Indonesia has moved closer to acquiring Boeing’s latest F-15EX fighter aircraft following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the company at its St Louis facility on 21 August. The MOU was signed during an official visit by Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto to the US. Boeing said that the MOU establishes […]
The post Indonesia commits to Boeing F-15EX acquisition appeared first on Asian Military Review.
By Hilaire Bule in Port Vila
Benny Wenda, the interim president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), has welcomed the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s confirmation that its application for full membership would be discussed at the 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit in Port Vila — but warned it would be a test.
Wenda conveyed the anticipation of the West Papua people, including those in exile, who await their potential admission as an MSG member.
Reflecting on the unity of various West Papuan groups, including the West Papua Council of Churches, Wenda said that 25 representatives were currently in Port Vila to celebrate the MSG leaders’ decision if it granted West Papua full membership.
Despite previous attempts during past leaders’ summits, Wenda expressed confidence that this time their application would be accepted, reflecting their aspiration for a rightful place within the Melanesian family.
“Our dream, our desire — by blood and race — entitles us to be a member,” he said.
“Today in West Papua, seven regional executives support our cause. Our people support it. Intimidation and harassment from Indonesia is happening right now.
“We aren’t seeking independence, just full membership. In Indonesia, there is no hope, and now it is time for the leaders to make the right decision,” Wenda said.
Membership pursuit
Acknowledging their long-standing lobbying efforts, Wenda noted that their pursuit for membership has been ongoing.
He referenced the 2013 MSG Leaders Summit in Noumea, New Caledonia, where leaders voiced support for their self-determination, recognising the unity among the West Papuan people.
In 2014, Vanuatu hosted a meeting to gather all West Papua factions at the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs nakamal.
“In 2014, we gathered all factions in West Papua for the ULMWP, Wenda said.
“In 2015, during the MSG Leaders’ Summit in Solomon Islands, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare advocated for full MSG membership for West Papua, but we were granted observer status instead,” Wenda said.
“We are now pushing for full membership because we’ve met the criteria, making it time for the leaders to agree.
“This is the moment the entire world, all Melanesians, are watching. It’s a test for the leaders to see if they will stand up for West Papua in the eyes of the world.”
Atrocities committed
He commented on their vulnerable position due to the atrocities committed against them by Indonesia, which had resulted in their minority status.
Presently, ULMWP holds observer status within the MSG, while Indonesia is an associate member.
The MSG consists of member countries Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the pro-independence Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) of Kanaky New Caledonia.
The three visiting MSG Prime Ministers — Sitiveni Rabuka from Fiji, James Marape from Papua New Guinea and Manasseh Sogavare from Solomon Islands– are already in Port Vila.
The FLNKS is represented by its former president, Victor Tutugoro.
The 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit, chaired by Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau of Vanuatu, opened with a ceremonial welcome by chiefs at Saralana yesterday.
The official remarks were followed by the unveiling of carvings at the MSG Secretariat, the Leaders’ Retreat at Warwick Le Lagon, and a plenary session.
Hilaire Bule is a Vanuatu Daily Post journalist. Republished with permission.
Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders have signed off on two declaration for the first time. The first on climate and and the second one of security in North Efate a while ago. A presser will be held in Port Vila. West Papua issue likely to be referred to Pacific Islands Forum. pic.twitter.com/IJuzBnbjmE
— Kelvin Anthony (@kelvinfiji) August 24, 2023
SPECIAL REPORT: By Yamin Kogoya
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is like a big house or boat, says Reverend Dr Ambirek G. Socratez Yoman, owned by the people and the nation of West Papua.
Upon this big boat rests prayers, hopes, longings, struggles, dreams, and ideals with a profound sense of justice, peace, and dignity.
According to Reverend Dr Yoman, the ULMWP is a symbol of unity among the Papuan people. It is a representation of their collective desires and relentless pursuit of justice.
Therefore, West Papuans living in the Land of West Papua, including those living abroad, all pray, hope, and support ULMWP. It is the responsibility of the nation of West Papua and its people to safeguard, maintain, care for, and protect ULMWP as their common home.
Because ULMWP provides a collective shelter for many tears, blood droplets, bones, and the suffering of West Papua.
Reverend Dr Yoman says in his message to me that I have translated that the ULMWP carries the spirits of our ancestors, fallen heroes, and comrades. The ULMWP is the home of their spirits, and he wrote some of their names as follows:
In honour of these fallen Papuan heroes and leaders, Reverend Yoman says:
“It is you, the young generation, who carry forward the baton left by the names and spirits of these fighters, as well as the hundreds and thousands of others who have not been named.
“If there is someone who fights and opposes the political platform of the ULMWP, that individual is questionable and is damaging the big house and the big boat, which contains the tears, blood, bones, and suffering of the People and Nation of Papua as well as the spirits of our ancestors and leaders.
“The eyes and faces of the LORD, the spirits of our ancestors, and the spirits of our leaders who have passed on always guard, protect, and nurture the honest, humble, and respectful members of the ULMWP.”
By this message, he urges the ULMWP to never forget these names and stand bravely with courage on their shoulders.
Reverend Yoman’s letter: a brief comment
Indigenous people view life as a system of interconnected relationships between beings, spirits, deities, humans, animals, plants, and the celestial heavens.
Their holistic cosmology is held together by this interconnectedness — a sacred passageway to multidimensional realities. Although Indigenous cosmologies differ, most, if not all, subscribe to the tenet of interconnectedness.
Having a strong connection to one’s ancestors’ roots is an integral part of being Indigenous.
During times of need, rituals, and grief, ancestral and fallen heroes are mentioned and invoked. A specific ancestor’s name may be mentioned in response to a specific situation, such as grief, conflict, sacred ceremonies, or rituals.
This helps to connect modern generations to the ancestral spirits, providing a source of strength and guidance while honouring the legacy of those who have gone before.
Those who adhere to original cultural values understand why Reverend Dr Yoman mentioned some of these Papuans.
In the chronicle of Papuans’ liberation story, these names are mentioned.
There were some who suffered martyrdom, some who became traitors, who died of old age, and others who died from disease. However, they all have stories connected to West Papua’s Liberation.
Mentioning these names is intended to invoke a specific energy within the consciousness of West Papua’s independence leaders. Inviting the new generation of fighters to take up the cause of their fallen comrades.
It is important to encourage Papuans to see the greater picture of a nation’s liberation struggle — which spans generations. Calling on them to revive their minds, spirits, and bodies through the spirit of fallen Papuans and the spirit of Divine during times of turmoil.
Who is Rev Dr Yoman and why did he mention these names?
Most people are familiar with Reverend Dr Yoman. He is everywhere — on television, on the news, known in churches, involved in human rights activism, mentioned in public speeches, appears in seminars, and lectures and so on.
He is well known, or at least heard of, by the Papuan and Indonesian communities, as well as the broader community.
Reverend Dr Socratez Sofyan Yoman is a public figure, leader, academic, church leader, prolific writer, and media commentator. He is a descendant of the Lani people of Papua.
He is one of the seeds of the civilisation project launched by Christian missionaries in the Highlands between the 1930s and 1960s. His life has been shaped by four significant events in his homeland — the teachings of his elders, the arrival of Christianity, Indonesian invasions, and the resistance of the Papuans.
He rose to become an exceptionally accomplished thinker, speaker, writer, and critic of injustice, oppression, and upholds humanity’s values as taught by the Judeo-Christian worldview within these collusions of worlds.
Growing up among Lani village elders taught him many sacred teachings of the original ways — centred around Wone’s teachings. This is one of the most important aspects of his story.
Wone is the cornerstone of life for the Lani people. Wone is the principle of life and the foundation for analysing, interpreting, evaluating, debating, understanding, and exchanging life.
As with many other Lani, Papuan, Melanesian, and Indigenous leaders, Wone is the reason for his birth, survival, and leadership. He has thus a deep sense of duty and responsibility to serve and fight for his people, as well as other marginalised and oppressed members of society.
Reverend Dr Yoman stands firmly in his beliefs in the face of grief, tragedies, and death in his ancestral homeland. His commitment is unwavering, as he continually strives to stand up for and protect the rights of those who are most vulnerable and in need of a voice.
Wone has inspired him to lead a life of purpose and integrity, making him a pillar of strength and an example to others. In a dying forest, he becomes the voice of the falling leaves.
Among his greatest contributions to West Papua, Indonesia, and the world, will be his writings. Generations to come will remember his research and writings regarding history and the fate of his people.
West Papua will be high on the agenda at the Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders’ Summit in Vanuatu this week.
West Papua’s United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is also present in Vanuatu. Other factions have arrived and are on their way to witness MSG’s decision on West Papua’s fate as well as their own leaders’ summit.
A feeling of anxiety pervades Reverend Dr Yoman as he prays — prompting him to write this letter as he recognises the many challenges ULMWP faces and warns them that they cannot afford even the slightest misstep.
This is the time inspiring Papuans and the ULWMP leadership must remember their fallen comrades, heroes and ancestors.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
By Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific journalist in Port Vila
The leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda, has expressed confidence that the leaders’ meeting in Vanuatu will grant the ULMWP full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Wenda is in Port Vila for the 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit, the first full in-person MSG Leaders’ Summit since 2018.
“I’m really confident,” he said, adding “the whole world is watching and this is a test for the leaders to see whether they will save West Papua.”
MSG chair and Vanuatu Prime Minister Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau has confirmed the ULMWP’s application to become a full member will be a top priority for the leaders.
Wenda told RNZ Pacific the West Papua liberation movement has been lobbying to be part of the MSG’s agenda for more than a decade, without success. The movement currently has observer status within the MSG.
However, he believes this year they are finally getting their chance.
Wenda said all branches of the ULMWP were in Port Vila, including the West Papua Council of Churches and tribal chiefs, and “we are looking forward to becoming a full member”.
“That’s our dream, our desire. By blood, and by race, we’re entitled to become a full member,” he said.
Indonesia, an MSG associate member, is also present, with the largest delegation of all countries in attendance at the meeting.
RNZ Pacific has been in contact with an Indonesian official for an interview in Port Vila.
Benny Wenda said they were not asking for independence, but to become a full member of MSG.
“We’ve been killed, we’ve been tortured, we’ve been imprisoned [by Indonesian security forces],” he said.
‘No hope’ in Indonesia
“So, it’s live with Indonesia for 60 years and there is no hope. We’re not safe. That’s why it is time for the [Melanesian Leaders’ Summit] to make a right decision.”
