NGOs insist Australia monitor Indonesian provinces

The Australian Civil Liberties Union has told the Treaties Committee of the Australian Parliament, which must approve the Australian Indonesian security treaty signed by the two governments in Lombok, NTB, last year, that Australia should insist on a yearly reporting and monitoring role in the two Indonesian provinces on New Guinea island, Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua). "Monitoring is required to make sure that the new treaty does not inadvertently provide a paper cover for human rights abuses in Papua, particularly by or under the control of the [Indonesian military]," the submission presented by Civil Liberties Australia chief executive Bill Rowlings said.

The pro-separatist Australia West Papua Association "blamed rapacious Indonesian security forces in Papua for instability and warned against plans to boost military training between Australia and Indonesian special forces," Rob Taylor of Reuters reported. "We believe that any aid or training given to the Indonesian military will only be used to oppress the West Papuan people," the association said, listing rights abuses in the far-flung provinces.

The term "Papua" used by the two NGOs appears to refer to both Indonesian provinces on New Guinea island and not specifically Papua province while the term "West Papua" used by the Australian West Papua Association also appears to refer to both Indonesian provinces on New Guinea island and not specifically West Papua province.