[Kabar-Irian] News: Oct 4 - Oct 9 2007

[Admin-Editors Kabar-Irian]

KABAR IRIAN NEWS

Oct 4 - 9

TOPICS

* Helen Clark Urged To Be Advocate For West Papua
* Faith-based NGOs meet to discuss peace in West Papua
* Biak people protest Russian satellite plan
* Five kicked out
* West Papua Coalition raises greater likelihood of dialogue with Jakarta
- academic
* Feast celebrants bring gold for the Temple
* Papuan coalition seeks deal with Jakarta through Finnish mediation
* Papua's forests and global warming
* Super Fund Puts Profits Before People
* Increasing number of isolated groups being found...
* Mimika villages...
* Freeport to contest court ruling
* BBC Guernsey: Spotlight on West Papua
* The West Papua Report

---

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0710/S00098.htm

Helen Clark Urged To Be Advocate For West Papua
Tuesday, 9 October 2007, 9:24 am
Press Release: Indonesia Human Rights Committee

Time for West Papua to come in from the cold at the Pacific Islands Forum

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee is urging the New Zealand Prime
Minister Helen Clark to

advocate for the people of West Papua at the Pacific Islands Forum when it
meets next week. This

appeal is backed by other NGOs, including Pax Christi. Peace Movement
Aotearoa and Christian World

Service.

West Papuan people look to New Zealand to take a stand on their behalf in
the light of our close cultural

links to the Pacific and past peace initiatives.

IHRC has also written individually to each of the 16 Pacific Island Forum
leaders urging that West

Papuan representatives be given observer status at the Forum and calling
for a human rights fact-finding

mission to West Papua.

“It is way past time for West Papua to have a seat at the Forum table. It
is great that other new

observers are being accepted, such as East Timor, Tokelau and the French
territories of New Caledonia

and French Polynesia. But why no welcome mat for the West Papuans who are
so much in need of

regional support and so clearly part of the Pacific in terms of geography,
history, culture and ethnicity.”

“Tragically, the Forum representations made about West Papua in 2006 have
not been heeded.

Repressive tactics continue and people and organisations who actively
support human rights or political

change are subject to surveillance, threats and harassment by the
Indonesian security forces.”

“Access to West Papua is tightly constrained and the few foreign
journalists who visit are tightly

monitored and constrained by the Security Forces. The Jayapura military
commander Col. Burhanuddin

Siagian, who has been indicted for crimes against humanity in East Timor,
threatens to ‘destroy’

supporters of independence.”

“The granting of observer status would give new visibility to the West
Papuan issue and could well pave

the way for the Forum to serve as an honest broker or mediator between the
West Papuan people and

the Indonesian Government.”

ends

---

http://www.catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=4244

Faith-based NGOs meet to discuss peace in West Papua
10/5/2007 - 13:51 PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic PRWire

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, OCTOBER 5, 2007 - Franciscans International hosted a
two-day meeting for

the faith based network on West Papua – a concert of NGOs promoting peace,
justice and human rights

in the region. Along with Franciscans International, the network consists
of Justitia et Pax Netherlands,

ICCO, Cordaid, Geneva for Human Rights, the West Papua Netzwerk, the
United Evangelical Mission

and other renown Christian organisations with grassroots constituencies in
West Papua. The Geneva

rendezvous gave the NGOs an opportunity to share information on
developments in West Papua and to

discuss future advocacy strategies.

"The faith-based network on West Papua represents the strongest ecumenical
actors - Catholic and

Protestant - coming together on human rights issues at the international
level as one unified block”, said

Chris Duckett, Franciscans International’s advocacy officer for West
Papua. “Because churches is

naturally interested in peace as an initiative, this [collaboration] was
particularly important.”

Created in 2003, in response to a call from West Papuan religious leaders,
the faith-based network aims

to direct the international community’s attention towards West Papua’s
beleaguered people and

environment.

West Papua’s allure to the Indonesian government is evident. The island is
home to two million people,

divided into 245 tribes, accredited with speaking 15% of the world’s known
languages. It is hailed by

environmentalists as one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world,
with a rainforest is second in size

only to the Amazon in Brazil. But West Papua’s seventh seal is that it is,
quite literally, worth its weight in

gold.

The island’s colossal gold and copper resources are harvested by the
Freeport Mine, said to be

protected by the Indonesian military. In 2001, the Indonesian government
implemented a Special

Autonomy law, pledging majority of the mining revenue to West Papuans. The
locals, however, are yet to

receive their share. Oppressed by an often brutal Indonesian army; the
Papuans are struggling to claim

their economic and cultural rights.

Yet, for a region so rich in both natural resources and conflict, West
Papua has gained little

international attention.

“West Papua is very remote so it does not enjoy widespread coverage in the
European media”,

explained Chris Duckett. “Often, faith-based NGOs, with their grassroots
connections, are the primary

source of information on West Papua.”

Franciscans International has spent the past six years advocating on the
behalf of West Papuans at

international treaty bodies such as the Human Rights Council. The Geneva
office of Franciscans

International gets first-hand information on human rights abuses in Papua
from their grassroots

constituency - the Office for Justice and Peace in the Diocese of
Jayapura. The information is then

brought to the attention of international organizations by Franciscans
International’s advocacy team.

“You can view our work as a Franciscan diplomatic service, where our
capital is Jayapura”, Duckett

summarized. “My ‘foreign minister’ is a Franciscan friar and human rights
defender.”

Other members of the faith-based network echoed Duckett’s emphasis on
disseminating information on

West Papua. “Since communication with Papua is difficult and trustworthy
information is scarce, it is

difficult to discern rumors from facts”, said Marijn Peperkamp,
Coordinator of Peace and Reconciliation

Programs at Justitia et Pax Netherlands. “This is why”, she added,
“meeting each other as a network, on

a regular basis is necessary, not only to be inspired, but also to get a
shared feeling of urgency and to

act upon it.”

The faith-based network will have plenty to act upon this year. For the
2008 universal periodic review for

Indonesia, the network is working jointly to produce an NGO report on the
plight of the West Papuans.

“Our goal is to put West Papua on the UN agenda”, said Elin Martinez,
Franciscans International’s West

Papua advocacy intern. “Gross violations of human rights occur there all
the time, but are not given any

international attention.”

