“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.
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.
A screenshot of a video of a MACFEST2023 and Melanesian Spearhead Group solidarity display showing Papuans daubed in their Morning Star flag colours – banned in Indonesia. Image: @FKogotinen
MACFESTs
1998: The first MACFEST was held in the Solomon Islands with the theme, “One people, many cultures”.
2002: Vanuatu hosted the second MACFEST event under the theme, “Preserving peace through sharing of cultural exchange”.
2006: “Living cultures, living traditions” was the theme of the third MACFEST event held in Fiji.
2010: The fourth MACFEST event was held in New Caledonia with the theme “Our identity lies ahead of us”.
2014: Papua New Guinea hosted the fifth MACFEST, with the theme “Celebrating cultural diversity”.
2018: The Solomon Islands hosted the sixth edition of MACFEST with the theme “Past recollections, future connections”.
2023: Vanuatu is the featured nation in the seventh edition, with the slogan “Rebuilding our Melanesia for our future”.
Imagery, rhetorics, colours and rhythms exhibited in Port Vila is a collective manifestation of the words written on MSG’s website.
MSG national colours mark MACFEST2023. @WalakNane
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”.
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
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.
United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) interim chair Benny Wenda being interviewed by Vanuatu Television during MACFEST2023. Image: VBTC screenshot APR
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.
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 […]
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:
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is a political organisation that legally represents the political aspirations of the Papuan people in an effort to fight for the right to self-determination for the people and nation of Papua in the western part of the island of New Guinea to gain independence and sovereignty from foreign colonialism.
We the people of West Papua declare that we fully support the ULMWP to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) as the official representation of West Papua from Sorong-Merauke;
We the people of the West Papua firmly declare that the colonial existence of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) in the MSG does not represent the people and nation of Papua from Sorong-Merauke; and
We fully declare our support and recognition of the ULMWP, referred to as the West Papua Provisional Government, attending the MSG Leader Summit (KTT-MSG) or MSG Leader Summit in Port Vila, Vanuatu, representing the people and nation of Papua from Sorong-Merauke.
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?
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.
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.
Indonesia’s premier plant-based protein brand, Green Rebel, has teamed up with Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia, to provide meatless alternatives of traditional Southeast Asian delicacies for the inflight menus on regional routes.
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.
Greening up AirAsia’s in-flight menus
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.
Pak Nasser | Courtesy
“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.
Planet-friendly food
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.
Nasi Rendang | Courtesy
“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 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.
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.
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.”
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.
An Australian advocacy group for West Papua self-determination has condemned yesterday’s arrest by Indonesian security forces of 10 West Papua National Committee (KNPB) members.
The activists were arrested “simply because they were handing out leaflets informing people of a rally to be held today” to show support for West Papua becoming a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), said the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) in a statement.
The security forces detained the activists and took them to the Jayapura Resort Police station in Sentani for questioning.
They were eventually released after being detained for eight hours.
It was reported that the police were threatening the KNPB activists and asking therm to make a statement not to carry out West Papuan independence struggle activities.
“Yet again we have peaceful activists arrested for simply handing out leaflets about an upcoming rally, which is their right to do under the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said Joe Collins of AWPA:
Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
“Hopefully any rallies that take place today will be allowed to go ahead peacefully and there will not be a repeat of the brutal crackdowns that occurred at other peaceful rallies in the past.”
The Melanesian Spearhead Group is due to meet in Port Vila, Vanuatu, this month, although the dates have not yet been announced.
The MSG consists of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) of Kanaky (New Caledonia).
West Papua has observer status while Indonesia has associate membership and Jakarta has been conducting an intense diplomatic lobbying with MSG members over recent months.
The United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) has applied for full membership.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
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.
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 23rd Bomb Squadron at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, takes off in support of a bilateral military training exercise at the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, Indonesia, June 21, 2023. Credit:U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Zade Vadnais
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.
Delegates pose for a photo at a plenary session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers Meeting at Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 11, 2023. Credit: Reuters
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.
“This is a very, very warm, in fact, one of the warmest meetings I’ve ever had as head of state,” Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said at a joint media conference.
