The Indonesian Air Force plans to install air defense radars in Timika, the capital of Mimika district in Papua province and in Kaimana town in Papua Barat (West Papua) province in 2008. "The radar will be installed to monitor and anticipate air violations of foreign airplanes as well as sea crimes," Timika Air Force Base Command chief Lt Col Bambang Triono told Antara newsagency. "The radars will be set up next year and fully operational in 2010. The gadgets are capable of monitoring air zone within a radius of 250 nautical miles," he said.
As the Air Force currently operates only one radar in western New Guinea, in Papua province's Biak island, it must rely on Boeing 737-200 air patrols to observe vast areas of the region prone to illegal logging and poaching.
Showing posts with label Papua Barat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Papua Barat. Show all posts
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Air Force to add radars to Papua and Papua Barat
Friday, March 16, 2007
Rural-assigned Papua Barat teachers "still in city"
The Provincial Government of Papua Barat (West Papua) is concerned at the high number of teachers who had been assigned to the countryside but were still effectively spending time in Manokwari city. Evidently, due to the low level of welfare extended to them, the teachers need to spend time in the city to make extra income or to meet other needs.
"This problem is not only about the lack of teachers but also about their distribution," AR Wasaraka, Papua Barat's Section Head for Education, Culture, and Tourism said in Manokwari on Wednesday. He said the local governments (regencies and city) must work with the province to increase teachers' welfare and motivation so that teachers felt at home in the countryside and really needed.
Because of the constitutional responsibilities of the province's eight regencies and one city, they needed to make a commitment together to play an active role in supporting the availability of teachers in the countryside, he said.
"This problem is not only about the lack of teachers but also about their distribution," AR Wasaraka, Papua Barat's Section Head for Education, Culture, and Tourism said in Manokwari on Wednesday. He said the local governments (regencies and city) must work with the province to increase teachers' welfare and motivation so that teachers felt at home in the countryside and really needed.
Because of the constitutional responsibilities of the province's eight regencies and one city, they needed to make a commitment together to play an active role in supporting the availability of teachers in the countryside, he said.
How to return human remains from Dutch museum
When the Amsterdam Museum for the Tropics, the Tropenmuseum, rediscovered a forgotten collection of hundreds of human skulls, bones and even organs stored in formaldehyde in glass jars, it lead to uneasy ethical questions. Many of the human remains are from indigenous inhabitants of Papua and Java, sent to the Netherlands between 1915 and 1965.
The bones were used by the Tropenmuseum for physical anthropological scientific reasearch, an area of study under intense scrutiny because of the infamous racial studies conducted by the German Nazi terror regime before and during World War Two which culimated in the Holocaust (the Nazis' systematic massacre of millions of European Jews).
The remains were rediscovered six years ago. Since then the museum has categorised them and documented the collection in detail. Recently, the museum announced it wanted to find a good home for the remains, possibly returning them to where they came from.
"But the question of what to with these remains is not an easy one to answer," Michel Walraven of Radio Netherlands noted. "It raises many more questions, such as: who officially owns them? The museum itself, or perhaps the Indonesian government? Or maybe the tribes themselves or relatives of the people whose remains they are? And the questions don't end there. For example,does anybody want the remains back? And if not, should they be buried somewhere or should they perhaps be cremated ...?
"Now the main question would probably be, when it comes to the Papua remains, what does the community itself - wich consists of close to 300 tribes - think of all this? After all, the bones and skulls in question were once their great great grandparents.
"Viktor Kaisiepo is Papuan himself and also represents the Papuan community abroad. He's pleased the museum is not making any decisions on its own, but he still needs to talk to people in Papua about what to do with the remains: 'I am challenged that the remains of my people are found. But we have to talk about the ownership. We need to approach this carefully because there may be a lot of emotions involved. I will need to speak to my people to see what we want to do with these remains. I will be in service to my people. I will ask them if they can and will receive them back and how that would happen.'"
He says that, when it comes to the matter of human remains, the indigenous people should be in charge of deciding on what to do with them.
The bones were used by the Tropenmuseum for physical anthropological scientific reasearch, an area of study under intense scrutiny because of the infamous racial studies conducted by the German Nazi terror regime before and during World War Two which culimated in the Holocaust (the Nazis' systematic massacre of millions of European Jews).
The remains were rediscovered six years ago. Since then the museum has categorised them and documented the collection in detail. Recently, the museum announced it wanted to find a good home for the remains, possibly returning them to where they came from.
"But the question of what to with these remains is not an easy one to answer," Michel Walraven of Radio Netherlands noted. "It raises many more questions, such as: who officially owns them? The museum itself, or perhaps the Indonesian government? Or maybe the tribes themselves or relatives of the people whose remains they are? And the questions don't end there. For example,does anybody want the remains back? And if not, should they be buried somewhere or should they perhaps be cremated ...?
"Now the main question would probably be, when it comes to the Papua remains, what does the community itself - wich consists of close to 300 tribes - think of all this? After all, the bones and skulls in question were once their great great grandparents.
"Viktor Kaisiepo is Papuan himself and also represents the Papuan community abroad. He's pleased the museum is not making any decisions on its own, but he still needs to talk to people in Papua about what to do with the remains: 'I am challenged that the remains of my people are found. But we have to talk about the ownership. We need to approach this carefully because there may be a lot of emotions involved. I will need to speak to my people to see what we want to do with these remains. I will be in service to my people. I will ask them if they can and will receive them back and how that would happen.'"
He says that, when it comes to the matter of human remains, the indigenous people should be in charge of deciding on what to do with them.
Monday, March 12, 2007
"Tanah Papua will be more advanced than PNG"
Indonesian Papuan citizens living in Papua New Guinea and abroad for the past 40 years can now return to rebuild their homeland in western New Guinea, Logohu Award winner and PNG journalist Franz-Albert Joku told a 'West Papuan' community gathering in Erima Parish, Gordon, PNG. He had just returned to Port Moresby after negotiating with Indonesian central government and Papuan provincial government officials on the special autonomy and how West Papuans in PNG and abroad could participate.
The PNG government supports the special autonomy process in the two Indonesian provinces, Papua and Papua Barat and PNG officials will be liaising with the Indonesian government and the Papua province government to register West Papuans who fled Indonesia in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s who agree to return home.
"Mr Joku appealed to the West Papuans fighting for independence in the bushes and mountains to reach a compromise and work together under the new special autonomy process," Harlyne Joku reported in The National (Port Morsby). "He said under the special autonomy, West Papuans would have 85 per cent freedom to empower themselves on their own land. He said now, a positive pace had been set and the special autonomy process passed by the Indonesian government in October 2001 was beginning to work. Leaders were being elected in a democratic process."
Joko also appealed to educated West Papuans not be spectators of the autonomy process but make it work, adding there was freedom of speech, movement and elections. Although their fathers had demanded political independence, the Indonesian government had given special autonomy.
"Not like before when people were ruled under the barrel of a gun. If all goes as expected under special autonomy, between seven and nine years time, in development than PNG," he said.
The meeting was a first of a series of meetings in Port Moresby for the West Papuan community to discuss the special autonomy process. The next meeting is set for next month.
References to "West Papua" appear to include both Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces of Indonesian New Guinea.
The PNG government supports the special autonomy process in the two Indonesian provinces, Papua and Papua Barat and PNG officials will be liaising with the Indonesian government and the Papua province government to register West Papuans who fled Indonesia in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s who agree to return home.