Wenda said it was “unusual” for Indonesia to bring “up to 15 people” as part of its delegation.
Melanesian leaders, he said, were capable of dealing with their regional issues on their own.
“Why are [Indonesia] here — [what] are they scared about,” he asked.
“When we become full members we are ready to engage [with Indonesia] and find a solution, that is our aim. This is a part of a peaceful solution.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
West Papuan rallies in support of membership
Meanwhile, an ULMWP statement reports that thousands of POapuans held peaceful rallies throughout the territory of West Papua yesterday in support of the ULMWP application for full MSG membership.
“This action was held in order to support the full membership agenda of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG),” the statement said.
The rallies were held simultaneously in all the seven regions of the West Papua government.
In the Lapago Region, thousands of Papuans took to the streets of Wamena City and gathered at the Sinapuk-Wamena field to deliver a statement.
“The masses came down wearing various traditional clothes and dyed their bodies with the Morning Star flag pattern and the five permanent member flags of the MSG.
“They also carried and waved a number of flags from the Melanesian member countries — Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, PNG and Kanaky (FLNKS), including the flag MSG flag.”
Support rallies also took place in the Lapago region in several districts such as Puncak Jaya, Tolikara, Gunung Bintang and Lani Jaya regencies.
By Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific journalist in Port Vila
The Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat’s Director-General, Leonard Louma, says the Pacific region continues to be the centre of geopolitical interests by global superpowers.
The 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit is taking place in Port Vila this week– the first full in-person meeting since the covid pandemic.
The prime ministers of Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and the president of the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) of New Caledonia are confirmed to attend the leaders’ session on Wednesday.
Louma said the battle for influence “impels the region to take sides, but it does not protect Melanesia and the region”.
“There are some who would like us to believe that taking sides in that geopolitical posturing is in our best interest. May I hasten to add, I tend to defer — it is not in our best interest to take sides,” Louma said.
The director-general also took aim at MSG member countries for not moving with “urgency” on issues that have been on the Leaders’ Summit agenda.
“Certain decisions also made by leaders and the foreign ministers of past continue to languish on the shelf and there seems to be no real sign of a desire to implement.”
Free trade
Louma said the MSG Free Trade Agreement had “somehow been tethered to other training and commercial arrangements”.
“Our enthusiasm to cooperate appears to have waned. We need to rejuvenate this enthusiasm and appetite for industrial cooperation that once was the hallmark of MSG,” he said.
Vanuatu’s Foreign Minister Matai Seremaiah has urged Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to sign up to the trade agreement which has already been signed by Fiji and Solomon Islands.
Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau told RNZ Pacific he shared the concerns of his deputy on the issue of the free trade agreement.
“Vanuatu must adhere quickly. If you look at the theme of the meeting it’s about being relevant and being relevant means that we’ve got got to participate as a core group so that we can advance all our interests together,” he said.
Leonard Louma said the MSG needed to make concessions where it was needed in the interests of MSG cohesion.
“The nuclear testing issue in the Pacific could not have proceeded the way we had proceeded without MSG taking a strong position on it.”
Declarations
On Monday, MSG Secretariat officials said there were up to 10 issues on the agenda, including West Papua.
In his opening statement at the Foreign Minister’s session on Monday, Seremaiah said there were two key draft declarations that would be put for the leaders’ consideration.
The first one would be on climate action and “urging polluters not to discharge the treated water in the Pacific Ocean,” he said.
“Until and unless the treated water is incontrovertibly proven to be safe to do so and seriously consider other options.”
The second was a declaration on a MSG region of peace and neutrality, adding that “this declaration is aimed at advancing the implementation of the MSG security initiatives to address national security needs in the MSG region, through the Pacific way, talanoa or tok stori and binded by shared values and adherence to Melanesian vuvale, cultures and traditions”.
The MSG Pre-Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting has concluded with recommendations to be submitted to this weeks’ 22nd MSG Leader’s Summit. It was chaired by Hon. Matai Seremiah, MP, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation & External Trade. pic.twitter.com/Xe87w27BtW
— MSG Secretariat (@MsgSecretariat) August 21, 2023
West Papua
This year’s agenda also includes the issue of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) application to become a full member of the sub-regional body.
The movement is present at the meeting, as well as a big delegation from Indonesia, represented by its Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.
However, neither Seremaiah nor Louma made any mention of West Papua in their opening statements.
West Papua observers and advocates at the meeting say the MSG is like a “custom haus or nakamal” for the Melanesian people.
They say Vanuatu has the opportunity to make this more than a “normal MSG” if it can be the country that gets the MSG Leaders’ Summit to agree to make the ULMWP a full member.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Greenpeace Indonesia’s forest campaigner Nico Wamafma says the West Papua region has lost 641,400 ha of its natural forests in the two decades between 2000-2020 in massive deforestation.
Greenpeace’s research shows this deforestation occurred mainly due to the increasingly widespread licensing of land-based extractive industries that damage the rights of indigenous peoples.
Wamafma said that the total forests loss consisted of 438,000 ha spread across Papua, Central Papua, Mountainous Papua and South Papua provinces.
The remaining 203,000 ha were lost in West Papua and Southwest Papua provinces.
“In the last two decades, we lost a lot of forests in Merauke, Boven Digoel, Mimika, Mappi, Nabire, Fakfak, Teluk Bintuni, Manokwari, Sorong and Kaimana,” Wamafma told Jubi in a telephone interview
Papua is losing natural forests due to the licensing of land-based extractive industries, such as mining, Industrial Plantation Forest (HTI), Forest Concession Rights (HPH), and oil palm plantations.
Wamafma said the formation of four new provinces resulting from the division of Papua had also accelerated the rate of deforestation in Papua.
He said that if the government continued to take a development approach like the last 20 years that relied on investment, the potential for natural forest loss would be even greater in Papua.
Wamafma said there were now 34.4 million ha of natural forests in Papua.
Republished from Tabloid Jubi with permission.
A chilling new report by a German-based human rights watchdog has exposed indiscriminate attacks by Indonesian security forces on indigenous West Papuan villages, highlighting an urgent need for international action.
The 49-page report, “Destroy Them First . . . Discuss Human Rights Later”, is an investigation of the Indonesian forces in the remote Kiwirok area in Pegungan Bintang Regency in the Papuan highlands.
Satellite imagery and on the ground analysis by researchers shows the destruction of eight villages in 2021 and 2022 — Mangoldogi, Pelebib, Kiwi, Oknanggul, Delmatahu, Spamikma, Delpem and Lolim.
A total of 206 buildings, including residential homes, churches and public building buildings have been destroyed in the raids, forcing more than 2000 Ngalum villagers to seek refuge as internally displaced people (IDPs) in the surrounding forest in destitute circumstances.
In a statement, the Human Rights Monitor said the report — released today — provided a “meticulous and scientific analysis” of the Indonesian forces’ attacks on the villages.
“This report sheds light on the gravity and extent of violations in the Kiwirok region and measures them against international law,” the statement added.
Eliot Higgins, director at Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group specialising in fact-checking and open-source intelligence, said: “This in-depth report provides evidence of security force raids carried out in the Kiwirok District, impacting on both indigenous villages and public properties.
‘Harrowing picture’
“It paints a harrowing picture of more than 2000 villagers displaced and forced to live in subhuman conditions, without access to food, healthcare services, or education.
“The main findings of this report include instances of violence deliberately perpetrated
against indigenous Papuan civilians by security forces, leading to loss of life and forced
displacement which meet the Rome Statute definition of crimes against humanity.”
The report says that the armed conflict in West Papua has become “significantly aggravated since December 2018, as TPNPB [West Papua National Liberation Army] members killed at least 19 road workers in the Nduga Regency.
“That incident marks the re-escalation of the armed conflict in West Papua. The conflict statistics show a continuous increase in violence over the past three years, reaching a new peak in 2022. The number of civilian fatalities related to the conflict rose from 28 in 2021 to 43 in 2022,” added the report.
Usman Hamid, Amnesty International’s Indonesia director said: “Impunity for violence by the security forces is a major concern from both a human rights and a conflict perspective.
“This report provides the necessary information for the National Human Rights Commission, Komnas HAM, to take up the case.
“Without accountability for the perpetrators, the chances of a lasting solution to the conflict in Papua are slim,” he added.
‘Hidden crisis’
Peter Prove, director for international affairs at the World Council of Churches, said:
“The World Council of Churches has been monitoring the conflict in West Papua — and its
humanitarian, human rights and environmental impacts — for many years.
“But it remains a hidden crisis, largely forgotten by the international community — a situation that suits the Indonesian government very well. This report helps shine a small but telling beam of light on one specific part of the conflict, but from which a larger picture can be extrapolated.
“Indonesia — which is currently campaigning for election to the UN Human Rights Council — must provide more access and transparency on the situation in the region, and the
international community must respond appropriately to the increasing gravity of the crisis.”
Disturbing revelations in this new Human Rights Monitor report on the bombing of indigenous villages in Kiwirok, West Papua. The world must stand united against such atrocities. Read the full report here: https://t.co/5ySOZt7T2R
#HumanRights #CrimesAgainstHumanity pic.twitter.com/QxIWmPK4C8
— Human Rights Monitor (@hurimonitor) August 16, 2023
In light of the findings, Human Rights Monitor has called on the international community,
governments, and relevant stakeholders to:
Human Rights Monitor is an independent, international non-profit project promoting
human rights through documentation and advocacy. HRM is based in the European Union
and active since 2022.
Focused on West Papua, HRM states: “We document violations; research institutional, social and political contexts that affect rights protection and peace; and share the conclusions of evidence-based monitoring work.”
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
An Australian West Papuan solidarity group has condemned the reported arrest of 21 activists protesting in Jayapura over a “tragic day in history” and called on Canberra to urge Jakarta to restrain its security forces.
The West Papuan National Committee (KNPB) activists were arrested at the weekend because they were handing out flyers calling on West Papuans to mark the date on Tuesday — 15 August 1962 — when the Papuan people were “betrayed by the international community”, reports Jubi News.
That was the date of the New York Agreement, brokered by the US, which called for the transfer of the Dutch colony of Netherlands New Guinea to Indonesia after a short period of UN administration.
No West Papuans were involved in this agreement.