“We [Papua New Guinea] have not been utilising the powerhouse economy that is on the other side — the world’s 16th biggest economy right now . . . they’re our link to commerce and trade in Asia.”
Marape welcomed Widodo at Jackson’s International Airport in Port Moresby last Wednesday with a gun salute from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and a cultural blessing from traditional dancers
Elephant in the room But one topic that wasn’t discussed was West Papua which weighs heavily among many Papua New Guineans, unsettled by the widespread reports of mistreatment of their Melanesian brethren across the border.
One media report said the authorities in Papua New Guinea had clamped down on displays of the West Papuan independence flag ahead of Widodo’s visit.
Last week, at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Human Rights Council special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, called for a humanitarian assessment in West Papua.
“The human rights situation in West Papua remains deeply concerning,” she said.
“This includes alleged harassment, arbitrary arrests, and detention of Papuans . . . that has resulted in the alleged appropriation of non-indigenous lands.”
Governor Powes Parkop of Papua New Guinea’s National Capital District . . .”We want to move forward in terms of addressing this decades-long issue.” Image: Koroi Hawkins/RNZ
However, many pro-independent West Papua advocates in Papua Guinea also supported the visit.
Port Moresby Governor Powes Parkop, a vocal critic of Indonesia and long-time advocate for indigenous West Papuans, said in a video statement last week that the visit was an opportunity for dialogue.
“I would like to advise the President that we, on the side on the advocacy for West Papua, are ready for talks — we want to move forward in terms of addressing this decades-long issue.
“We are open to talks and I want to invite him [President Widodo] in regard to this, to think about the future and not be defined by the past,” Parkop said.
“The past we can’t change, there is a lot of pain and there are a lot of issues and history that we are not proud of, but in the future we can redefine and make it better.”
It is a sentiment shared by fellow Papua New Guinean activist Jacob Marcos, who has participated in demonstrations against Indonesia’s role in West Papua in the past.
“Diplomatically, the PNG government has to maintain its line and discuss only the issues the Indonesian President arrives for . . . about the needs of the country,” Marcos said.
But for Papua New Guinea’s West Papuan community, the visit and generous economic agreements were a blunt reminder of Indonesia’s foreign relations prowess.
Rainbow settlement in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea where many West Papuan refugees have squatted for years . . . “There’s genocide on their doorstep.” Image: Johnny Blades/RNZ
An estimated 10,000 West Papuan refugees live in Papua New Guinea, escaping a bloody conflict between armed pro-independence fighters and the Indonesian army.
The conflict has escalated over the last few months following the kidnapping of New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens by a rebel group last February 7.
Mangi Lufa-Apo is one of those refugees. He arrived in Papua New Guinea as a child after his parents fled the territory.
Lufa-Apo said he was frustrated by the sight of Pacific nations fostering ties with Indonesia, saying believed the Pacific nations should be emulating the regional solidarity that European countries were displaying with Ukraine.
“We’ve seen how European countries have rallied for Ukraine,” he said.
“The Pacific Island countries are not doing that, why are they so silent?
“There’s a genocide on their doorstep . . . I don’t know why Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands can’t just take this to the UN and tell them that there’s a genocide going on and something needs to be done about it.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
According to Damanik, who was chair 2017-2022, this is because the current Komnas HAM leadership has taken a position tending to follow the government line and “doesn’t have the courage” to resolve humanitarian problems in Papua.
Damanik cites as an example the “humanitarian pause” agreement that was unilaterally cancelled by Komnas HAM, which triggered an escalation of violence in Papua, including the seizing of the Susi Air pilot by rebels demanding Papuan independence.
The humanitarian pause in Papua was an agreement reached by the Komnas HAM leadership for the 2017-2022 period to temporarily halt armed contact between the conflicting groups in Papua.
“Since they unilaterally cancelled the humanitarian pause without any good reason, as well as the lack of communication between parties, especially with our Papuan friends, it is difficult to expect them to play a role in Papua,” Damanik said in a text message on Friday.
“The one-side cancellation caused anger among those who were pushing for a humanitarian pause in Papua.
“With such a position, it is difficult to expect a strategic role for Komnas HAM. Their position tends to just follow what is being done by the government,” he added.
