[Kabar-Irian] News: Oct 03 -5 2006

[Admin-Editors Kabar-Irian]

Sept Oct 3 - 5 2006
KABAR IRIAN NEWS

TOPICS

* Papua cooperatives office to build markets in areas bordering PNG
* Lawyer says Papuan asylum bid vindicated by court decision
* Papuan refugees face closer scrutiny
* Papuan activist dies in Sydney
* Papuan separatists plan exodus
* Papuan dissident warns of 'exodus' of refugees to Australia
* Papuan dies in Australia
* PM vows to look into Papuan claims
* PM signals tough stance
* Talk of Papuan asylum seeker influx worries Howard
* Papuan independence activist dies in Australia
* Equivalency test too hard for many students
* The Right" should embrace West Papua
* Labor supports Coalition on asylum for Papuans
* Book Review: DAY OF RECKONING
* Papua kampongs to get funding
* Lisa grabs silver in weightlifting worlds
* West Papuans make risky visit
* Ayamiseba’s fate will be known this week


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http://www.antara.co.id/en/seenws/?id=21006

Papua cooperatives office to build markets in areas bordering PNG

Jayapura, Irian Jaya (ANTARA News) - Papua province`s cooperatives and
small-scale enterprises office (UKM) will this year

start building markets in a number of subdistricts bordering Papua New
Guinea (PNG), a spokesman said.

"The first market will be built in Lereh village, Kaerom district," the
office`s head, Kaleb Worembai, said on Tuesday.

Another market would be built in Skouw village, Jayapura District.

Two more markets would be opened in Tanah Merah village in Boven Digul
District and Sota village, Merauke District, he added.

He said the project would be funded by his office.

He expressed hope the markets would meet the need of people living in the
border regiosn fot facilities to to sell their

products.(*)

Copyright © 2006 ANTARA

October 3, 2006

---

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1754549.htm

Lawyer says Papuan asylum bid vindicated by court decision

The World Today - Tuesday, 3 October , 2006  12:18:00
Reporter: Gillian Bradford
ELEANOR HALL: The lawyer representing many of the Papuans who've been
given protection in Australia, says the public should

not lose sympathy for them just because their bid to come here was highly
organised.

The ABC has spoken to independence leaders in the Indonesian province of
Papua who have confirmed that they handpicked the 43

asylum seekers who came to Australia in January this year, knowing that
they had the best chance of being granted protection.

They also said there were plans for more Papuans to set off for Australia
though they did not give any details.

The Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says she finds it depressing that
the Papuan refugees bid to come to Australia was

well organised. But Refugee Lawyer David Manne has told Gillian Bradford
that nothing these people have done makes their

claims for protection less genuine.

DAVID MANNE: There's one simple question in all of this, and that is, did
and do the 43 West Papuan refugees face a real

chance of facing fundamental human rights abuse in the form of persecution
if returned to West Papua, or anywhere else in

Indonesia?

And what is crystal clear is that on an objective assessment, based on
legal criteria, the Australian Government found that

all 43 West Papuan refugees faced the real chance of facing brutal human
rights abuse at the hands of Indonesian authorities

if returned to West Papua or anywhere else in Indonesia.

That's the simple question, and the answer remains completely unaltered by
any of these conspiracy theories, which are being

peddled at the moment about how the West Papuan refugees are out in
Australia.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Do you think some Australians though, will think they've
been played for fools here, that this was planned

over a long period of time, their bid to come to Australia?

DAVID MANNE: Look, I'm sure Australians will once again, as they have with
the 43 West Papuans, understand that a fair, just,

decent and humane response is needed to people who flee in fear for their
lives like the West Papuan refugees, and that if

they are found to be genuine refugees, that they must be protected here.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Are you concerned now, that because this information is
out there, that it was an organised bid, that that

may affect the asylum chances of others who plan to come to Australia?

DAVID MANNE: Look, it's crucial in all of this that we focus on the
fundamental issue, and that is the protection needs of

innocent, vulnerable people. It's crucial that politics not prevail over
the protection needs of innocent and vulnerable

people, who are refugees, such as the West Papuans.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Amanda Vanstone says she finds this story depressing, to
find that it was an organised arrangement, and she

would implore Papuans not to do this, because it is the most dangerous way
of seeking asylum.

DAVID MANNE: The issue is about whether or not people who arrive in
Australia need protection from brutal human rights abuses

at the hands of their governments, including the Indonesian Government.

The issue is not about whether or not anyone feels depressed about their
situation, but whether or not they meet the legal

criteria for refugee status - that's the crucial issue - and if they do,
Australia has clear cut obligations under the

refugees conventions and indeed domestic law in Australia, to provide
protection to such people, so that they're not facing

brutal human rights abuses in the future.

GILLIAN BRADFORD: Will you continue to represent any such Papuans who make
their way to Australia?

DAVID MANNE: If we are requested to assist people who have genuine
protection needs, we will do everything we can to assist

them.

Nothing which has been suggested, none of the allegations or theories, or
conspiracies that have been peddled recently alter

the basic fact, and that is that people such as the 43 West Papuans who
flee in fear for their lives and are found on an

objective basis, an objective assessment, to be refugees, nothing has
changed the fact that they deserve our protection.

ELEANOR HALL: That's refugee lawyer David Manne, speaking to Gillian
Bradford in Canberra.

---

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20521643-2702,00.html

Papuan refugees face closer scrutiny
Dennis Shanahan and Stephen Fitzpatrick
October 04, 2006
PAPUAN asylum-seekers face tougher scrutiny in Australia over fears that
political activists are manipulating the system to

guarantee successful applications for asylum that are damaging relations
with Indonesia.

The federal Government will look more closely at applications from Papuans
after John Howard and Immigration Minister Amanda

Vanstone discussed the latest claims that more asylum-seekers from the
province were on their way.

