[Kabar-Irian] News: May 2007
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KABAR IRIAN NEWS
March Apr 23-30
TOPICS
* West Papua wins 3 golds in Arafura Games
* Govt aims to wire all villages with phone lines
* Minister reiterates weight
* Govt not serious in settling right violation cases in Papua, observer
* INDONESIA: KOSOVO POSES A DILEMMA
* Tribes gather in Jayapura
* Calls for an end to the current Special Autonomy status
* special autonomy in Papua not working
* More aid on way to Papua
* NZ aid for Papua development programme
* Moderate earthquake jolts eastern Indonesian province of Papua
* Police occupy West Papua church headquarters
* West Papua: Police Surrounds Indigenous Church
* PAPUA: Hundreds demonstrate in front of Jayapura synod
* Research finds 30% of male aedes aegypti mosquitos carry dengue virus
* BBC Radio 4 (Bit on Papua)
* The final frontierswoman
* Indonesia may ship Papua gas to solve shortfall in Aceh
* TRAITORS OF THE NATION MUST BE DESTROYED
* PRESS RELEASE:
* The West Papua Report - May
* OPEN LETTER
* Freeport-McMoran Executive Sells Shares
* Japanese heavy engineering firms choose Vector Lifting
* Fishermen's Rights Need Protection, says Missionary
* Govt must revise law on oil, gas to attract investors
* Kosovo Precedent
----
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/5/17/west-papua-wins-3-golds-in-arafura-games/
Sport
05/17/07 17:39
West Papua wins 3 golds in Arafura Games
Canberra (ANTARA News) - The West Papua contingent in the Arafura Games
taking place in Darwin,
capital of Australi`s Nothern territory, until May 19, has won three
golds, one silver and one bronze, a
West Papua contingent official said.
The number of medals for Indonesia was expected to increase as two Aceh
boxers have moved to the
finals, Bambang Nugroho, manager of the West Papua Contingent, said here
Thursday.
"Indonesia will get at least two more silver medals. Thank God, if the two
pugilists from Aceh province`s
contingent win golds. I received the information from the Aceh
contingent," Bambang said.
According to him, the West Papua athletes were planning to leave Darwin
for Denpasar, Bali, this
Thursday.
The three gold medals were contributed by West Papua athletes in the men`s
400-meter hurdles, men`s
100-meter sprint and men`s 4x100-meter relay race, he said.
He said the organizing committee had announced that the Aceh team secured
one silver so that at 1.20
pm on Thursday, Indonesia`s medal tally was three golds, two silvers and
one bronze.
Besides West Papua and Aceh, Indonesia is also represented by the
provinces of Papua and Bali in the
Arafura Games.
Until Thursday afternoon, host Australia was still in the lead in the
medal tally having won 125 golds, 132
silvers and 96 bronzes.
Indonesia`s medal tally in the Arafura Games was far behind those of other
ASEAN member countries
taking part in the event.
Malaysia, for instance, grabbed 18 golds, 13 silvers and eight bronzes,
Thailand six golds, six silvers and
13 bronzes, Brunei five golds, five silvers and 10 bronzes, and Vietnam
five golds, two silvers and three
bronzes.
The Arafura Games which was opened by Northern Territory`s head of
government, Clare Martin, on
Saturday (May 12) at the TIO stadium in Darwin runs until May 19, 2007.
The event is also participated in by the US, Singapore, Lebanon, Taiwan,
Papua New Guinea, Brunei
Darussalam, New Zealand, the Philippines, Fiji, Macau, Tonga, Japan,
Malaysia, New Caledonia, Samoa
and South Africa.
Seven disabled athletes are also taking part in the Arafura Games which
has been included in Northern
Territory`s biennial calendar of events.
The sixth international sports conference will also be held as part of the
games. (*)
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070530.H07&irec=6
Govt aims to wire all villages with phone lines
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The new Information and Communications Minister Muhammad Nuh has
prioritized the optimization of
information and communications technology (ICT) to spur the country's
competitiveness in the era of
globalization.
The ministry has set an ambitious target of wiring all villages in
Indonesia with telephone lines by 2009.
Currently, there are more than 38,000 villages without telephone
connections in the country.
"But we will not develop phone lines only. We will also cooperate with
other ministries to ensure integrated
development in these villages," Nuh told reporters Tuesday.
"We can collaborate with the Public Works Ministry, for example, to build
a road to a certain village or
with the Health Ministry to build health facilities in those villages."
Nuh said the telephone lines would be laid using a universal service
obligation (USO) scheme in which
telecommunications operators in Indonesia would be required to give 0.75
percent of their profits to the
state for such public-interest projects.
The ministry also aims to decrease the charges associated with internet
usage by creating community
access points and providing nationwide access to wireless broadband
networks with the help of ICT
communities and the public.
In another effort to bring down internet charges, a broadband fiber-optic
network, called the Palapa Ring
Project, will be constructed.
Nuh said Friday the US$300 million project would initially focus on the
eastern part of the country, where
the telecommunications network is severely deficient.
The fiber-optic network could be operational within two to three years and
would have a lifespan of 20
years. It would connect Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara,
Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua, as
well as eight other network connections or backhauls.
The ministry predicts that cheaper internet bills will increase
Indonesia's teledensity and create ICT-
related job opportunities in addition to providing more information to the
public.
The provision of accompanying legal infrastructure will also be
prioritized and addressed in bills currently
being prepared by the ministry that will seek to legislate access to
public information, electronic
information and transactions and cybercrime.
When pressed on censorship, Nuh denied any efforts were being made to curb
press freedom, insisting
the media was free though bound by its responsibilities.
"We cannot have freedom without responsibility. They are like both sides
of a coin," he said.
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070530.H11&irec=10
Minister reiterates weight
JAKARTA: Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Tuesday the defense treaty
with Singapore was
important for maximizing the benefits of using the city-state's military
technology because neighboring
countries would not want to see a militarily strong Indonesia.
"What they want is Indonesia to be stable and intact, but not strong in a
military sense so they can invade
us with their banks and services," he was quoted as saying by detik.com.
Thus, Juwono added, the House of Representatives should be able to see the
benefits of the treaty rather
than focus on the possibility of Singapore launching a military exercise
with a third party in Indonesian
territory -- which could be a consequence of the treaty.
Citing an example, the minister said Thai companies had established shrimp
farms around Papua and
Malaysia and acquired Indonesian banks.
The House has threatened to reject the treaty over fears it is more
advantageous to Singapore than to
Indonesia. -- JP
---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/5/25/govt-not-serious-in-settling-right-violation-cases-in-papua-
observer/
National
05/25/07 06:44
Govt not serious in settling right violation cases in Papua, observer
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government is not serious enough in settling
human right violations in the
country in general, in Papua in particular, a human rights observer said.
"The government has yet to show a sincere intention to settle a number of
human right violation cases in
Papua," human rights observer Jayadi Damanik said here Thursday.
He said the human right violation cases in the country`s most eastern
province did need to remain
unsettled if only the government, the law enforcement agencies in
particular, seriously intended to refer
them to courts of law.
"The cases in Papua can actually be solved but the question is whether the
investigators are prepared to
pass them on to the courts," he said.
So far, investigators had refused to present the cases to courts of law on
the excuse that the dossiers
drawn up by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas Ham) were not
complete. However, the
investigators had never explicitly asked the Commission to complete the
dossiers and had just shelved the
dossiers.
Since Papua integrated into Indonesia on May 1,1962, humanr right
violation cases in the province had
been pilig up with none of them having been settled until the present,
according to Damanik.
Among the cases were the murders and shootings in Wasior, Teluk Wondama
Gulf , Papua Barat
province , on June 13, 2001, the murder of a policeman in Abepura,
Jayapura, on Dedemeber 7, 2001
which led to the shootng to death of three students and the maltreatment
of hundreds of other students,
one of whom died in police custody, the shooting in Waghete that caused
the death of a junior high-
school student and maltreatment of civilian residents by security officers
as well as rights violations in the
economic, social and cultural fields.(*)
Copyright © 2007 ANTARA
---
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.417638675&par=0
INDONESIA: KOSOVO POSES A DILEMMA
Jakarta, 23 May (AKI) - Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda only offered a
smile and avoided providing a
detailed explanation when queried about Indonesia's position on the issue
of Kosovo's independence,
which is currently under discussion at the United Nations Security
Council. "We haven't made any
decisions as we are still discussing it," he said Tuesday after launching
the Indonesian Art and Culture
Scholarship Program at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta. Indonesia is
currently a non-permanent member
of the Security Council.