The network, however, acknowledges that its goals must go beyond just
publicizing the grievances of the

West Papuans. Duckett believes that the network’s main goal must be to
“find ways in which a culture of

peace can be encouraged in the region”.

The faith-based network’s special guest - Judith Large, Associate of
Conflict Resolution at the Crisis

Management Initiative- recommended some ways to engender peace. In a
thought-provoking lecture on

mediation, Large suggested that environment could be the issue to put West
Papua on the international

agenda.

“We can engage Indonesian government on issues such as national habitats,
indigenous people,

ecosystems, re-examining deforestation, and more”, Large explained. “Papua
can be symbolic for the

Indonesian government. Environmental concerns can give them more
legitimacy with west, because

these issues are on the global agenda right now.”

Large was however, quick to admit the optimism of such a strategy. “I am
not being too idealistic”, she

concluded. “It will be difficult, but reframing the West Papua question in
terms of the environment would

give the international community a supranational goal to work on, one that
could benefit everybody. It

may not be an answer, but it is an opportunity.”
Contact: 	Franciscans International
http://www.franciscansinternational.org  , CH
Neha  Sud - Journalist, 41-762286135

---

http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20071005.H06

Biak people protest Russian satellite plan

National News - October 05, 2007

JAYAPURA, Papua: At least 300 members of the Biak Traditional Council
(DAB) protested Thursday

outside the Biak Numfor regency legislative council, demanding the
government review its decision to

permit the launch of a Russian satellite from the area in 2010.

"The agreement on the Russian satellite launch, which was signed in
Jakarta last month, was unlawful

because it failed to involve the Biak traditional community in the talks
that led to the agreement," protest

coordinator and DAB chairman Piter Yarangga said.

He said a DAB plenary meeting held earlier in the day recommended the
central government review the

agreement, which it said would have an impact on the local community's
customary rights.-- JP

---

http://www.torresnews.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

 Five kicked out
Monday, 08 October 2007

The Federal Government has been accused of breaching its international law
and legal obligations after

five West Papuans were deported back to PNG last month after landing on
Saibai Island and being

detained for 26 days at the Horn Island Detention Centre.

Australian human rights groups accused the Government of trying to placate
Indonesia after the five

West Papuans were denied asylum in Australia.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Co-Ordinator Pamela Curr said this action
signals a renunciation of

Australia’s observance of its responsibility under the UN Refugee
Convention on Refugees.

Kate Gauthier, National Co-Ordinator for A Just Australia, said: “Without
doubt, the removal of these

asylum seekers is a breach of international law, and puts Australia at the
bottom of the class in human-

rights terms.”

Rufugee and  Immigration Legal Centre spokesman David Manne said: “There
are serious questions

about whether Australia has acted in violation of our international
obligations to protect refugees.”

According to a Horn Island resident very few local residents knew the five
refugees were incarcerated in

the commonly referred to Horn Island “Hilton” Detention Centre for 26
days, indicative of what he

regarded as the “secretive nature” of the operation.

“It’s surprising virtually no one knew about them over here (Horn Island).”

Under the curious Australian laws, refugees can apply for asylum only if
they land on the mainland.

Islands, such as Saibai and all others in the Torres Strait, are part of
the exclusion zone and therefore

excised from the mainland, denying them the rights afforded to the 43
Papuans who landed north of

Weipa on Cape York in January last year.

That incident sparked a rift between Australia and Indonesia, and some
refugee advocates regard the

handling of the latest incident as a means to prevent a further
confrontation between the two countries.

The five adults were detained at the Horn Island Centre from August 24
until September 18.

One was sent to Cairns Base Hospital from August 24-30 and another from
August 30 for a “few days”.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews office declined to comment on the need
to transfer the men to

Cairns “due to privacy provisions”. The duo returned to the centre,
obviously indicating all were healthy.

The Minister’s office told the Torres News the situation was not made
public as “it wasn’t any problem,

and only drew attention when advocates jump up and down. It was all pretty
straight forward.”

Asked why the situation was not revealed for the benefit of the Torres
Strait residents with the potential

for illnesses being transmitted from PNG, such as AIDS/HIV and other
diseases, the spokeswoman said

there wasn’t a problem.

“They weren’t roaming around Saibai as they were met by one of our people
(an officer from the

(Immigration Department) and they were identified as being reasonably
suspicious of being illegal.

“They were pretty compliant about their situation and didn’t try to hide
anything.”

Their banana boat on which they travelled from Daru has been impounded.

In a almost slap-stick, pass-the-parcel farce, Customs Media declined to
comment and quickly referred

the Torres News to the Immigration Department Media who just as quickly
flicked us on to the

Immigration Minister’s office. There has seemed to be a real reluctance to
talk about the issue within the

relevant departments who usually are quite helpful.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre co-ordinator Pamela Curr said many Papuans
had fled into

neighbouring PNG to escape violence inflicted by the Indonesian military,
but were now being kicked out

of their adopted homeland.

“What choices are open to them? Go back to West Papua and face the brutal
Indonesian military  . . .

or try to negotiate somewhere else to stay in PNG?” she said.

“If this cannot be achieved - set off in search of another country of
safety. What do we expect

homeless, state-less people to do?”

Ms Curr told the Torres News that Australia had stayed silent on the
Indonesian government’s violent

suppression of Papuans, and was, in fact, arming Indonesian forces who
were perpetrating the

violence.

“Eight Mile camp is being shut down in PNG, but we don’t know what is
happening with the East Awin

camp.”

(One report estimates there are more than 10,000 West Papuans refugees
living in the East Awin

Camp.)

Ms Curr told the Torres News: “Clearly there is something going on there
and the the concern is that the

West Papuan people are being squeezed out of PNG and Australia is
obviously the place to head.

Australia is democratic and a signatory to the international refugee accord.

“Some of those people are stateless and I don’t know if the Australian
Government checked their status.

“Many West Papuans been living in PNG for so long now, and might have lost
their West Papuan status.

If the PNG Government is forcing them out, or even out of certain camps,
what is to happen to them?

“The East Awin camp is an expensive ‘plane flight, a long river ride and
then walk/ride 45km into the

bush.

“It should noted the Australian Government is funding that camp under
AusAid.”

Ms Carr said there were other frightening aspects of the Federal
Government’s recent actions.

“Defence Minister Brendan Nelson gave the Navy the power a few weeks ago
to fire on a fishing boat,

which subsequently outran the Navy and escaped.