“Hopefully this year the Indonesian security forces will allow the West Papuan people to hold their peaceful rallies without interference,” said Joe Collins, spokesperson for the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) in a statement.
“Canberra should be urging Jakarta to control its security forces in West Papua, otherwise we will see more arrests and more human rights abuses.
“We should not forget, Australia was involved and still involved”.
The New York Agreement included a guarantee that the Papuan people would be allowed an “Act of Free Choice” to determine their political status.
Peaceful demonstration
The so-called “Act of Free Choice” in 1969 has been branded as a sham by activists and international critics.
Sixty one years after that contested agreement, West Papuans are still calling for a real referendum.
The Central KNPB spokesperson, Ones Suhuniap, said that 21 KNPB Sentani Region activists were arrested on Saturday when activists distributed leaflets calling for a peaceful demonstration to mark the New York Agreement and also the racism troubles that Papuan students suffered in Surabaya, Central Java, in August 2019.
Although some of the activists had been released, these arrests were intended to intimidate civil society groups into not taking part in the planned rallies, said the spokesperson.
Collins said: “West Papuan civil society groups regularly hold events and rallies on days of significance in their history, to try and bring attention to the world of the injustices they suffer under Indonesian rule.
“And this is what Jakarta fears most — international scrutiny on the ongoing human rights abuses in the territory”.
Collins said it was of “great concern” that Indonesian security forces could again stage a crackdown in “their usual heavy-handed approach to any peaceful rallies held by West Papuans” during this coming week.
In the past, West Papuans had not only been being arrested for peaceful action but had also been beaten, tortured – and some people had faced charges of treason.
Three students jailed for ‘treason’
On Tuesday, three students were found guilty of treason and given a 10-month prison term by a panel of judges at the Jayapura District Court for alleged treason by being involved in a “free speech” event last year, reports Jubi News.
Yoseph Ernesto Matuan, Devio Tekege, and Ambrosius Fransiskus Elopere took part in the event held at Jayapura University of Science and Technology (USTJ) on November 10, 2022, when they waved Morning Star flags of independence.
The event aimed to reject a Papua peace dialogue plan introduced by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
By Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific lead digital and social media journalist
News media in Indonesia act as “government loudspeakers” by advancing a one-sided narrative regarding the conflict in West Papua, a new study reveals.
The human rights abuses against indigenous Papuans, who have been under military occupation of the Indonesian armed forces since 1962-63 and their struggle for independence from Jakarta, remains a sticking point for the Indonesian government in the region.
However, the Indonesian national media provides an unfair coverage on the plight of the West Papuans by only amplifying the state’s narrative, according to research published in Pacific Journalism Review.
The paper, which looks at how six dominant news media organisations in Indonesia report on the Free West Papua movement, found that they “tend to be only a ‘loudspeaker’ for the government” by using mainly statements issued by state officials when reporting about West Papua.
The findings come from in-depth interviews that were conducted between 2021 and 2022 with six informants and journalists who have a history of writing on West Papua in the last five years.
Additionally, the research analysed over 270 news items relating to West Papua issues that appeared in the six Indonesian online media — Okezone, Detik, Kompas.com, Tribunnews, CNN Indonesia and Tirto — in the week after the Indonesian government formally labelled the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) as a terrorist group in April 2021.
“The Indonesian media does not use a balanced frame, for example, in terms of explaining why and how acts of violence are chosen on the path to fight for West Papuan independence,” the author of the research from Universitas Padjadjaran, Justito Adipresto, writes.
‘Prolonging human rights violations’
Non-state actors have acknowledged that “labelling West Papuan separatist groups as terrorist will not only not solve the problem, but that it also has the potential to prolong the human rights violations that have been taking place in West Papua,” Adipresto says.
While some point to the economic disparities as a starting point to the West Papua conflict, the research shows that the media fall significantly short of providing a nuanced coverage by ignoring the “haunting track record of violence and militarism, ethnicity and racism” in their reports.
“The imbalance of representation that occurs in relation to reporting on West Papua cannot be separated from Indonesia’s treatment of ethnic groups and the region of West Papua,” Adipresto says.
He says the government’s labelling of the Free West Papua movement has “severe implications for the current and future situation and conflict in West Papua”.
“Media in Indonesia is under the shadow of the state,” he said adding that reporting on West Papua lacks “explanation and sufficient context”.
He said Indonesian media were “very concerned about the readers clicks”, and therefore on the quantity of reports rather than the quality.
“The concentration of reporters in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, also leads to reporting from reporters not located in or never having visited West Papua, potentially reducing empathy and understanding of human rights or economic aspects in their reporting.
‘Quality, ethics of journalists are an issue’
“The quality and ethics of journalists are an issue in reporting on West Papua, considering that journalists do not tend to cover the issue of labelling a ‘terrorist’ comprehensively.”
The research shows Indonesian media place greater importance on comments from government officials, often ignoring or not providing space for other voices, in particular the West Papuan community.
“It is necessary to develop a more systematic and consolidated strategy for the national media to cover West Papua better,” the author concludes.
The full paper, titled “Government loudspeakers: How Indonesian media amplifies the state’s narrative towards the Free West Papua movement”, can be found at Pacific Journalism Review, published by the Asia Pacific Media Network. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The 2023 edition of the Australia-led multinational military exercise Talisman Sabre, which formally commenced on 21 July and concluded on 4 August, was held across five Australian states and territories and comprised over 34,000 military personnel from 13 countries with drills conducted across sea, land, air, cyberspace, and space. A key highlight of the event […]
The post Long-range fires a feature of Talisman Sabre 2023 appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
The Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) revealed that it will be acquiring 12 Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Anka medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worth up to US$300 million, the ministry announced in a now-deleted social media post in late July. The announcement, which has since been deleted, added that the air vehicles are expected […]
The post Indonesia signs for Anka UAVs appeared first on Asian Military Review.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called again for the immediate release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who has now been held hostage by pro-independence fighters in West Papua for six months.
Speaking in Auckland, Hipkins said Mehrtens — a pilot for the Indonesian airline Susi Air which provide air links to remote communities in Papua — was a much-loved husband, brother, father and son.
He said Mehrtens’ safety was the top priority and the six-month milestone would be a difficult time for the family.
“We will continue to do all we can to bring Phillip home,” he said.
“I want to urge once again those who are holding Phillip to release him immediately. There is absolutely no justification for taking hostages. The longer Phillip is held the more risk there is to his wellbeing and the harder this becomes for him and for his family.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is leading our interagency response and I’ve been kept closely informed of developments over the last six months.”
Hipkins said consular efforts included working closely with the Indonesian authorities and deploying New Zealand consular staff.
The family was being supported by the ministry both in New Zealand and Indonesia, he said.
“I acknowledge this is an incredibly challenging time for them but they’ve continued to ask for their privacy and I thank people for respecting that.”
Police report ‘good health’
Indonesian police say the NZ pilot taken hostage by the pro-independence fighters on February 7 is in good health and negotiations for his safe release are ongoing.
Jubi reported from Jayapura that Papua police chief Inspector General Mathius Fakhiri said on Monday that Mehrtens remained in good health, but he did not expand on how he obtained that information.
General Fakhiri said the security forces were actively closing in on the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) faction led by Egianus Kogoya and were engaged in negotiations to secure the prompt release of the pilot.
“We are currently awaiting further developments as we work to restrict the movement of Egianus Kogoya’s group. The pilot’s overall condition is healthy,” General Fakhiri said.
Tempo reported General Fakhiri as saying the local government was allowing community and church leaders and family members to take the lead on negotiating with Kogoya, the rebel leader holding Mehrtens.
“Our primary concern is the safe rescue of Captain Phillip. This is why we are prioritising all available resources to aid the security forces in negotiations, ultimately leading to the pilot’s safe return without exacerbating the situation,” General Fakhiri said.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The leader of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) has called for the establishment of a “United Indigenous Nations” for global justice and an end to Indonesia’s ‘malignant’ colonisation of West Papua.
Today — August 9 — is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, as declared at the inaugural UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva in 1982.
OPM chairman and commander Jeffrey Bomanak said such a new global indigenous body would “not repeat the failure of the United Nations in denying any people their freedom”.
“The integrity of indigenous peoples is not for sale,” he said in a stinging statement to mark the international day.
He offered an “independent” West Papua as host for the proposed United Indigenous Nations to lead international governance with an international forum representing — for the first time — the principled values and ideals of indigenous and First Nations peoples who were the “true guardians of our ancestral motherlands”.
He criticised the UN’s lack of action over decolonisation for indigenous peoples, blaming the body for allowing the “predatory destruction of the world caused by the economic multinational imperialists and their unsustainable greed”.
Citing the UN website for indigenous peoples, he highlighted the statement:
“Centuries-old marginalisation and other varying vulnerabilities are some of the reasons why indigenous peoples do not have the same possibilities of access to education, health system, or digital communications.”
And also:
“Violations of the rights of the world’s indigenous peoples have become a persistent problem, sometimes because of a historical burden from their colonisation backgrounds and others because of the contrast with a constantly changing society.”
Bomanak said that while these two quotes read well, they were “misrepresentative of the truth that has been West Papua’s tragic experience with the United Nations”.
‘Disingenuous manipulation’
“The facts are that the UN has prevented West Papua’s right to decolonisation through a disingenuous manipulation of the Cold War events of the 1960s,” he said.
“Indonesia’s invasion and illegal annexation of West Papua remains a malignancy in principle and diplomacy only matched by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But with different diplomatic outcomes applied by the UN Secretariat.
“The UN Secretariat acts with incredulous diplomatic effrontery to allegations of collusion and complicity with a host of other predatory nations, all eager to plunder West Papua’s natural resources — the world’s greatest El Dorado.”
He singled out Australia, China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States for criticism.
Indigenous people knew the story of West Papua from their own experience with the same predatory nations and the “same prejudicial and corrupt geopolitics” that characterised the UN, Bomanak said.
“G20 conquerors and colonisers have never put down their swords and guns. They have never stopped conquering and colonising, either by military invasion or economic imperialism.
“They will never understand the indigenous perception of ancestral custodianship of our lands.
“The defence forces and militia groups of G20 nations still murder us in our beds and our beds are burning.”
Conflict of interest
The UN could not stop “global melting” because it was a conflict of interest with the “G20
business-as-usual paradigm of economic exploitation” fueling expansion economies.