The minister's response, which comes after the initiation of an intense
national debate on the Kosovo
issue and criticism of Indonesia's unclear position, seems to reflect the
dilemma Indonesia is currently
facing.
"It will be difficult for Indonesia to choose whether to support or reject
the proposal at the UN Security
Council (UNSC)," Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political expert at the Indonesian
Institute of Science (LIPI), told
The Jakarta Post.
Ikrar said the Indonesian Constitution mandates that the country support
Kosovo's right to independence,
adding that the government is aware that gross human rights violations
occurred in the area. Conversely,
he said, approving the proposal could undermine Indonesia's own
territorial integrity, especially in Papua
and Aceh.
"It will become a precedent that an area can become independent should the
UNSC decide so. Approving
the proposal will also deteriorate our relations with Serbia," he said.
"But while we must clearly make sure that the issue has nothing to do with
religion, it is a fact that Kosovo
is a majority-Muslim area. Muslims here will want Indonesia to support
Kosovo's independence."
After touring the area, former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, the
UN's special envoy for Kosovo,
submitted a proposal to the Security Council that basically seeks
independence for the already-
autonomous region.
Recent reports by AP have alluded that separatist movements around the
world, from Spain's Basques to
Iraqi Kurds, were closely watching the UN-approved secessionist process.
In Indonesia, the matter could have a powerful impact on the two
separatist-minded provinces of Aceh
and Papua, said Damien Kingsbury, a key adviser to the separatist Free
Aceh Movement.
Indonesia, which has already lost Timor Leste, "is always sensitive about
issues affecting territorial
integrity, so it will be very worried," Kingsbury was quoted as saying by
AP recently.
However, Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University
of Indonesia, disagreed with
Kingsbury, insisting that Kosovo's independence would not have a
destabilizing effect on Indonesia's
territorial integrity.
"Indonesia's territorial integrity has already been finalized and the
international community has
recognized this. I think the Kosovo case cannot be applied to Papua or
Aceh because they are different.
Also, people have already been mature enough to see the cases," he told
the Post.
Noted scholar A.S. Hikam of the National Awakening Party agreed that
Kosovo's independence would not
have an impact on Indonesia.
"The government must support the proposal. Remember, gross human rights
violations and genocide
have occurred in Kosovo. They have the right to independence. It will be a
violation of the Constitution if
the government doesn't support the proposal," he said.
Ikrar said the Foreign Ministry is wary of the potential destabilizing
effect Kosovo's independence could
have here, and that Indonesia should abstain on the Kosovo issue to ease
domestic pressure, especially
after the government was harshly criticized by lawmakers and Islamic
groups for its decision to support a
recent UN resolution imposing further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear
ambitions.
(Aki/Jakarta Post)
May-23-07 15:27
---
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20070528.G09
Tribes gather in Jayapura
National News - May 28, 2007
JAYAPURA, Papua: The upcoming Papua Tribal Community Conference in
Jayapura will be attended by
700 participants from 245 tribes.
Organizing committee chairman Forkorus Yoboisembut said Wednesday that the
event, scheduled to be
held from June 20-24, provides a forum for the highest tribal decisions to
be made and for the tribal
council's performance to be evaluated.
"There's a rumor saying the conference is the Papuan People's Congress. I
want to make it clear that this
is purely a tribal community event that has nothing to do with politics,"
he said.
The conference is held every five years. In 2002, the tribes selected Tom
Beana as tribal council leader
and Leo Imbiri as council secretary. -- JP
---
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1914126.htm
Last Updated 04/05/2007, 09:58:02
A group of Papuan business people have called for an end to the current
Special Autonomy status in the
Indonesian province of West Papua.
The group, known as the Papuan Indigenous Business People, says the
Special Autonomy has failed
West Papuans.
They are calling for comprehensive dialogue with the central government in
Jakarta, supported by an
independent and neutral third party.
The group told Pacnews that in the six years since it was implemented,
Special Autonomy has failed to
deliver tangible benefits in health and education after decades of state
neglect.
---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=31946
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
Indonesian human rights group says special autonomy in Papua not working
Posted at 23:05 on 02 May, 2007 UTC
A series of demonstrations in Indonesia’s Papua province in the past week
have called for an end to
Special Autonomy, saying it hasn’t worked.
Thousands of Papuan students attended two peaceful demonstrations, outside
the provincial parliament
capital Jayapura last Thursday, and then Tuesday at Manokwari, the second
administrative centre in
Papua.
The group known as the Papuan Indigenous Business People has also been
demonstrating at the
Provincial Parliament in Jayapura.
A representative of the Indonesian human rights group ELSHAM, Paula
Makabori, says the common
message is that Special Autonomy has failed to improve the welfare of
Papuans.
She says the international community has not been allowed in to see that
Special Autonomy has not
worked.
“Why journalists are still prohibited from Indonesia from going to
West Papua, why the media cannot
enter that area. So if the international governments and international
community keeps its silence over the
West Papuan cry for peace, then they will turn West Papua into being an
awakening second East Timor
or Aceh.”
---
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=117071
More aid on way to Papua
9/05/2007 10:56:04
The Government has announced another aid handout with $2 million to be
allocated to the Indonesian
province of Papua.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says the money will be channeled through
the United Nations
Development Programme.
He describes it as a substantial addition to New Zealand's existing work
in Papuan development, and
underlines New Zealand's commitment to work with Indonesia to improve
social and economic
development there.
---
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=32071
Radio New Zealand International
The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific
Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa
NZ aid for Papua development programme
Posted at 21:18 on 08 May, 2007 UTC
“”
New Zealand is to contribute 1.5 million US dollars to the United Nations
Development Programme in the
Indonesian province of Papua.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced the aid package
after meeting his Indonesian
counterpart Hassan Wirajuda in Jakarta today.
Mr Peters says Papua is one of the least-developed regions in Indonesia,
with 39 per cent of the
population living in poverty.
He says infant and child mortality rates are worryingly high, while access
to clean water and adequate
sanitation, and to primary and secondary education is extremely limited.
Mr Peters described the aid package as a substantial addition to New
Zealand’s existing involvement in
development work in Papua.
He says it underlines New Zealand’s commitment to working with Indonesia
to improve social and
economic development there.
New Zealand’s contribution to the UNDP-led ’People Centred Development’
programme will be managed
by NZAID, the government’s aid agency.
---
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/63486.html
Moderate earthquake jolts eastern Indonesian province of Papua
Posted : Thu, 17 May 2007 04:20:01GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Asia (World)
Jakarta- A moderate 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolted remote areas in the
easternmost Indonesian
province of Papua Thursday but there were no immediate reports of injury
or property damage, a
meteorology official said. The tremblor, struck Papua's district town of
Nabire and nearby areas at about
11:59 a.m. (0259 GMT) with its epicentre about 183 kilometres northeast of
Nabire, said Wijayanato, an
official at Jakarta's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency. He said the quake
occurred at about 44-
kilometres underground.
Nabire is about 3,150 kilometres north-east of Jakarta.
Wijayanto, who like many Indonesians goes only by one name, said there
were no reports of injury or
structural damage from the quake.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, is prone to earthquakes
because the country sits atop
the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collided and
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are
frequent.
---
http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=732
Police occupy West Papua church headquarters
Thursday, 17th May 2007. 1:46pm
By: Nick Mackenzie.
INDONESIAN police have occupied the headquarters of an indigenous church
in West Papua, Survival
International reports.
Police occupy West Papua church headquarters
The church group, which has been vocal in speaking out against human
rights abuses, has been
accused of supporting the Papuan independence movement.
Yesterday six police trucks and a water cannon were sent to the church’s
headquarters in Jayapura. In
response hundreds of members of the Kingmi church gathered outside the
building to protest.
Survival claimed that paramilitary police armed with rifles occupied the
roof of the building, and several
others were posted outside.
The human rights group said today they were concerned for the safety of
the church leaders there. “The
Indonesian police have a history of brutally repressing all forms of
protest in West Papua,” they said in a
statement.