“Our concern about these extraordinary powers is that how soon will it be
before a canoe gets fired on?

“Now that there is an election approaching, border control is now being
vamped up as an issue.

“CDEP people had been paid to keep an eye on things, but with the
cancellation of CDEP, they are no

longer doing it. You would think now is a good time to come to Australia.”

Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre spokesman David Manne said the return
of the men to PNG was

“profoundly concerning and scandalous”.

“There are serious questions about whether Australia has acted in
violation of our international

obligations to protect refugees.”

A Just Australia has dismissed the Federal Government’s claim that it was
routine operation.

“We find it unacceptable that our Government would breach our legal
obligations to people needing our

protection, particularly as it is not for border security, but simply to
appease a foreign Government. This

has made Australia complicit in Indonesia’s human rights abuses,” said
Kate Gauthier, National Co-

ordinator.

“Last year the Government tried to introduce a law to appease Indonesia,
which would have sent all boat

arrival asylum seekers to Nauru for processing, keeping them out of sight,
out of mind.

The public and the Government’s own backbenchers spoke out strongly
against this and the bill was

withdrawn.

“Now without even the benefit of a law, the Government has gone even
further by summarily deporting

any West Papuan who arrives in Australia seeking protection.

“By going ahead with the policy shows the Government has contempt for the
democratic process when it

gets in the way of achieving their goals.”

Ms Gauthier said: “Without doubt, the removal of these asylum seekers is a
breach of international law,

and puts Australia at the bottom of the class in human-rights terms.”

A Just Australia says it is also concerned with the removal of these men
to PNG, as last Saturday more

than 300 West Papuan refugees were evicted from their settlement outside
Port Moresby.

“The protection being afforded to West Papuans in PNG is inadequate, and
they remain in danger of

being removed back to Indonesia. This means that any removal from
Australia back to PNG is another

breach of our international legal obligations.”

     By MARK BOUSEN

---

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=35517


Radio New Zealand International

The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific

Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa

West Papua Coalition raises greater likelihood of dialogue with Jakarta -
academic

Posted at 07:36 on 02 October, 2007 UTC

An Australian academic says Papuans stand a better chance of negotiating
their log of claims with the

Indonesian government under the West Papua Coalition for National Liberation.

The Coalition has embarked on a fresh drive for negotiations on greater
democracy and self-

determination for Papuans.

It is demanding a peace dialogue with Indonesia involving third-party
mediators.

An associate professor at Australia’s Deakin University, Damien Kingsbury,
says that previously

Papuans have not had a united front to push their cause.

He says with all the native Papuan political organisations, as well as a
wide range of NGOs and church

groups under its umbrella, this coalition is the most representative yet.

    “It’s a question of how such a negotiation process might proceed and
what could possibly come out

of it, but at this stage the Indonesian Government needs to come to the
party, it needs to say we are

interested in talking with you, we recognize that the only possible
solution to the problems in West Papua

is a political solution and you are a legitimate representative body and
we need to speak to you. And I

hope they’ll do that soon.”

Damien Kingsbury

News Content © Radio New Zealand International


© RNZI 2004

---

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=14221

Headline News
Monday, October 08, 2007 by Staff Writer

Feast celebrants bring gold for the Temple

A delegation from West Papua participating in the International Christian
Zionist Center (ICZC) Feast of

Tabernacles celebration last week surprised the Temple Institute in
Jerusalem when they arrived with a

gift of gold for the eventual rebuilding of Israel's temple to the Almighty.

On the last day of the Sukkot holiday, the Papuan group showed up at the
Temple Institute and

presented officials there with two pounds of gold mined in their Southeast
Asian country, as well as a

large cash gift, reported Israel National News.

Leaders of the delegation explained that they were doing their part to
fulfill Zechariah 6:16, which states

that foreigners will come from afar to help rebuild the holy temple in
Jerusalem.

The Temple Institute has for years been collecting funds for the eventual
rebuilding of the temple, and

has already completed a large number of the gold and silver elements,
instruments and priestly clothing

that will be needed. The Papuans asked that the gold they provided be used
for preparing such

elements.

---

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=35512


Radio New Zealand International

The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific

Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa

Papuan coalition seeks deal with Jakarta through Finnish mediation

Posted at 03:14 on 02 October, 2007 UTC

The West Papua Coalition for National Liberation has embarked on a fresh
drive for negotiations on

greater democracy and self-determination for Papuans in Indonesia.

The Coalition has also appealed to Jakarta to withdraw its troops from the
region.

Pro-independence groups within the Coalition are demanding a peace
dialogue with Indonesia with

third-party mediators.

A spokesperson for the Coalition, Paula Makabori, says they’ve written to
Indonesia’s president, asking

for negotiations with the government to be supervised by an
internationally recognised mediator.

She says Finland, which helped broker a peace agreement between
Indonesia’s government and the

Free Aceh Movement in 2005, is willing to fill that role.

    “They offered themselves when some of the West Papuans went there. And
then for us, Finland is

likely because Finland has nothing to do with Indonesia and also West
Papua. So we would like to have

a mediator which has no interest in West Papua or even Indonesia, so it
will stay neutral.”

Paula Makabori

---

http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20071006.F04



Papua's forests and global warming

Opinion and Editorial - October 06, 2007

Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua

Papua is the size of California and is almost entirely covered by vast
stretches of virgin rain forest

spread over 41.5 million hectares -- or 23 percent of Indonesia's total
forested area of 180 million

hectares.

But some 22 million hectares of these forests are classified as production
forests, rather than

conservation areas.

Indonesian control over the territory of Papua has seen the region's
forests suffer deforestation at the

hands of foreign and domestic private companies.

First, during the Soeharto regime, Papua's forests were targeted by
logging industries authorized by the

Jakarta-based central government.

Up until 2001, as many as 40 logging companies -- none of which were owned
by the indigenous

Papuans -- were active in Papua, with permission from the central government.

The timber companies, without any interference, were able to cut down
trees in Papua and sell them to

foreign countries.

According to Greenpeace, more than 25 percent of Papua's natural forests
has been sold by timber

firms exporting to Japan, the U.S., European countries and China.

Second, as the timber business is worth billions of dollars annually,
Papua's forests have also been

targeted by illegal logging companies.

Pressure on Papua's forests has progressively increased due to overseas
demand, notably from China.

In 2003, some 7.2 million cubic meters of timber was reportedly smuggled
out of Papua.