"Mr Joku appealed to the West Papuans fighting for independence in the bushes and mountains to reach a compromise and work together under the new special autonomy process," Harlyne Joku reported in The National (Port Morsby). "He said under the special autonomy, West Papuans would have 85 per cent freedom to empower themselves on their own land. He said now, a positive pace had been set and the special autonomy process passed by the Indonesian government in October 2001 was beginning to work. Leaders were being elected in a democratic process."
Joko also appealed to educated West Papuans not be spectators of the autonomy process but make it work, adding there was freedom of speech, movement and elections. Although their fathers had demanded political independence, the Indonesian government had given special autonomy.
"Not like before when people were ruled under the barrel of a gun. If all goes as expected under special autonomy, between seven and nine years time, in development than PNG," he said.
The meeting was a first of a series of meetings in Port Moresby for the West Papuan community to discuss the special autonomy process. The next meeting is set for next month.
References to "West Papua" appear to include both Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces of Indonesian New Guinea.
Central Govt confirming Papua Barat name change
Indonesia's Ministry of Home Affairs is preparing to official confirm the change of name of the province of Irian Jaya Barat to Papua Barat (West Papua) as requested by the province's governor Abraham O Artururi and the province's parliament (DPRD) "We are composing a draft government regulation. In line with Law No 32/2004, changing the name of a province needs to be put forth in a government regulation," the Ministry's Director General of General Governance, Sodjuangon Situmorang, told Kompas.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Papuan Christians say Muslims a 'genocidal' threat
A separatist leader claims the Papuan people are in danger of being wiped out because of Indonesian rule. "We are at risk of genocide," Benny Wenda, a British resident, told Adnkronos International. "I fear that in 30 years the Melanesian race will be wiped off Papua. The international community must force Indonesia to stop its military operation and leave Papua," he said.
According to the AKI report, the Reverand Socrates Sofyan Yoman, leader of the Baptist church of Papua, said that the risk of genocide also comes with the flow of immigrants that continue to arrive from other parts of Indonesia. "Genocide is also seeing our culture and religion disappearing with the arrival of migrants," the religious leader told AKI.
Neles Tebay, a Catholic priest and local accademic said that the presence of immigrants is evident everywhere. "There are mosques at every corner. Migrants are by far the majority in the main cities of the region," Tebay told AKI.
The article also quoted a 2003 study conducted by Yale University, that reportedly said that the migratory flow of people towards Papua could be considered "an act of genocide".
"The Indonesian government has denied these accusations. Jakarta has said that with respect to human rights, the situation in Papua has significantly improved in the last few years and that the desire for independence is not shared by most in the population. The government also said that the provinces in the Papua region - Papua and [Papua Barat] - are ruled by Papuans, as stipulated by a special statute giving these area provincial autonomy in 2001. The government also said that in Indonesia, citizens can move freely from one island to another," AKI commented.
According to the AKI report, the Reverand Socrates Sofyan Yoman, leader of the Baptist church of Papua, said that the risk of genocide also comes with the flow of immigrants that continue to arrive from other parts of Indonesia. "Genocide is also seeing our culture and religion disappearing with the arrival of migrants," the religious leader told AKI.
Neles Tebay, a Catholic priest and local accademic said that the presence of immigrants is evident everywhere. "There are mosques at every corner. Migrants are by far the majority in the main cities of the region," Tebay told AKI.
The article also quoted a 2003 study conducted by Yale University, that reportedly said that the migratory flow of people towards Papua could be considered "an act of genocide".
"The Indonesian government has denied these accusations. Jakarta has said that with respect to human rights, the situation in Papua has significantly improved in the last few years and that the desire for independence is not shared by most in the population. The government also said that the provinces in the Papua region - Papua and [Papua Barat] - are ruled by Papuans, as stipulated by a special statute giving these area provincial autonomy in 2001. The government also said that in Indonesia, citizens can move freely from one island to another," AKI commented.
Papuan Catholic says religions 'working together'
If Islam's jihad, "in its authentic sense manifests in people's endeavors to build peaceful coexistence," wrote Neles Tebay, a Catholic priest and lecturer at the Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology in Abepura, Jayapura, "Muslim and non-Muslim communities everywhere in the world, then, can work together." In an article in The Jakarta Post, he reported that since 2000, the leaders of all religions -- including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism -- in Papua have been united in promoting peace. The campaign aims to build 'Papua, the land of peace' and that the religious leaders believe all peoples, regardless of their different religious traditions, are determined to establish a lasting peace and want to build Papua as a peaceful territory.
The shared concept of "Papua, the land of peace" consists of eight fundamental values: awareness of and respect for plurality, justice, unity, harmony, solidarity, togetherness, sincere brotherhood and welfare. These values examine which plans and activities should be supported and/or rejected by the people of Papua. Based on the fundamental values, the religious leaders are committed to jointly speaking out about injustice and all forms of oppression experienced by the community, particularly the indigenous Papuans. They see the necessity to boost effective cooperation and communication among interfaith leaders, with other civil society groups, and with all people of good will.
"The religious leaders have repeatedly called on all people across Papua to take part in the campaign, love one another as an expression of their faith, recognize and accept ethnic, religious and cultural diversity as a gift from God, give priority to dialog as a way of resolving problems, maintain harmonious relations with God, fellow members of the community and nature and resist provocation and avoid being provoked by conflicts taking place outside Papua," he wrote. "To create a peaceful Papua, the religious leaders have jointly called upon the local and central governments to build good and clean governance, engage in dialog with the people through the regional assembly regarding the implementation of Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua, take actions in cooperation with non-governmental organizations against the spread of HIV/AIDS through the adequate provision of health services and efforts to tackle the root causes of its proliferation."
The leaders also emphasise the necessity for the governments to engage with communities -- including customary, religious, youth communities and women's organizations -- in planning, deciding, implementing and evaluating development programs, and choose dialog as the first course of action in addressing problems in Papua. "
"For the sake of peace, they call on the governments to guarantee all people living in Papua the right to live, uphold justice by addressing gross violations of human rights in Papua without impunity, give Papuans the opportunity to take their rightful place as the primary actors in the process of development and the use of natural resources, and utilize natural resources for the welfare and prosperity of the Papuan people.
"Given the resistance movement waged by the Free Papua Movement (OPM), any peace initiative could be mistakenly interpreted as advocating an independent state in Papua. The Indonesian authorities could, therefore, be suspicious of all peace-building initiatives in Papua. Addressing this suspicion, the religious leaders have made it clear the peace campaign has nothing to do with the campaign for an independent state in Papua. These two campaigns are not identical. For the main aim of the "Papua, the land of peace" campaign is to ensure peace prevails in Papua, irrespective of whether Papua remains an Indonesian province or becomes an independent state.
The goal of the campaign, therefore, is wider than an independent state. It includes all aspects of human life from physical health, social relationships and prosperity, mutual trust and respect, justice, fair opportunities for development, socioeconomic development, cultural rights and human security. In order to highlight their peaceful campaign and reflect its significance in everyday life, the religious leaders lead the celebration of Papuan Peace Day every Feb. 5 and International Peace Day on Sept. 21."
The shared concept of "Papua, the land of peace" consists of eight fundamental values: awareness of and respect for plurality, justice, unity, harmony, solidarity, togetherness, sincere brotherhood and welfare. These values examine which plans and activities should be supported and/or rejected by the people of Papua. Based on the fundamental values, the religious leaders are committed to jointly speaking out about injustice and all forms of oppression experienced by the community, particularly the indigenous Papuans. They see the necessity to boost effective cooperation and communication among interfaith leaders, with other civil society groups, and with all people of good will.