Communications deadlock
Yet, according to Damanik, by maintaining the independence of its authority, the Komnas HAM could break the communication deadlock between the demands of the hostage takers, — the West Papua National Liberation Army armed wing of the Free Papua Organization (TPNPB–OPM) — and the government.
Hostage NZ pilot Philip Mehrtens as he appeared in a recent low resolution video . . . “There is no need [for Indonesia’s bombs], it is dangerous for me and everybody here.” Image: TPNPB screenshot APR
Moreover, there has been an offer by the TPNPB group led by Egianus Kogoya for the Papua Komnas HAM Representative Office to act as negotiator in the hostage case.
“Including the [Philip Mehrtens] hostage negotiations, the Egianus group asked for the involvement of the Papua representative [office] head’s help. My hope is that the Komnas HAM national is welcomed in Papua, so it is better to provide full support to the Komnas HAM Papua representative office,” Damanik added.
Damanik also hopes that Komnas HAM, which is now headed up by Atnike Nova Sigiro, could be critical of central government policies that are wrong.
“Communicating criticism like this is what we used to do [when I served at Komnas HAM] and there is no need to worry about tension in the relationship [with the government]. That’s normal in relationships between institutions,” said Damanik.
Earlier, Sigiro said that the commission had entrusted all matters related to dealing with the New Zealand pilot’s hostage case to the government, saying they hoped that the case could be resolved peacefully.
Authority ‘with government’
“Authority for dealing with the hostage case is in the government’s hands,” said Sigiro earlier this month.
Mehrtens was taken hostage by the TPNPB on February 7 when his plane was set on fire after landing at the Paro airstrip in Nduga regency, Papua Highlands.
At the time, the plane was transporting five indigenous Papuan passengers. Mehrtens and the five passengers reportedly fled in different directions.
The five Papuans returned to their respective homes while Mehrtens was taken hostage by the pro-independence militants.
The Jayapura High Court has found West Papuan human rights and social justice activist Victor Yeimo guilty of treason and sentenced him to one year in prison in an appeal judgement this week.
The verdict was delivered during a public session held by the panel of judges headed by Paluko Hutagalung, with Adrianus Agung Putrantono and Sigit Pangudianto, serving as member judges.
The charges against Yeimo, the international spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee, stem from his alleged involvement in the Papuan anti-racism protest condemning racial slurs targeting Papuan students at the Kamasan III Student Dormitory in Surabaya on August 16, 2019.
Yeimo was accused of leading the demonstrations that occurred in Jayapura City on August 19 and 29, 2019.
The Jayapura High Court imposed a harsher criminal sentence than the previous verdict on May 5, 2023.
In the previous ruling, the court found Victor Yeimo guilty of violating Article 155 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, which pertains to the public display of writings or images containing expressions of hostility, hatred, or contempt towards the Indonesian government.
Yeimo was then sentenced to 8 months’ imprisonment.
Stirred controversy
The earlier verdict stirred controversy because the charge of Article 155 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code was not initially brought against Victor Yeimo. Also, the legal article used to sentence him had already been invalidated by the Constitutional Court.
On May 12, 2023, both the public prosecutor and the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Human Rights for Papua, representing Yeimo as his legal counsel, appealed against the court ruling.
In the appeal decision, the Jayapura High Court overturned the previous decision, found Yeimo guilty of treason, and upheld the initial one-year prison sentence requested by the public prosecutor.
The panel of judges at the Jayapura High Court stated that the time Yeimo had already spent in arrest and detention would be fully deducted from the imposed sentence and ordered him to remain in detention.
ASEAN chair Indonesia said Friday it was increasing efforts to implement a five-point consensus to end instability in post-coup Myanmar, while Burmese civil society groups called for junking the “ineffective” plan amid divisions within the regional bloc.
The crisis in Myanmar is expected to be one of the main topics at a series of ministerial-level meetings that Indonesia will host next week as the 2023 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The talks will involve ASEAN members and other countries, including the United States, China and Russia.
Jakarta has been communicating with all parties in Myanmar to persuade them to support implementing the consensus, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.
