on Friday in the

Torres Strait. They are likely to be sent to Papua New Guinea but Canberra
is yet to get approval from Port Moresby.

Their case sharply contrasts with that of 42 Papuans given protection
visas in March, which sparked a diplomatic rift with

Indonesia and prompted the proposed changes to Australia's migration laws.
The changes, designed to deter asylum-seekers from

using Australia as a "staging post" for political protests, will
effectively excise the mainland from Australia's migration

zone and will force all illegal arrivals to Australia by boat, including
children, into offshore immigration detention

centres.

The Liberal partyroom erupted yesterday with up to six MPs and senators
speaking out against the proposed rules, which they

claim undo the highly publicised compromise last year with rebel
backbencher Petro Georgiou on immigration detention.

The speakers - including Mr Georgiou, NSW backbencher Bruce Baird and
senator Russell Broadbent - argued that the changes to

the immigration laws proposed by Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone
would result in inconsistent treatment of refugees and

would make it more likely for genuine refugees to be sent to a third
country rather than be settled in Australia.

The decision to grant protection visas to the 42 Papuan activists caused a
rift between Canberra and Jakarta that led to

Indonesia withdrawing its ambassador to Australia.

In the joint partyroom meeting yesterday, Mr Howard described Australia's
relationship with Jakarta as "difficult but not

unmanageable" but warned it was not in Australia's interests for
Indonesia's sovereignty to change. "Nothing would be worse

for Australia than a Balkanisation of Indonesia," Mr Howard said.

Several MPs told The Australian yesterday there was support in the
partyroom for their stand against the changes,

particularly in relation to pushing refugees to third countries.

Mr Howard told the partyroom the bill would not be withdrawn and "would
not be negotiated out of recognition". However, there

are signs the bill might be modified after briefings about its content
scheduled for yesterday were suddenly cancelled and

rescheduled for today.

Mr Howard's position in the partyroom was backed by 15 Liberal MPs and
senators, who spoke strongly in support of the

legislation and defied the rebels to "go to the barricades".

One speaker suggested the "frolic" last year, when Mr Howard negotiated
for days with Mr Georgiou and Mr Baird, should not be

repeated.

It was even suggested that the changes won in that negotiation, which Mr
Howard used to avoid MPs crossing the floor, had

contributed to Papuans seeking refuge in Australia. MPs supporting the
bill told The Australian that the majority of Liberal

MPs supported the changes and it was time the majority was recognised.

---

Papua asylum seekers found in Torres Strait


May 9, 2006 - 1:19PM


Australia has formally asked the PNG government to take three men from the
Papua province of Indonesia intercepted on an

island in the Torres Strait.

The three men were found on Boigu Island at the weekend and placed in
detention, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said

today.

She said early indications were that they arrived from Papua New Guinea
after having previously crossed from the Papua

province of Indonesia.

An Australian High Commission official in Port Moresby said Australia had
formally asked the PNG government to readmit the

three men under a 2003 Memorandum of Understanding signed between then
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock and PNG's Foreign

Minister Rabbie Namaliu.

Under the memorandum, PNG agreed to readmit from Australia any third
country nationals who had been in PNG for more than

seven days but who had failed to seek asylum there.

Ms Vanstone said in a statement: "The three men, who had travelled on a
small unpowered native boat, were intercepted by

immigration officials at Boigu Island on May 6."

"They are currently on Horn Island and are in good health."

She said the island, which is Australian territory, had previously been
excised from Australia's migration zone, and the men

had been classified as offshore entry people.

"If they were to seek protection, they will not be processed in Australia
and are not entitled to make any application under

the Migration Act.

"As they arrived from PNG, which is party to the Refugees' Convention,
return options to PNG first need to be explored.

"My department is currently working with the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade in relation to this option."

The granting of refugee protection for 42 Papuans who landed on Cape York
Peninsula in January sparked anger in Indonesia

where there was concern Australia was displaying tacit support for Papuan
independence.

In a bid to heal the diplomatic rift, Australia agreed to review its
immigration procedures to ensure all future boat

arrivals would be processed offshore.

---

AFX News Limited
Indonesia, China agree in principle to raise Tangguh contract gas price
05.09.2006, 02:34 AM

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JAKARTA (AFX) - Indonesia and China have agreed in principle to raise the
price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be supplied

from BP Plc's Tangguh LNG project in Papua to Fujian in mainland China
under a previously signed contract due to take effect

in 2008, Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo
Yusgiantoro said.

Yusgiantoro would not disclose the new price but said it should be higher
than the prices in the local market.

He said the signing of the price revision may be done during the upcoming
Indonesia-China energy conference, which is yet to

be scheduled.

Yusgiantoro also said there is a clause about a possible diversion of the
gas to be supplied under the contract to other

provinces in China.

'It (diversion) is allowed but they (China) must report to Indonesia,' he
said.

Indonesia had been renegotiating the price of the contract as oil prices
have risen sharply since the contract was entered

into in 2002.

Under the contract, the LNG price was set at 2.6 usd per mln British
thermal unit (mmbtu) if world oil prices exceed 25 usd a

barrel.

The Fujian contract is now worth 8.5 bln usd and covers an annual LNG
supply of 2.6 mln tons over a 25-year period. The first

LNG shipment to Fujian is due by end-2008.

BP holds a 37.16 pct stake in the Tangguh project, while other key
shareholders including China's CNOOC Ltd own 16.96 pct and

MI Berua BV, 16.30 pct.

(1 usd = 8,735 rupiah)

aloysius.bhui at xfn.com

---

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Trial preparations on Abepura clashes

JAYAPURA, Papua: The Papua Provincial Prosecutors' Office handed over case
files Monday on the March 15, 2006 Abepura clashes between protesters and
security officers to the Jayapura District Court for trial.

The case files for the trial of 16 suspects in the clashes, where five
security officers were killed, were handed over by R. Novianto, the lead
prosecutor,
to R. Tukidjo of the Jayapura District Court.

The eight suspects were charged under Article 124 and Article 170 of the
Criminal Code on resistance and communal violence as well as Article 160 on
causing provocation.

The trial of the 16 suspects, currently detained at the Papua Police
headquarters, was scheduled for next week.

"Based on the case files, we will later arrange the trial schedules and also
appoint their judges," Tukidjo said.

Besides the 16 suspects the police are still questioning five other suspects,
said director of the crime unit at the Papua Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Paulus
Waterpauw.

"Hopefully the five will be handed over to the prosecutors' office next
week," he said, explaining that 14 other people were still being sought for
questioning.

---