"The religious leaders have repeatedly called on all people across Papua to take part in the campaign, love one another as an expression of their faith, recognize and accept ethnic, religious and cultural diversity as a gift from God, give priority to dialog as a way of resolving problems, maintain harmonious relations with God, fellow members of the community and nature and resist provocation and avoid being provoked by conflicts taking place outside Papua," he wrote. "To create a peaceful Papua, the religious leaders have jointly called upon the local and central governments to build good and clean governance, engage in dialog with the people through the regional assembly regarding the implementation of Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua, take actions in cooperation with non-governmental organizations against the spread of HIV/AIDS through the adequate provision of health services and efforts to tackle the root causes of its proliferation."
The leaders also emphasise the necessity for the governments to engage with communities -- including customary, religious, youth communities and women's organizations -- in planning, deciding, implementing and evaluating development programs, and choose dialog as the first course of action in addressing problems in Papua. "
"For the sake of peace, they call on the governments to guarantee all people living in Papua the right to live, uphold justice by addressing gross violations of human rights in Papua without impunity, give Papuans the opportunity to take their rightful place as the primary actors in the process of development and the use of natural resources, and utilize natural resources for the welfare and prosperity of the Papuan people.
"Given the resistance movement waged by the Free Papua Movement (OPM), any peace initiative could be mistakenly interpreted as advocating an independent state in Papua. The Indonesian authorities could, therefore, be suspicious of all peace-building initiatives in Papua. Addressing this suspicion, the religious leaders have made it clear the peace campaign has nothing to do with the campaign for an independent state in Papua. These two campaigns are not identical. For the main aim of the "Papua, the land of peace" campaign is to ensure peace prevails in Papua, irrespective of whether Papua remains an Indonesian province or becomes an independent state.
The goal of the campaign, therefore, is wider than an independent state. It includes all aspects of human life from physical health, social relationships and prosperity, mutual trust and respect, justice, fair opportunities for development, socioeconomic development, cultural rights and human security. In order to highlight their peaceful campaign and reflect its significance in everyday life, the religious leaders lead the celebration of Papuan Peace Day every Feb. 5 and International Peace Day on Sept. 21."
Mellish: Why it’s all quiet on the West Papua front
Morgan Mellish, a journalist representing the Australian Financial Review in Jakarta, Indonesia, perished when Garduda Indonesia flight GA-200 burst into flames when it crashed on landing in Yogyakarta on 7 March. Mellish was a member of the Jakarta Foreign Corresponents Club and regularly contributed to its newsletter. The following is from its December 2006 edition.
JFCC Jalan-Jalan is a newsletter feature chronicling the highs and lows of correspondents' experiences following the Indonesian story. Submissions are welcome. In this edition, Australian Financial Review correspondent Morgan Mellish drops a dime on the stranglehold of official "security" that obstructs foreign journos reporting legally from Papua:
In September, Australian television journalist Naomi Robson created headlines in that country when she and her crew were booted out of West Papua without getting beyond Jayapura. Robson's attempted journey inside the restive Indonesian province highlighted the difficulties of reporting from this tightly-controlled police state.
Within days of the Channel 7 crew being unceremoniously ejected, three other Australian journalists managed to travel inside West Papua and all encountered official interference and intimidation.
The three - myself, the ABC's Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson and The Australian's Jakarta correspondent Stephen Fitzpatrick came away with exactly the same conclusion: If this is how the Indonesian security forces treat the western pres, then pity the poor Papuans.
Unlike Robson and her crew, who entered the desperately poor province on tourist visas, the three of us had "surat jalans".These are the official government travel permits needed to legally enter West Papua, which is one of the most militarized areas in Indonesia.
But this didn't stop the overzealous and at-time thuggish secret police from trying to stop us reporting at almost every turn. There may be some goodwill in Jakarta towards solving West Papua's problems, but it's clear the security forces on the ground remain a law unto themselves.
The difficulties for western journalists start well before you arrive in Papua. To get a surat jalan requires the approval of Indonesia's Department of Foreign Affairs (Deplu), the State Intelligence Body (BIN and the Indonesian police.
Our permits were among only a handful approved this year and took about six months to get. The vast majority of applicants are knocked back by DEPLU on the trumped-up grounds that the country's easternmost province is too dangerous for journalists. The Sydney Morning Herald/Age Jakarta correspondent Mark Forbes went into West Papua with a surat jalan in March.
Each surat jalan specifies where you can travel and what you can report on. Mine said Jayapura, Timika and Wamena and that I could only report on the investment climate. The Australian's and the ABC's said they could only report on an Asmat tribe arts festival.
Upon arriving in Jayapura, the provincial capital, all westerners must register with the police. I, along with my assistant, went to police headquarters to register with deputy director of police intelligence, Yan Pieter.
After grilling us on our intentions, he casually took a picture of us with his late-model Nokia flip phone. He then showed us a picture on the phone of Fitzpatrick, who'd been in the office a few days earlier.
"Stephen was very bad and was deported [from the province] for covering politics," he said, maintaining a friendly demeanor. "Now, you won't do anything like that, will you?"
While in West Papua, all three of us were tailed by plainclothes secret police known as "intels"and threatened for attempting to interview human rights activists and Papuan community leaders. Thompson's ABC crew got the worst treatment.
They filmed a pro-independence ceremony just outside Jayapura and were later detained and shouted at during a one-hour interrogation. Later, In Timika location of the massive Freeport-McMoRan mine and much of the province's unrest - Thompson's ABC crew were again harassed and detained for a total of five hours. The intels demanded to see and then copied all of their footage. A local ABC employee was interrogated separately behind closed doors and asked to sign a written statement cataloguing the ABC's activities in Papua.
In the end, the ABC sought help from Australian embassy consular staff who spoke via phone to the intels. This, according to Thompson, related the level of scrutiny. However, the intels said because the Asmat tribe arts festival wasn't in Timika and wasn't on for another week, there was nothing for the ABC to do in Papua.
Meanwhile in Jayapura, Fitzpatrick was told to go to police intelligence headquarters or officers would come and get him. Police intelligence's Yan Pieter demanded to see his notebook which Fitzpatrick showed, knowing his hurried longhand would be illegible.
After this, Fitzpatrick started receiving strange phone calls. This included a text message attempted "sting" by an intel who pretended to be an independence activist and offered to meet him.
When I arrived in Timika, I received similar treatment. I was having lunch with two Freeport employees when an intel marched in and aggressively demanded to know who we'd talked to and to see our notes.
To try and resolve the tension, my assistant offered to photocopy several pages of notes from a press conference with the Papuan Governor. We then explained that I didn't take notes because I simply remembered everything. A Freeport employee later apologized and said the company had little control over the intels.
We then returned to Jayapura and, by keeping a low profile, managed to interview two jailed activists inside Jayapura prison who'd been tortured and then get out of the province without the intels realizing.
The worrying thing is the treatment of local journalists is a lot worse. On top of intimidation and threats, they are often physically assaulted. Cunding Levi, a Jayapura-based stringer for national magazine Tempo, says he is often harassed when covering sensitive stories.
"I was taking pictures of police hitting a demonstrator during the Abepura incident,"he says, referring to a riot in March in which five Indonesian security personnel were killed. "Police hit me on the back with a rattan cane and told me not to take that picture, but take a picture of the demonstrators killing their colleague."