Senator Vanstone warned that any new Papuan asylum-seekers might find
themselves taken to Nauru for processing.

She hinted of other unspecified measures to be taken if the actions of
Papuan asylum- seekers were deemed to be "not in

Australia's national interest".

Ms Vanstone said that while not doubting the veracity of their claims, the
federal Government did not want asylum-seekers

risking their lives in shaky boats crossing the dangerous waters of the
Torres Strait.

Mr Howard said yesterday he had concerns about the latest claims that
another boatload of asylum-seekers was coming from

Papua because of apparent manipulation of the Australian asylum system.

"I am not going to have the system manipulated by anybody," he said. "I
think the revelations in The Australian newspaper a

couple of weeks ago about the way in which the 43 were assembled and these
latest stories mean that the Government will be

looking even more closely at any possible manipulation of the system," Mr
Howard said in Sydney.

The Australian revealed that the first boatload of 43 Papuan
asylum-seekers, who were granted asylum in Australia for fear of

political repression from Indonesian authorities, were carefully vetted
and selected to ensure their successful applications

and create a precedent.

Edison Waromi, who helped plan the audacious sea trip from Papua to Cape
York last January led by independence activist

Herman Wanggai, said Mr Howard was in a "dilemma" trying to please both
Jakarta and his own partyroom.

Mr Waromi would not comment yesterday on whether he knew of new plans to
send another group of asylum-seekers by boat across

the Torres Strait.

The court decision to grant the 43 visas angered the Indonesian
Government, which recalled the ambassador in protest, and

dominated a meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mr
Howard in Batam in July.

At that meeting, Mr Howard declared Australia had no intention of
threatening Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua. He said

Papuans were Indonesian citizens and Australia would not allow itself to
be used as a base for political separatist

movements.

But his bill, which included offshore processing of all illegal arrivals,
was pulled from the Senate when it faced defeat in

August.

Mr Howard spoke yesterday morning to the Immigration Minister about the
manipulation of claims and reports that there were

more asylum-seekers from Papua on their way.

"I am prepared to defend the proper administration of the asylum system
but I am not going to have the system manipulated by

anybody," Mr Howard said.

"We have an orderly refugee program and if people are trying to manipulate
the system, it will mean ever-closer scrutiny of

asylum applications in the future."

Kim Beazley said the reports of more Papuan asylum-seekers coming to
Australia meant foreign policy focus should be moved

away from Iraq towards developing a coastguard.

"What this report shows is that we have got to reorient our strategies and
our policies to refocus on the Southeast Asian and

South Pacific area.

"We need a coastguard, we need a process which ensures that nobody makes
unexpected landings on the Australian coastline.

"And they can be effectively dealt with by what are very powerful and
tough laws now."

Indonesian politician Yudhi Krisnandi, part of a foreign affairs
delegation that travelled to Australia after the asylum-

seeker affair blew up earlier this year, said yesterday that Papuan
independence agitators appeared to have mustered enough

unity to trick Canberra.

"Like it or not, Australia must admit that its actions (in awarding
temporary protection visas to the 43) were not based on

correct information," Mr Krisnandi said.

Additional reporting: Mark Dodd

---

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20517581-1702,00.html


Papuan activist dies in Sydney

October 03, 2006 03:26pm
Article from: AAP

A PROMINENT Papuan independence activist has died in a Sydney hospital,
the Free West Papua human rights group said today.
Willem (Wim) Zonggonau, who spent 35 years trying to win independence for
the Indonesian province of Papua, died yesterday at

Royal North Shore Hospital, after a "massive cardiovascular event''.

Greens Senator Bob Brown today paid tribute to Mr Zonggonau, 64, whom he
said had been a great leader.

"He was a fine and inspiring person,'' Senator Brown said.

Mr Zonggonau was prevented from travelling to the US to protest against
the conduct of the United Nations after a "sham''

referendum on the issue of independence in 1969.

"If the Papuan's wishes for independence had been heard fairly and openly
back then (1969) I have no doubt Wim would have

been a great leader, even prime minister of West Papua,'' Senator Brown said.

At the time of his death, Mr Zonggonau, who lived in Papua New Guinea, had
been on a public speaking tour of Australia to

highlight his concerns about a proposed new security treaty between
Indonesia and Australia.

"There were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, however an
autopsy and coroner's inquiry will be undertaken in

Sydney this week,'' Free West Papua said.

---

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1754913.htm

Papuan separatists plan exodus

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 03/10/2006

Reporter: Geoff Thompson

A group of Papuan separatists says they are planning another exodus of
asylum seekers to Australia, to follow the 42 who were

given temporary shelter earlier this year.
Transcript
TONY JONES: Well, the Federal Government has expressed concern about
suggestions of a new exodus of refugees from the

Indonesian province of Papua. Papuan dissidents say they're planning a new
voyage after the success of an earlier one which

led to 42 people being given temporary shelter in Australia. Indonesia
correspondent Geoff Thompson gained rare access to the

separatist movement in Jayapura to file this report.

GEOFF THOMPSON: On the edge of Jayapura a celebration of the Papua
Indonesia does not want you to see. A few years ago, a

secret little gathering like this would be an occasion to raise the
Morning Star flag of Papua's independence movement. Now,

a small separatist gesture is all that is dared. But there is a new hope
here. 42 Papuans have been accepted by Australia as

our neighbour, says Papuan customary council spokesman Willy Mandowen.
It's the first time in history. What's going on? It's

a sign of God's blessing, he says, that the Papuan struggle is in his
plan. Australia's decision to grant temporary

protection to 42 Papuans was part of a plan. One carefully organised over
the last three years, with the help of the West

Papua national authority's Edison Waromi.

EDISON WAROMI: This is very encouraging for the Papuan people who are
being pursued and intimidated. They can just go

together to the kangaroo continent until Papua's problem, independent
Papua's political status can be resolved fairly and

peacefully.