An investigation carried out by the London-based Environmental
Investigation Agency (EIA) revealed

"illegal logging in Papua typically involves the collusion of the
Indonesian military, the involvement of

Malaysian logging gangs and the exploitation of indigenous communities".

Due to deforestation in Papua, both legal and illegal, Indonesia has been
listed in the Guinness Book of

World Records as the country with the fastest pace of deforestation in the
world. (The Jakarta Post,

June 4, 2007).

Indeed, Papua's forests have contributed approximately US$100 million to
the central government

annually.

Third, despite the government's efforts to combat unauthorized logging
activities, Papua's forests

continue to suffer from illegal logging. Furthermore, Papua's forests are
now being targeted by the palm

oil industry as well as the timber industry.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already asked Papua's governor
Barnabas Suebu to open

up five million hectares of land for conversion into palm oil plantations,
in a drive to increase biofuel

production and reduce state spending on domestic petrol subsidies (The
Wall Street Journal, Aug. 10,

2007).

The government of Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil producer, invited
Suebu to see for himself how

palm oil plantations can spur economic growth.

Plantation companies from Jakarta and Malaysia have been running out of
space in other parts of

Indonesia. Meanwhile, European demand for biofuel remains strong,
therefore Papua's virgin forests will

continue to be targeted by palm oil producers.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and its Indonesian
partner, PT. Sinar Mas Agro

Resources &Technology, have announced they signed an agreement with
Jakarta to invest $5 billion

over eight years to develop palm oil plantations in Papua.

PT Sinar Mas is expected to clear some 1,2 million hectares of Papua's
rain forests in Boven Digul,

Merauke and Mappi regencies to make way for palm-oil plantations.

Meanwhile, a Korean company in collaboration with a national company, is
also planning to fell trees to

clear the path for palm oil plantations.

So, it is clear that some millions of hectares of Papua's virgin forests
will be deliberately cleared by

government-authorized palm oil companies.

In other words, deforestation in Papua for the sake of the palm oil
industry is being permitted by the

government.

The government and the palm oil companies should be reminded that rain
forests play a key role in

maintaining the world's environmental balance. They need to realize that
deforestation in Papua causes

not only environmental damage to the western half of the island of New
Guinea, but also affects global

warming.

As the government destroys more and more hectares of Papua's forests in
the name of economic

growth, a global warning on deforestation is urgently needed and should be
raised by parties in Papua,

Jakarta and from other nations.

Clearing our ancient forests to make way for economy-boosting palm oil
plantations is not the only way

to enhance economic growth in the country. The government should seek
other ways to improve

economic growth in Papua, and in general, Indonesia.

The writer is a lecturer at the Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and
Theology in Abepura, Papua.

---

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0710/S00173.htm

Super Fund Puts Profits Before People
Friday, 5 October 2007, 3:36 pm
Press Release: Indonesia Human Rights Committee

Super Fund puts profits before people

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund's Chief Executive can see no need to
end the Fund's $18 million

investment in Total S.A., despite the fact that French oil giant Total has
a major operation in Burma.

'CEO Adrian Orr says that the Fund is fulfilling its obligations to
maximise financial returns without

prejudicing New Zealand's 'responsible' reputation.  But I fail to see
anything responsible in helping Total

to go on working hand and glove with the Burmese military junta,' said
Maire Leadbeater  for the

Indonesia Human Rights Committee. 'We are conveying our concern to Mr Orr
and to Finance Minister,

Dr Cullen.'

'Mr Orr should listen to the advice of the Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi
who has said that Total is

the main supporter of the military regime.  It is impossible to do
business with Burma without supporting

the regime.  The oil and gas extraction industry provides the regime with
its largest source of income,

bringing in around a third of the country's export revenue.  Total relied
on the Burmese military to

provide security to build the pipeline which transports gas to Thailand.
The human rights abuses which

have been documented include allegations of rape, forced labour and mass
displacements of villagers.'

The Burmese regime is estimated to spend up to half its budget on it huge
(500,000 strong) army of

repression.   Right now the regime is setting up detention camps because
the jails are at bursting point

after many thousands of monks and peaceful demonstrators were rounded up
over the past week. There

is no way that any of the New Zealand taxpayer's contributions should end
up funding this kind of

iniquity.

 This intransigent response will inevitably fuel further protests against
the Super Fund's unethical and

dangerous investments. The Super Fund hasn't yet heeded the call to divest
its investments in nuclear

weapons producing companies.  It also continues to invest in Freeport
McMoran the giant gold and

copper mine in West Papua which is responsible for tragic environmental
and social devastation.  In

West Papua also there are widespread allegations of human rights abuses
perpetuated by the

Indonesian military assigned to provide 'security' for the mining operation.

***************************************

4 October, 2007

Adrian Orr,
Chief Executive Officer
David May,
Chairman of the Board of Guardians,
New Zealand Superannuation Fund,
PO Box 106 607,
Auckland.


Hon Dr Michael Cullen,
Minister of Finance,
Parliament Buildings,
Wellington

Dear Sirs,We are deeply concerned that the Superannuation Fund is not yet
taking action to end its

investment of over $18 million in Total S.A., the French oil firm which
has a major operation in

Burma.We note that Superannuation Fund CEO Adrian Orr says that the Fund
is fulfilling its obligations

to maximise financial returns without prejudicing New Zealand's
'responsible' reputation.

But we believe that it cannot be considered 'responsible' to invest in a
company which works very closely

with the military junta in Burma. In the light of the current crisis
situation this investment should be

reviewed urgently.Effectively, given the regime's tight control over the
economy, it is impossible to do

business with Burma without supporting the regime.  Moreover, Burmese
pro-democracy  leader, Aung

San Suu Kyi,  has described  Total as the  main supporter of the military
regime and has called on Total

and other foreign companies not to invest in Burma.

The oil and gas extraction industry provides the regime with its largest
source of income, bringing in a

third or more of the country's export revenue.  The Burmese regime is
estimated to spend up to half its

budget on its huge (500,000 strong) army of repression.

Right now the regime is setting up detention camps because the jails are
at bursting point after many

thousands of monks and peaceful demonstrators were rounded up over the
past week.

Total is also associated more directly with allegations of  grave human
rights abuses,  as the company

relied on the Burmese military to provide security when it built  the
pipeline which transports gas to

Thailand.