Journalist Tjah Jono from radio KBR 68H in Timika says: "We don't have access to information from public institutions. No journalist has ever got the official data on the local budget. It makes it difficult to reveal corruption or abuse of power."
"Freeport also closes all access to information. If there is an incident in the Freeport concession area, we can't enter. A Freeport communications officer will usually give us information, but we don't believe them."
The debate about whether Papua should be independent is for another time and place. But given the way journalists are treated and the allegations of ongoing human rights abuses, it's easy to conclude many Papuans still live in a climate of fear.
JFCC Jalan-Jalan is a newsletter feature chronicling the highs and lows of correspondents' experiences following the Indonesian story. Submissions are welcome. In this edition, Australian Financial Review correspondent Morgan Mellish drops a dime on the stranglehold of official "security" that obstructs foreign journos reporting legally from Papua:
In September, Australian television journalist Naomi Robson created headlines in that country when she and her crew were booted out of West Papua without getting beyond Jayapura. Robson's attempted journey inside the restive Indonesian province highlighted the difficulties of reporting from this tightly-controlled police state.
Within days of the Channel 7 crew being unceremoniously ejected, three other Australian journalists managed to travel inside West Papua and all encountered official interference and intimidation.
The three - myself, the ABC's Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson and The Australian's Jakarta correspondent Stephen Fitzpatrick came away with exactly the same conclusion: If this is how the Indonesian security forces treat the western pres, then pity the poor Papuans.
Unlike Robson and her crew, who entered the desperately poor province on tourist visas, the three of us had "surat jalans".These are the official government travel permits needed to legally enter West Papua, which is one of the most militarized areas in Indonesia.
But this didn't stop the overzealous and at-time thuggish secret police from trying to stop us reporting at almost every turn. There may be some goodwill in Jakarta towards solving West Papua's problems, but it's clear the security forces on the ground remain a law unto themselves.
The difficulties for western journalists start well before you arrive in Papua. To get a surat jalan requires the approval of Indonesia's Department of Foreign Affairs (Deplu), the State Intelligence Body (BIN and the Indonesian police.
Our permits were among only a handful approved this year and took about six months to get. The vast majority of applicants are knocked back by DEPLU on the trumped-up grounds that the country's easternmost province is too dangerous for journalists. The Sydney Morning Herald/Age Jakarta correspondent Mark Forbes went into West Papua with a surat jalan in March.
Each surat jalan specifies where you can travel and what you can report on. Mine said Jayapura, Timika and Wamena and that I could only report on the investment climate. The Australian's and the ABC's said they could only report on an Asmat tribe arts festival.
Upon arriving in Jayapura, the provincial capital, all westerners must register with the police. I, along with my assistant, went to police headquarters to register with deputy director of police intelligence, Yan Pieter.
After grilling us on our intentions, he casually took a picture of us with his late-model Nokia flip phone. He then showed us a picture on the phone of Fitzpatrick, who'd been in the office a few days earlier.
"Stephen was very bad and was deported [from the province] for covering politics," he said, maintaining a friendly demeanor. "Now, you won't do anything like that, will you?"
While in West Papua, all three of us were tailed by plainclothes secret police known as "intels"and threatened for attempting to interview human rights activists and Papuan community leaders. Thompson's ABC crew got the worst treatment.
They filmed a pro-independence ceremony just outside Jayapura and were later detained and shouted at during a one-hour interrogation. Later, In Timika location of the massive Freeport-McMoRan mine and much of the province's unrest - Thompson's ABC crew were again harassed and detained for a total of five hours. The intels demanded to see and then copied all of their footage. A local ABC employee was interrogated separately behind closed doors and asked to sign a written statement cataloguing the ABC's activities in Papua.
In the end, the ABC sought help from Australian embassy consular staff who spoke via phone to the intels. This, according to Thompson, related the level of scrutiny. However, the intels said because the Asmat tribe arts festival wasn't in Timika and wasn't on for another week, there was nothing for the ABC to do in Papua.
Meanwhile in Jayapura, Fitzpatrick was told to go to police intelligence headquarters or officers would come and get him. Police intelligence's Yan Pieter demanded to see his notebook which Fitzpatrick showed, knowing his hurried longhand would be illegible.
After this, Fitzpatrick started receiving strange phone calls. This included a text message attempted "sting" by an intel who pretended to be an independence activist and offered to meet him.
When I arrived in Timika, I received similar treatment. I was having lunch with two Freeport employees when an intel marched in and aggressively demanded to know who we'd talked to and to see our notes.
To try and resolve the tension, my assistant offered to photocopy several pages of notes from a press conference with the Papuan Governor. We then explained that I didn't take notes because I simply remembered everything. A Freeport employee later apologized and said the company had little control over the intels.
We then returned to Jayapura and, by keeping a low profile, managed to interview two jailed activists inside Jayapura prison who'd been tortured and then get out of the province without the intels realizing.
The worrying thing is the treatment of local journalists is a lot worse. On top of intimidation and threats, they are often physically assaulted. Cunding Levi, a Jayapura-based stringer for national magazine Tempo, says he is often harassed when covering sensitive stories.
"I was taking pictures of police hitting a demonstrator during the Abepura incident,"he says, referring to a riot in March in which five Indonesian security personnel were killed. "Police hit me on the back with a rattan cane and told me not to take that picture, but take a picture of the demonstrators killing their colleague."
Journalist Tjah Jono from radio KBR 68H in Timika says: "We don't have access to information from public institutions. No journalist has ever got the official data on the local budget. It makes it difficult to reveal corruption or abuse of power."
"Freeport also closes all access to information. If there is an incident in the Freeport concession area, we can't enter. A Freeport communications officer will usually give us information, but we don't believe them."
The debate about whether Papua should be independent is for another time and place. But given the way journalists are treated and the allegations of ongoing human rights abuses, it's easy to conclude many Papuans still live in a climate of fear.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Separatist claims crimes continue against Papuans
One of 42 Papuans separatists granted asylum after reaching the Australian mainland by traditional boat in January.2006, Herman Wainggai, has thanked Australian politicians, academics, Australia West Papua Associations around Australia, NGO¹s and others who have written submissions to the government of Australia advising them not to sign a security agreement with the Indonesian government.
"The agreement is not useful for Australians, Indonesians and West Papuans. It only serves the Indonesian government policy of continuing their crimes against West Papuans, Indonesian civilians and foreigners. Signing the agreement is encouraging the infiltration of the internal affairs of Australia by Indonesian intelligence agents. For example, there are Indonesian spies in Australia posing as students in education institutions," he announced. "The Indonesia and Australian governments should be protecting human rights, encouraging the development and implementation of democratic principles, and upholding the supremacy of law for the people of Indonesia, the Indigenous people of West Papua, Australian citizens, and the peoples of the Pacific island nations. We will never, never, never, give up."
Wainggai, promoted by Australian Greens senator, Kerry Nettle, as "leader of the West Papuans" reportedly served time in Indonesia for treason. His uncle Tom Wainggai, also a leading academic and separatist, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for organizing a flag raising event in 1988 and died in Jakarta’s Cipinang prison in 1996, prompting allegations he was poisoned or denied proper treatment.
The references to "West Papua" appear to include both Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces.