GEOFF THOMPSON: The extent of human rights abuses by security forces in
Papua range from claims of pervasive low level

violence to allegations of genocide.

FRANCESCA LAWE-DOWLS: It's still quite hard to gauge in some ways, because
of the well known access problems. It's more a

problem of a cultural of impunity among the security forces which leads to
sporadic eruptions of violence than it is a

systematic campaign to wipe out Indigenous Papuans as some groups would
allege.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Any thorough journalistic probing inside Papua is far from
encouraged by the Indonesian Government.

Permission to travel here is rarely granted, and when it is journalists'
movements around the province are strictly

controlled and keenly observed. Even talking to known independence
supporters or human rights activists in Papua is enough to

get journalists with correct permits detained by police. But Willy
Mandowen hopes the wind will change by the end of this

year.

WILLY MANDOWEN: We think we are on the right track. Again in the past, we
do it publicly but today we want to do it silently

when the time comes for the right wind, we will sail.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Edison Waromi warns that another boat of asylum seekers
will sail some time, too.

EDISON WAROMI: I can say there will be more people leaving, but I can't
yet confirm what day and what time, because if I say

then Jakarta will surely monitor the Southern Waters and the borders of
Jayapura. But I will say there will be an exodus.

GEOFF THOMPSON: In the face of these warnings Prime Minister John Howard
says he's concerned about possible misuse of the

refugee system by Papuan separatists.

JOHN HOWARD: If people are trying to manipulate the system, then it will
mean ever closer scrutiny of any asylum applications

in the future.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Despite the separatist claims, there's no evidence that
any exodus is imminent.

---

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20061003110535&irec=9

Papuan dissident warns of 'exodus' of refugees to Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AP): A dissident from Indonesia's restive Papua
province on Tuesday predicted that an "exodus" of asylum

seekers would flee to Australia in the coming weeks.

Edison Warom's comments came nearly 10 months after 43 Papuan asylum
seekers landed on Australia's northern coast, sparking a

diplomatic rift between Jakarta and Canberra.

"I can say that there will be more people leaving but I can't confirm what
day and what time," Warom told the Australian

Broadcasting Corp. Radio through an interpreter.

Because, if I say, then Jakarta will surely monitor the southern waters
... but I will say there will be an exodus," Warom

added. It was not clear whether he was speaking from Australia or Indonesia.

Indonesia temporarily withdrew its ambassador from Australia in protest
earlier this year after Canberra accepted the 42 --

and refusing one -- Papuans as refugees, including supporters of the
province's secessionist movement.

Australia's Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said she expected strong
cooperation from Indonesia if any fresh refugees

tried to reach Australia from Papua.

"I would hope that there isn't another boatload for a number of reasons,
it is the least safe way to seek asylum in

Australia," Vanstone told the ABC. (

---

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20061003155527&irec=5

Papuan dies in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AP): Willem "Wim" Zonggonau, an independence activist
from Indonesia's restive Papua province, has died

during a speaking tour in Australia, officials said Tuesday. He was
64.Zonggonau died Monday at Sydney's Royal North Shore

Hospital after suffering a major heart attack, according to a statement
released by the Australia-based Free West Papua

group.

"I was very sorry to hear of Wim's death. He was a fine and inspiring
person," Greens party Sen. Bob Brown said in a

statement released Tuesday.

Zonggonau had spent much of the past 37 years protesting a 1969 referendum
that integrated Papua - also known as West Papua -

into Indonesia.

Brown described Zonggonau's death as "a tragedy."

"If the Papuans' wishes for independence had been heard fairly and openly
back then, I have no doubt Wim would have been a

great leader, even prime minister, of West Papua," Brown said.

Zonggonau had been visiting Australia on a speaking tour from Papua New
Guinea, where he lived in exile.

Free West Papua said an autopsy and coroner's inquiry would be undertaken
in Sydney this week, but that there were "no

suspicious circumstances" surrounding Zonggonau's death. (**)

---

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/PM-vows-to-look-into-Papuan-claims/2006/10/03/1159641294431.html

PM vows to look into Papuan claims

October 3, 2006 - 8:34AM

Prime Minister John Howard has vowed to look into whether Papuan
dissidents are trying to manipulate Australia's asylum

system.

Ten months after a group of 43 boatpeople from the troubled Indonesian
province arrived in Australia's northern waters,

Papuan leaders say another group is on its way.

Relations between Australia and Indonesia plummeted in April after
Canberra granted protection visas to the boatpeople, who

claimed they were fleeing persecution in Papua.

Papuan dissident Edison Warom says that group had been carefully vetted
over a three-year period to ensure their chances of

getting a protection visa were high, and a similar group could arrive soon.

"I can say that there will be more people leaving but I can't confirm what
day and what time," Mr Warom told ABC Radio

through an interpreter.

"Because, if I say, then Jakarta will surely monitor the southern waters
... but I will say there will be an exodus."

Mr Howard has spoken to Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone about the
claims and says people will not be allowed to

manipulate the process.

"The government will be looking even more closely at any possible
manipulation of the system," Mr Howard told reporters in

Sydney.

"I am prepared to and will continue to defend the proper administration of
our asylum system but I am not going to have the

system manipulated by anybody.

"We have an orderly refugee program and if people are trying to manipulate
the system then it will mean ever closer scrutiny

of any asylum applications in the future."

In the wake of the January arrivals, Mr Howard proposed tough new laws
which would have forced all boatpeople to be sent to

island detention centres while their claims were processed.

But he was forced to back down after a Liberal backbench revolt,
disappointing Indonesia.

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said that Mr Warom's claims did not mean the
government had been right to try to change the

laws.

"We need a Coastguard, we need a process which ensures that nobody makes
unexpected landings on the Australian coastline," Mr

Beazley told reporters in Adelaide.

"And they can be effectively dealt with by what are very powerful and
tough laws now. But laws designed in the Australian

interest, no one else's."