The list of these documented crimes against the Burmese people includes
allegations of rape, forced

labour and the mass displacements of villagers.

We urge both the New Zealand Government and the management and Board of
the Superannuation

Fund to review the decision to invest in Total Oil and all companies which
continue to operate in Burma.

The regime is ignoring international appeals to respect human rights and
democracy but it cannot

survive if its financial life-blood is removed.

Other countries are imposing sanctions on investments and exports from
Burma.  It is time New Zealand

played its part.

Yours sincerely,
Maire Leadbeater
(for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee)

ENDS

---

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/oct/06/brazil.conservation


'We said to them, 'Come closer' but they said to us, 'Go further back''

Increasing number of isolated groups being found in world's last wildernesses

    * John Vidal, environment editor
    * The Guardian
    * Saturday October 6 2007

"First just one came out, then two, then three, four, five, six, seven,
but there were more than that in

total. We had a dozen machetes, a dozen knives and some axes and pots with
us. We gave these to

them. Not by hand, but by leaving them on the beach. We said to them,
'Come closer' but they didn't

want to. They said to us, 'Go further back, further back,' so we did."

The encounter between José, a Peruvian from the Las Piedras river area
near the border with Brazil,

and members of the large isolated Mashco-Piro tribe living in the deep
Amazonian rainforest, took place

this year and was described to the anthropologist Richard Hill, of
Survival, the international campaign for

tribal peoples.

Following a series of similar encounters and incidents, such as one this
week when a Peruvian

government team photographed a group of 21 Indians from the air, Mr Hill
and other anthropologists are

reassessing how many tribes there may be left who have chosen to shun the
21st century.

"Only 30 or so years ago, it was believed there were just 12," said
Stephen Corry, the director of

Survival. "Now we think there are 107 living in isolation. As more and
more incursions are made into the

forest, more and more groups are being found. The more people look, the
more are being found," he

said.

Some tribes who shun contact have a fair idea of life outside the forest,
according to Mr Corry, and may

have machetes which they could have acquired from contact with other
groups. "Others may have had

contact with outsiders generations ago, before they retreated deeper into
forests because of incursions

by westerners. Others may have no idea of country, other languages, or
money, and no one has got

close to them".

This year the Brazilian government increased its estimate of the number of
isolated tribes in its part of

the Amazon from 40 to 67. But it acknowledged some were reduced to a few
individuals. One tribe is

believed to be down to one man, known as the Man of the Hole, who digs
holes in the forest to catch

animals and fires arrows at anyone who comes near.

There is another large group of uncontacted tribes in eastern Peru, where
the government has licensed

70% of the forest to oil and logging companies. These companies are coming
into close contact with

groups that were suspected but not encountered. Peruvian officials have
tried to deny their presence,

but the evidence is now incontrovertible. "We think there are 15 groups,"
said Mr Hill. "Many are the

descendants of tribes contacted over 100 years ago, during the rubber
boom, who fled the prospect of

enslavement and decimation by new diseases."

The other concentration of groups is in West Papua, where vast areas of
forest and mountain have been

barely explored and access is particularly difficult because of the
Indonesian military. Little research has

been done, but occasional sightings of tribes by missionaries in
aeroplanes suggest there could be as

many as 40. At least 16 isolated groups are thought to live in the vast,
mostly untouched Mamberamo

river basin, an area almost the size of Britain.

Elsewhere, there are three known isolated groups in the Andaman islands of
India, five in Bolivia,

possibly one or two in Colombia and Suriname, one in Paraguay, and maybe
one or two bushmen

groups in southern Africa. In 1984, the Pintupi, semi-nomadic people, came
out of the Australian desert.

Sydney Possuelo, the director of the Instituto Indigenista Interamericano
and former head of the

Brazilian government's department of unknown tribes, has led many
expeditions into the Amazon to try to

protect such groups. "What is happening is that groups are constantly
moving around because of the

pressure from the development activities of white people," he said.

He said the greatest concentration might be in the protected Vale do
Javari indigenous area, with as

many as 1,350 uncontacted people. Most, he said, probably fled there after
contact with Europeans

searching for timber or gold many years ago.

All known isolated groups are thought to be in danger. "The greatest
threats come from our permanent

need for growth, in the search for minerals, energy, timber and
agriculture," said Mr Possuelo. "The

losses really start a long time before contact. The reduction in size of
the territories of uncontacted

peoples because of the constant expansion of our extractive industries and
consequent reduction of the

areas where they move around hunting and fishing, jeopardises their
sources of food and so reduces

their ability to survive."

Mr Corry said there was also a very significant threat of disease. "More
than 20% of the Yanamami

Indians died in the 1980s and 90s because of contact with gold-miners who
brought in illnesses.

Following exploration on their land in the 1980s, more than 50% of the
previously uncontacted Nahua

tribe died in Peru. Ninety percent of Indians in the Javari valley,
including six uncontacted tribes,

suffered from malaria or hepatitis brought into the area in 2006.

"They remain in isolation because they choose to, and because encounters
with the outside world have

brought them only violence, disease and murder. They are among the most
vulnerable peoples on earth,

and could be wiped out within the next 20 years unless their land rights
are recognised and upheld.

Surely the world is big enough for all of us, including those whose way of
life is most different to ours."

Killer diseases

Isolated tribes have little or no immunity to the diseases brought in by
outsiders. Colds and flu become

killers, and 50-90% of tribe members commonly die from first contact with
outsiders. The result is that

entire cultures that have taken centuries to evolve can be being wiped out
in days as disease invades a

population. Epidemics of measles, smallpox, yellow fever, whooping cough,
influenza and later malaria

have all had a devastating effect on indigenous peoples in the Amazon and
elsewhere. Anthropologists

now take precautions including wearing masks to avoid accidentally passing
on diseases.

---

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Mimika villages fail to cash in
on Papua's rich natural resources

Markus Makur, The Jakarta Post, Timika

Papua province's rich natural resources have had no impact on
life in the remote villages of Asmat and East Mimika Jauh, in
Mimika regency.

The villages are symbols of the lack of development in many
areas of the province.

Most of the 300 fishing families in Asmat village live in stilt
houses, because the village sits on swampy ground.

Most people in the village earn just enough to survive catching
crabs and fish, and then selling them around the village.

Asmat village chief Yanuarius Kayam said residents were in dire
need of clean water facilities, electricity, bridges and proper
housing.