The Rev Benny Giay, chair of the Kingmi Church’s Bureau of Justice and
Peace, said of an earlier
police attack on the church, “The victims of Indonesian brutality are the
members of the church. The
church has the right to stand up for the rights of the people.”
Meanwhile it has been reported that the protests about the occupation have
now moved to the Provincial
Assembly building.
Mr Giay said that the Indonesian authorities were anxious to secure the
property because church
organisations were almost the only group in Papua the government did not
control.
---
http://www.unpo.org/article.php?id=6716
West Papua: Police Surrounds Indigenous Church
2007-05-17
Indonesian police have completely surrounded the Indigenous Kingmi Church
in West Papua, a show of
force some think intended to intimidate human rights activists.
Below is an article published by Survival International:
Indonesian police occupied the headquarters of the Indigenous Kingmi
Church in Jayapura, West Papua
yesterday [15 May 2007]. The Kingmi church has been particularly vocal in
speaking out against the
terrible human rights violations in the region. The majority of the Kingmi
Church members come from the
Papuan highlands where the Indonesian military has been most brutal.
Six police trucks and a water canon were stationed outside the church
offices yesterday. Paramilitary
police armed with rifles occupied the roof of the building, and more than
50 policemen were positioned
outside.
Following the police action, 200 members of the Kingmi Church protested
outside the headquarters,
blocking one lane of traffic.
The Kingmi church has recently broken away from the Gereja Kemah Injil
Indonesia (GKII, The
Tabernacle Bible Church of Indonesia) and returned to its original
self-governing status. The police have
accused the Kingmi Church of supporting the Papuan independence movement.
Survival is concerned for the safety of the leaders of the Kingmi Church
and of those protesting outside
the building. The Indonesian police have a history of brutally repressing
all forms of protest in West
Papua.
Rev Benny Giay, chair of the Kingmi Church’s Bureau of Justice and Peace,
said of an earlier police
attack on the church, ‘The victims of Indonesian brutality are the members
of the church. The church has
the right to stand up for the rights of the people.’
---
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/programs/s1923957.htm
Last Updated 16/05/2007 6:57:39 PM
PAPUA: Hundreds demonstrate in front of Jayapura synod
First to the Indonesian province of Papua, where police armed with water
canon and M16 rifles are
occupying a Jayapura church at the centre of a dispute over the synod's
independence. Two hundred
members of the Gereja Kingmi, the Indigenous Church in Papua, demonstrated
in front of the synod
office, angered by a police order to handover control of assets to
Indonesia's Tabernacle Bible Church. It
comes despite a court ruling last month in favour of the Kingmi Church.
Listen Listen | Audio Help
Presenter/Interviewer: Bill Bainbridge
Speakers: Matthew Jamieson of the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human
Rights; Reverend Benny
Giay, Chair of the Kingmi Church's Bureau of Justice and Peace
BAINBRIDGE: Members of the Kingmi Church in Jayapura claim they are
suffering for their
independence from Jakarta after their synod was taken over by police on
Sunday. A demonstration
which blocked traffic for hours outside the synod on Monday failed to
resolve the issue.
Matthew Jamieson, of the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights,
describes the scene.
JAMIESON: There's a demonstration of 200 people outside the synod office
and there was a number of
police who came in five trucks and there's the paramilitary police and
then there was a water canon. The
demonstration of the Kingmi congregation was very peaceful and then the
police were also on the top of
the synod office with automatic rifles.
BAINBRIDGE: The church was part of the Tabernacle Bible Church of
Indonesia, known as the GKII, for
more than 20 years but after it moved to become independent the two
churches became locked in a
dispute over who had the right to control the synod's assets.
Last December police stormed the synod office, injuring two clergymen, and
ejecting the Kingmi church
members. The matter eventually went to court where in April the Kingmi
synod's entitlement to
independence was upheld.
But according to the Reverend Benny Giay, Chair of the Kingmi Church's
Bureau of Justice and Peace,
police are acting to support the GKII. He says the GKII assaulted eight
members of his congregation on
Sunday in full view of local police officers.
GIAY: Police allowed people who support the Gereja church to beat our
people, in front of their eyes. We
won the court case. But police they've not been able to uphold, to execute
that court decision.
BAINBRIDGE: Last year Indonesia's Defence Minister said the Kingmi church
was promoting
independence and police in the province accused the church of links to the
Free Papua Movement.
It's an accusation that church members reject. Matthew Jamieson again.
JAMIESON: The police say that, but of course they've been trying to
advocate the rights of the people.
But the police and the Indonesian military don't seem to differentiate
between what's the Free Papua
Movement and what are the people.
BAINBRIDGE: And he says the church members have good reason to prefer to
be independent of any
Jakarta backed church.
JAMIESON: The church members and the church themselves have been very
active in issues of peace
and justice in West Papua and the church. Principally the members of the
church live in the Highland
areas of Papua...and these are remote island areas where there's been
ongoing military operations for
the last few years and this is the sort of area where the most genecidal
part of Indonesia's occupation of
West Papua continues.
BAINBRIDGE: Matthew Jamieson believes the police are probably being
directed from Jakarta.
JAMIESON: It's pretty clearly that it's politically motivated, so you'd
have the sense that it comes from
Jakarta or at least from the inside the police, high up in the police or
high up in the military.
BAINBRIDGE: Pastor Giay says he will meet representatives of the GKII to
try to resolve the issue and he
is calling for Jakarta to support the right of the Kingmi Church to run
their own affairs free of government
interference and intimidation.
---
http://tinyurl.com/2kyu67 (Antara news)
National
05/20/07 00:19
Research finds 30% of male aedes aegypti mosquitos carry dengue virus
Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Researchers working for the Indonesian Mosquito
Control Assocation
have discovered that 30 percent of male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have now
also become a vector for
the dengue virus.
The discovery has changed the long-held perception that only female Aedes
aegypti mosquitoes carry
the virus and led to the conclusion that the risk of the disease becoming
endemic in Indonesia has
increased, Dr Tri Baskoro T Satoto, the association`s secretary general,
said here Saturday.
"It is believed the male mosquitoes were infected through vertical
transmission of the virus: the mother
mosquitoes infecting their eggs," he said.
The perception held since 1970 was that the virus was transmitted only
horizontally in which a female
mosquito that had sucked in blood from an infected human stung another
healthy human.
Female mosquitoes needed human blood as a source to form the cells of
their eggs while male
mosquitoes did not have this need.
"This discovery will be studied further to establish the pattern of the
dengue virus` spread in the long term
so that the right anticipatory steps can be taken," Satoto said.
The study conducted by the Indonesian Mosquito Control Assocation was done
using male mosquitoes
caught at random in a number of regions in the country. The insects were
tamed and then tested for the
virus.
"The implication of this discovery is that the risk of dengue becoming
endemic in this country has
become greater," Satoto said. (*)
Copyright © 2007 ANTARA
---
rwarded message from samoxen <mior73 at dsl.pipex.com> -----
"Start the Week"
BBC Radio 4 (UK nationwide radio station)
Monday 28 May 2007
To listen to the programme visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/starttheweek.shtml
The section on West Papua is at 30 minutes.
EXTRACT:
ANDREW MARR (BBC presenter): ...you were in West Papua, which as
you point out [is] a country, a part of the World, about which
people don't know very much at all.
JAY GRIFFITHS: I think that [visiting West Papua] was one of the
most powerful parts of my whole trip because when people think
about West Papua they normally lump it together with Papua New
Guinea, but it isn't [part of PNG]
West Papua was invaded by Indonesia in the early '60's. The
invasion has brought about a genocide since then which is probably
the most under reported genocide in the World. Britain is arming
Indonesia to carry out this genocide..
AM: These are these jets we've been hearing about?
JG: It's something which everyone in this country [the UK] is
involved with whether we like it or not.
But one of the things about a country like that [West Papua] is
that there are people there who are said to be still cannibals.
When I was there I met people who had been cannibals and it was
very interesting [to hear] their take on why they'd actually killed
people. It was missionaries they had killed because they had
invaded their village and terrified them.
But to me if you only look at these kinds of things, like the
wearing of the feathers and the bones through the noses, which is
very interesting in a kind of aesthetic way.but it's not the whole
story. For me one of the most important things is that the Papuan
people regard themselves as freedom fighters. every man, woman and
child I was told in West Papua is a freedom fighter.