Senator Vanstone said she hoped Mr Warom was wrong, as arriving by boat
was the least safe way to seek asylum in Australia.

She said she expected strong cooperation from Indonesia if any fresh
refugees tried to reach Australia from Papua.

"Why on earth people would want to promote unrest in West Papua I, for the
life of me, don't know, let alone promote people

getting on shaky boats and risking their lives," she told Macquarie radio.

"I think it's just crazy."

Meanwhile, a prominent Papuan independence activist has died in a Sydney
hospital.

Willem (Wim) Zonggonau, who spent 35 years trying to win independence for
the province, died on Monday at Royal North Shore

Hospital after a "massive cardiovascular event", the Free West Papua group
said.

© 2006 AAP

---

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20520131-662,00.html


PM signals tough stance

Ben Packham

October 04, 2006 12:00am
Article from: Herald-Sun

JOHN Howard has signalled a tougher line on Papuan asylum seekers.
Amid reports that another group of Papuans is on its way, Mr Howard said
the Government would look at whether Papuan

activists had rorted asylum laws.

Papuan activists have admitted a group of 43 boat people who arrived ten
months ago were carefully selected to ensure their

chances of gaining asylum were high.

Relations between Australia and Indonesia plummeted in April after
Canberra granted protection visas to the boatpeople, who

claimed to be fleeing persecution in Papua.

Mr Howard said any manipulation of immigration laws would be result in
greater scrutiny of asylum claims.

"I am prepared to and will continue to defend the proper administration of
our asylum system," he said.

"But I am not going to have the system manipulated by anybody and I
believe the Australian people will have the same view."

In the wake of the January arrivals, Mr Howard proposed tough new laws
which would have forced all boatpeople to be sent to

island detention centres while their claims were processed.

But he was forced to back down after a Liberal backbench revolt,
disappointing Indonesia.

Papuan dissident Edison Warom said another group of asylum seekers could
arrive from the troubled Indonesian province soon.

"I can say that there will be more people leaving but I can't confirm what
day and what time," Mr Warom told ABC Radio.

"Because, if I say, then Jakarta will surely monitor the southern waters
... but I will say there will be an exodus."

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said that Mr Warom's claims did not justify
moves to process all asylum seekers offshore.

"They can be effectively dealt with by what are very powerful and tough
laws now. But laws designed in the Australian

interest, no one else's," he said

---

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1754815.htm

Tuesday, October 3, 2006. 6:34pm (AEST)
Forty-three Papuans were granted visas earlier this year [File photo].

Forty-three Papuans were granted visas earlier this year [File photo]. (ABC)

Talk of Papuan asylum seeker influx worries Howard

Prime Minister John Howard says he is concerned by suggestions by a
pro-independence Papuan leader that preparations are

under way for an exodus of asylum seekers from the Indonesian province to
Australia.

Forty-three Papuans were granted visas earlier this year, prompting
diplomatic tensions between Australia and Indonesia.

Edison Waromi helped the group reach Australia and says the journey was
planned to bring attention to their push for

independence.

Mr Howard says he has discussed the issue with Immigration Minister
Senator Amanda Vanstone.

"I'm not going to have the system manipulated by anybody and I believe the
Australian people will have the same view," he

said.

"We have an orderly refugee program and if people are trying to manipulate
the system then it will mean very closer scrutiny

of any asylum applications in the future."

---

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/03/asia/AS_GEN_Australia_Obit_Papuan_activist.php

 Papuan independence activist dies in Australia
The Associated Press

Published: October 3, 2006
SYDNEY, Australia Willem "Wim" Zonggonau, an independence activist from
Indonesia's restive Papua province, has died during a

speaking tour in Australia, officials said Tuesday. He was 64.

Zonggonau died Monday at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital after
suffering a major heart attack, according to a statement

released by the Australia-based Free West Papua group.

"I was very sorry to hear of Wim's death. He was a fine and inspiring
person," Greens party Sen. Bob Brown said in a

statement released Tuesday.

Zonggonau had spent much of the past 37 years protesting a 1969 referendum
that integrated Papua — also known as West Papua —

into Indonesia. Critics say the vote was a sham, and human rights groups
say at least 100,000 people have died since 1969 in

continuing resistance to Jakarta's rule.

Brown described Zonggonau's death as "a tragedy."

"If the Papuans' wishes for independence had been heard fairly and openly
back then, I have no doubt Wim would have been a

great leader, even prime minister, of West Papua," Brown said.

Zonggonau had been visiting Australia on a speaking tour from Papua New
Guinea, where he lived in exile. The country shares a

border with Indonesia's Papua province.

He and a fellow independence activist, Clemens Runawery, had recently
launched a petition urging Australia's Prime Minister

John Howard not to continue negotiating a proposed security treaty with
Indonesia.

"Such a treaty should not be made ... over the heads of West Papuan
people," Zonggonau said in a speech last month. "It's

time now that West Papuans' voice should be heard."

West Papua lies just north of Australia.

Free West Papua said an autopsy and coroner's inquiry would be undertaken
in Sydney this week, but that there were "no

suspicious circumstances" surrounding Zonggonau's death.

Zonggonau is survived by his sister, Dolly, who lives on the South Pacific
island nation of Vanuatu and several nieces living

in Papua New Guinea and Papua province.


---

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20061003.H06&irec=5


Equivalency test too hard for many students

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For the last two months, Melati Putri, 18, has been all smiles. After the
painful failure in the recent national examination,

she was finally admitted in the psychology undergraduate program at
Atmajaya University, Jakarta.

"All I have to do is wait for the result of the equivalency test so that I
can be just like all the other students here," she

told The Jakarta Post.

Melati is one of thousands of 12th graders who had failed the exam and
studied for the equivalency test for two months. She

has to pass the test so that the university can upgrade her status from
temporary to permanent student.