“We have conducted 110 engagements, in the form of in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and phone calls, including my own face-to-face meetings with both the NUG and SAC foreign ministers on several occasions,” Retno told reporters, referring to the National Unity Government, the shadow civilian administration, and the junta, which calls itself the State Administration Council.
ASEAN leaders agreed on the consensus during an emergency summit in April 2021, but the Southeast Asian bloc has since been heavily criticized for inaction in pressing ahead with the five-point plan.
It aims to reduce violence in Myanmar after the Burmese military toppled an elected government in February that year. The plan demands an immediate halt to violence, a constructive dialogue among all parties, the appointment of a special envoy, the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the visit of a delegation to Myanmar.
The junta agreed to this consensus but reneged on it, prompting ASEAN to exclude any representative from the Myanmar junta from its meetings, starting in October 2021.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi speaks during a news conference in Jakarta, July 7, 2023. (Achmad Ibrahim/AP)
‘Most ASEAN states have no interest in democracy’
Meanwhile, a network of Burmese civil society groups, which calls itself Myanmar Spring’s young revolutionaries, said the exclusion was a mirage, because Indonesia, through its office of the special envoy, was engaging with the junta.
“[T]he Special Envoy’s official engagement with the illegal military junta is inconsistent with ASEAN’s decision and stance to exclude and ban members of the military junta from all high-level ASEAN meetings,” representatives of several civil society groups told Ngurah Swajaya, the head of the special envoy’s office, according to a statement issued Friday.
The groups’ representatives had met with Ngurah on Monday.
“[T]he representatives expressed their concern and frustration over the ineffectiveness and failure of ASEAN to stop the terrorist military junta’s violence and atrocities against Myanmar people over the past two years since the adoption of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) on 24 April 2021,” the statement said.
They also conveyed to Ngurah that “the ineffective 5PC will only embolden the terrorist junta to commit further crimes and exacerbate the plight of the people of Myanmar.”
Indonesia’s president, too, acknowledged in May that there had been no progress in implementing the peace plan.
All along, Myanmar’s junta has cracked down on mass protests, killed more than 3,000 people and arrested thousands more, according to human rights groups. The United Nations said more than 1.8 million people had been forced to flee their homes in Myanmar because of violence since the coup.
And yet, ASEAN “continues to stick to a plan agreed in April 2021 that has palpably failed,” said CIVICUS Lens, a group that analyzes current events from a civil society perspective.
“A major challenge is that most ASEAN states have no interest in democracy. Half of them are outright authoritarian regimes, and the other half could be characterized as democracies with flaws – sometimes serious flaws,” the group wrote in an article in late June.
“Continuing emphasis on the 5PC as the baseline consensus, however, hasn’t masked divisions among ASEAN states. …But the fact that they’re formally sticking with it enables the wider international community to stand back and do little, on the basis of respecting regional leadership and giving the 5PC a chance.”
Of ASEAN’s 10 members, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are not democracies, and Thailand’s outgoing government first came to power much like the current Myanmar junta, via a military coup.
CIVICUS Lens also noted Thailand’s decision to break ranks with ASEAN and engage in talks with the Myanmar military.
Indonesia on Friday again dismissed the Thai meeting in June as not a formal one.
“Regarding the informal meeting in Thailand, once again it was an informal meeting of ASEAN and only the foreign minister of Laos attended. The 5PC is the main track for resolving the Myanmar issue,” Foreign Minister Retno said.
However, in addition to Thailand and Myanmar, representatives of ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines – as well as India and China – attended the meeting in Pattaya.
Some experts say that ASEAN’s approach to Myanmar reflects its limitations as a consensus-based organization that prioritizes stability and non-interference in its members’ domestic affairs.
Additionally, while Jakarta should be praised for holding so many meetings with different stakeholders, it was impossible to assess the progress of its diplomatic engagements as they were confidential, said Hunter Marston, a researcher at the Australian National University.
“It’s also possible that the Indonesian government has underestimated the degree to which the current conflict is entrenched and the unwillingness of the warring sides to consider a peaceful settlement that does not include the complete eradication of the other side,” he told BenarNews.