"The agreement is not useful for Australians, Indonesians and West Papuans. It only serves the Indonesian government policy of continuing their crimes against West Papuans, Indonesian civilians and foreigners. Signing the agreement is encouraging the infiltration of the internal affairs of Australia by Indonesian intelligence agents. For example, there are Indonesian spies in Australia posing as students in education institutions," he announced. "The Indonesia and Australian governments should be protecting human rights, encouraging the development and implementation of democratic principles, and upholding the supremacy of law for the people of Indonesia, the Indigenous people of West Papua, Australian citizens, and the peoples of the Pacific island nations. We will never, never, never, give up."
Wainggai, promoted by Australian Greens senator, Kerry Nettle, as "leader of the West Papuans" reportedly served time in Indonesia for treason. His uncle Tom Wainggai, also a leading academic and separatist, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for organizing a flag raising event in 1988 and died in Jakarta’s Cipinang prison in 1996, prompting allegations he was poisoned or denied proper treatment.
The references to "West Papua" appear to include both Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Warning on US$11,000 grants to 3,800 villages
The Papua administration, which currently oversees autonomy funds for both Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces, has been warned to properly manage a directly distributed grant to over 3,800 villages. Papua Govenor Barnabas Suebu announced in February that the 2,700 villages in his province and 1,164 villages in Papua Barat province will each be granted Rp 100 million (about US$11,100) to get them active in specifying their needs and to outline planned development programs, as well as detailing plans for supervising the use of the money.
"There needs to be clear guidelines in place before villages receive the money. And villages need to be taught how to properly use the funds so that the money can benefit all residents," Fadal Alhamid, the secretary of the Majelis Rakyat Papua (the bi-provincial Papuan People's Congress), told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura.
"Distributing the grants without clear guidelines for their use and effective monitoring mechanisms will potentially create conflict because everyone will want a share of the Rp 100 million. We don't want the distribution of this money to create a situation which could negatively impact on the goal of improving people's welfare," he said.
He suggested that the provincial administration recruit qualified village secretaries to oversee the use of this money. These secretaries should be university graduates, he said. "There are many unemployed university graduates in the cities. They could be sent to villages to work as secretaries," he said.
Shopia Maipauw of the Association for Women's Policy Awareness hoped that women's needs will be met. "The percentage of this grant dedicated to women's issues should be made clear. If it isn't, women will continue to be marginalized," she said, adding that is was a concern that women's issues were being ignored in a similar village-based development program that has been in operation in Jayapura for five years. "The money is being controlled by men, so women are not receiving a share to finance their activities," she said.
"There needs to be clear guidelines in place before villages receive the money. And villages need to be taught how to properly use the funds so that the money can benefit all residents," Fadal Alhamid, the secretary of the Majelis Rakyat Papua (the bi-provincial Papuan People's Congress), told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura.
"Distributing the grants without clear guidelines for their use and effective monitoring mechanisms will potentially create conflict because everyone will want a share of the Rp 100 million. We don't want the distribution of this money to create a situation which could negatively impact on the goal of improving people's welfare," he said.
He suggested that the provincial administration recruit qualified village secretaries to oversee the use of this money. These secretaries should be university graduates, he said. "There are many unemployed university graduates in the cities. They could be sent to villages to work as secretaries," he said.
Shopia Maipauw of the Association for Women's Policy Awareness hoped that women's needs will be met. "The percentage of this grant dedicated to women's issues should be made clear. If it isn't, women will continue to be marginalized," she said, adding that is was a concern that women's issues were being ignored in a similar village-based development program that has been in operation in Jayapura for five years. "The money is being controlled by men, so women are not receiving a share to finance their activities," she said.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Indonesia to increase selling price of Tangguh LNG
Indonesia wants to renegotiate the price of a liquefied natural gas deal to South Korea, less than a year after it forced a major Chinese customer to pay more. Soaring construction costs, sustained higher oil prices and a shortage of LNG before 2012 has emboldened producers such as Indonesia, until last year the world's biggest exporter, to demand significantly higher long-term prices from consumers, Reuters reported.
"Currently, there are talks to increase our price to South Korea and a diversion of some of our sales from the West Coast (of the United States) to the Japanese market," energy minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in a written statement to the Indonesian national parliament.
The country has a contract to supply a total of 1.1 million tonnes of LNG to two Korean companies for the next 20 years from its Tangguh field in Papua Barat (West Papua)_province, operated by BP with Japanese and Chinese partners.
"Currently, there are talks to increase our price to South Korea and a diversion of some of our sales from the West Coast (of the United States) to the Japanese market," energy minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in a written statement to the Indonesian national parliament.
The country has a contract to supply a total of 1.1 million tonnes of LNG to two Korean companies for the next 20 years from its Tangguh field in Papua Barat (West Papua)_province, operated by BP with Japanese and Chinese partners.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
'Moderate' earthquake hits Papua Barat province
A moderate 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck western New Guinea island on Saturday, damaging some houses and a TV tower but caused no serious damage or deaths. The quake struck 67 km southeast of Manokwari, the capital of Indonesia's Papua Barat (West Papua) province, at a depth of 33 km.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
West Papua's Tangguh LNG plant nearly completed
The Tangguh LNG plant, located in a Papua Barat (West Papua) province gas field with proven reserves of more than 14 trillion cubic feet, is entering the final phase of construction and is expected to commence initial production by the last quarter of 2008, Kardaya Warnika, chairman of BP Migas (Indonesia's Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency), told media. He said construction of the plant, to be operated by a consortium led by BP Indonesia (and inckluding Japan's LNG Corporation and Nippon Oil Corporation and China's CNOOC) was 70 percent completed.
Having already secured more than US$2 billion in loans, Kardaya said negotiations between BP and a group of Chinese banks for US$884 million in loans were still underway. To build the plant BP needs financing of US$6.5 billion, of which US$3.5 billion consists of loans, with the remainder coming from the company's own resources.
BP Migas records show that the government has signed contracts with Fujian-China for the delivery of 2.6 mmtpa of gas over 25 years from Tangguh, with SK Power Korea for 0.55 mmtpa over 20 years, with Posco Korea for 0.55 mmtpa over 20 years and with US West Coast for 3.7 mmtpa over 20 years, Ika Krismantari reported for The Jakarta Post.
Having already secured more than US$2 billion in loans, Kardaya said negotiations between BP and a group of Chinese banks for US$884 million in loans were still underway. To build the plant BP needs financing of US$6.5 billion, of which US$3.5 billion consists of loans, with the remainder coming from the company's own resources.
BP Migas records show that the government has signed contracts with Fujian-China for the delivery of 2.6 mmtpa of gas over 25 years from Tangguh, with SK Power Korea for 0.55 mmtpa over 20 years, with Posco Korea for 0.55 mmtpa over 20 years and with US West Coast for 3.7 mmtpa over 20 years, Ika Krismantari reported for The Jakarta Post.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Raja Ampat regent forms Marine Protected Area
The waters off the northwest tip of Papua are among the world's richest in marine biodiversity but are affected by human activity. The Nature Conservancy environmental organization is among parties involved in efforts toward creating sustainability in the area. The following report is by The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti who was invited to communal ceremonies on 15 February held to affirm the local commitment to conservation in the Raja Ampat regency.
This regency of over 600 islands, both large and small, is a three-hour speedboat journey or whole-day ferry trip away from the port town of Sorong, in Papua Barat province. Its waters are frequented by whales, manta rays and dolphins, and locals attribute the return of fish near their homes to the recent conservation efforts.
The conservation project aims to preserve the biodiversity of this regency, comprised of four million hectares of land and sea with a human populace of just 38,000, according to latest estimates. Less than 40 of these islands are inhabited. The focus of the conservation efforts is predominantly on marine life, with evidence of over-exploitation in local and foreign fishing activities.