---
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/travel/0,,2083603,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=10
Travel books
The final frontierswoman
Jay Griffiths's Wild is part travelogue, part call to arms and wholly
original, says Ian Beetlestone
Sunday May 20, 2007
The Observer
Wild by Jay Griffiths
Buy Wild at the Guardian bookshop
Wild: An Elemental Journey
by Jay Griffiths
Hamish Hamilton £20, pp374
'I felt its urgent demand in the blood,' writes Jay Griffiths, setting the
pace and, with that, she's off. To
Peru in search of ayahuasca, an indigenous cure for, among other things,
the deep depression from
which she has been suffering, and one of the most potent drugs in the
world. Seven years and several
continents later comes Wild, yet Griffiths's aim is not to explore the
world, nor its people, though she
inevitably and fabulously does so. Her project is wildness itself, in all
the philosophical glory that the
'sublime' held for the Romantics. This is a search 'for the quality of
wildness, which - like art, sex, love
and all the other intoxicants - has a rising swing ringing through it. 'I
was tipsy with it before I began,' she
writes, 'and roaring drunk by the end.'
Article continues
Over five elemental sections - Earth, Ice ('as if it were an element in
its own right, which, in landscape, it
is'), Water, Fire and Air, and with a 'Wild Mind' coda - Griffiths travels
the globe in an epic trek in which
she invests everything she has. She travels to the Peruvian Amazon, the
Canadian Arctic, the Indonesian
Ocean, the Australian bush and the mountains of West Papua.
Everywhere, she hears tales of destruction from the indigenous people. In
West Papua, she visits
Freeport, the world's largest copper and third-largest gold mine. She
hears of women raped when they
protested against the mining, 'held for weeks in a toilet flooded with
shit and repeatedly tortured'. Other
reports include 'people being slashed with razors till they bled to death'.
Stories such as these are fairly representative of the tales she hears
throughout the world, both past and
present. Live Aboriginal children were buried up to their necks in sand by
white settlers who would then
'see who could kick off the heads of the children to the farthest distance
from its body'. This is a game
called Lobbing the Distance. She quotes Aboriginal writer Kevin Gilbert:
'Another pastime was to cut the
throats of Black women and men and let them run in terrified flapping
circles and, when they collapsed,
throw the bodies while still alive upon the fire.'
The injustice of representation - indigenous people and their landscape as
'savage', the white, Christian
missionaries and West as 'civilised' - is something she seeks to redress.
'The descendant of head-
shrinkers is a good friend of mine. But nowhere have I come across any
savagery equal to modern
American warfare, dropping cluster bombs designed to discharge within the
body, causing agonising
death, particularly among children... tell me about the savages.'
Griffiths is fascinated by, and fascinating on, wild language, and her
writing builds in extraordinary poetic
sequences. She is as eloquent on suburbia ('Pavements that trod past
semi-detached houses, semi-the-
same, semi-skimmed milk semi-tasted and always lukewarm') as she is on the
Amazon ('I could almost
smell the sunlight, heavy and lovely as hops').
Indeed, of the many literary elements that make up the book - travelogue,
memoir, journal, reportage,
extended essay on feminism, sociology, anthropology, religion, ecology and
geopolitics - it is probably
poetry that comes closest to defining this undefinable and untameable work.
Perhaps its most remarkable achievement is its own quality of wildness.
Wild is alive with its subject.
Language is thrown around in the most earthy, vital way. 'Raw freedom
hurls you terror and wonder,
writes its ruthless poems in your life. Freedom, uncathedrable, would piss
on St Paul's and despise any
orthodoxy, for freedom knows the transcendent road sweeps lonely to the
summit, no map, no guide, no
god at your heels.'
The Christian god (Griffiths never capitalises the word) meets here with
the wrath of untamed nature. 'But
the Christian god will never win, for still, still proudly anarchic, in
thunder and cunt, cock and lightning,
the raw core of our human spirit is still untamed, full of will, eloquent,
complex, kinetic and fleetly wild.'
Wildness pulsates through these pages as if they themselves were the
dancing jungles of the Amazon or
the feral rhythmic clashes of the improvisational jazz of which its writer
so wholeheartedly approves. A
vital, unique and uncategorisable celebration of the spirit of life
wherever it is found, Wild is a profound
and extraordinary piece of work.
---
Tapol <tapol at gn.apc.org> -----
Lloyd's List (UK)
May 23, 2007
Indonesia may ship Papua gas to solve shortfall in Aceh.
By Marcus Hand in Singapore
INDONESIA is mulling buying or chartering liquefied natural gas
carriers to transport gas from Papua to Aceh to make up a
shortfall in production in the North Sumatra province.
Indonesia's state gas distributor PGN, together with the
Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency BP Migas, has decided that
using LNG tankers would be the best way to overcome the gas
shortage caused by falling production from the Arun gas field in
Aceh.
"We can get the gas from the Tangguh LNG plant (in Papua), or,
if we want to be quick, we can buy it on the spot market," said
Mr Sutikno, president director of PGN.
In recent years, to meet the shortfall in production from Arun,
Indonesia has been forced to buy spot LNG cargoes to meet export
requirements, and the country is now looking to ship cargoes
from production plants in Papua.
Mr Sutikno said it would require several vessels 150m cu ft in
capacity to meet the shortfall.
According to the latest gas supply forecast issued by the Energy
and Mineral Resources Ministry, North Sumatra is expected to
suffer a gas deficit of 446.5m cu ft in 2007, which could rise
to 448.7m cu ft in 2008, and 499.2m cu ft in 2009.
Whether Indonesia would seek to own the LNG tankers itself or
charter them is yet to be decided.
"We are still calculating whether it would be better to buy the
vessels or charter them," said director general of oil and gas
Luluk Sumiarso.
---
essage from samoxen <mior73 at dsl.pipex.com> -----
REGIONAL MILITARY COMMANDER: TRAITORS OF THE NATION MUST BE
DESTROYED (Cenderawasih Post 12th May 2007, 04:27)
[Translated from Bahasa]
JAYAPURA- The Regional Military Commander of 172/PWY of Papua,
Colonel Kav Burhanudin Siagian stated that the main enemies of the
state are those who have enjoyed the nation's facilities, but who
still do actions against the stability of the Unitary State of the
Republic of Indonesia. Traitors like them are the ones that must be
destroyed.
"If I meet any one who has enjoyed the facilities that belong to
the state but who still betray the nation, I honestly will destroy
him" he said.
According to the Regional Military Commander, he had to make that
statement because recently there had been individual students or
youths who said that they represented certain organizations and who
were under the influence of influential leaders in Papua, who had
tried to raise the issue of the Act of Free Choice. They had wanted
to claim that the 1969 Act of Free Choice was illegal and therefore
there needs to be a new Act of Free Choice. However, the commander
said that based on the historical facts, Papua has already become
part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
"We should not try to reveal what has happened in the past because
this is the time we should think of development in Papua" he stated.
The commander himself gave example of East Timor where when they
were still under the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia,
there was some development. However, after they separated from
Indonesia now we could see that there isn't any development. What
we see now is that the nation [East Timor] is in turmoil. They even
become enemies of themselves and create unstable security in the
nation. So the Regional Military Commander hopes that the people of
Papua especially those who have different perceptions, will NOT
think about separation from the Unitary State of the Republic of
Indonesia but to think of developing Papua.
"Now there is a Special Autonomy, it is better for the Papuans to
use this opportunity to build Papua to become more prosperous and
do not think to follow the influences from abroad that have
intentions to destroy the Unitary State of the Republic of
Indonesia."
When the Commander was questioned about the existence of Mathias
Wenda and Goliath Tabuni as the leaders of OPM and the ones who
always create troubles and conflicts in Papua, the Commander said
that they are not enemies but they are our brothers who still have
different perceptions. They are the ones that need to be advised
and educated about the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia
so later they could change their minds and become citizens of the
Republic of Indonesia.
"I urge my brothers who are still in the jungles to come out and
join with us to build Papua towards a better future. This is not
the time to fight as enemies" he stated.
Commander Siagian used this opportunity to urge the students and
the intellectuals who are still pursuing their study not to try to
reveal and dig the past history but to study very well so they
could succeed one day and build Papua.