“They will not stop until all our ancestral lands are one infertile wasteland. The UN is unable to resolve this self-defeating dynamic,” Bomanak said.
“The UN should be a democratic, progressive and 100 percent accountable institution. This is not West Papua’s experience.
“Six decades ago, the UN should have fulfilled the decolonisation of West Papua for the commencement of our nation-state sovereignty. Instead, we were sold to the highest bidders — Indonesia and the American mining company Freeport McMoRan.”
The problem with international diplomacy was that the UN was “beholden to the G20’s vested interests” and its formal meeting place in New York, Bomanak claimed.
“Why remain inside the belly of the beast?” he asked other indigenous peoples.
“Upon liberation of our ancestral motherland, and upon the agreement of the new government of West Papua, I would like to offer all colonised tribes and nations of the conquering empires — all indigenous peoples — the opportunity to manage our international affairs with absolute justice and accountability.
“International relations with indigenous governance for indigenous people. We will build the United Indigenous Nations in West Papua.”
The Paradise Bombed documentary about West Papua by Kristo Langker.
A new documentary and human rights report have documented savage attacks in 2021 by Indonesian security forces on a remote West Papuan village close to the Papua New Guinea border as part of an ongoing crackdown against growing calls for independence.
The documentary, Paradise Bombed, and the research report made public yesterday allege that six Papuan villagers were killed in the initial attacks, a further seven were killed later when fleeing to safety, and 284 people were recorded by witnesses to have died from starvation in the months since then.
The researchers also allege that the security forces used bombs and rockets fired by helicopters and drones in the Indonesian attacks.
An estimated 2000 people were forced to flee into the forest and have remained in bush camps ever since, fearful of returning to their homes.
“From 10 October 2021, there have been ongoing attacks on the Ngalum Kupel
community by the Indonesian National Armed Forces,” said the researchers, documentary filmmaker Kristo Langker, and Matthew Jamieson of the PNG Trust.
“The continued aggravated attacks by Indonesian military forces and apparent complicity of Indonesian authorities have profoundly impacted on the community [until] July 2023.
“The Ngalum Kupel people have evidence that the Indonesian National Armed
Forces are targeting the whole of the Ngalum Kupel community with modified Krusik
mortars and Thales FZ 68 rockets.”
Targeted villages
The military aerial attacks were reported to have targeted a series of villages which
are adjacent north and northwest of Kiwirok, the regional and administrative centre.
This includes the Kiwi Mission station.
Four community members of the Nek-speaking Ngalum Kupel ethnic tribe were eyewitnesses to the airborne rocket and bombing attacks on their villages around Kiwirok.
“They described a drone dropping bombs together with four or five helicopters firing rockets at houses, food gardens, pigs and chickens,” the report said.
The witnesses named the dead victims and the displaced survivors.
“The witnesses collected shrapnel and bombs from the initial series of attacks,
bringing this evidence to Tumolbil in PNG,” the report said.
“The shrapnel and bombs collected indicate that Thales FZ 68 rockets and modified Krusik mortars were used as the munitions in the military aerial attacks. The witness accounts detail the Indonesian military forces using a drone/UAV armed with modified Krusik mortars, Thales rocket FZ 68 weapon systems and military attack helicopters against an Indigenous community.”
The report authors concluded that the Indonesia National Armed Forces — which were
understood to be equipped with Airbus Fennec attack helicopters and Thales
rockets systems — were “likely responsible for the helicopter components of the attacks.”
Wenda praises researchers
United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) president Benny Wenda has praised the researcher and documentary maker in a statement yesterday:
“These courageous filmmakers, Kristo Langker and friendlyjordies, have shown how bombs made in Serbia, France, and China were used to massacre my people. What happened in Kiwirok is happening across West Papua.
“We are murdered, tortured, and raped, and then our land is stolen for resource extraction and corporate profit when we flee.
“My heart was crying as I watched this documentary, as I was reminded of the Indonesian attack on my village in 1977. My early life was like the Kiwirok children shown in the film: my village was bombed, my family killed and brutalised, and we were forced to live in the bush for five years.
“The difference is that in 1977 no one was there with a camera to interview me — no one knows what happened to my mum, my aunt, my grandfather. But now we have video proof, and no one can deny the evidence of their own eyes.
“Aside from the number of Kiwirok people killed by Indonesian troops — ranging between 21 and 72 — witnesses from the village say that hundreds have died of starvation while living in the bush, where they lack food, water, and adequate medical supplies.
“Villagers attempting to return to Kiwirok have been attacked by Indonesian soldiers – shot at close range, with sniper rifles, and tortured. The names of Kiwirok residents are now added to the 60,000 — 100,000 who have been forcibly displaced by Indonesian militarisation since 2018.
“The international community knows this is a grave humanitarian crisis, and yet still refuses to act. Why?
“I want to alert all our diplomatic groups, the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP), the International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP), and all West Papuan solidarity activists around the world. You must ask your governments to address this, to stop selling arms to Indonesia.
“I also want to thank Kristo Langker and friendlyjordies for making this important documentary, and to Matthew Jamieson for producing the report on the attack. You have borne witness to the hidden genocide of my people.
When we are finally independent, your names will be written in our history.”
There has been no immediate response by Indonesian authorities.
ANALYSIS: By Yamin Kogoya
An Indonesian court has held a hearing to consider whether the ailing former Papua Governor, Lukas Enembe, is well enough to go on trial for the allegations of bribery and gratification that he is facing.
The hearing was held in the Central Jakarta District Court yesterday to consider a second medical opinion provided by the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI).
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) public prosecutors read out the IDI medical report, which stated that the defendant Enembe was fit to face trial.
Former Governor Enembe was not present at the hearing and his lawyers and family protested against the second opinion of IDI’s decision, arguing that the judgment was not based on a proper medical report but rather a view formed and collected by KPK’s doctors through interviews.
The family refused to accept this result because they believe it did not accurately represent the medical issues facing the governor.
The governor’s lawyers contend that their client is seriously ill, and they have now received an accurate medical report from the army hospital’s specialist, who has been treating Enembe for the past two weeks, since he was moved from KPK’s detention cell to Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD) in Jakarta on July 16 due to serious health concerns.
“As a result of the explanation given by the RSPAD doctor’s team who visited Mr Enembe’s in-patient room on Monday (24/7), it was determined that Mr Enembe’s kidney function had decreased dramatically. According to Bala Pattyona, Mr Enembe’s chronic kidney has deterorated rapidly,” reports ODIYAIWUU.com.
From army hospital to cell — emotional for family
Despite serious health concerns, on July 31 the KPK came to the Army hospital and picked up Enembe, taking him to KPK’s detention cell.
Enembe’s lawyer, Petrus Bala Pattyona, revealed an emotional atmosphere when Enembe was removed from the hospital.
His wife, siblings and other relatives who were at the RSPAD were reportedly crying.
“The governor was taken by wheelchair from his room to the ambulance,” Petrus told Kompas.com on Monday night.
Petrus said that before being picked up by the KPK prosecutors, the family had refused to sign administrative documents for Enembe’s departure from RSPAD.
“Because the person who brought Mr Enembe to the hospital was a KPK prosecutor, then they are the ones who are responsible for Mr Enembe’s discharge from the hospital,” said Pattyona.
The KPK officials signed the hospital discharge papers.
Health priority request
The governor’s lawyers asked for the unwell governor to remain in the city to prioritise his medical treatment.
In response to his deteriorating health, the governor’s legal advisory team sent a letter on Thursday, July 20, to the Jakarta District Court judges.
They requested that Lukas Enembe be granted city arrest status because of his serious life-threatening illness.
The letter was signed by the governor’s legal team, including Professor Dr OC Kaligis, Petrus Bala Pattyona, Cyprus A Tatali, Dr Purwaning M Yanuar, Cosmas E Refra, Antonius Eko Nugroho, Anny Andriani and Fernandes Ratu.
According to the governor’s senior lawyer, Professor Kaligis, the application was submitted on the grounds that Enembe’s health had not improved since he had been detained in KPK’s detention cell.
Professor Kaligis said: “Our client is suffering from many complicated, serious illnesses. His kidney disease has reached stage five, he has diabetes, and he has suffered from four strokes. He is suffering from low oxygen saturation, swelling in his legs, and other internal diseases.”
In a written statement, Kaligis said Enembe’s legal counsel requested the judges to consider bail for the governor. He pleaded with the legal authorities to empathise with Enembe’s suffering.
Suharto’s case a valuable lesson
Kaligis said that while defending the late Indonesian President Suharto, his party went to Geneva on 13 June 2000 and met with the Centre for Human Rights and specifically the Human Rights Officer, Mrs Eleanor Solo.
“During that time, I was accompanied by Dr Indriyanto Seno Adji and two members of the TVRI crew because a seriously ill individual would not be suitable to [be examined] at the trial. Regardless of accusations a person might be facing, no one should be subjected to inhumane or degrading conduct,” Kaligis said.
During Kaligis’s visit to Geneva, a human rights delegation visited the residence of Suharto, ensuring that the judge who tried Suharto, the late Chief Justice of South Jakarta State, Judge Lalu Mariun, stopped the examination after receiving a fatwa from the Supreme Court.
Because Lukas Enembe is incarcerated under the authority of a panel of judges — not the KPK — Profewsaor Kaligis said they were hopeful that the request would be granted.
According to Elius Enembe, the governor’s brother and spokesman for the governor’s family, the governor was in a critical condition.
Nothing good will come from returning him to KPK’s prison cells. This is bad news for us and given the governor requires full support in terms of care needs, KPK should be held responsible should something grave occur while under their council. The Papuan people and the world are watching. There is nothing more torturous than this.
On Wednesday, 26 July 2023, the governor had his birthday, turning 56.
What should have been a happy celebration with family and the people of his homeland was abandoned for a hospital bed.
The trial is due to resume next week.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Jubi News
Papuan police are investigating a spate of mysterious fires in the Dogiyai area in Central Papua province.
The razed structures include the offices of the National Unity and Politics Agency and the Dogiyai Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Office.
Also eight boarding houses in Ekemanida Village, Kamu District, were engulfed in flames on the same day.
Dogiyai police chief Commander Surraju said his team was examining all available information regarding the fires, including the possibility that a specific group set fire to the buildings.
No casualties were reported.
The incidents occurred at different locations with a fire on Trans Nabire–Enarotali Road happening around 10am.