She does not know if she has passed yet. About 10 to 30 percent of the
students who took it failed.

The Education Ministry reported Monday that about 23 percent of about
16,600 high schools students majoring in science failed

the test, whereas about 20 percent of 55,200 majoring in social studies
failed.

Meanwhile, only 5 percent of 136,800 junior high school students passed
the tests.

The Education Ministry's head of evaluation, Burhanudin Tola, however,
still considers the results normal. "The tests show

that when there is a will there is a way. Those who studied hard were able
to pass the test while those who didn't, continue

to fail," he said. Those who failed could either take the next equivalency
test or repeat their final year at their regular

schools.

He also asked all students who took the tests to wait for the results
since they might be delayed due to technical problems.

The ministry has not even received the results from Papua and West Irian
provinces.

Nonformal schooling program director Ella Yulaelawati said that those
students who failed the tests shouldn't worry too much

since they could either take another equivalency test or repeat their
final year.

"It is common for out of school students to take the equivalency tests
more than once," she said.

The equivalency test is actually intended for mature-age students or
street children who cannot attend regular schools who

would otherwise have no hope of attending college or university.

Things, of course, are different for regular school students like Melati,
who has always had the dream of attending

university and being among her peers. That is why passing either the
equivalency tests or national exam as soon as possible

is a must.

"I can't imagine what would happen to me if I failed the test," she said.

One thing is for sure, she would have to quit college if she fails this time.

---

http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20061004-Why-The-Right-should-embrace-West-Papua.html
The Right" should embrace West Papua
By Ben Oquist, former Greens adviser, now political consultant – including
for West Papua

The shock death in Sydney on Monday of West Papuan leader Willem (Wim)
Zonggonau (pictured right) is tragic – but it also

reminds us of why West Papuans will continue to flee the province and why
The Right should welcome it.

Wim was on a public speaking tour of Australia with his West Papuan
colleague Clemens Runawery, and had met several

politicians in Canberra as well as academics and West Papuan supporters
around the country.

Wim was a human rights campaigner, a historian, and independence activist
but at heart what he most was a democrat. He

yearned, like so many West Papuans, for a free and fair vote in the
province so that the people of West Papua could determine

their own future.

This is why we shouldn’t be surprised by Geoff Thompson’s revelations on
the ABC that more West Papuan independence activists

might be coming to Australia. The West Papuan independence leaders want
their people to be able to determine their own future

rather than having it imposed from Jakarta.
Their's is a deeply human struggle – the will to freedom. It is a
principle supposedly at the heart of right wing ideology,

but so often lacking in reality.

Now that it has been revealed that the recently arrived 43 West Papuan
refugees had planned their trip to Australia –

selecting those most likely to be persecuted – we are no doubt set for
another round of West Papuan bashing from right-wing

intellectuals like Gerard Henderson (previous columns here and here). John
Howard has started and Kim Beazley has cranked up

his inane chant for a coast guard – something that has the potential to
help turn West Papua into a kind of death camp.

But there is a reason independence leaders planned their trip to
Australia. Those most likely to face persecution in West

Papua are those who strive for independence.

And why is it that independence activists are the most likely to be in
genuine fear of persecution in their homeland? Because

the only way that West Papua can be kept part of Indonesia is by force.
The Indonesian military knows it can not let people

freely express their beliefs and desires – for to do so would only
accelerate the move to independence.

For years there has been too little attention paid to the plight of West
Papuans. But globalisation is a force that even the

brutality of the Indonesian police can not hold back. Communications with
those inside West Papua will only get easier as

technology gets smaller, lighter, and cheaper. Journalists will
increasingly get in.

With transparency comes freedom. Freedom leads to democracy and in West
Papua democracy means independence.

Wim Zonggonau was a democrat at heart. It’s a shame that so many on The
Right leave their belief in democracy at the door

when it comes to looking over the fence to our near neighbour.

They should have spent some time with Wim Zonggonau. They would have
learnt a lot. The small handful of journalists, Labor,

Green and independent politicians who took the time to talk to Wim in
Canberra last month will be glad they did.

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20527090-5001561,00.html

Labor supports Coalition on asylum for Papuans
Cath Hart
October 05, 2006
LABOR has thrown its support behind Coalition moves to ensure the asylum
system is not manipulated for international

political purposes.

Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke yesterday offered support to
the Government after revelations in The Australian

last week that a group of 43 Papuans had manipulated the system.

"The federal Government is right to say that the reason for having a
refugee system is for people to flee persecution - it's

not there for people to make political statements," Mr Burke told ABC radio.

"The only question then should be whether or not people are genuinely
fleeing persecution.

"And that determination ought to be made independently, and our
relationship with other countries ought not to be part of a

genuine independent process determining that somebody either has a
well-founded fear of persecution or they don't."

The Australian revealed last week that the 43 Papuans who arrived in a
dugout canoe in January, and were granted asylum on

the grounds they faced repression from Indonesian authorities, had been
selected to ensure their successful applications and

create a precedent.

The granting of asylum to 42 of the Papuans in March triggered a
diplomatic crisis in which Jakarta withdrew ambassador

Hamzah Thayeb in protest.

Papuan activists have now signalled they are organising another boatload
to make the trip to Australia.

But Mr Burke said attempts by Papuan activists to establish a beachhead
for independence in Australia had backfired. "There's

been a lot more speeches delivered in the parliament by each side ofthe
parliament against Papuan separatism as a result of

the last 43 applications," he said.

John Howard has vowed to closely scrutinise Papuan applications for
asylum, and Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has

hinted at other measures to be taken if the actions of the Papuan
asylum-seekers are deemed not to be in Australia's national

interest.

The Government unsuccessfully tried to amend the migration laws so all
unauthorised boat arrivals were processed offshore in

an effort to quell the diplomatic tensions.