He said that the outcome of Indonesia’s efforts remained uncertain.
“If nothing materializes by the end of Indonesia’s chairmanship, however, then everyone will point and say, ‘See? There was never a chance of progress to begin with’,” he said.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Tria Dianti for BenarNews.
An Australian human rights author and poet has accused successive federal governments of “deliberately aiding and abetting” the 1969 annexation of West Papua by Indonesia and enabling the “stifling” of the Melanesian people’s right to self-determination.
In reaffirming his appeal last May for a royal commission into Australia’s policies over West Papua, author and activist Jim Aubrey alleged Canberra had been a party to “criminal actions” over the Papuan right to UN decolonisation.
In a damning letter to Governor-General David Hurley, Aubrey — author-editor of the 1998 book Free East Timor: Australia’s culpability in East Timor’s genocide, also about Indonesian colonialism — has appealed for the establishment of a royal commission to examine the Australian federal government’s “role as a criminal accessory to Indonesia’s illegal annexation of West Papua and as an accomplice” to more than six decades of “crimes against humanity” in the region.
Author and activist Jim Aubrey . . . “Indonesian thugs and terrorists wanted the Australian government’s collusion … and the Australian government provided it.” Image: Jim Aubrey
The killings were – like many others in West Papua – were carried out with impunity. Papuan human rights groups claim the Biak death toll was actually 150.
In his document, Aubrey has also accused the Australian government of “maliciously destroying” in 2014 prima facie photographic evidence of the 1998 Biak massacre.
“At the request of the Indonesian government in 1969, the Australian government prevented West Papuan political leaders from travelling to the United Nations in New York City to appeal for assistance to the members of the General Assembly,” Aubrey claimed.
“They wanted to tell the honourable members of the UN General Assembly that the Indonesian military occupation force was murdering West Papuan men.
‘Crimes against humanity’
“They wanted to tell the honourable members of the UN General Assembly that the Indonesian military occupation force was raping West Papuan women.
“These crimes against humanity were being committed to stifle West Papua’s cry for
freedom as a universal right of the UN decolonisation process.
“Indonesian thugs and terrorists wanted the Australian government’s
collusion … and the Australian government provided it.”
The 68-page open letter to Australian Governor-General David Hurley appealing for a royal commission into Canberra’s conduct . . . an indictment of Indonesian atrocities in West Papua. Image: Screenshot APR
Aubrey has long been a critic of the Australian government over its handling of the West Papua issue and has spoken out in support of the West Papua Movement – OPM.
In a separate statement today about the Biak massacre, OPM leader Jeffrey Bomanak called on Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape to “remember his Melanesian heritage and his Papuan brothers and sisters’ war of liberation against Indonesia’s illegal invasion and occupation of half of the island of New Guinea”.
Mehrtens has been held captive by West Papuan pro-independence rebels in the Papuan highlands rainforests since February 7. The rebels demand negotiations on independence .
‘150 massacred’
“On July 6, 1998, over 600 Indonesian defence and security forces tortured, mutilated and massacred 150 West Papuan people for raising the West Papuan flag and peacefully protesting for independence,” said Bomanak in his statement.
About the Australian government’s alleged concealment in 1998 — and destruction in 2014 — of a roll of film depicting the victims of the Biak island massacre, Bomanak declared: “We are your closest neighbour, the Papuan race across Melanesia.
“We did not desert you in your war against the Imperial Japanese Empire on our ancestral island, and many of your wounded lived because of our care and dedication.”
In Aubrey’s statement accusing Canberra of “collusion” with Jakarta, he said that at the Indonesian government’s request, the Australian government had prevented West Papuan leaders William Zonggonao and Clemens Runaweri from providing testimony of Indonesian crimes against humanity to the United Nations in 1969.
“If this is not treacherous enough, another Australian government remained silent about the 1998 Biak island massacre even though that federal government was in possession of the roll of film depicting the massacre’s crimes.
“The federal government in office in 2014 is responsible for the destruction of this roll
of film and photographs printed from the film,” claimed Aubrey.
Aubrey’s 68-page open letter to Governor-General Hurley is a damning indictment of Indonesian atrocities during its colonial rule of West Papua.