The fire in Ekemanida Village happened about 20 minutes later. The boarding house was unoccupied at the time.
Papua Police spokesperson Senior Commander Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo said the fire destroyed a former office building in Kimupugi Village, Kamu District.
The authorities are still investigating the cause of the fires and the extent of the damage.
Prabowo urged the public to remain calm and avoid being provoked by the situation. He emphasised that the police were handling the case.
Republished with permission.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
Research on climate crisis as the new target for disinformation peddlers, governance and the media, China’s growing communication influence, and journalism training strategies feature strongly in the latest Pacific Journalism Review.
Byron C. Clark, author of the recent controversial book Fear: New Zealand’s Hostile Underworld of Extremists, and Canterbury University postgraduate researcher Emanuel Stokes, have produced a case study about climate crisis as the new pandemic disinformation arena with the warning that “climate change or public health emergencies can be seized upon by alternative media and conspiracist influencers” to “elicit outrage and protest”.
The authors argue that journalists need a “high degree of journalistic ethics and professionalism to avoid amplifying hateful, dehumanising narratives”.
PJR editor Dr Philip Cass adds an article unpacking the role of Pacific churches, both positive and negative, in public information activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several articles deal with media freedom in the Pacific in the wake of the pandemic, including a four-country examination by some of the region’s leading journalists and facilitated by Dr Amanda Watson of Australian National University and associate professor Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific.
They conclude that the pandemic “has been a stark reminder about the link between media freedom and the financial viability of media of organisations, especially in the Pacific”.
Dr Ann Auman, a specialist in crosscultural and global media ethics from the University of Hawai’i, analyses challenges facing the region through a workshop at the newly established Pacific Media Institute in Majuro, Marshall Islands.
Repeal of draconian Fiji law
The ousting of the Voreqe Bainimarama establishment that had been in power in Fiji in both military and “democratic” forms since the 2006 coup opened the door to greater media freedom and the repeal of the draconian Fiji Media Law. Two articles examine the implications of this change for the region.
An Indonesian researcher, Justito Adiprasetio of Universitas Padjadjaran, dissects the impact of Jakarta’s 2021 “terrorist” branding of the Free West Papua movement on six national online news media groups.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, media analyst Dr Gavin Ellis discusses “denying oxygen” to those who create propaganda for terrorists in the light of his recent research with Dr Denis Muller of Melbourne University and how Australia might benefit from New Zealand media initiatives, while RNZ executive editor Jeremy Rees reflects on a historical media industry view of training, drawing from Commonwealth Press Union reviews of the period 1979-2002.
Across the Tasman, Griffith University communication and journalism programme director Dr Kasun Ubayasiri presents a powerful human rights Photoessay documenting how the Meanjin (Brisbane) local community rallied around to secure the release of 120 medevaced refugee men locked up in an urban motel.
Monash University associate professor Johan Lidberg led a team partnering in International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) studies about “the world according to China”, the global media influence strategies of a superpower.
The Frontline section features founding editor Dr David Robie’s case study about the Pacific Media Centre which was originally published by Japan’s Okinawan Journal of Island Studies.
A strong Obituary section featuring two personalities involved in investigating the 1975 Balibo Five journalist assassination by Indonesian special forces in East Timor and a founder of the Pacific Media Centre plus nine Reviews round off the edition.
Pacific Journalism Review, founded at the University of Papua New Guinea, is now in its 29th year and is New Zealand’s oldest journalism research publication and the highest ranked communication journal in the country.
It is published by the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) Incorporated educational nonprofit.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
Over recent decades, the nature of Indonesia-related expertise in Australian universities has changed dramatically. During the late 1980s the arts faculty in which I was an undergrad included many scholars with expertise in the symbolic dimensions of Indonesian social and political life. They studied the history, performance genres, literature, music and social conditions of Indonesian communities.
After retirement, those scholars were not replaced by academics with the same specialisations, and the focus of Indonesia-related expertise has shifted. In the present, academic activity about Indonesia is concerned more with the material conditions confronted by Indonesian individuals and groups, as well as the policies and infrastructures that bear upon them. In other words, the focus of scholarly expertise has shifted from knowledge of the symbolic part of Indonesian life to a concern with material and social wellbeing and the governance systems that might ensure that.
This shift brings the academy in step with what I observe to be a distinctive trait of Australia’s imagining of Indonesia: Australians like to construct Indonesia as a recipient of assistance. If Australians have given a brand label to Indonesia, it is “brand needy”. Our university departments are now dedicated to this construction, working for the alleviation of problems faced by Indonesians in the fields of the environment, disability, health, governmental capacity, policy formulation. It seems that ”helping Indonesia” is now more prominent than ”learning about Indonesia”.
As the chair of a program responsible for teaching Indonesian language and studies, it strikes me that there is a connection between this tendency of Australian public discourse and the low levels of interest in Indonesia amongst young people.
The depth of the problem emerges through comparison with other language and studies programs. On looking sideways at my four colleagues in the French language program of the G8 university where I teach, I observe that one of these is expert in French contemporary philosophy, literature and theology. A second researches cinema, cultural histories of Paris, art, fashion, and celebrity studies. A third researches French Literatures with attention to race and queer theory. A fourth studies sub-Saharan Francophone literature and French postcolonial/decolonial theory.
All their expertise is focused on efforts to understand the symbolic dimensions of French societies. Their scholarly activities do not show any inclination towards helping French societies, but proceed from a position of respect and deference for French civilisation (in the wider sense). And student interest in studying French is high. In semester 1 of 2023, the unit for students wishing to study French with no existing capability attracted 120 students. The equivalent unit in Indonesian attracted 16, and that figure is a high one when compared with years before that.
The figures were not supposed to be like this. Since the 1990s, Australian policymakers, with broad public support, have attempted to raise Asia literacy amongst Australians. In the case of Indonesia literacy, the results have not been impressive. Given the broad support from government and the public, we should ask what has happened?
The tendency to construct Indonesia as needy has little to do with Indonesia. It has its origins in the culture and public politics of white Australia. A recent study by Agnieszka Sobocinska reveals this culture and public politics. She made a documentary study of programs initiated in Western societies that enabled volunteers to give service in Asia. Sobocinska labels this the “humanitarian-development complex”. Australia features heavily in this book, for Australia’s ”Volunteer Graduate Scheme”, which commenced in 1951, was ”the first modern development volunteering endeavor”.
Sobocinska found that volunteering programs gave negligible or non-existent benefits to the host populations in the ”developing world”. What was very clear, however, was their groundings in the emerging public cultures of the societies from which the volunteers came. Two observations stand out among the conclusions of her study of media representations and public expression about development volunteering.
First, material and moral support for development volunteering came from across the spectrum of public contributors, reflecting a public consensus that ”underdeveloped” nations required help, and secondly, the volunteering subject came to be seen as a virtuous and commendable figure. The rationale for the program depended more on the desirable subjectivity created in media representations in the ”developed” country than in any benefit to be received in the host country. The neediness of the ”developing world” was to a degree created out of notions of virtue prevailing in Australian public life.
Sobocinska’s book reveals the difficulty of the problem we are facing here: the naturalness of the construction of our neighbours as needy. To take the position of helper seems so naturally to be the right thing to do, and the resolution of serious problems facing contemporary populations across the world is clearly a core mission of the modern university.
I have observed this difficulty previously in New Mandala when writing about the media’s coverage of animal cruelty in Indonesia. In that piece, I observed that Indonesia had become the prime source of Australia’s images of cruelty to animals. We all agree that action needs to be taken to prevent cruelty to animals, wherever it might happen. But as we continue to emphasise Indonesia as a place of cruelty to animals, the well-meaning people who travel there to confront the problem become more and more virtuous. Both examples indicate the mutually constitutive relationship: the construction of the needy volunteer piggybacks upon the construction of the needy recipient.
Friendly ties to Pyongyang have been an emblem of non-alignment for generations of Indonesian foreign policy makers.
A different Indonesia is revealed for those who study the symbolic dimensions of Indonesian life through genres such as history, literature, music, symbolic anthropology and performance genres. Through study in these fields we are able to see the problems facing Indonesian populations, but we also observe social relations that dignify humans and communities; traditions of inclusivity and pluralism; Indonesian models of generosity and sacrifice; examples of flexibility and resilience in overcoming adversity; indigenous responses to emerging problems; surprising technological adaptations; cultural traits reflecting wit and sophistication and wisdom, and so on. When engaging with these, we do not meet the Indonesia of ”brand needy”.
Related
Indonesia and North Korea: warm memories of the Cold War
In the contemporary university, these scholarly observations are marginalised or obscured by the pressing need to help. The construction of neediness has a power that can be seen in academic hiring practices. In an environment where such high importance is attached to specialised projects that help Indonesian communities’ material situations, it is becoming harder to rationalise the hiring of academics with specialisations in the symbolic.
When perceptions of neediness are so high, the study of the symbolic seems to stand in the way of the important project of helping. By giving support for the study of Indonesian history, literature, performance genres, music and social structures, we might appear to be preventing research that will be of benefit to Indonesia. In this way, construction of Indonesia as needy is perpetuated, and the emergence of alternate brands is prevented.
Based on my engagement with the beginning students in our program, it is clear that they do not enrol in our course because they wish to help Indonesia (although some of them might). Although I am drawing on intuitions rather than scientific findings here, their motivations appear to be similar to those of our beginning students of French: students of Indonesia are amazed by Indonesian history and culture, and are hungry for engagement with it, just as students of Beginners’ French are wanting to engage with French history, culture and thought.
But there are only 16 studying beginners’ Indonesian in comparison with 120 studying French. Could it be that our relentless construction of Indonesia as needing help might have to some degree shaped the national disposition towards Indonesia? And ought we pay attention to the importance of the academy as a resource for working against that construction?
The post How Indonesian studies’ “brand needy” lets Australian students down appeared first on New Mandala.
This post was originally published on New Mandala.
SPECIAL REPORT: By Yamin Kogoya
“Rebuilding our Melanesia for our future” is the theme chosen by the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) for their 7th Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival (MACFEST) this year.
Vanuatu hosted the event in Port Vila, which opened last Wednesday and ends next Monday.
The event was hosted by the MSG, which includes Fiji, New Caledonia’s Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Aside from the MSG’s official members, West Papua, Maluku and Torres Straits have also been welcomed with their own flags and cultural symbols.