Last December Regent Marcus Wanma announced part of , the 110,000 hectares of sea around the Kofiau islands stretching to the border with North Maluku, as a protected marine area. In mid-February local communities affirmed their commitment to the area's conservation through religious and traditional rituals.
"What is required here," says Becky Rahawarin, head of the local fisheries agency, "is a management model which differs from that of protected areas under national parks." The regency must seek its own model. Until December there were a number of protected areas scattered throughout the islands, but lack of funds and other factors have rendered protection efforts ineffective, he said.
Local authorities have opted to adopt the environmental program, naming it the Regional Marine Protected Area, though no one has measured which part of the ocean comes under the jurisdiction of the central government and which parts should be fall under the umbrella of the local administration.
This regency of over 600 islands, both large and small, is a three-hour speedboat journey or whole-day ferry trip away from the port town of Sorong, in Papua Barat province. Its waters are frequented by whales, manta rays and dolphins, and locals attribute the return of fish near their homes to the recent conservation efforts.
The conservation project aims to preserve the biodiversity of this regency, comprised of four million hectares of land and sea with a human populace of just 38,000, according to latest estimates. Less than 40 of these islands are inhabited. The focus of the conservation efforts is predominantly on marine life, with evidence of over-exploitation in local and foreign fishing activities.
Last December Regent Marcus Wanma announced part of , the 110,000 hectares of sea around the Kofiau islands stretching to the border with North Maluku, as a protected marine area. In mid-February local communities affirmed their commitment to the area's conservation through religious and traditional rituals.
"What is required here," says Becky Rahawarin, head of the local fisheries agency, "is a management model which differs from that of protected areas under national parks." The regency must seek its own model. Until December there were a number of protected areas scattered throughout the islands, but lack of funds and other factors have rendered protection efforts ineffective, he said.
Local authorities have opted to adopt the environmental program, naming it the Regional Marine Protected Area, though no one has measured which part of the ocean comes under the jurisdiction of the central government and which parts should be fall under the umbrella of the local administration.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Australia "does not" support separatist causes
Comments on criticism of the proposed Indonesia-Australia Treaty by Gillian Bird, a deputy secretary of the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs to Radio Australia:
"This agreement is unique; it is Australia's first security treaty with a regional government focussing on both traditional and non-traditional security threats. It should set a benchmark for the region ... It contains a clear undertaking of support for each other's territorial integrity, which is an unambiguous treaty level statement that Australia does not in any way support separatist causes in Indonesia.
"Australia strongly supports the development of Papua as a stable and prosperous part of the Republic of Indonesia. This is best done through the full and effective implementation of special autonomy and respect for human rights ... Access to Papua I think is an important issue; it's one that we do raise with the Indonesians. We would like to see access to that area; certainly we have had embassy access which we think is important. Certainly that issue of access is one that we do raise."
Bird's use of "Papua" appears to cover both Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces in Indonesian New Guinea.
"This agreement is unique; it is Australia's first security treaty with a regional government focussing on both traditional and non-traditional security threats. It should set a benchmark for the region ... It contains a clear undertaking of support for each other's territorial integrity, which is an unambiguous treaty level statement that Australia does not in any way support separatist causes in Indonesia.
"Australia strongly supports the development of Papua as a stable and prosperous part of the Republic of Indonesia. This is best done through the full and effective implementation of special autonomy and respect for human rights ... Access to Papua I think is an important issue; it's one that we do raise with the Indonesians. We would like to see access to that area; certainly we have had embassy access which we think is important. Certainly that issue of access is one that we do raise."
Bird's use of "Papua" appears to cover both Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces in Indonesian New Guinea.
Catholic actvists in Merauke support province split
Catholic bishops of Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces have called on Catholic young people to uphold and revive human values in service and ministry. The five bishops of Indonesian New Guinea made the call in a joint letter to the Indonesian national working meeting of Pemuda Katolik (Catholic Youth Association) in Merauke, 3,670 kilometers east of Jakarta, in Papua province's southern territory.
The bishops presented the letter on 13 February at the opening session of the four-day meeting with the theme Awaken and Move: Historical and Cultural Basics of Catholic Church to Develop New Habitus for the Nation.
The five bishops – of Merauke Archdiocese and Agats, Jayapura, Manokwari-Sorong and Timika dioceses – shared values, virtues and moral guideposts in the letter, read by Sacred Heart Archbishop Nicolaus Adi Seputra of Merauke, for 114 budding activists at the meeting's opening on 13 February. Franciscan Bishop Aloysius Murwito of Agats was also present.
"Human values need to be upheld and revived continuously among young Catholics, especially those preparing to be leaders," the bishops said in the letter, "these values need to be given top priority."
The bishops urged the activists to follow Jesus, who worked with clear vision and mission. Jesus Christ, wrote the bishops, "struggled unto death for the realization of vision and mission ... making himself a servant, even by sacrificing himself unto death on the cross."
The meeting was a good opportunity for young Catholics to review and improve service activities, the bishops added. The Papua church leaders hope the work meeting will be followed by concrete activities, preparing Catholic cadres nationwide.
Marningrot Tua Natalis Situmorang, national board chairman of Pemuda Katolik, told UCA News at the end of the meeting that participants produced a number of programs to be implemented by all chapters nationwide, including consolidation of the organization, development of national membership, and leadership training.
The meeting, he added, also produced a statement of support for the establishment of a South Papua province to be split from Papua province. The proposed province, based on local people's aspirations, would include Asmat, Boven Digoel, Mappi and Merauke districts.
On 15 February, Saifullah Yusuf, State Minister for the Accelerated Development of Disadvantaged Regions, urged Pemuda Katolic's young activists to empower the poor.
The national working meeting was closed with a Holy Mass led by Archbishop Seputra, with Father Johanes Kandam, the archdiocese's vicar general, and Sacred Heart Father Miller Senduk concelebrating.
Established in 1929 in Yogyakarta with the motto Pro ecclesia et patria (for church and country), the Indonesia Catholic youth association gathers and unites Catholic youth, building mature personalities, and responsible, dedicated citizens and church members. The association holds national congresses to elect leaders, and national working meetings to set programs and develop projects.
The bishops presented the letter on 13 February at the opening session of the four-day meeting with the theme Awaken and Move: Historical and Cultural Basics of Catholic Church to Develop New Habitus for the Nation.
The five bishops – of Merauke Archdiocese and Agats, Jayapura, Manokwari-Sorong and Timika dioceses – shared values, virtues and moral guideposts in the letter, read by Sacred Heart Archbishop Nicolaus Adi Seputra of Merauke, for 114 budding activists at the meeting's opening on 13 February. Franciscan Bishop Aloysius Murwito of Agats was also present.
"Human values need to be upheld and revived continuously among young Catholics, especially those preparing to be leaders," the bishops said in the letter, "these values need to be given top priority."
The bishops urged the activists to follow Jesus, who worked with clear vision and mission. Jesus Christ, wrote the bishops, "struggled unto death for the realization of vision and mission ... making himself a servant, even by sacrificing himself unto death on the cross."
The meeting was a good opportunity for young Catholics to review and improve service activities, the bishops added. The Papua church leaders hope the work meeting will be followed by concrete activities, preparing Catholic cadres nationwide.
Marningrot Tua Natalis Situmorang, national board chairman of Pemuda Katolik, told UCA News at the end of the meeting that participants produced a number of programs to be implemented by all chapters nationwide, including consolidation of the organization, development of national membership, and leadership training.