"Do not do demonstrations or any activities which are not useful.
Use your time to study so you would become a successful person" he
added.
http://www.cenderawasihpos.com/Utama/h.6.html
---
PRESS RELEASE:
The communication Centre of Cendrawasih Youth
Manokwari - West Papua
Secretariate: Jl. Serayu, Sanggeng, Manokwari, West Papua Mobile Phone:
085244730487, and 085254081681
POLITICAL STATEMENT
WEST PAPUAN PEOPLE
MANOKWARI REGENCY
The ideology of a state is reflected by how the state formulates its
development programme for its people. When the process of integration of
Papua into the NKRI (the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia) between
1962-1963 were being conducted, the neo-colonial state of Indonesia, with
the support of the United States of America, began to muzzle the Papuan
people. The first case was on 15 August 1962 where none of Papuan
representatives were invited to involve in the New York agreement. Since
1961, the Papuan people had prepared their State apparatus for self-rule
such as the Nieuw Guinea Raad (the legislative body), and the State symbols.
Unfortunately, the plan for the establishment of the sovereign state was
destroyed by President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ir. Soekarno using the
Tiga Komando Rakyat (TRIKORA). After the signing of New York Agreement by
Indonesia, the Netherlands, and the USA on 15 August 1962, finally, and
exactly, on 1 May 1963 Papua was integrated into the NKRI.
Since 1963 the Government of Indonesia have done many things trying to tame
and deceive the hearts of Papuan, using the drama of the so called "Act of
Free Choice 1969 (PEPERA 1969)" which was manipulated by the plot of
Indonesia and the USA. The Papuan people began long and tiring days full of
injustices. The drama of the plot between the USA and Indonesia had been
proved by the signing of mining contract of PT Freeport Indonesia in 1967,
two years before "the Act of Free Choice" was conducted in 1969.
The occupation of Papua by the NKRI and the USA capitalists, without Papuan
self-determination as the indigenous people, is violations of international
law. This historical event in the modern age through the drama of "PEPERA
1969" has fertilized the long sufferings of Papuan people. They have lived
in dark ages in the depths of tiring misery until now.
The State of the Republic of Indonesia build and make history according to
the will of the rulers. In 1969, the population of West Papua was around
800,000 people. Only 1,025 people were hand-picked and forced to vote in the
"AFC 1969" (for Indonesia). "The AFC 1969" was full of violence, and
bloodshed of the innocent Papuan people. They were being manipulated for the
interest of NKRI rulers under the shadow of the USA. When entering the era
of orde lama (old order); orde baru (new order) and now the reformation
order, especially under the Indonesian Law No. 21 on Special Autonomy,
Jakarta is not consistent and is not serious in developing Papuan people.
The law is meant tobe a political compromise between Jakarta and the Papuan
people. What the Indonesian government write, is always different from what
they speak, and is always different from what they do (selalu tulis lain,
bicara lain, dan kerja lain).
The distortion of Papua's history creates two basic problems, i.e.: the
problems of human rights abuses and developments. Many human rights
violations occur due to the misinterpretation of Papuan history. They are
bringing the people of Papua into the annihilation of Papuan etnic. This has
been proved by reports from Yale University and researchers in Australia.
Whereas the development which is conducted by the government is the
development of migrants, the development of marginalising the Papuan, the
development of depopulating the Papuan, and the development of fooling the
people, and the development of extracting the natural wealth of Papua, and
etc. The NKRI have been inconsistent in healing the wounds in the hearts of
Papuan nation. If the government in Jakarta can create dialogue with the
Achehnese government and elements in the Achehnese community for finding the
solutions of Acheh conflict, why the same dialogue cannot not be done with
Papuan people? The government must not discriminate people racially, and
religiously.
As a result, the people of Papua have arrived in their climax point. We have
lost our trust to the government of the Republic of Indonesia. The problems
have been cristalized and have challenged the activities of the political
integration of NKRI.
We here with appeal and declare to the Governments and international public
that:
1. The United Nations must send Observer to the land and people of Papua and
immediately send a Peace Keeping Mission to the territory of Papua.
2. The General Assembly of the UN must immediately review the so called "Act
of Free Choice 1969 in West Papua" and annul the Resolution No. 2504 dated
on 19 November 1969.
3. The government of Republic of Indonesia and the political elites of Papua
must immediately stop their public lies to international community about the
implementation of SPECIAL AUTONOMY (OTSUS) for the Papua Province because
OTSUS and MRP have totally failed.
4. We demand the Committee 24 or the Decolonization Committee immediately
register the political status of Papua as a territory that needs peace
solution i.e. referendum in Papua.
The above written statement is directed to the internasional world demanding
that further actions have to be taken in accordance with the international
mechanisms for settlements of conflicts in the colonized territory.
Manokwari, 1 May 2007
Zakarias Horota
Jacobus Wanggai
(chairman of CCCY)
(spokesperson)
Markus Yenus
Marthen Manggaprow
(coordinator of WPNA for Manokwari region) (secretary)
Translated by David Chan
---
rom: "John M Miller" <fbp at igc.org>
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:39 AM
Subject: [wp] The West Papua Report - May 2007
The West Papua Report - May
This is the 36th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments
affecting Papuans. This
reporting series is produced by the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT)
drawing on media accounts,
other NGO assessments and analysis and reporting from sources within West
Papua. The West Papua
Advocacy Team is a non-profit organization. Questions regarding this
report can be addressed to
Edmund McWilliams at edmcw at msn.com
Summary: In a remarkable display of courage, unity and peaceful
non-violent methods, Papuan
employees at the giant gold and copper mining firm of Freeport McMoran won
all of their demands after a
four day strike at the Freeport mine. Defense Minister Sudarsono was
unable to offer information on the
plight of Papuans in the the central highlands who were forced from their
homes by military operations
which began six months ago. Reports from within West Papua indicate that
removal of a local district
leader who had worked with the military and police to create tensions may
enable the people of Yamo to
return to their homes. Three groups protested over the failure of "Special
Autonomy" and urged UN
engagement in assuring Papuans' fundamental rights are secured. A May 1
court decision awarded the
new Papuan Synod of the Kingmi church (GKI) control of the assets of the
Synod in Papua. But
pressure on the new Synod, now independent from the Indonesian Synod
continues. Papuan Muslims
convened a meeting in early April and expressed desire to work more
closely with other Papuan faith
groups in addressing unmet needs in West Papua. End Summary
David Defeats Goliath in West Papua
Indonesia experienced an earthquake of sorts on April 22 when peaceful but
determined workers scored
an unprecedented victory in West Papua, forcing the gold and copper mine
giant Freeport McMoran to
concede virtually all the demands workers had pressed in a brief but
well-organized strike that had shut
down production.
Freeport McMoran has faced many popular risings in desperate reaction to
decades of rapacious mining
practices which robbed local Amungme and Kamoro people of their patrimony,
its complicity in
Indonesian military human rights abuse and its environmental devastation.
But this confrontation was
different in one key respect: Freeport lost and the people won. The Papuan
strikers were not intimidated
by a military and police show of force in the Timika area during the strike.
Workers won nearly a doubling of a workers' monthly basic salary. Freeport
also agreed to reestablish its
Papuan Affairs Department and replace several executives who the workers
saw as disrespectful in their
dealings with Papuan employees.
Clearly not all Papuan concerns were addressed in the settlement. Papuans
make up only approximately
one third of the 9,000 employees at the West Papua mining site. Moreover,
few Papuan employees rise
to management level reflecting a latent racism that infects corporate and
government structures
throughout West Papua. As a Jakarta Post editorial noted: "Human rights
abuses, the unequal distribution
of wealth and the disrespect shown by the central government toward
Papuans are among the major
complaints in the province."
April 28 marks a great victory for Papuan workers and more broadly for the
Papuan people. The victory
scored by these peaceful workers vindicates a strategy of peaceful but
assertive non-violence advocated
by Papuan civil society in the face of enormous provocations. Papuan
workers at Freeport have scored a
victory that may have reverberations like those of other earthquakes in
places and times of racial, social
and political repression such as in the US of the 1960's and South Africa
of the 1980's and 1990's.