Victorian backbencher Petro Georgiou yesterday defended his colleagues who
joined him in crossing the floor of the House of

Representatives in August to vote against the legislation.

But Queensland Liberal backbencher Cameron Thompson said he would raise
the revival of the failed amendments with Senator

Vanstone.

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http://www.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=16850/overide

SkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl

Book Review: DAY OF RECKONING


Patrick Matbob
On January 25, 1948, a teenage Manus islander, Pondranei, visited the
American army base near his village at Lugos to barter

some pineapples for cigarettes.

His customers were a contingent of Chinese and American army workers
living at the base. However, things turned nasty for the

young boy when four Chinese workers accused him of stealing cigarette.

They grabbed him and tied his hands on to the rafters of one of the
military Quonset huts and beat him until he lost

consciousness.

This form of punishment, cruel as it was, was not uncommon in the colonial
days and could have gone unnoticed had it not been

treated differently.

However, the Australian District Officer on Manus was determined to
enforce the law and started investigating the incident

with the aim of bringing to justice the perpetrators.

His actions however, sparked a long legal, political and cultural drama
that pitted the governments of Australia, United

States and China against each other.

Pondranei’s case is one of four featured in a book titled Day of Reckoning
by Lachlan Strahan published last year.

Three of the four cases happened in the then territory of Papua and New
Guinea while the fourth happened in Dutch New Guinea

(West Papua).

Pondranei’s case was complicated by the fact that the Chinese who had
beaten him up were labourers employed by the Chinese

army.

They were on Manus under the Shanghai Agreement signed in 1946 between the
United States and China which allowed China to buy

United States army’s surplus property.

Manus, in October 1944, was built by the American Army into one of the
world’s greatest naval bases as a launch-pad for

MacArthur’s reconquest of the Philippines.

However, four years later, the US army had moved on and the United Nations
had placed PNG under the trusteeship of Australia.

On Manus though, Australia’s control was still not clearly visible and was
enforced by four overworked Government officers

and their 10 native policemen at Inrim plantation.

At around the same time, another crime was committed in Lae. This time,
several Filipino scouts who were members of the US

Army and deployed in Lae as part of a US War Graves Registration unit were
involved in a scuffle with a group of Australians.

Lae, then a ‘hard-drinking, hard-playing frontier town’, was celebrating
the New Year at the old Hotel Cecil and the Filipino

scouts had tried to gain entry to the party.

However, the colonial racial rule in the territory did not allow the local
people, and those of other races to mix with the

white race and that led to the Filipinos being unceremoniously ejected
from the party.

During the scuffle that followed, an Australian miner from the goldfields
was injured and died later from complications

arising from the injury.

The Australian government officials in Lae tried to investigate the case,
and punish the culprit—believed to be one of the

Filipinos–however, the case became complicated by the nationalities and
jurisdiction involved.

While it was clear to the Australians that they had the authority to
investigate and punish the offender, the Americans

believed otherwise.

They argued that the Filipino scouts were members of the American army and
were subject to the American military court.

The author had picked these seemingly isolated incidents and woven them
into an intriguing tale showing how the cases

actually affected each other.

The same Australian judicial and administrative officials were involved in
three of the four cases covered and the account

provides an insight into how their decisions were influenced by a host of
events beyond their control.

Race relationship between Papua New Guineans and their colonising power
Australia, as well as Americans and Asians were also

at stake here.

Of the case in Lae, the author wrote: “Scott’s death triggered a
protracted legal and political imbroglio, which dragged in

the members of three ethnic groups—Australians, Filipinos and
Americans—and generated considerable tensions between Canberra,

Manila and Washington.

“This messy drama was played out before the local Melanesian and Chinese
communities.”

While the Australians were trying to enforce their control in the
territory over foreign wrongdoers, how did they deal with

their own?

Lachlan also answers this question in one of the cases involving two
Australian government patrol officers—kiaps—and the

local people in the Markham Valley.

The kiaps abused their powers when, in their capacity as officers of the
court, ordered some accused local people appearing

before them to be indecently assaulted and to have sex in public.

The dark deeds of the kiaps shocked the administration and raised serious
questions about the enormous powers given to kiaps

and the quality of men tasked with the responsibilities.

The Australian authorities had to deal with their own in such a way that
showed no bias.

Yet they did not find it easy to apply the same law on the foreigners
accused of committing crimes in the territory and were

continuously frustrated by interference from foreign governments.

The Day of Reckoning is a story of historical interest where the past is
brought to life in such vivid and powerful narrative

and skillfully explores the complexities of international relations. It
weaves together scenes of tough diplomatic

negotiations, courtroom sessions, and cultural misapprehensions that make
for interesting reading.

Many of the characters involved are familiar names in PNG’s
history—Murray, Ward, Justice Philips, Scragg, Grimshaw, Gunter—

and it is interesting to see the roles they played in these little known
historical events.

One wonders whether Pondranei’s trials are still remembered today by his
people on Manus or if the Markham people can recall

the dark deeds of the Australian kiaps.

Even if they don’t, Day of Reckoning has immortalised the characters and
their stories and popularised yet another

fascinating piece of PNG’s history.

• Day of Reckoning is published by Pandanus Books, Research School of
Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National

University, Canberra.

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20061004.@01&irec=0

Papua kampongs to get funding

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu has earmarked Rp 100 million (US$ 10,852) in
special autonomy funding to be disbursed to each

of the kampongs throughout the country's easternmost province starting
next year.

Since Papua has 2,600 kampongs, a total of Rp 260 billion will be
distributed, Suebu said at the regional conference of the

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in Biak over the weekend.

According to the governor, the funds will be used to finance four key
sectors: education, health, infrastructure and

community economic empowerment.

The money will be channeled through Bank Papua, which will be assigned to
set up a branch office in each kampong. Each branch

will have a World Bank-trained advisor to ensure the funds are disbursed
effectively.