An Indonesian court hearing was held at Tipikor Court, Jakarta, last week when suspended Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe was arraigned before a panel of judges on allegations of bribery and gratification over the Papua provincial infrastructure project.
The panel of judges refused Enembe’s exception, or memorandum of objection, to the charges after finding sufficient evidence to reject the governor’s arguments.
However, given the governor’s ill health, the judges ruled to prioritise his health and grant his request to suspend proceedings until he is medically fit to stand trial.
The governor’s request to have his son’s Melbourne-based university student bank account unblocked to continue his studies was not granted, and his legal case is pending.
The following three points were determined by the judges last Monday week (24 June 2023):
1. Granted the access request of the defendant/the defendant’s legal advisory team;
2. Ordered the Public Prosecutor at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to object to the detention of Lukas Enembe from 26 June to 9 July 2023; and
3. Ordered the Public Prosecutor at the commission to report on the progress of the defendant’s health to court.
Abandoned in Indonesia’s military hospital
Governor Lukas Enembe is now being held in Indonesia’s military hospital (Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital) in Jakarta.
The governor repeatedly informed the Indonesian authorities that he was in need of medical treatment and needed to be monitored in Singapore by his regular medical specialists. These requests, however, have been rejected to date.
Psychologically, his treatment in Singapore is completely different from that in Jakarta. The governor is constantly being monitored by KPK, treated by KPK’s appointed doctors in military-controlled hospitals.
It is highly unlikely that these environments are ideal for his recovery. The hospital where he is currently being held is named after a national hero of Indonesia, Gatot Soebroto.
The ailing accused Papua Governor Lukas Enembe in a wheelchair and handcuffed . . . his defence lawyers and family accuse Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency of ill treatment. Image: Odiyaiwuu.com
In 1819, the hospital was established as the main hospital for the Indonesian Army. The hospital also provides limited services for civilians. Papua’s governor, the head of the Papuan tribes, is now being held in this military hospital.
The governor’s family complains about the ongoing inhumane treatment.
The governor’s family admits that it was difficult for them to care for him while he was abandoned at Gatot Subroto Army Central Hospital, as determined by a panel of judges from the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor).
Restrictions imposed
Governor Enembe’s family said the detention officers imposed restrictions on them.
Elius Enembe, the governor’s brother, and family spokesperson, said: “KPK Detention Centre regulations allow us to visit Mr Lukas only on Mondays. It was only for two hours.”
According to Elius, the family feels that two hours of treatment a week are not adequate and not optimal for treatment, reports Odiyaiwuu.com.
Governor Enembe is currently under the custody of the judicial system, not KPK. Thus it is the judge, and not the KPK, who has the authority to determine when and how long the family is allowed to visit Enembe.
“But why are we restricted by KPK detention officers now?” Elius said.
Even in the courtroom, the judge explained that Mr Lukas’ treatment at the hospital follows standard hospital operating procedures and not KPK detention procedures.
Moreover, the KPK prosecutor was present in the courtroom and was able to hear the judge’s statement that Lukas Enembe’s delivery followed hospital procedures, not those at the KPK detention facility.
Family objections
Because of this, Elius said, the family strongly objected to the restrictions placed by KPK detention officers on the days and hours of Enembe’s visit.
According to Elius, Lukas Enembe’s ongoing trial would undoubtedly be a unique legal cases both in Indonesia and internationally.
Lukas Enembe, who suffers from various serious health conditions, such as chronic kidney disease — stage 5, suffered four strokes, and has hepatitis, and is being abandoned at Gatot Soebroto Hospital. His physical condition is very poor, and his legs are swollen.
He is the only defendant who has appeared before the court barefoot and wearing training pants. As well as being the only defendant accompanied by a lawyer in the defendant’s seat, he was also the only defendant whose defence memorandum was not read by himself or by a lawyer.
Governor Lukas Enembe has difficulty speaking after suffering the strokes and needs to use the bathroom frequently.
“This will undoubtedly be a historical record in itself, a citizen of this country [with senior official roles] . . . ranging from the Deputy Regent of Puncak to the two-term Governor of Papua, and yet has been treated as a criminal,” said Enembe’s younger brother in Jakarta, reports Kompas.com.