"Four to five families live under one roof, so we desperately
need new homes.

"We only receive clean water rations from the Asmat regency
administration, but the Mimika regency administration has never
provided us with anything," Yanuarius said.

Some of the villagers have started working as porters at nearby
Pelabuhan Rakyat Port.

The Asmat settlement can be reached from Timika city by
motorcycle, public van or private car. The distance between
Mimika regency capital Timika and Asmat village is around 40
kilometers.

Most of the Asmat people in the village are illiterate,
preventing them from looking for other work.

The local administration does not provide them with adequate
medical care, education or potable water.

They drink rainwater they collect in vessels.

Residents live in squalid conditions, and they are worried about
oil sludge discharged by ships mooring at the Pertamina state
oil company's fuel depot.

Most children in the village get little or no schooling. There
is one part-time teacher assigned to take care of around 300
students.

Yanuarius said schoolchildren needed more classrooms because now
they were crammed into one room.

Only sporadic development, carried out through the District
Development Program, is evident in the village.

Asmat village is not remote, but only seems that way because of
the lack of physical development.

In East Mimika Jauh village on Karaka Island, where members of
the Kamoro tribe live, the situation is very much the same.

Residents live in poverty, many are illiterate and there is
little development or government assistance.

The Mimika regency administration receives huge amounts of cash,
from special autonomy funds, royalties from PT Freeport
Indonesia and from the provincial budget, yet this has not
translated into development for many areas.

Head of the Mimika Regency Education Office, Ausilius You, said
his office would propose additional classrooms and teachers for
Asmat village to the Mimika Legislative Council.

After recently touring 19 regencies and cities in the province,
Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu said the quality of life in 2,600
villages was very low.

"All of the problems related to the low quality of life for
indigenous Papuans are caused by poor education and healthcare
facilities," he said.

---

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Freeport to contest court ruling

JAYAPURA, Papua: Mining company PT Freeport Indonesia will file
a motion with the Jayapura District Court to recover collateral
seized by the Industrial Affairs Court in the form of 45 houses
and 27 cars valued at a total of Rp 6.175 billion (US$686,000).

"There are still other legal means and we will fight against the
ruling," said company lawyer Antonius Raharusun while leaving
the courthouse Tuesday.

They met a clerk for the Industrial Affairs Court, Dominggus
Patirajawane, on Tuesday, as well as Timotius Kambu, the
plaintiff and a former Freeport employee.

The Industrial Affairs Court ruled in 2006 that Freeport must
pay Rp 2.4 billion in compensation to Timotius and reinstate him.

Timotius was hired by Freeport in December 2000 on a monthly
salary of Rp 15 million. Freeport fired him in 2001 even though
his contract ran until 2017.

"The company's defense team only came forward now. It's too late
because it is not possible for me to cancel the court's ruling,"
said Patirajawane.

"I hope the case will teach employers and employees, especially
large companies, so this will not happen to others," said
Timotius.

---

 BBC Guernsey: Spotlight on West Papua

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/articles/2007/10/04/west_papua_feature
.shtml


Ex-political prisoner Benny Wanda and Richard Samuelson from the Free West
Papua Organisation were in Guernsey during September to highlight what's
happening in West Papua.

Organiser Melissa Hardwick described the visit as a "resounding success that
fully achieved its aims by alerting islanders to the plight of people in
West Papua, who suffer under an oppressive Indonesian military regime. It
also inspired many islanders to take action".

Benny and Richard were keen to draw relations between West Papua as an
occupied island and the very visible signs of oppression in the form of
Guernsey's German fortifications that tell of the island's war time
occupation. Benny found the constructions haunting and said they reminded
him of his homeland that he cannot return to for fear of death.

 Benny Wenda and Richard Samuelson.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/images/2007/10/04/amnesty_internation
al_180_180x150.jpg>

Benny Wenda and Richard Samuelson.

During their time in Guernsey Benny and Richard visited a class of 16 year
olds at Ladies College. They talked about the importance of standing up for
your beliefs and the benefits that campaigning, whatever the scale, can have
on people's lives.

The girls were most interested in Benny's life in the jungle and the years
that him and his family spent hiding from the military.

In the evening Amnesty International hosted a talk by Benny and Richard at
St Stephen's church in St Peter Port. Those who attended were able to hear
Benny's personal story of torture, political activism and imprisonment.

The audience had the chance to ask questions which led to a discussion
concerning not only the wrongful treatment of the people of West Papua but
also the exploitation of the country's natural resources by multinationals.

Benny and Richard were inspired by their visit and spoke of the kindness and
warmth of all the people they met. They hope that one day West Papua will be
able to celebrate its liberation.

---

The West Papua Report
October 2007

This is the 41st 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

* A series of reports from reputable international human
rights monitors point to continuing pressure on Papuan human
rights defenders including religious leaders and political
activists. The pressure includes death threats and kidnapping of
family members. The wave of attacks and intimidation accelerated
following the June visit of a UN human rights official.

* A broad group representing Papuan civil society has appealed for
dialogue with the central government over issues such as Papuan
self-determination and demilitarization of West Papua.

* A Jakarta Post report reveals grinding poverty for most Papuans
in Mimika District. In addition to living below the poverty line,
Papuans in Mimika face a dearth of services and unrelenting
marginalization. Mimika is home to the Freeport gold and copper
mine, one of the most lucrative mines in the world.

* A BBC report highlights similar severe poverty and an absence
of development in Papua's central highlands.

* A member of the West Papua Advocacy Team reports on his recent
visit to West Papua. He notes growing Papuan concern about
mysterious deaths and the rapid expansion of migrant control in
the capitol region.

* A Papuan Parliamentarian has called on President Yudhoyono to
revise the Freeport contract, noting in passing that Papuans
have not profited from the firm's operation which has produced
great riches for the firm and for the central government.

* The TNI has resumed its push to expand its presence in West
Papua. The proposal has been floated periodically with varying
justifications. The latest rationale focuses on the purported
need to protect Indonesia's border from a spurious threat from
Papua New Guinea.

* The Oxford Refugees Studies Center has published a series of
papers on West Papua (web site provided below).

------------------------

Pressure on Human Rights Defenders Continues/Intensifies

Reports from reliable sources in West Papua indicates that
pressure on Papuan human rights defenders continues. A September
Amnesty International alert raised concern about Johanes Djonga,
a human rights activist and church pastor. According to the AI
report, a military commander and his men have reportedly
threatened to kill Pastor Johanes Djonga for his activism in
defense of the human rights. Amnesty International believes his
life could be in danger.