Although Indonesia is an associate member of the MSG, there were no Indonesian flags or cultural symbols to be seen at the festival.
A beautiful array of colours was displayed today in
at the official opening of the 7th Melanesian Arts & Culture Festival (MACFEST). #MSG #StorianBloYumi#wanpipolwanrijan
#unityindiversity pic.twitter.com/vow2i2M85L
— MSG Secretariat (@MsgSecretariat) July 19, 2023
This action — Indonesian exclusion — alone spoke volumes of the essence and characteristics of what constitutes Melanesian cultures and values.
This event is a significant occasion that occurs every four years among the Melanesian member countries.
The MSG’s website under the Arts and Culture section says:
The Arts and Culture programme is an important pillar in the establishment of the MSG. Under the agreed principles of cooperation among independent states in Melanesia, it was signed in Port Vila on March 14, 1988, and among other things, the MSG commits to the principles of, and holds respect for and promotion of Melanesian cultures, traditions, and values as well as those of other indigenous communities.
MACFESTs
Imagery, rhetorics, colours and rhythms exhibited in Port Vila is a collective manifestation of the words written on MSG’s website.
There have been welcoming ceremonies united under an atmosphere of warmth, brotherhood, and sisterhood with lots of colourful Melanesian cultural traditions on display.
Images and videos shared on social media, including many official social media accounts, portrayed a spirit of unity, respect, understanding and harmony.
West Papuan flags have also been welcomed and filled the whole event. The Morning Star has shone bright at this event.
The following are some of the images, colours and rhetoric displayed during the opening festive event, as well as the West Papua plight to be accepted into what Papuans themselves echo as the “Melanesian family”.
Wilayah Lapago,14 Juli 2023
“West Papua For Full Membership MSG 2023. pic.twitter.com/ys88iksqa5— Mully Numa (@mully_numa) July 17, 2023
When stars aligned,
It’s time.
Melanesia has to make a stand to safe West Papua and the entire region. Bring West Papua back to the Melanesian family. pic.twitter.com/ilTZDNlW8Z— Oridek Ap (@Oridek) July 19, 2023
Wamena – West Papua on 19 July 2023
For West Papuans, July 2023 marks a time when the stars seem to be aligned in one place — Vanuatu. July this year, Vanuatu is to chair the MSG leaders’ summit, hosting the seventh MACFEST, and celebrating its 43rd year of independence. Vanuatu has been a homebase (outside of West Papua) supporting West Papua’s liberation struggle since 1970s.
Throughout West Papua, you will witness spectacular displays of Melanesian colours, flags, and imagery in response to the unfolding events in the MSG and Vanuatu.
Melanesian brethren also displayed incredible support for West Papua’s plight at the MACFEST in Port Vila — a little hope that keeps Papuan spirits high in a world where freedom has been shut for 60 years.
This support fosters a sense of solidarity and offers a glimmer of optimism that one day West Papua will reclaim its sovereignty — the only way to safeguard Melanesian cultures, languages and tradition in West Papua.
Although geographically separated, Vanuatu, West Papua and the rest of Melanesian, are deeply connected emotionally and culturally through the display of symbols, flags, colours, and rhetoric.
Emancipation, expectation, hope, and prayer are high for the MSG’s decision making — decisions that are often marked by “uncertainty”.
A contested and changing Melanesia
The Director-General of MSG, Leonard Louma, said during the opening:
The need to dispel the notion that Melanesian communities only live in Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and acknowledge and include Melanesians that live elsewhere.
I am reminded that there are pockets of descendants of Melanesians in the Micronesian group and the Polynesian group. We should include them, like the black Samoans of Samoa — often referred to as Tama Uli — in future MACFESTs.
In the past, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Australia, and Taiwan were invited to attend. Let us continue to build on these blocks to make this flagship cultural event of ours even bigger and better in the years to come.
MSG leaders may perceive their involvement in defining and redefining the concept of Melanesia, as well as addressing date postponements and criteria-related matters, as relatively insignificant.
Similarly, for MSG members, their participation in the Melanesian cultural festival could be considered as just one of four events that rotate between them.
For West Papuans, this is an existential issue — between life or death as they face a bleak future under Indonesian colonial settler occupation — in which they are constantly reminded that their ancestral land will soon be seized and occupied by Indonesians if their sovereignty issues do not soon resolve.
The now postponed MSG’s leaders’ summit will soon consider an application proposing that West Papua be included within the group.
Regardless of whether this proposal is accepted by the existing member countries of the MSG, the obvious international pressures that impel this debate, must also prompt us to ask ourselves what it means to be Melanesian.
Decisions around unity?
Does the primacy of maintaining good relations with a powerful country like Indonesia, the West and China supersede Melanesian solidarity, or are we able to transcend these pressures to redefine and “rebuild our common Melanesia for our future”?
The Melanesian people must decide whether we are sufficiently united to support our brothers and sisters in West Papua, or whether our respective cultures are too diverse to be able to resist the charms offered by outsiders to look the other way.
The imminent decision to be made by the MSG leaders in Port Vila will be a crucial one — one that will affect the Melanesian people for generations to come. Does the MSG stand for promoting Melanesian interests, or has it become tempted by the short term promises of the West, China and their Indonesian minions?
What has become of the Melanesian Way — the notion of the holistic and cosmic worldview advocated by Papua New Guinea’s Bernard Narakobi?
The decision to be made in Port Vila will shine a light on the MSG’s own integrity. Does this group exist to help the Melanesian people, or is their real purpose only to help others to subjugate the Melanesian people, cultures and resources?
The task of “Rebuilding our Melanesia for our future” cannot be achieved without directly confronting the predicament faced by West Papua. This issue goes beyond cultural concerns; it is primarily about addressing sovereignty matters.
Only through the restoration of West Papua’s political sovereignty can the survival of the Melanesian people in that region and the preservation of their culture be ensured.
Should the MSG and its member countries continue to ignore this critical issue, “Papuan sovereignty”, one day there will be no true Melanin — the true ontological definition and geographical categorisation of what Melanesia is, (Melanesian) “Black people” represented in any future MACFEST event. It will be Asian-Indonesian.
Either MSG can rebuild Melanesia through re-Melanesianisation or destroy Melanesia through de-Melanesianisation. Melanesian leaders must seriously contemplate this existential question, not confining it solely to the four-year slogan of festival activities.
The decisive political and legal vision of MSG is essential for ensuring that these ancient, timeless, and incredibly diverse traditions and cultures continue to flourish and thrive into the future.
One can hope that, in the future, MSG will have the opportunity to extend invitations to world leaders who advocate peace instead of war, inviting them to Melanesia to learn the art of dance, song, and the enjoyment of our relaxing kava, while embracing and appreciating our rich diversity.
This would be a positive shift from the current situation where MSG leaders may feel obliged to respond to the demands of those who wield power through money and weapons, posing threats to global harmony.
Can the MSG be the answer to the future crisis humanity faces? Or will it serve as a steppingstone for the world’s criminals, thieves, and murders to desecrate our Melanesia?
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has delivered the first two FA-50 Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft on order by Poland on 10 July, the Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak confirmed. According to reports, the new aircraft will be deployed at the Polish Air Force’s 23rd Tactical Air Base located in Mińsk Mazowiecki, with the […]
The post KAI delivers first FA-50 aircraft to Poland appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
Papuan people throughout the territory of West Papua have held huge demonstrations of support for full membership of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
Delighted with the response but disappointed with the delay, organisers appealed to supporters to “keep going” with the solidarity.
The national action was scheduled to be held simultaneously throughout West Papua’s territory in seven provincial regions.
The MSG leaders summit was supposed to have opened on Monday but has now been postponed until August with the actual dates not yet decided.
In the highlands town of Wamena yesterday, thousands of people from the Laa-Pago Region thronged the municipality wearing traditional clothes and decorating their bodies with patterns of the Morning Star — Papua’s flag banned by Indonesia — and the five flags of the permanent members of the MSG — Fiji, Kanaky (FLNKS), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Other actions supporting the same MSG membership agenda were also staged in Jayapura City — outsid the residence of the chair of the West Papua Council, Buchtar Tabuni at Kamwolker.
There were also solidarity demonstrations throughout West Papua, including in the Yapen Islands, Sorong, Manokwari, Merauke, Timika, Kaimana, Paniai, Biak, Serui, Merauke and several other regencies.
The ULMWP solidarity groups also delivered a four-point statement:
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
A bold development in Prabowo Subianto’s 2024 presidential campaign has been his promise that if he wins, he will invite his vanquished election rivals to join his government. He argues that Indonesia is too big, too diverse, and has too many ethnic groups to reach its potential unless its leaders are willing to work together cohesively. Prabowo’s own post-election-defeat inclusion within President Jokowi’s government in 2019 may thus become one of Indonesia’s defining political precedents.
Jokowi and Prabowo’s eagerness to incorporate their rivals into their governments is indicative of the resurgence of Indonesian integralism.
Indonesian integralism, which David Bourchier argues has its origin in early 20th century Dutch legal anthropology, portrays consensus-based decision-making and benevolent rule as principles that are deeply rooted in Indonesia’s traditional cultural life. Integralist thinkers claim that political contestation, parliamentary opposition, and social struggle are alien and divisive disturbances to Indonesia’s organic modes of communitarian governance. Integralism reached its zenith during Suharto’s New Order regime, which disseminated an ideology portraying the nation as a harmonious family led by Suharto as father.
With the establishment of competitive elections after Suharto’s fall in 1998, Indonesia’s leaders largely ceased to propagate explicitly integralist discourses. However, throughout the 2000s, political parties tended to form governing cartels rather than engage in parliamentary opposition. Beginning in 2014, a series of religiously—and, in the case of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election, ethnically—fraught elections seemed to signify the emergence of more substantial political contestation and a potential curtailing of cartelisation tendencies.
Jokowi and Prabowo’s 2019 rapprochement ended this period of polarisation, and Jokowi subsequently built a massive governing cartel. Nonetheless, in 2019, it still seemed that cartelisation would remain a primarily post-election phenomenon motivated by rent-seeking. But Prabowo’s pre-2024 election promise to include all parties in his government is a move beyond pragmatic rent-seeking politics; it is an attempt to reinstall integralism as Indonesia’s explicit guiding ideology.
In justifying his promise, Prabowo is deploying a new analogy in place of his former father-in-law’s “family” discourse: football. If Indonesia is to succeed, he explained in an interview with Najwa Shihab aired on 30 June, it must be like a champion football team.