The meeting, he added, also produced a statement of support for the establishment of a South Papua province to be split from Papua province. The proposed province, based on local people's aspirations, would include Asmat, Boven Digoel, Mappi and Merauke districts.
On 15 February, Saifullah Yusuf, State Minister for the Accelerated Development of Disadvantaged Regions, urged Pemuda Katolic's young activists to empower the poor.
The national working meeting was closed with a Holy Mass led by Archbishop Seputra, with Father Johanes Kandam, the archdiocese's vicar general, and Sacred Heart Father Miller Senduk concelebrating.
Established in 1929 in Yogyakarta with the motto Pro ecclesia et patria (for church and country), the Indonesia Catholic youth association gathers and unites Catholic youth, building mature personalities, and responsible, dedicated citizens and church members. The association holds national congresses to elect leaders, and national working meetings to set programs and develop projects.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Awakening "sleeping giant" of a prosperous Papua
The Papua provincial governnment will focus its development programs on rural areas where the largest number of poor live, the Governor Barnabas Suebu has announced. He said as 80 percent of Papuans live in remote villages in poor conditions, if not absolute poverty, his administration will provide each of the 2,700 villages in his province and 1,164 villages in West Papua province with Rp 100 million (about US$11,100). "This is not a gift from Santa Claus, it must be accounted for," he said.
The Papua administration currently oversees autonomy funds for both Papua and West Papua provinces.
Before receiving the funds, villages must specify their needs and outline planned development programs, as well as detailing plans for supervising the use of the money. Some of the main goals of the village development program are improving nutrition, education, health, local economies and infrastructure in the villages, as well as addressing issues such as gender equality, sustainable forest management and law and justice.
To finance the program, Suebu has shaken up the provincial budget. In the previous budget, 70 percent of funds were allocated for the state apparatus, 20 percent for infrastructure and public spending and the remaining 10 percent for rural development. In the new-look budget, the funds for the state apparatus have been slashed to 27 percent, while 25 percent will go for infrastructure and public spending and 45 percent for rural development.
Papua province also has launched a major infrastructure project, called the integrated transportation network. Under this project, the administration will build seaports, airports and a modern highway system, at a total cost of between Rp 50 trillion and Rp 100 trillion. Funding for the work will come from both the state and provincial budgets, as well as from overseas grants.
Suebu said a modern transportation system would spur economic growth in villages. "Our farmers have to sell their products in the city, but to do this they have to pay a lot for transportation, which cuts their profit. That's a major drawback of a poor transportation system," he told Nethy Dharma Somba of The Jakarta Post in Jayapura.
The governor said the highway construction would begin this year, starting with the 3,000 kilometer Trans-Papua highway, which will connect Papua and West Papua at a cost of Rp 30 trillion.
To save costs, the project will make use of tailings from the PT Freeport mining company, with the end result expected to be of similar quality as concrete roads.
Suebu said with an integrated transportation network, isolated areas would be opened and more investors would come and awaken the "sleeping giant". "This is what we call the new Papua, a prosperous Papua," said the governor.
Among Papua's abundant natural wealth are proven gold and copper reserves of 2.5 billion tons in the PT Freeport mining concession area, 540 million cubic meters of potential commercial timber, nine million hectares of forest conversion areas for large-scale plantations, 2,000 miles of coastline, a sea area of 220,000 square km and 1.3 million tons of potential fishery products per year.
The Papua administration currently oversees autonomy funds for both Papua and West Papua provinces.
Before receiving the funds, villages must specify their needs and outline planned development programs, as well as detailing plans for supervising the use of the money. Some of the main goals of the village development program are improving nutrition, education, health, local economies and infrastructure in the villages, as well as addressing issues such as gender equality, sustainable forest management and law and justice.
To finance the program, Suebu has shaken up the provincial budget. In the previous budget, 70 percent of funds were allocated for the state apparatus, 20 percent for infrastructure and public spending and the remaining 10 percent for rural development. In the new-look budget, the funds for the state apparatus have been slashed to 27 percent, while 25 percent will go for infrastructure and public spending and 45 percent for rural development.
Papua province also has launched a major infrastructure project, called the integrated transportation network. Under this project, the administration will build seaports, airports and a modern highway system, at a total cost of between Rp 50 trillion and Rp 100 trillion. Funding for the work will come from both the state and provincial budgets, as well as from overseas grants.
Suebu said a modern transportation system would spur economic growth in villages. "Our farmers have to sell their products in the city, but to do this they have to pay a lot for transportation, which cuts their profit. That's a major drawback of a poor transportation system," he told Nethy Dharma Somba of The Jakarta Post in Jayapura.
The governor said the highway construction would begin this year, starting with the 3,000 kilometer Trans-Papua highway, which will connect Papua and West Papua at a cost of Rp 30 trillion.
To save costs, the project will make use of tailings from the PT Freeport mining company, with the end result expected to be of similar quality as concrete roads.
Suebu said with an integrated transportation network, isolated areas would be opened and more investors would come and awaken the "sleeping giant". "This is what we call the new Papua, a prosperous Papua," said the governor.
Among Papua's abundant natural wealth are proven gold and copper reserves of 2.5 billion tons in the PT Freeport mining concession area, 540 million cubic meters of potential commercial timber, nine million hectares of forest conversion areas for large-scale plantations, 2,000 miles of coastline, a sea area of 220,000 square km and 1.3 million tons of potential fishery products per year.
Delay request for Special Autonomy Law revision
A forum held at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Central Jakarta requested the Indonesian central government postpone its planned revision of the 2001 Papuan Special Autonomy law. The meeting claimed that six years of special autonomy in Papua had yet to provide opportunities for indigenous Papuans to get involved in managing their own affairs.
"There should be comprehensive evaluation and planning before reaching the conclusion that revision is urgently needed," the Forum chairman Albert Hasibuan said, adding that if revision was truly unavoidable, the revised law should not just look after the needs of political elites.
"If there should really be a revision, the people of Papua, who are represented by the Papuan Legislative Council (DPRP) and the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) should participate (in its deliberation)," said a member of the Jakarta Community for Papua (Pokja), Frans Maniagasi. "These two bodies represent the people while the two governors (Papua and West Papua) represent the central government," Frans said.
He added that the implementation of special autonomy law was a "mess" since the supporting legal components were yet to be issued. "Many Papuans are against the revision because the provincial bylaw (Perdasi), created by the governor and the DPRP; and the special bylaw (Perdasus) created by the governor, DPRP and MRP are not yet available," he said.
The Forum also asked the central government to conduct feasibility studies before making decisions on the establishment of new regencies in the two provinces.
Legislator Simon Morin, from the Golkar Party in the national House of Representatives, said that special autonomy needed a special instrument "established by the central government to empower special autonomy. People's empowerment is important. Without empowerment and enforcement from the central government to local offices, the special autonomy law will not be effective," Morin said, adding that local governments in Papua should be evaluated closely to deter potential mismanagement, especially in budget allocation becaue "the more you go down to the level of local bureaucracy, the smaller the funding becomes."
A researcher from the Center for Political Studies at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Muridan S. Widjojo, said there was nothing wrong with the special autonomy law. "It's not the law but the implementation of the law. A lot of the funding actually went to activities that would not increase the welfare of the people," he said. "Where are the funding to improve health clinics and schools or to send teachers to remote areas? There is just no data to prove that substantial allocation has happened," he said, as reported by lvin Darlanika Soedarjo of The Jakarta Post.