"The advisor will act as a consultant for local people in managing the
funds, which are aimed at the improvement of the

communities' economies," Suebu said.

In addition to handing out the funds, the Papuan provincial administration
will build polyclinics in all 2,600 kampongs next

year and supply each with a nurse, the governor said.

"The nurses are expected not only to help local mothers during labor, but
also to help tend the babies, including the

provision of their food and keeping them healthy," he said.

In the education sector, Suebu said, the local administration plans to
build 10 model boarding schools with a capacity of

2,000 students each. "Activities at the schools to be built will be equal
to the education level offered by the Pelita

Harapan School in Jakarta. We will be able to do this because we have the
money," he said.

Frans Maniagasi, a member of the Jakarta-based Papuan working group, said
the special autonomy development program must be

realistic.

"We can put our ideals high in the sky, but there must be those who can
make them into reality on the ground," he said in

Jayapura on Tuesday.

Frans said the most important step for Suebu and his deputy governor, Alex
Hasegem, was to prepare a legal instrument as a

guideline in implementing special autonomy.

Otherwise, he said, it would be difficult to ensure the money was spent
properly.

"Without any clear-cut regulations, corruption, which is currently taking
place at the provincial and regional

administrations, will later take place in the kampongs," he said.

Meanwhile, Agus Alue Alua, chairman of the Papuan People's Assembly, urged
both the regional and central governments to

design an official Papuan Special Autonomy program charged with improving
the welfare of the Papuan people.

"The special autonomy fund, intended mainly to improve the welfare of
local people, constitutes the government's response to

the Papuans' call for freedom. The money should be utilized maximally to
empower the people in the kampongs, and not to

finance travel by government officials," he said.

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20061004.@02&irec=1



Lisa grabs silver in weightlifting worlds

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian weightlifter Raema Lisa Rumbewas made a successful lift to take
home the silver medal at the 75th Men's and 17th

Women's World Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Jayapura-born Lisa, who turned 26 last month, lifted 98 kilograms in the
snatch event and 115 kilos in the clean and jerk

event, posting a total lift of 210 kilos in the women's 53-kilo division.

The silver medalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics
was 16 kilos behind world record breaker Qiu Hongxia

of China, who lifted a total of 226 kilos (98 kilos in snatch and 128
kilos in clean and jerk), the International

Weighlifting Federation said on its website.

Trailing in third place was Thailand's Suda Chaleephay, who lifted a total
of 207 kilos (92 kilos in snatch and 115 kilos in

clean and jerk).

"Lisa's result is a surprise given that she was on a two-day flight before
competing at the event," Indonesian Weightlifting,

Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association secretary-general Alamsyah
Wijaya told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

He said the points collected by Lisa would benefit the country's national
team as the championships also serve as the first

qualifying round for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"The points earned by all of Indonesia's lifters during the championships
will be totaled to decide how many slots will be

given to our team, both the male and female squads, for the Olympiad,"
Alamsyah said.

Indonesia sent six lifters to the championships: Okta Dwi Paramita, also
competing in the women's 53-kilo class, Sinta

Darmariani (women's 75-kilo class), Triyatno (men's 62 kilos) and Eko Yuli
Irawan and Jadi Setiadi (both in men's 56 kilos).

Okta finished eighth at the event after lifting a total of 191 kilos, 85
kilos in snatch and 106 kilos in the clean and jerk

event.

Sinta was yet to make her lift as of Tuesday evening.

Earlier Monday, the national men's lifters finished in the top 10 places
in their respective divisions. Triyatno lifted 130

kilos in snatch and 155 kilos in clean and jerk for a total of 285 kilos
to finish ninth. Eko and Jadi finished eighth and

ninth after lifting 266 kilos in total (116 kilos in snatch and 150 kilos
in clean and jerk) and 265 kilos (120 kilos in

snatch and 145 kilos in clean and jerk), respectively.

The fifth day of the championships, which end Saturday, was marked by the
breaking of four world records by Chinese lifters

and the domination of the podiums by Asian teams.

"These championships give us a clear map of who will be our strongest
competitors in the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, next

December," Alamsyah said.

"The competition will certainly be stiffer as most of the world's best
lifters are Asians."

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http://web.bcnewsgroup.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=117&cat=23&id=742698&more=

  Pacific Problems




ANDREW MacLEOD

Visiting Ketrina Yabansabra (left) and Yan Christian Warinussy
By ANDREW MacLEOD
Oct 04 2006

West Papuans make risky visit

Just below the level of his heart, human rights lawyer Yan Christian
Warinussy wears a metal tie clip decorated with a flag.

On the left is a white star on a narrow vertical band of red; the rest of
the flag, the part that would flap in the breeze,

is a field of 13 blue and white stripes. Known as the "morning star," the
flag is a symbol for West Papua. Yet for over four

decades now, it has been illegal under Indonesian law to fly it.

Wearing the flag is the kind of thing that could get Warinussy into a lot
of trouble at home. "Systematically the law's been

used to suppress the people of West Papua," he says, speaking through
another member of the delegation, Denny Yomaki, a 35-

year-old who once spent a year in Sooke on a Canada World Youth exchange.
The third member of the delegation is Ketrina

Yabansabra, a church minister.

"The people of Canada should know the law's supremacy does not exist in
West Papua since West Papua became part of

Indonesia," says Warinussy. "People who've shown their rejection of the
Indonesian occupation of West Papua were being

arrested, detained, made disappeared, tortured, killed or murdered."

The three West Papuans were in British Columbia for a meeting in Lake
Cowichan that gathered supporters from 10 or so

countries. During the 10-day visit, they gave public presentations at the
University of Victoria and in downtown Victoria.

They also met with members of local first nations, some of whom share
similar issues but with key differences. "They're

facing lawyers with ballpoints and papers," says Yomaki, who spent four
months in jail after a 1989 protest. "We're facing

militaries with guns and prisons."