We can win if the starting XI works together. In fact, not just the starting XI, but also the substitutes, coaching staff, the manager, water carriers, and massage therapists. One team… Indonesia needs to work together in this way.
He made similar comments in a speech at the Indonesian National Police Education and Training Institute on 16 June, declaring: “Jokowi is the captain of our starting XI, and I am the striker!”
Prabowo’s football analogy would seem to invite unpalatable comparisons. Indonesian football has long been rife with hooliganism and match-fixing, and the first anniversary of the legally controversial Kanjuruhan Stadium crush looms. Moreover, likening politics to football raises the question: wouldn’t the governing coalition within the DPR function best when faced with a robust opposition, just as a strong football side rises to the challenge when playing a worthy opponent?
Central Java offers a good base for a Widodo dynasty, but tensions with PDI-P are a hurdle.
Yet there seems to be little appetite among Indonesians for such questions to be posed to Prabowo’s integralist designs. Prabowo is leading in the 2024 polls, especially among young voters. Even Najwa Shihab, Indonesia’s most prominent critical journalist, makes no attempt to push back on Prabowo’s football analogy—nor his claimed “chemistry” with Jokowi—during their aforementioned interview. She seems amused by his Jokowi-as-captain, Prabowo-as-striker quip, and amicably jokes that as striker, his responsibility is to score lots of goals.
Related
The political prospects of Jokowi’s sons
Indeed, when we turn our attention to Erick Thohir, the recently elected chairman of Indonesia’s national football association, it starts to seem as if Prabowo’s football analogy might be more literal than it first appears. Thohir managed Jokowi’s 2019 presidential campaign, has served as Minister of State Owned Enterprises since 2019, and is likely to run as vice president in 2024. His brother, Garibaldi Thohir, is President Director and major shareholder of energy giant Adaro.
Erick Thohir owns English League One’s Oxford United F.C. with Anindya Bakrie, President Director of the Bakrie & Brothers conglomerate and son of former Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie. Thohir also owns Indonesian Liga 1’s Persis Solo with Kaesang Pangarep, Jokowi’s younger son. Thus, at the heart of Indonesia’s network of elites, joint ownership of football clubs tie three of Indonesia’s most powerful families together. Jokowi may be the captain of Oligarchs United F.C., but Thohir is surely the club’s manager.
So, football is increasingly serving as the discursive and material glue that holds Indonesia’s pivotal alliances together and that fills in the cracks which might otherwise broaden into genuine political contestation. If Indonesia is once again becoming an integralist state, this time it is a football state just as much as a family state.
All of this helps explain why former frontrunner Ganjar Pranowo’s decision to prioritise Palestine over football in the Under-20 World Cup fiasco backfired so decisively. Prabowo will make no such errors. His soon-to-be-completed football academy facility in West Java—which he has already offered to Liga 1’s Jakarta Persija as a free training ground—and the Under-17 World Cup that Indonesia will host in November give him ample opportunity to run a football-fuelled election campaign. The striker is well positioned to finally claim the title he has long coveted.
The post Captain, striker, and the integralist state appeared first on New Mandala.
This post was originally published on New Mandala.
Beginning today, Green Rebel’s vegan Pak Nasser’s Plant-Based Nasi Lemak will be available on AirAsia’s Malaysia routes, while passengers on Philippines routes will be able to taste vegetarian Sisig. Two other plant-based dishes — Nasi Rendang with assorted vegetables and Rendang with Coconut Rice — will appear on the menus on select AirAsia’s Indonesia flights starting later this week.
Santan, AirAsia’s food service subsidiary, has replaced traditional meat ingredients with Green Rebel‘s plant-based proteins for these recipes. The substitution includes products like Beefless Rendang, Chick’n Chunks, and Plant Mince. Classic dishes like Nasi Lemak have been elevated using basmati and wild purple rice, served with Green Rebel Chick’n Chunks, eggplant curry, French beans, and potatoes. Guilt-Free Sisig, a popular Filipino dish, uses Green Rebel’s Plant Mince, seasoned with calamansi, onions, and chili peppers.
“Green Rebel is the first plant-based alt meat brand to partner with AirAsia in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia,” Green Rebel co-founder and CEO Helga Angelina Tjahjadi, said in a statement.
Tjahjadi says Green Rebel and AirAsia have aligned values, “in particular a commitment to sustainability and flavour localisation.”
Green Rebel says its food technology ensures the plant-based protein not only imitates the mouthfeel of meat but also absorbs deep flavours and marination, making it perfect for Asian culinary methods like braising, stewing, steaming, hotpot, grilling, and even deep frying. Made from 100 percent natural plant-based ingredients, all Green Rebel products are free from MSG, preservatives, and refined sugar. The protein base includes non-GMO soy and shiitake mushrooms, and is flavoured using Asian spices and herbs for an authentic taste experience.
Green Rebel has a strong commitment to sustainable, affordable, and tasty plant-based meat alternatives. The company conducts independent Life Cycle Assessments on its products and has found its plant-based beef and chicken alternatives have significantly less global warming potential compared to their traditional counterparts.
“We discovered that our meatless beef has 91 percent less global warming potential than local beef, and similarly our meatless chicken has 84 percent less global warming potential than local chicken,” Tjahjadi said.
“We are looking at savings on carbon emissions by 90 percent, water use by 72 percent, land use by 90 percent, and overall energy use by 81 percent to produce plant-based meat in comparison to animal-based meats.”
The new partnership supports AirAsia’s environmental commitments, which align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree Celsius policy. AirAsia has been working on measures to reduce its carbon footprint, including reducing 221 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per aircraft per year through an optimization solution implemented in 2022.
“We’re excited at the possibilities as mindfulness about healthy and sustainable eating grows in this part of the world,” said Tjahjadi.
The post AirAsia Partners with Green Rebel for Meatless Menu Options first appeared on Green Queen.
The post AirAsia Partners with Green Rebel for Meatless Menu Options appeared first on Green Queen.
This post was originally published on Green Queen.
By Anita Roberts in Port Vila
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders Summit proposed to be held from yesterday until July 21 has been postponed to another date, which is yet to be confirmed.
This was confirmed by Foreign Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Jotham Napat.
He said the MSG Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting had last month proposed this date pending confirmation from each member country.
Napat said the government of Solomon Islands noted there was a clash with the sitting of Parliament and asked for the meeting to be rescheduled.
“Vanuatu’s Prime Minister [Ishmael Kalsakau] as Chair of the MSG will write to the members for them to reschedule the meeting on another date where every leaders are available to complete their issues,” he told the Vanuatu Daily Post.
“For Vanuatu, July is already full of activities. The President of France is arriving soon. We are looking at organising the meeting in August.”
Asked to confirm whether the endorsement of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (UMLWP) as a full member of MSG was going to be on the agenda at this Leaders’ Meeting, Napat replied that this had not been discussed at the MSG Foreign Affairs Minister Meeting.
Budget only discussed
He explained that the Foreign Affairs Minister Meeting discussed only the budget and its approval.
However, the application for UMLWP full membership would be discussed in a retreat by the MSG Prime Ministers before any adoption.
Vanuatu has been strongly supporting this agenda.
The Jakarta Globe reported that Foreign Affairs Minister Napat had discussed the possibility of Vanuatu opening an embassy in Indonesia with his Indonesian counterpart during his visit there last month.
He said he told his counterpart about Vanuatu’s push for West Papua to be part of MSG.
“Indonesia has been very frank about this matter. They consider West Papua as part [of Indonesia] and they told us that we [Vanuatu] are undermining their sovereignty.
“This does not stop us to keep pushing this agenda to the MSG Leaders to decide on it. It’s a sensitive issue that needs to be agreed by all leaders.
“Every decision is to be taken by consensus, it will be very difficult if some of the leaders are reluctant to support the agenda,” he said.
Indonesia has been providing scholarships for Papua New Guineans and Fijians to study abroad.
Vanuatu’s push for West Papua
Asked if such assistance could jeopardise Vanuatu’s push for West Papua, Minister Napat said: “Vanuatu is a sovereign country and it must decide on its own destiny and future.
“It is the same for PNG, it has its own sovereign right.
“Somewhere we have to find what is our interest, whether we continue pursuing the idea or we decide on a different path but continue advocate.
“You cannot be shouting from outside. You have to sit at the roundtable with them and talk so that they can hear you.
“It’s an interest for Vanuatu to pursue the matter, but when it comes to MSG its a collective decision.”
Anita Roberts is a Vanuatu Daily Post reporter. Republished with permission.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
SPECIAL REPORT: By Yamin Kogoya
Suspended Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, who is detained in Indonesia on corruption charges, was supposed to go on trial yesterday but this did not go ahead as he is gravely ill and could not attend.
Upon realising the governor’s health had deteriorated, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) tried to transport him to Gatot Subroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD) last Saturday.
However, the governor refused due to what he said was KPK’s “mishandling” of the legal case.
A member of the Governor’s legal team, Petrus Bala Pattyona, said he had been contacted by the KPK prosecutor on Sunday.
Bala Pattyona was asked by the prosecutor to convince Enembe to be taken to the hospital. Enembe had not eaten for two days, was vomiting, nauseous, and dizzy, reports Odiyaiwuu.com.
The Governor is currently in an intensive care unit — suffering from a serious life-threatening illness.
Jakarta’s ‘legal mishandling’ of Governor
Governor Enembe was on trial a week ago on July 10, but public prosecutors failed to bring witnesses to the hearing.
After the trial was adjourned for another week until yesterday, he was taken to a KPK prison cell despite being seriously ill.
Prior to these two failed trial hearings, the Governor appeared in court on June 24.
However, the hearing wqs suspended after a panel of judges rejected Governor Enembe’s appeal for the charges to be waived.
Given the governor’s ill health, the judges ruled to prioritise his health and grant his request to suspend proceedings until he was medically fit to stand trial.
On June 12, an anticipated and highly publicised trial was scheduled to take place in Jakarta’s District Court. However, the trial was not held due to KPK’s mishandling of the ordeal.
To date, a total of nine attempts have been made to deliver a satisfactory closure of the Governor’s legal case since he was “kidnapped” from Papua in January 2023.
New August date set
The trial is now rescheduled for early August 2023. However, there is no guarantee that this will be the last hearing over what critics describe as a tragic and disgraceful mishandling of the case concerning a respected tribal chief and Governor who is fighting for his life.