Growing Popular Discontent over Failure of Special Autonomy
Approximately 1,000 Papuans staged a three hour demonstration May 1 in
Manokwari. Demonstrators,
organized by the Communication Center of Cenderawasih Youth, demanded
dispatch of a UN mission to
West Papua, Un review of the "Act of Free Choice" through which Indonesia
annexed West Papua,
inclusion of West Papua in the UN's Decolonization Committee as a
territory whose political status has
yet to be justly addressed, possibly through a referendum and for the
Government of Indonesia
acknowledge the failure of "Special Autonomy." During the demonstration,
Indonesian jet aircraft flew low
over the demonstrators in an apparent, unsuccessful effort to intimidate
the demonstrators.
On April 27, the "Coalition of Students and people Who Care about Papua"
issued a declaration with
similar demands as those voiced by the Manokwari demonstrators. The
declaration documented specific
human rights violations committed by security forces since the
implementation of "special autonomy,"
noted the absence of basic services in West Papua ranging from health care
to education, underscored
the problem of worsening unemployment and the problem of endemic
corruption which has siphoned off
funds purportedly provided under "special autonomy." The declaration also
noted Papuan opposition to
the creation of new provinces and regencies absent consultation with the
Papuan people and in violation
of the "special autonomy" law. The declaration demanded a senior level
dialogue between Papuans and
Jakarta by August 10, 2007. If such a dialogue is not initiated, the
declaration calls for consideration of
"another option."
Meanwhile, a group of Papuan business people has called for an end to
"special autonomy" status for
Papua. It claims that after six years the special status has failed to
produce tangible benefits for the
Papuan people, notably in the areas of health and education. The group,
the "Papuan Indigenous
Business People" in demonstrations at the Provincial Parliament building
in Jayapura, called for a
comprehensive dialogue between Papuans and the Indonesian Government with
participation by an
independent third party. The model appears similar to that successfully
embraced in addressing decades
of repression in Aceh in 2006. The Papuan Indigenous Business People is
part of the Council of
Customary West Papuan Chiefs which in 2005 organized a 10,000 person
demonstration to formally
reject Special Autonomy.
Defense Minister Sudarsono Fails to Answer Questions Regarding Plight of
Yamo People
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, meeting with human rights advocates in
Washington DC April 18,
was unable to offer any information about the plight of the Papuan people
in the Yamo area of the central
highlands who were forced from their homes by December 2006-January 2007
military operations.
Questioned about whether these people had been allowed to return to their
homes, or whether the
security forces in the area had continued to impede the flow of food and
medicine to these civilians,
Sudarsono simply responded that there had been "some over-reaction" in the
conduct of the Indonesian
military.
Sudarsono denied plans to move a new TNI division to West Papua (although
earlier reports of such
plans were based on statements from the Defense establishment). He
contended that there were only
12,000 organic and inorganic troops in West Papua and that there had been
no recent augmentation of
those numbers. The only movement of troops into West Papua were part of
normal troop rotation.
Responding to questions about restriction on travel to and within West
Papua by UN personnel,
journalists, researchers and even diplomats he acknowledged that this was
a frequent topic of discussion
in Jakarta. He said that while the Government would like to allow regular
diplomat and defense attaché
visits, there many cases of visa "misuse." "Some people go to places they
should not go and engage in
political propaganda," he said. "Papua is an issue with a high
international profile," he said and as a
result, problems are posed for security officials in the area of security
and human rights. He added that
the desire for "recognition" among Papuans was a "legitimate issue," just
as it had been for the people of
Aceh.
Displaced Yamo People May Be Able to Return to Their Homes
A respected Papuan in Jayapura has told the West Papua Advocacy Team that
the replacement of the
Bupati (Regency Leader) in Puncak Jaya by a Papuan may set the stage for
the return of the several
thousand Yamo villagers displaced by military operations to their homes.
The previous leader, a non-
Papuan, had worked with the military and police to generate conflict in
the area. Papuan Pastors are
preparing a team to go to the area to assist the Yamo villagers in their
return to their homes.
Court Supports Papuan Kingmi Church Synod
A May 1 decision by an Indonesian court awarded control of Synod assets in
West Papua to the new
Papuan Synod, ending control of those assets by the Indonesian Synod from
which the Papuan Synod
broke away earlier this year. Radio broadcasts have claimed that the new
Synod has a non-religious
agenda. It appears retaliatory pressure may be aimed at the new Synod
leadership.
Papuan Muslims Meet
In early April Papuan Muslims held an inaugural three-day congress in
Jayapura with several hundred
participants. The Papua Muslim Solidarity group coordinated the gathering.
According to media
accounts, the meeting focused in part on strengthening relations with
other Papuan religious
organizations as well as with the public and the provincial and local
administrations in Papua.
The Jakarta Post (April 6) noted that Papuan Muslim leaders are pursuing
dialog with the Papua GKI
synod, the Jayapura diocese, the Baptist synod, the World Church Council,
tribal leaders, cultural
observers and state and security officials. Plans were to change the name
of the Congress during the
session from Papua Muslim Solidarity to Papua Muslim Council. The Council
will have as its principle
aim, improving relations with traditional Papuan Muslim communities, as
well as promotion of human
rights, education, health and improvements in the community's economy.
Papuan Muslims and Muslims who have settled in West Papua from other parts
of Indonesia comprise
over 340,000. This compares with over 1,150,000 Protestants, almost
410,000 Roman Catholics and
Hindus and Buddhists numbering less than 6,000. There are an unknown
number of Papuans who
practice traditional beliefs. The Muslim minority in West Papua tend to
abide in coastal communities
notably in the West and South with many communities in the disputed new
province of West Irian Jaya.
Efforts by both Christian and Muslim clergy leaders in West Papua have
been successful in precluding
serious communal tension although the continued marginalization of native
Papuans as a consequence of
the arrival of ever more immigrants and Jakarta policies which favor
non-Papuans generate chronic
communal tension.
---
Human Rights Groups Call For End To Farcical Commission
Letter:
OPEN LETTER
TO THE PRESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLICS OF INDONESIA AND TIMOR-LESTE
REGARDING THE INDONESIA-TIMOR LESTE
COMMISSION OF TRUTH AND FRIENDSHIP
May 23, 2007
Dear President Yudhoyono and President Ramos-Horta,
You will recall that the June 2005 report to the United Nations
Secretary-General of the Commission of
Experts to Review the Prosecution of Serious Violations of Human Rights in
Timor-Leste (then East
Timor) in 1999 recommended that Indonesia review prosecutions before the
Ad Hoc Human Rights Court
for Timor-Leste, investigate and prosecute those named in the Wiranto et
al indictment, and report to the
Secretary-General within six months of a date to be determined by him on
the outcome of its
investigations. It also recommended that if these measures were not
initiated within this time frame, the
Security Council should act to "create an ad hoc international criminal
tribunal for Timor-Leste".
Before that report could be properly considered by the Secretary-General
and the Security Council, your
two governments set up the Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and
Friendship (CTF/KKP) to
"establish the conclusive truth in regard to the events prior to and
immediately after the popular
consultation in 1999." However, the CTF has had many problems since its
inception. They include:
a.. A lack of legitimacy attributable to three main factors: the
perception that the CTF was established to
avoid calls for an international criminal tribunal to try those accused of
crimes against humanity in Timor
-Leste in 1999; the failure to address crimes committed before 1999; and
the amnesty provision, which
would allow perpetrators of serious crimes to avoid accountability.
b.. The absence of any clear procedure for reviewing existing evidence
about the violence in 1999 in
order to arrive at a consensus about the truth, especially since key
Indonesian government institutions
have failed to provide relevant records.
c.. Serious deficiencies in the public hearings, including obvious
biases on the part of some
commissioners; the introduction of testimony irrelevant to the
Commission's mandate; the absence of any
means for cross-checking testimonies against facts established by previous
processes or actual
evidence; conflict between Indonesian and Timor-Leste Commissioners; lack
of assistance and
protection for victims who testify; the ad hoc nature of witness
testimonies; an imbalance of
representation between victims and perpetrators; and the use of the public
hearings as a forum for
perpetrators to continue to blame the United Nations and other actors for
the violence.
d.. Lack of transparency, clarity and a clear timetable for the
Commission's work.