"There should be comprehensive evaluation and planning before reaching the conclusion that revision is urgently needed," the Forum chairman Albert Hasibuan said, adding that if revision was truly unavoidable, the revised law should not just look after the needs of political elites.
"If there should really be a revision, the people of Papua, who are represented by the Papuan Legislative Council (DPRP) and the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) should participate (in its deliberation)," said a member of the Jakarta Community for Papua (Pokja), Frans Maniagasi. "These two bodies represent the people while the two governors (Papua and West Papua) represent the central government," Frans said.
He added that the implementation of special autonomy law was a "mess" since the supporting legal components were yet to be issued. "Many Papuans are against the revision because the provincial bylaw (Perdasi), created by the governor and the DPRP; and the special bylaw (Perdasus) created by the governor, DPRP and MRP are not yet available," he said.
The Forum also asked the central government to conduct feasibility studies before making decisions on the establishment of new regencies in the two provinces.
Legislator Simon Morin, from the Golkar Party in the national House of Representatives, said that special autonomy needed a special instrument "established by the central government to empower special autonomy. People's empowerment is important. Without empowerment and enforcement from the central government to local offices, the special autonomy law will not be effective," Morin said, adding that local governments in Papua should be evaluated closely to deter potential mismanagement, especially in budget allocation becaue "the more you go down to the level of local bureaucracy, the smaller the funding becomes."
A researcher from the Center for Political Studies at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Muridan S. Widjojo, said there was nothing wrong with the special autonomy law. "It's not the law but the implementation of the law. A lot of the funding actually went to activities that would not increase the welfare of the people," he said. "Where are the funding to improve health clinics and schools or to send teachers to remote areas? There is just no data to prove that substantial allocation has happened," he said, as reported by lvin Darlanika Soedarjo of The Jakarta Post.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Eight points of agreement between two provinces
Under the terms of the "One but Two, Two but One" ceremony held by the Governors of Papua and Papua Barat (West Papua) provinces in Manokwari on Tuesday, eight points of agreement were decided for further deliberation in Biak, Papua province, on 31 March.
The follow-up meeting is scheduled to be attended by the Papuan and West Papuan governors, representatives from the provinces' parliaments and the Papuan Peoples' Congress (MRP), 22 regents and mayors from Papua and seven regents and mayors from West Papua, The Jakarta Post reported.
One of the points of agreement is the gathering of inventories for personnel and equipment as well as the documentation of regional revenue, public works, transportation, forestry, agriculture, sea fishing and mining figures.
Another point deals with an agreement by representatives of the two provinces to share special autonomy funds. It was also agreed that all natural resources should be shared by all provinces, regencies and mayoralties throughout Indonesian New Guinea, based on a percentage division between producing and non-producing areas already set out in existing regional regulations.
Others points included an integrated development plan, which covers spatial planning and the development of infrastructure, strategic economic development, social and cultural development and the development of human resources.
The follow-up meeting is scheduled to be attended by the Papuan and West Papuan governors, representatives from the provinces' parliaments and the Papuan Peoples' Congress (MRP), 22 regents and mayors from Papua and seven regents and mayors from West Papua, The Jakarta Post reported.
One of the points of agreement is the gathering of inventories for personnel and equipment as well as the documentation of regional revenue, public works, transportation, forestry, agriculture, sea fishing and mining figures.
Another point deals with an agreement by representatives of the two provinces to share special autonomy funds. It was also agreed that all natural resources should be shared by all provinces, regencies and mayoralties throughout Indonesian New Guinea, based on a percentage division between producing and non-producing areas already set out in existing regional regulations.
Others points included an integrated development plan, which covers spatial planning and the development of infrastructure, strategic economic development, social and cultural development and the development of human resources.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Two provinces united for culture and development
Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu and Papua Barat (West Papua) Governor Abraham (Bram) O. Atururi have signed an agreement to settle differences, the first cooperative move by the two directly-elected leaders since they were installed six months ago. The reconciliation may end Papua province bickering over the legal basis for the establishment of West Papua.
The signing was held on Mansinam Island, a symbolically important island for Papuans since it is where two preachers from Europe landed on 5 February 1855 and began spreading Christianity. "The ceremony was titled "One but Two, Two but One", meaning that Papua's culture, economy and infrastructure development are unified even as its government has split into two provinces," Nethy Dharma Somba reported for The Jakarta Post from Manokwari.
The three-step process included an agreement on the legal basis for the creation of the new province under the Special Autonomy Law; the handover of documents on personnel, financing, equipment and other issues from Papua province to West Papua; and a pledge to jointly manage the economy and infrastructure.
The agreement means that the two provinces will share management of the special autonomy funds, which account for 2 percent of the central government's general allocation funds.
The special autonomy law, along with its attendant funding, is intended to speed Papua's development and give the region more control over its rich natural resources. The funds have thus far been managed by Papua province in cooperation with regency and mayoralty administrations throughout Papua, including those in West Papua.
The reconciliation meeting was held in a very friendly atmosphere. The two governors and their entourages were greeted with traditional dances and all the civil servants of West Papua province lined the road where the guests passed. Governor Suebu shook hands with all of them.
The Mansinam agreement will be deliberated by a special team before it is discussed at a joint working meeting between the two governors and all regents and mayors in the two provinces in Biak.
"We will try to complete the deliberation as soon as possible so that we can hold the next meeting, thereby enabling us to work and build," Bram said.
The reconciliation has melted the cold relations between the two provinces following the creation of West Papua province, which was initially named West Irian Jaya province.
"On this day the conflict between the province of West Irian Jaya, which was later called West Papua, and the province of Papua must end," Suebu said. He added that the two provinces must work together in thought, feeling and spirit to build a new Papua.
The signing was held on Mansinam Island, a symbolically important island for Papuans since it is where two preachers from Europe landed on 5 February 1855 and began spreading Christianity. "The ceremony was titled "One but Two, Two but One", meaning that Papua's culture, economy and infrastructure development are unified even as its government has split into two provinces," Nethy Dharma Somba reported for The Jakarta Post from Manokwari.
The three-step process included an agreement on the legal basis for the creation of the new province under the Special Autonomy Law; the handover of documents on personnel, financing, equipment and other issues from Papua province to West Papua; and a pledge to jointly manage the economy and infrastructure.
The agreement means that the two provinces will share management of the special autonomy funds, which account for 2 percent of the central government's general allocation funds.
The special autonomy law, along with its attendant funding, is intended to speed Papua's development and give the region more control over its rich natural resources. The funds have thus far been managed by Papua province in cooperation with regency and mayoralty administrations throughout Papua, including those in West Papua.
The reconciliation meeting was held in a very friendly atmosphere. The two governors and their entourages were greeted with traditional dances and all the civil servants of West Papua province lined the road where the guests passed. Governor Suebu shook hands with all of them.
The Mansinam agreement will be deliberated by a special team before it is discussed at a joint working meeting between the two governors and all regents and mayors in the two provinces in Biak.
"We will try to complete the deliberation as soon as possible so that we can hold the next meeting, thereby enabling us to work and build," Bram said.
The reconciliation has melted the cold relations between the two provinces following the creation of West Papua province, which was initially named West Irian Jaya province.
"On this day the conflict between the province of West Irian Jaya, which was later called West Papua, and the province of Papua must end," Suebu said. He added that the two provinces must work together in thought, feeling and spirit to build a new Papua.
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