For the government of Indonesia, KPK and judges, every moment that is mismanaged, mishandled, or delayed might mean just a delay in justice, but for the Governor and his family it means life and death.
According to the governor’s family, KPK are already waiting to bring this sick man back from hospital and lock him up in a KPK prison cell again.
The Governor’s family ask how could this “cruel treatment be happening”?
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic/activist who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
Media organisations in Papua — including the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) of Jayapura City, the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) of Papua and the Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI) of Papua — have lambasted intimidation against Abdel Gamel Naser, a reporter with the Cenderawasih Pos.
The incident occurred while he was covering the issue of mangrove forest destruction in the Youtefa Bay Nature Park conservation area in Jayapura City last Tuesday.
Gamel, as he is commonly known, allegedly faced intimidation from two police officers who were present near the location.
The officers approached Gamel and questioned why he was photographing the area.
Despite explaining that he was a journalist, the officers forced him to delete three images from his reportage.
“To avoid further conflict so I can continue my reporting elsewhere, I deleted the photos,” he explained.
“As I was leaving the location, [the police officers] issued further threats,” Gamel said in a press release issued by the media groups.
A halt to logging
Gamel was among a group of about a dozen journalists who were covering the halt of logging and material stockpiling in the mangrove forest area of Youtefa Bay Nature Tourism Park.
The halt was carried out by the Papua Forestry and Environment Service, the Papua Natural Resources Conservation Center, and the Papua Police Special Crimes Unit.
According to Gamel, the intimidation occurred while he was capturing images near a location where police lines had been established, and several police officers were nearby.
Lucky Ireeuw, chair of the AJI Jayapura, strongly condemned the alleged intimidation faced by Gamel during his work. he said such repressive actions hindered the exercise of press freedom in Papua.
“The intimidation suffered by Gamel obstructs press freedom and violates Law No. 40/1999 on Press,” Ireeuw said.
He called on the Papua police to take decisive action against the officers implicated in the alleged intimidation.
“We urge the police to ensure press freedom in Papua,” Ireeuw added.
‘Arrogant’ display
Meanwhile, PWI Papua deputy chair Ridwan Madubun strongly condemned the “display of arrogance” that resulted in the intimidation of his fellow journalist Gamel. Madubun saoid such actions were unjustifiable, especially when they happened while journalists were carrying out their responsibilities in the public domain.
He also expressed dismay at the ongoing repressive acts against journalists in Papua.
Journalists are safeguarded by law in carrying out their coverage duties to inform the public.
Papua police spokesperson Senior Commander Ignatius Beny Ady Prabowo said efforts had been made within the police institution to educate officers about press freedom since their training at the National Police School.
“I have just been made aware of the alleged intimidation against Gamel,” Prabowo said. “Journalists who encounter such incidents can report them to our Internal Division.”
Republished from Jubi with permission.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
A West Papua pro-independence leader says Indonesia is ramping up its repression of peaceful activists while people mobilise in favour of the province gaining full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
Benny Wenda said 10 activists were arrested earlier this week while handing out leaflets advertising a peaceful rally to support his United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) gaining full membership of the sub-regional group.
Wenda added that the next day rallies in Jayapura and Sentani were forcefully disbanded and 21 people arrested.
He said at the rallies activists were demanding that their birthright as a Melanesian nation be fulfilled.
Wenda said West Papua was entitled to full membership of the MSG by “our ethnic, cultural, and linguistic ties to the rest of Melanesia”.
“If Melanesian leaders needed further proof of the necessity of ULMWP full membership, then Indonesia has provided it,” he said.
“Only as full members will we be able to expose grave abuses such as these arrests on the international stage, and to defend our identity as a Melanesian people.
‘Why the quietness?’
“Indonesia claims that they are entitled to membership of the MSG because they represent other Melanesian populations. If that is the case, then why are these populations staying quiet?
“Indonesia cannot claim to represent West Papuans in the MSG, because we already have representation through the ULMWP.”
Wenda is demanding on behalf of the ULMWP and the West Papuan people “that no further arrests are made of Papuans rallying peacefully for full membership”.
He said Indonesia had nothing to fear from West Papuans returning to “our Melanesian family”.
“At the same time, they must understand that West Papuans are speaking with one voice in demanding full membership. All groups, ages, genders and tribes are totally united and focused on achieving our mission. We will not be deterred.”
The MSG is due to meet in Port Vila, Vanuatu, this month, although the dates have not yet been announced.
Last week, the Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Papua New Guinea (PNG) with trade, border arrangements and education foremost on the agenda.
However, as reported by RNZ Pacific, one topic that was not discussed was West Papua despite the countries sharing a 760km border.
An estimated 10,000 West Papuan refugees live in PNG, escaping a bloody conflict between armed separatists and the Indonesian army.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The risk of nuclear arms being used is higher now than at “any time in recent history” with the world only “one miscalculation away from apocalypse,” Indonesia’s top diplomat warned Tuesday, calling on foreign powers to keep Southeast Asia safe from such weapons.
At a meeting in Jakarta, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi urged nuclear-armed powers to sign a 30-year-old treaty that seeks to keep the region free of nukes. She issued her warning ahead of four days of ministerial-level meetings in Jakarta between member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The crisis in Myanmar meanwhile is expected to be among the main topics at the summit, which will also include talks with China, Russia and the United States later this week.
“The risk of nuclear weapons use is higher today than at any time in recent history,” Retno said at Tuesday’s meeting of the Commission of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ).
“We keep hearing warnings about the possible use of nuclear weapons. We also see nuclear power remains part of some countries’ military doctrine, including in our region. We know fully well we cannot be truly safe with nuclear weapons in our region.”
She added: “No weapon is more powerful and destructive than nuclear weapons. And with nuclear weapons we are only one miscalculation away from apocalypse and global catastrophe.”
In 1995, all of ASEAN’s members signed the SEANWFZ Treaty, also known as the Bangkok Treaty, that committed to keeping the region free from nuclear weapons. The treaty prohibits its signatories from developing, manufacturing, possessing, testing or using them.
But none of the world’s nuclear powers have signed the protocol, citing various objections over the scope and verification of the treaty. Some of them have also argued it infringes on their rights to transit and navigate in international waters due to its inclusion of continental shelves and exclusive economic zones.
Combined, the nine nuclear-armed nations Russia, the U.S., Great Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea possess an estimated total of 13,000 nuclear weapons, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
Earlier this year, the United States, Britain and Australia unveiled AUKUS, a trilateral defense agreement to enable Indonesia’s next-door neighbor, Australia, to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as part of a U.S. doctrine that aims to contain China’s military expansionism, particularly in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
The deal has stoked concerns among leaders in Southeast Asia about whether it could provoke a nuclear-arms race, but U.S. President Joe Biden has issued assurance that the submarines won’t be armed with nuclear missiles.
However, despite the warnings raised by Foreign Minister Retno, AUKUS was not officially part of Tuesday’s talks in Jakarta.
“There is no agenda on the submarines at the SEANWFZ meeting, and in the context of the latest developments in the region, the nuclear-powered submarines are not a nuclear weapon,” Sidharto Suryodipuro, director for ASEAN cooperation at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, according to local media reports.
B-52s in Indonesian skies
Retno’s warning about nuclear weapons came weeks after U.S. Air Force B-52s took part with Indonesian fighter jets in joint exercises in Indonesia. The exercises were the first ever in Indonesian skies involving the strategic, eight-engine bombers that are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Under another military pact with Australia, Canberra has allowed the U.S. to deploy some of these giant planes at the Tindal Base in northern Australia.
When asked this week whether Indonesia would consider a similar deal, a spokesman for the Indonesian military said Jakarta, because of its traditional policy of non-alignment to any superpowers, would not permit the U.S. to station B-52s on its soil.
“As long as we are nonaligned, it is impossible [this will] happen,” military spokesman Rear Adm. Julius Widjojono told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
“They were only here for the exercise, unlike their permanent position in Australia,” he said, referring to recent joint exercises with the B-52 bombers that were staged from the U.S. military base in Darwin, northern Australia.
Radityo Dharmaputra, a lecturer in international relations at Airlangga University in Surabaya, said nuclear powers do not want to give up their ability to deter or intimidate their rivals in a strategically important and contested part of the world.
“Nuclear weapons are a deterrence tool, which can make other countries refrain from doing something,” he told BenarNews.
He said that each nuclear power has its own interests and stakes in Southeast Asia, especially amid the current rivalry over issues such as trade, human rights and territorial disputes.
Human rights
Speaking separately at a meeting of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, Retno said the bloc must not waver in addressing human rights issues in the region, despite complexities on the ground and differences among its members.
“ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue is a testament of ASEAN’s maturity to engage in frank and open dialogue without naming and shaming,” she said.
“It is therefore important for it to be conducted regularly. We are therefore aiming for a Leaders’ Declaration on the ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue,” she said.
ASEAN must unite in rejecting politicization of human rights and double standards while proving its ability to tackle issues within its own backyard, she said, without elaborating.
One of the region’s most pressing human rights issues is the crisis in Myanmar, where a military coup in February 2021 has plunged the country into chaos.
More than 3,000 civilians have been killed by Myanmar security forces and nearly 24,000 arrested since the coup, according to rights groups.
ASEAN has attempted to resolve the conflict with a five-point plan that includes an immediate end to violence and dialogue among all contending parties.
But Myanmar’s military government has largely ignored the plan, prompting ASEAN to bar its military leaders from top-level gatherings.
The Myanmar crisis is expected to dominate discussions later this week when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other top diplomats join the ASEAN foreign ministers as dialogue partners.
The U.S. and its allies have imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s military and called for the restoration of democracy, while China and Russia have been more cautious and urged respect for Myanmar’s sovereignty.
ASEAN has been trying to bridge the gap between the rival powers and persuade them to support its peace plan.
Indonesia, as this year’s ASEAN chair, has quietly engaged with various stakeholders in Myanmar, including the military, the opposition National Unity Government, ethnic armed groups and civil society groups.
Retno said last week that Indonesia had conducted 110 engagements “in the form of in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and phone calls” with representatives of Myanmar. She said Indonesia hoped to see progress in the implementation of the ASEAN plan before the end of the year.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Tria Dianti and Pizaro Gozali Idrus for Benar News.