It is obvious from its mandate and its performance that the CTF is not a
credible mechanism to seek
justice or even truth regarding events in Timor-Leste in 1999, let alone
from 1975 to 1999. Out of respect
for the victims of the violence and the rule of law in both nations, we,
the undersigned representatives of
human rights and other civil society groups in Timor-Leste, Indonesia and
other nations, therefore urge
you to immediately abandon the CTF and support a more credible judicial
process.
With the agreement of the Indonesian Government to extradite those within
its jurisdiction, and given
greater resources and political backing than previously, the Special
Panels for Serious Crimes (SPSC)
of the Dili District Court could be reconstituted to complete outstanding
prosecutions. The UN Integrated
Mission in Timor-Leste has already taken the first step in this direction,
by undertaking to complete the
investigations which remained unfinished when the Serious Crimes Unit was
closed down prematurely in
2005.
Given the inevitable and wholesale failure of the CTF/KKP we therefore
call for the reconstitution of the
SPSC. If that is not possible, we will continue to call for the
establishment of an international criminal
tribunal in line with the Commission of Experts report.
Other efforts that your governments could make to address the human rights
violations committed during
the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste include requesting the United
Nations Security Council to
implement former UN Secretary-General Annan's recommendation, made in his
Report on Justice and
Reconciliation in Timor-Leste in July 2006, for an International
Solidarity Fund for Timor-Leste; and
discussion in both national parliaments on how to implement the
recommendations in Chega!, the Report
of the Timor-Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR).
Finally, we draw your attention to the 4 May letter to UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon from the
International Center for Transitional Justice, and the 28 March statement
from the Timor-Leste National
Alliance for an International Tribunal. Both of these initiatives are also
highly critical of the CTF and urge
the creation of a credible mechanism to hold accountable high-level
perpetrators of crimes against
humanity in Timor-Leste. Anything less will fail to resolve this issue,
which will continue to hamper the
growth of democracy and respect for the rule of law in both Indonesia and
Timor-Leste.
Yours sincerely,
Yasinta Lujina
La'o Hamutuk (Timor-Leste Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring
and Analysis)
Rosa Maria de Sousa, Executive Director
FOKUPERS (Communication Forum for Timor-Leste Women)
Jose Luis Oliveira, Director
HAK Association, Timor-Leste
Casimiro Dos Santos, Deputy Director
JSMP (Judicial System Monitoring Programme), Timor-Leste
Nicolau Alves, Secretariat
Timor-Leste National Alliance For International Tribunal
Edio Saldanha
representing families of victims, Timor-Leste
Maria Afonso de Jesus
Rate Laek (Victims group from Liquisa), Timor-Leste
Carolina do Ceu Brito
Nuno Rodriguez
Institution for Popular Education, Timor-Leste
Sisto do Santos
Front Estudante Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste
Maria Angelina Sarmento
Executive Director, Timor-Leste NGO Forum (FONGTIL)
Dr Mark Byrne, Convenor
Australian Coalition for Transitional Justice in East Timor
Sister Josephine Mitchell, Director
Sister Susan Connelly, Assistant Director
Mary MacKillop East Timor
Rob Wesley-Smith
AFFET (Australians for a Free East Timor), Darwin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antonio Dias and Bruno Kahn
Agir pour Timor, France
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
John M. Miller
National Coordinator
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, USA
James Goldston, Executive Director
Open Society Justice Initiative, USA
Sharon Silber & Eileen B. Weiss
Co-Founders, Jews Against Genocide, USA
Sr. Sheila Kinsey, OSF
Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation Office of the Wheaton
Franciscans, U.S.A.
(Rev.) James Kofski
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, USA
Ed McWilliams
West Papua Advocacy Team , USA
Mark C. Johnson, Ph.D., Executive Director
The Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA
Rafendi Djamin, Coordinator
Human Rights Working Group, Indonesia
Usman Hamid, Coordinator
KONTRAS, Indonesia
Rusdi Marpaung, Director
Imparsial -- The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor
Garda Sembiring, Director
PEC - People's Empowerment Consortium
Mugiyanto
Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia - IKOHI (Indonesian
Association of Families of
Disappeared)
Muridan S. Widjojo
Research Institute for Democracy and Peace (RIDEP), Jakarta
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gus Miclat
Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC)
Anselmo Lee, Executive Director
Tadzrul Tahir Hamzah, Southeast Asia Sub-region Program Officer
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Roger S. Clark, Executive Committee
International League for Human Rights
Graeme Simpson, Director, Country Programs Unit
International Center for Transitional Justice
Charles Scheiner, International Secretariat
International Federation for East Timor (IFET)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maire Leadbeater
Indonesia Human Rights Committee, New Zealand
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gabriel Jonsson, Chairman
Swedish East Timor Commission
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carmel Budiardjo, Director
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, UK
Christine Allen, Executive Director
Progressio,UK
see also:
a.. Human Rights, Accountability and Justice page
b.. LH Briefing on justice for the Inter-Parliamentary Union
(April 27)
c.. ETAN: Indicted Indonesian General Leads Joint Military
Exercise with U.S. (April 26)
d.. National Alliance for an International Tribunal: Statement
Truth and Friendship Commission
Investigation must be for Justice, Not Amnesty (March 28)
e.. TL National Alliance Continues to Struggle for Justice (March 22)
f.. ETAN: An Overview Justice Processes and Commissions for
Timor-Leste (Feb.2007)
g.. Kontras,et al: CTF Tarnishing the Spirit of "Friendship" of
Both Nations (Feb. 23)
h.. KontraS-Elsam-Solidamor-HRWG-PBHI-Imparsial-PEC-ICTJ
Indonesia-YLBHI-FORUM ASIA:
Commission of Truth and Friendship - A Stage Play for Human Rights Abusers
(March 23)
---
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/05/07/ap3694015.html?partner=alerts
Associated Press
Freeport-McMoran Executive Sells Shares
Associated Press 05.07.07, 3:49 PM E
Michael J. Arnold, executive vice president and chief accounting officer
of Freeport McMoran Copper &
Gold Inc. exercised options for 18,750 shares of common stock under a
prearranged trading plan,
according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday.
In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, Arnold reported he exercised the options
for $36.765 per share on
Thursday, and sold the shares the same day for $70 each.
The stock sale was conducted under a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan which
allows a company insider
to set up a program in advance for such transactions and proceed with them
even if he or she comes into
possession of material non-public information.
Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their
companies' shares. Open market
purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the
transaction.
Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold is based in New Orleans.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
---
http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=52082
Japanese heavy engineering firms choose Vector Lifting
Two of the three big manufacturers of LNG Storage Tanks in the world have
awarded significant contracts
to West Australian-based specialist lifting firm, Vector Lifting.
One of the Japanese heavy engineering firms has commissioned
Jandakot-based Vector Lifting on many
projects since the early nineties, and company spokesman, Martin Tognala,
says it is already in
encouraging talks with the third major LNG storage tank manufacturer.
Ishikawajiima-Harima Heavy Industries has awarded a design and manufacture
contract for five x 6 tonne
rated capacity explosion-proof hoists to be installed in QATAR.
Each hoist incorporates two drum winches providing full redundancy. Both
drums would operate together
under normal operating conditions, but have the capacity to operate and
lift 6 tonnes individually if
required.
The hoists are designed to travel along a monorail thereby servicing all
seven of the storage tank LNG
pumps, and boast a hook travel of some 65 meters.
The hoists primary use will be to remove and replace LNG pumps from
storage tanks during maintenance
and replacement procedures.
Not surprisingly, these hoists are designed to operate safely and
successfully in hazardous area, Zone 1,
Gas Group 11A, Temperature Class T3 (Methane Vapour).
The second contract, also a design and manufacture order, is with Toyo
Kanetsu K.K for two x 11.5
tonne rated capacity, explosion-proof, slewing jib cranes. These will be
installed in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.
Each has a swing of 11.5 meters and an 11.6 meter underside jib arm, and
each provides a lifting height
of 65 meters.
Vector Lifting Sales Engineer, Martin Tognala, said all of the engineering
and manufacturing was
performed in-house: “We’ve developed quite a reputation for ourselves in
the global market when it
comes to specialised lifting equipment” he said.
“Negotiations with both firms was made easier because of this plus the
fact we’ve designed and
manufactured explosion-proof jib cranes for Toyo Kanetsu K.K. on many
occasions over the past 12
years or so.” he added.