Indonesia has controlled West Papua, which shares the island of New Guinea
with the independent country of Papua New Guinea,

since 1963. The best estimate of how many people have been killed is about
100,000, he says. That's out of a current

population of 800,000-in other words, for every eight people living in
West Papua today, one has been killed. And while the

Indonesian government wouldn't be pleased with Warinussy proudly wearing
the West Papuan flag, they'd likely be even more

angry with the willingness he and the other two members of the delegation
have to talk with journalists.

Travel to West Papua is severely restricted, says Yomaki, and visas for
journalists can take half a year or longer to

process. In mid-September, the Indonesian government deported an
Australian television crew who entered on tourist visas. The

Associated Press quotes Papua police chief Tommy Jacobus saying, "They
admitted to being journalists who were intending to

report on events here. It is best if we deport them."

Asked about the risk they are taking by talking to a journalist, Yomaki
says, "We're always at risk." He's willing to talk,

he says, but he doesn't want his photo in the paper. He does much of his
work underground and doesn't want to be recognized.

Warinussy and Yabansabra, however, say they feel comfortable being
photographed. "Even now when we go back we don't know if

we're going to be arrested or made disappeared, but we don't get scared,"
says Yabansabra. "We're not scared because we've

told our stories to you. It's better for us to tell our stories than to be
silent."

Yabansabra was part of a group of 100 women from West Papua who visited
Jakarta in 1997 to tell then president B.J. Habibie

about what was going on in their region. "After we visited the president,
we thought the violations in West Papua would be

getting less and less," she says. Instead they doubled. "Indonesian
military, they're not really afraid of violating West

Papuans."

There are stories, she says, of women having their breasts cut off and
their genitals mutilated; their have been women raped

with bottles. "Today the same violation is happening, specifically in the
highlands," she says. "Our babies, also, being

taken away from some of our women and being thrown against trees or to the
floors and killed."

A 2004 report by a group of lawyers at the Yale university law school
stopped just short of accusing the Indonesian

government of genocide. "Since Indonesia gained control of West Papua, the
West Papuan people have suffered persistent and

horrible abuses at the hands of the government," they write. "The
Indonesian military and security forces have engaged in

widespread violence and extrajudicial killings in West Papua. They have
subjected Papuan men and women to acts of torture,

disappearance, rape, and sexual violence, thus causing serious bodily and
mental harm."

The definition of "genocide," however, rests on whether or not there was
an intent to destroy the people. In this case it

couldn't be said for certain, but it was a reasonable conclusion. Glenn
Raynor, the executive director of the Pacific

People's Partnership, was hosting the group in B.C. and accompanied them
to the Monday office. Whether or not you call it a

"genocide," says Raynor, the effect is the same. "It's a Melanesian
country that's being transformed into an Asian country,"

he says. A Pacific island culture is being destroyed in the process.

And what is Canada's role? Yomaki says a lot of Indonesians come here,
many on government grants, to study. Also, he says, he

suspects the Canadian government contributes through the United Nations
Development Program to what Indonesia is doing in

West Papua. Much of that money, intended as aid for people in need, gets
used by the military. "We want the Canadian

government to know not all the money goes to the people who need the money."

A regional officer for Asia with the Rights and Democracy International
Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development,

Micheline Levesque, says the Canadian government doesn't acknowledge the
problems in West Papua. Nor does the Canadian

International Development Agency see it as a priority. "This is
outrageous," she says. "Everyone turns a blind eye to what's

happening in West Papua because they want to do business as usual."

She adds, "We need more international attention to force the Indonesian
government to do something." M

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http://www.news.vu/en/news/national/061004-Andy-Ayamiseba-Vanuatu-deportation-case.shtml

Ayamiseba’s fate will be known this week

By The ni-Vanuatu
Posted Wednesday, October 4, 2006

The Vanuatu Court of Appeal will declare whether Mr. Andy Ayamiseba could
remain in Vanuatu or leave the country following

his deportation order from the Minister for Internal Affairs in February.

The government had labelled the former Black Brothers band Manager and
West Papua Activist, “a risk to national security”.

But Mr. Ayamiseba challenged the order saying he was being treated
unfairly according to the Immigration Act of Vanuatu.

His case was turned down when the Supreme Court ruling in April upheld the
government’s deportation order.

Mr. Ayamiseba refused to give in because he believed the Minister had
failed to give him his right to be heard under the

Immigration Act.

On Wednesday 26 September, the Appeal Court of Vanuatu heard the appeal
case of Mr. Ayamiseba.

Mr. Ayamiseba’s lawyer Felix Laumae Kabini explains that according to the
existing immigration laws of Vanuatu, his client

has the right to be heard.

Kabini points out that according to the principal section of the
Immigration Act of the Republic, anyone who has been ordered

out of the country, has the right to be heard.

Kabini says that particular section of the Immigration Act was never
removed when the law was amended.

The Appeal Court is expected to give its judgement on 6 October.

Mr. Ayamiseba originally from West Papua, has been residing in Vanuatu for
several years now. He is living in Port Vila with

his ni-Vanuatu wife and their four year old son.

Meanwhile a community leader who wished not to be named, has described
Ayamiseba’s deportation order as a contradiction to

Vanuatu’s stand on the independence issues of West Papua and other
colonised peoples of the Pacific.

The leaders says he believes it won’t be wrong to speculate that such an
order is foreign driven.

“This is because of the simple reason that it does not represent the wish
of the chiefs and people of Vanuatu.

“Who is the real risk to national security, someone who is pleading for us
to support the liberation and freedom of his

people
 our own Melanesian brothers and sisters,
 or those people are
behind the murdering of foreign business people in Port

Vila?

“If the government is concerned about the security of our country and
especially the economy, then it should be listening

those foreign investors who are already established and are contributing
in the development of our national economy. There

are cases of them being threatened or even attacked and robbed by ni-Vans”.

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