The AI report notes: "The commander of the Army Special Forces
(Kopassus) in Waris district, Papua province, Lettu Usman, and
the soldiers under his command, allegedly threatened to kill
Johanes Djonga and bury him in a 700-meter-deep gorge, on 22
August. They accused him of making false allegations about the
situation in Waris district to local and international NGOs, and
of being a provokator (provocateur) who was betraying the
Indonesian state. A Kopassus military officer has also alleged
on 16 September that Johanes Djonga is involved in illegal
logging and food business. This appears to arise from Johanes
Djonga's human rights activism: he recently presented a report
to the governor of Papua and the military commander in the city
of Jayapura, Colonel Burhanuddin Siagian, criticizing the
actions of the military at the border between Waris and Papua
New Guinea.

On September 18, Johanes Djonga reported the death threats to
the head of Papua Police. The police commander explained that if
the person threatening him was a soldier, there was nothing the
police could do to protect him. Johanes Djonga then reported the
threats to the Chief of Military Regional Command in Papua
province: he reportedly said he would take action, but would sue
Johanes Djonga for defamation if his accusations turned out to
be false.

In addition to these pressures, during September, members of the
human rights community and Alberth Rumbekwan, head of Komnas HAM
Papua (Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia, National Commission
for Human Rights), have continued to receive anonymous text
messages and telephone calls that insult them or accuse them of
supporting the separatist movement. A September 27 article in
the Indonesian daily "Kompas" concluded that intimidation of a
leading Papuan human rights representative "could tarnish
Indonesia's image." Specifically, the article asserts that
"(t)he terrorization of the Papuan chief representative of the
National Human Rights Commission or Komnas HAM, Albert
Rumbekwan, could have an impact on Indonesia's image as a member
of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. (Indonesia is
also a member of the UN Security Council.) Amnesty International
has pressed the matter with President Susilo Bambang Yuhoyono.
The intimidation of Rumbekwan began after he met with Hina
Jilani, the Special Representative to the United Nations General
Secretary.

Yan Christian Warinussy, a prominent international human rights
laureate, also has been the target of threats which have
prompted international concern and calls for his protection.

Meanwhile the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights
(IPAHR) on September 28 reported an incident involving
psychological intimidation and abuse of a family member of a
prominent West Papuan leader by "unknown persons." Targeted was
the 17 year old daughter of prominent West Papuan Independence
leader, Edison Waromi. Ms. Yane Waromi was abducted, sedated and
abused over an 18 hour period September 25-26. Ms Yane Waromi
provided Human Rights workers with details of an abduction
involving a group of 10 "unknown persons" believed to be linked
to the Indonesian intelligence service or military. Human Rights
workers are viewing the incident as an act of deliberate
intimidation by security forces directed at Mr Edison Waromi and
other leaders of the West Papuan community. Human Rights workers
say that although the incident has been reported to the Police
in Jayapura, they appear unwilling to properly investigate the
incident.

Edison Waromi, is President of West Papua National Authority, a
pro-independence group. In recent months Mr. Waromi is reported
to have been sent SMS messages that he is on a black list to be
kidnapped and killed.Human Rights workers in West Papua report
that since visit of the UN representative Ms Hila Jilani in June
and the unsuccessful visit of US congressman Eni Faleomavega in
July, there has been an increased intensity of incidents
involving threats and intimidation of human rights workers,
human rights lawyers, clergy, students, and pro-independence
political leaders.

Human rights workers from the most of the regional centers in
West Papua describe a deteriorating human rights environment.
There are also reports of increased troop numbers in many areas
and, from the remote Puncak Jaya region, accounts of further
deaths associated with the operations by security forces.

Papuan Civil Society Seeks Fundamental Dialogue with Indonesian
Central Government

A broad cross section of Papuan civil society and pro
Independance groups has publicly appealed to the Indonesian
central government to engage with it in a fundamental dialogue
about a range of issues including Papuan self-determination. The
West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL), an
umbrella organisation, has written to Indonesia's president, and
asked for negotiations with the government to be supervised by
an internationally recognised mediator.

The Papuan initiaive includes Papuan women's groups, student
groups as well as the Papuan Presidium Council, the traditional
tribal council and West Papua's most prominent human rights
organization, ELSHAM. Among over 20 groups represented is the
TPN PB, the small but persistant pro-independence resistance
organization. Paula Makabory also with Els-Ham and Institute for
papuan Advocacy & Human Rights is acting as spokesperson for the
West Papua National Coalition for Liberation. In a public
statement, Makaboury said that Finland, which helped broker a
peace agreement between Indonesia's government and the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) in Aceh in 2005, was willing to mediate the
dialogue.

The dialogue would have as one goal the removal of Indonesian
troops from West Papua, a goal long sought under the "Papua Land
of Peace" initiative. The dialogue also would seek to allow
Papuans to form political parties and have greater control over
policy regarding West Papua's enormous resources. This concern
is a growing one as the central government presses for
destruction of vast stretches of Papuan forests to establish
palm oil plantations.

Extreme Poverty in Indonesia's Treasure-House Province

The Jakarta Post on September 26 reported that more than half of
the population of Mimika Regency (District), in southern West
Papua, live in poverty. For many decades, West Papua has been
the source of enormous riches for Jakarta's military and
civilian elite who have "developed" the region's vast natural
resources, often with devastating consequences for the Papuan
people and the environment. The Jakarta Post article makes clear
that those riches , including those from the Freeport Gold mine
in the district, continue to be hoarded by the Indonesian elites
with little benefit to the local people.

The Post article author, Markus Makur, notes that in addition to
life below the poverty line, the same proportion of the
population lack access to health care, education, proper
clothing and food. Mimika Statistics Agency (BPS) head Amin
Nazar explained to Makur that as many as 28,000 of the 45,000
families in Mimika are poor and that the number of impoverished
was growing. Complicating life for the poor, many public schools
are virtually closed with government teachers abandoning the
schools for months at a time.

Most of the regency population is in rural areas where Papuan
(non-migrant) populations predominate and where the problems of
poverty and lack of services are most acute.