KPK continues to issue new accusations and allegations, which are being widely reported by Indonesia’s national media.
Case takes new turn
The corruption case against Governor Lukas Enembe, however, took a new turn when allegations of misappropriation of the Papuan Regional Budget (APBD) funds emerged, according to Busnis.com.
The governor’s senior lawyer, Professor O C Kaligis, challenged KPK’s new allegations as “tendentious and misleading”, reports Innews.co.
KPK is now investigating a massive sport, cultural, and recreational complex built under Lukas Enembe’s administration and named the Lukas Enembe Stadium.
The governor has only been given until July 6 to get some treatment for his deteriorating health.
There is an element of brutality, savagery, and mercilessness in Jakarta’s treatment of this Papuan leader.
The once highly acclaimed Papuan tribal chief, governor, and leader not just of his people, but of Indonesians and Melanesian as well many people, is being locked up and tortured in Jakarta as if he is a “dangerous terrorist’.
As his family, Papuans, lawyers, and he himself have warned, if he dies the KPK would be responsible for his death.
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.
The federal government will invest $50 million in Indonesian startups and SMEs in the energy transition and clean technology sector, as the Indonesian President calls for deeper electric vehicle supply chain collaboration. The first tranche of the $200 million Australia-Indonesia Climate and Infrastructure Partnership – unveiled last June – will be invested in small-scale Indonesian…
No government likes to be called out for human rights abuses and it’s uncomfortable to do so, particularly when the abuser is either a friend or a country with which we have strong economic links.
In our relations with China, this is a difficult issue for us.
However, we should always expect our government to speak out for human rights and the case can be made that Chris Hipkins was too soft on his visit to China last week. The impression was of a laid-back Prime Minister failing to convey any of the serious concerns expressed by credible and principled human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
It seems New Zealand is leaving the heavy lifting on human rights to Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta who, in her own words, had a robust discussion with China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on these issues earlier this year.
An Australian report said she was “harangued” from the Chinese side, although this was denied by Mahuta.
Hipkins, as Prime Minister, has our loudest voice and he should have publicly backed up our Foreign Minister.
If we want to be regarded as a good global citizen, we have to speak out clearly and act consistently, irrespective of where human rights abuses take place. This is where New Zealand has fallen down repeatedly.
Looking the other way
We have been happy to strongly condemn Russia and announced economic and diplomatic sanctions within a few hours of its invasion of Ukraine but we look the other way when a country guilty of abuses is close to the US.
In regard to the longest military occupation in modern history, Israel’s occupation of Palestine, we have been weak and inconsistent over many decades in calling for Palestinian human rights.
It hasn’t always been like that.
In late 2016, the National government, under John Key as prime minister, co-sponsored a United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSC2334 – NZ was a security council member at the time) which was passed in a 14–0 vote. The US abstained.
The resolution states that, in the occupied Palestinian territories, Israeli settlements had “no legal validity” and constituted “a flagrant violation under international law”. It said they were a “major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace” in the Middle East.
Video shows the moment journalists said they were directly fired at by Israeli soldiers whilst they were covering the raid in Jenin refugee camp pic.twitter.com/OBQ5aS5c0A
Because Israel has elected a new extremist government that has declared its intention to make illegal settlement building on Palestinian land its “top priority”. Early this week it announced plans for 5000 more homes for these illegal settlements, which a Palestinian official described as “part of an open war against the Palestinian people”.
Israel shows world middle finger
Israel is showing Palestinians, and the world, its middle finger.
At least nine people have been killed and scores wounded in the latest Israeli military attack on Palestinians in what is being described as a “real massacre” in Jenin refugee camp.
UNSC 2334 didn’t just criticise Israel. It called for action. It also asked member countries of the United Nations “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967″.
In practical terms, this means requiring our government and local authorities to refuse to purchase any goods or services from companies (both Israeli and foreign-owned) that operate in illegal Israeli settlements.