29 May 2007
---
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/missionary.calls.for.international.effort.to.protect.fishermens.rights/1
0829.htm
Fishermen's Rights Need Protection, says Missionary
Defending fishermen's rights needs international co-operation, says
missionary.
Posted: Friday, May 18, 2007, 8:12 (BST)
Font Scale:A A A
A missionary working with Taiwanese fishermen is making a series of visits
to seamen's centres across
Indonesia to forge stronger links across national boundaries.
Speaking at the global missionary gathering in Indonesia last month, Rev
Zaidarzhauva said that the work
of helping fishermen has to cross national boundaries, because many of the
problems that fishermen
face happen in foreign waters.
He then visited to Bali and Jakarta, where he had an appointment with a
maritime organisation to talk
about fishing problems in Indonesia.
Taiwanese fishermen often fish in Indonesian waters. There are rules about
where fishermen from each
country may fish legally and there are harsh penalties for fishermen who
stray out of their designated
area.
Sometimes boats cross the boundaries unintentionally, sometimes the
captains of the ships take a risk,
and there have been cases of pirates chasing fishing boats across the
boundaries.
Acccording to the Council for World Mission, the fines bring in good money
for the Indonesian
authorities, while the captains and crews are at risk of being detained.
Most crew members are eventually
set free.
Zaidarzhauva's went on to Irian Jaya where he met with the local church,
Chinese churches and with the
nearest seamen's centres. He also met local people in Bitung.
"We want to have strong links with these people," he said. "We need to
share information on detainees
and how we can best help them."
Until now there has been no special link between the seamen's centres in
Indonesia and Taiwan. "But we
must have as much contact as we can with seamen's centres in other
countries," he said.
[Source: Council for World Mission]
---
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/5/26/govt-must-revise-law-on-oil-gas-to-attract-investors/
Economic & Business
05/26/07 19:23
Govt must revise law on oil, gas to attract investors
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government should soon amend Law No. 22/2001
on Oil and Gas as part
of its efforts to attract foreign investors, particularly for development
of new oil fields in the country, oil
observer Kurtubi said here on Saturday.
He said investment in Indonesia had been made even more difficult by the
adoption of illogical
procedures such as the lengthening of the investment licensing procedure.
Previosly an invstment license
could be obtained by completing formalities through various agencies
functioning under one roof but now
the investor`s application had to pass through at least five offices, he
said.
Investors were now also reluctant to invest in oil exploration business in
Indonesia because they had to
pay taxes and other levies even before they had found any oil reserves.
"It is only logical that the number of investors in Indonesia has
decreased drastically. The investment
climate in the oil and gas sector is not conducive," Kurtubi said.
The best way to find clear indicators of the unfavorable investment
climate in Indonesia was by looking
back at exploration activities in the past, he said.
He said in the 1980s and 1990s, some 250 new oil wells were explored
annually but since 2000, only
about 60 new wells a year had been explored. There was even a period when
only 30 wells were explored
a year.
Kurtubi said geological research had shown that Indonesia still had oil
and gas reserves totaling 80 billion
barrels which were enough to meet the country`s needs over 100 more years.
"The oil reserves are to be found in 60 cavities in Central Sumatra,
Natuna, Makassar Strait, West Java,
East Java, Papua, West Nusa Tenggara offshore and around Maluku," he said.
The oil observer said that to explore the oil reserves about US$200 to
US$400 million were needed
annually.
Besides, he said, the country`s liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserves also
were also estimated to still
reach 350 trillion cubic feet. One of the regions in Indonesia which had a
large LNG deposit was Central
Sulawesi where a factory could be set up with a capacity of three million
cubic feet per annum. (*)
Copyright © 2007 ANTARA
---
http://www.innercitypress.com/unhq051807.html
Kosovo Precedent, Border War Silence, Stand-Up Comedy at the UN, Diss of
Indigenous
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN
UNITED NATIONS, May 18 -- On the Security Council's draft Kosovo
resolution, a group of experts met
on May 17. As described to Inner City Press by one diplomat in attendance,
very little was accomplished.
The diplomat however estimated ten or eleven votes in favor of
independence for Kosovo. Will Russia veto
or obtain? That is the question. The diplomat counted Slovakia as among
the supporters, which is
surprising given that the Slovakian legislature has said different.
A rare Associated Press report on breakaway republics lists a
litany, from West Papua and
Aceh, from Flanders and, perhaps significantly, "Hungarian nationalists in
Slovakia," to Transdniestria
and parts of Georgia that AP leaves unnamed. (They are Abkhazia and South
Ossetia; of the UN's
historical role in West Papua, criticized by no less than South African
Archbishop Tutu, we aim to have
more soon.) Strangely absent from the list of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was
mentioned at the UN on
Friday by former envoy there, and now to Darfur, Jan Eliasson.
Also not mentioned was Baluchistan, portions of Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Iran. The first of
these two have been fighting this week, with more than a dozen deaths
along the border. The Afghan
foreign minister has written to Ban Ki-moon, although Ban's spokesperson
has yet to confirm or even
deny the receipt of the Reuters-reported letter, despite two requests so
far from Inner City Press.
On May 17, Inner City Press asked a diplomat from the
Permanent Five if there has been any
discussion in the Council this week about this border war. "Not that I'm
aware of," he answered, and has
not since amended. Of Afghanistan, the world community said "never again;"
Pakistan is a nuclear state.
But the hostilities between them register nowhere at the UN, while
discussion can go on for hours about
the proposed Hariri tribunal. Some see this as strange.
UN in Kosovo investigating human trafficking, from UN web site
While that is not funny, this might be -- in the UN
Headquarters lobby on Friday morning, a
television monitor showed stand-up comedy about Michael Jackson and
others. It was a teaser for a UN
Security & Safety Service fundraiser, to be held in the Dag Hammarskjold
Library auditorium later in the
day. The flier promised, "V.I.P.'s will be present."
Perhaps relatedly, either as humor or V.I.P. or both, U.S.
Senator and presidential candidate
Joe Biden is now scheduled to take questions for the press on May 21, at
the Security Council stake-out.
Stand-up comedy? We'll see.
Decidedly not funny is the continuing opposition to the draft
UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples. The declaration was approved in Geneva, but bogged
down in late 2006 before GA
approval. At first the opponents were New Zealand and Canada, Australia
and its seems the U.S.. Then
the African Group got involved, and the declaration was put on ice, with
the idea that the President of the
GA would bring the parties together.
On May 17, Inner City Press asked South Africa's Ambassador
Kumalo why the African Group,
and by implication South Africa, was opposed to the draft declaration. Amb
.Kumalo expressed surprised.
On May 18 Inner City Press asked Amb. Kumalo's able staffer, who after
inquiry responded that South
Africa voted for the declaration in Geneva, and still supports it now.
On Friday morning the African Group was meeting to try to unify a
position. Which means that the
reportedly twenty amendments ostensibly from the African Group that were
given to the President of the
GA were not, in fact, from the African Group, but only some counties in
the Group, notably Botswana and
Namibia. Inner City Press has responded to a press-pitch by the government
of Botswana with a request
to be sent the amendments; we'll see.
Also not funny is the disconnection between this year's UN
Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues and the new Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon. UNPFII officials told
Inner City Press they had no
idea if Ban would meet with, much less support, them. Inner City Press
asked Ban's Spokesperson, got
no response, then asked again. There is no position yet, was the response,
followed by an e-mail about
one but only one of the issues raised:
"The Secretary-General is aware that a number of UN studies have recently
been released regarding
biofuels and the opportunities and challenges they pose for developing
countries, the world’s poor as well
as the environment. The emerging issue of biofuel development merits to be
carefully evaluated in all its
aspects by UN bodies and the international community as a whole so that
its impact can be fully taken
into account by Member States, civil society and the private sector."
While appreciated -- and Inner City Press did sent thanks --
it doesn't answer the question about
Ban's position on the draft declaration [and] on the indigenous. But then
again, what's new? On whether
Mr. Ban will meet with at least some UNPFII participants, Inner City Press
was told as an explanation that
Mr. Ban hasn't been asked, unlike his predecessor. With all the cardboard
cut-out hand-shaking
photographs emanating from the 38th floor, this one seems like a no
brainer. We'll see.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540
---
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