The Post article identifies many government programs purportedly
on the drawing boards to address poverty and dearth of essential
services afflicting Papuans throughout West Papua but Papuans,
who have heard such promises for decades following Jakarta's
coercive annexation of West Papua in 1963 are understandably
dubious.

The BBC on Unrelenting Extreme Poverty in West Papua's Central
Highlands In a September report focusing on establishment of a
radio station in West Papua's Central Highlands, a BBC report
provides a glimpse into the hardships faced by the people where
the only change wrought by over four decades of Jakarta rule has
been exposure to the brutality of the Indonesian military. The
report, focusing on a positive development, inauguration of a
radio link and related setting up of a small hydro electric
plant, is a rare peek behind the screen maintained by Jakarta
authorities that obscures the suffering of many Papuans.

Excerpts of BBC Jakarta correspondent Lucy Williamson's report
below focus on the rarely reported suffering of rural Papuans
follow:

Eight hours flying time from the Indonesian capital, the Central
Highlands in Indonesia's Papua province are among the least
visited places in the world. Life here bears little relation to
the chaos of Jakarta's skyscrapers and toll roads. In villages
like this, there are usually no permanent roads, no electricity
and no phones. Foreign journalists need a permit to travel here.
Getting information into - and out of - areas like this has not
been easy.

Promises of development have often gone unfulfilled here and
many local people are angry at what they see as neglect from the
central government in Jakarta. Papua generates large amounts of
money thanks to its vast natural resources, but the region
remains desperately under-developed. This is an area where most
people live in traditional thatch huts, and rely on wood fires
to keep warm and cook food. This is an area so cut off and
under-developed that there is neither much money nor much
day-to-day value in having it. Most people are subsistence
farmers and the community is built on a pig economy. Several
people wear traditional dress here, but others - especially
children - wear Western-style T-shirts. One man, dressed in a
traditional penis gourd, head-dress and beads, told me he was
tired of sleeping on the ground in his hut and wanted a modern
house and proper roads. "When that happens," he said, "I'll
change the clothes I wear and wear T-shirts instead."

For many years, areas like this in the Central Highlands have
witnessed clashes between the Indonesian military and a small
band of fighters demanding independence for Papua. Local people
allege the military and police continue to commit human rights
abuses. Human rights groups have testimonies of extra-judicial
killings, rapes and torture.

WPAT Member's Visit To West Papua Highlights Disturbing
Events/Trends

A member of the West Papua Advocacy Team visited West Papua in
September and reports on events and trends there that indicate a
worsening human rights environment. Papuan civil society leaders
are deeply concerned about mysterious deaths of over 30 Papuans
who have succumbed to beatings and shootings. In addition, there
have been over 50 Papuans who have died as a consequence of
consuming food sold at stalls operated by transmigrants.

"Development," as it has come to West Papua follows a Jakarta
strategy that is morally corrupt. Migrants are expanding their
control of the local economy with continuing marginalization of
Papuans. International development assistance to Papuan
dominated areas, such as the highlands, is constrained by
groundless rumors that the highland Papuans dislike foreigners
and that the are presents unexplained "dangers."

The WPAT visitor noted significant religious changes in West
Papua compared with earlier visits. As the WPAT member arrived
in West Papua, 20 individuals who appeared to be Saudi, wearing
white robes disembarked from a Batavia flight. There are now 29
mosques and Sentani which is the new headquarters of the capital
district. Also in Sentani officials are organizing several large
transmigrant communities.

Papua Legislator Calls For Revision Of Contract With Freeport

The Deputy Chairman of the Papua Regional Legislative Council
(DPRD) Papua Jan Ayomi has publicly called upon President
Yudhoyono to revise the working contract with the giant copper
and gold firm PT. Freeport. Ayomi argues that the existing
contract is no longer in accordance with the current
developments especially with the implementation of the special
autonomy of Papua.

A September 19 Asia Pulse/Antara article reported Ayomi as
claiming that the existing contract disadvantages the nation
"and the Papua people in particular." He contended that PT
Freeport, assistance to the Papuan people has been insufficient,
particularly considering the vast wealth derived for the firm
(and the central Government) from Papuan gold, silver and copper
since the mine was begun in 1967.

TNI to Expand Presence in West Papua

A September 17 report carried in the Jakarta Post has raised
again plans by the TNI to substantially expand its presence in
West Papua. The report notes that the Army has (re)proposed
establishing a third infantry division from the Strategic
Reserves Command, or Kostrad, purportedly to patrol Papua border
areas. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Djoko Santoso is quoted as
acknowledging the expansion plan was first proposed in the early
1980s, but was never realized due to budget constraints. Similar
plans for an expansion of TNI in West Papua also surfaced in
2005-2006 but were denied in an Spring 2007 meeting between
Defense Minister Sudarsono and human rights groups in
Washington, DC.

Santoso now claims that the Army expects to establish the third
division in West Papua by 2014. Currently, Kostrad has two
infantry divisions -- in Cilodong. One Parliamentarian cited in
the article said that the Indonesian House would have no problem
with the Army's plan as long as it was approved by the Defense
Ministry and the ministry allotted the necessary budget to fund
the expansion. Defense Ministry approval is widely seen as a
foregone conclusion as civilian control of the Indonesian
military remains a long-sought goal and not a fact. The
Parliamentarian raised old ghosts in defending the plan,
claiming that "... Papua is prone to conflict and separatism.
So, we need to build a stronger defense system by expanding our
forces for the sake of sovereignty."

The contradiction between the TNI's justification for the
expansion, i.e., border protection, presumably from a threat
from Papua New Guinea (sic) and the need to address separatist
pressure is not addressed in the Jakarta Post report.

Important New Collection of Papuan Papers Announced

Eva-Lotta Hedman of the Oxford Refugee Studies Center has
completed editing a collection of papers on the situation in
West Papua. The contributions include:

"Papua: the last frontier for democratization, demilitarization
and decentralization in Indonesia" by Eva-Lotta E. Hedman

"Papuan and Indonesian nationalisms: Can they be reconciled?" by
Jacques Bertrand

"Refuge, displacement and dispossession: responses to Indonesian
rule and conflict in Papua" by Richard Chauvel

"Representations of violence, conflict, and displacement in West
Papua" by Stuart Kirsch

"West Papua: the flawed integration into Indonesia"  by Liem
Soei Liong

The papers can be found in the RSC website; the direct link is:

http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/PDFs/RSCworkingpaper42.pdf