A map showing the location of the Jenin refugee camp in Israeli Occupied Palestine . . . 5.9 Palestinian refugees comprise the world’s largest stateless community. Map: Al Jazeera/Creative Commons
This ban should also be extended to the 112 companies identified by the UN Human Rights Council as complicit in the building and maintenance of these illegal Israeli settlements.
The government should be actively discouraging our Superannuation Fund and KiwiSaver providers from investing in these complicit companies but an analysis earlier this year showed the Super Fund investments in these companies have close to doubled in the past two years.
Some countries have begun following through on UNSC 2334 but New Zealand has been inert. We have not been prepared to back up our words at the United Nations with action here.
West Papua deserves our voice
Following through would mean we were standing up for human rights for everyone living in Palestine. We could expect our government to face false smears of anti-semitism from Israel’s leaders and their friends here but we would receive heartfelt thanks from a people who have suffered immeasurably for 75 years.
Palestinians are the largest group of refugees internationally — 5.9 million — after being driven off their land by Israeli militias in 1947-1949. Every day, more of their land is stolen for illegal settlements while we avert our gaze.
The Indonesian military occupation of West Papua and Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara also deserve our voice on the side of the victims.
Standing up for human rights is not comfortable when it means challenging supposed friends or allies. But we owe it to ourselves, and to those being brutally oppressed, to do more than mouth platitudes.
These peoples deserve our support and solidarity. Let’s not look the other way. Let’s act.
John Minto is national chair of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. This article was first published in The New Zealand Herald but is republished with the permission of the author.
Fifteen artists have been selected as the inaugural beneficiaries of NZ On Air’s New Music Pan-Asian funding.
The initiative, the first of its kind, aims to support the Asian music community in New Zealand.
The fund was established due to a lack of equitable representation of Asian musicians in the country’s music sector, says Teresa Patterson, head of music at NZ On Air.
“Our Music Diversity Report clearly showed the under-representation of Pan-Asian New Zealand musicians in the Aotearoa music sector,” she said.
“This is reflected in the number of funding applications we received for this focus round.”
The funding provides musicians with up to $10,000 for recording, mixing and mastering a single, some of which can be set aside for the promotion and creation of visual content to accompany the song’s release.
“We received 107 applications for 15 grants, which is outstanding,” Patterson said.
‘Wonderful range’
“The range of genre, gender and ethnicity among the applicants was wonderful. We received applications from artists who identify as Chinese, Indian, Filipino, South Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Thai and Iraqi.
“The genres varied from alternative/indie and pop to hip-hop/RnB, dance/electro and folk/country.”
Phoebe Rings members Crystal Choi, Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent, Benjamin Locke and Alex Freer. Image: Phoebe Rings/RNZ News
Six of the 15 songs that secured funding are bilingual, featuring Asian languages such as Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Malay and Punjabi.
Patterson believed this variety would “really help to reflect the many voices of Aotearoa New Zealand” and add to the vibrant cultural music mix experienced by local audiences.
Swap Gomez, a drummer, visual director and academic lecturer, was one of the panel members responsible for selecting the musicians for the funding. He emphasised the challenges faced by Asian musicians in New Zealand.
“What was awesome to see was so many Pan-Asian artists applying; artists we had never heard of coming out of the woodwork now that a space has been created to celebrate their work,” Gomez said.
“This is the time we can celebrate those Pan-Asian artists who have previously felt overlooked by the wider industry.
“Now there is an environment and sector where they can feel appreciated for their success in music. As a multicultural industry, developing initiatives such as this one is more crucial than ever.”
NZ On Air has announced that funding opportunities for Asian musicians will continue in the next financial year.
“The response we have had to this inaugural NZ On Air New Music Pan-Asian focus funding round has been phenomenal,” Patterson said.
“It tells us that there is a real need, so NZ On Air is excited to confirm that it will return in the new financial year.”
The full NZ On Air’s Pan-Asian New Music recipient list:
Amol; cool asf
Charlotte Avery; just before you go
Crystal Chen; love letter
hanbee; deeper
Hans.; Porcelain
Hugo Chan; bite
Julius Black; After You
LA FELIX; Waiting
Lauren Gin; Don’t Stop
Memory Foam; Moon Power
Phoebe Rings; 아스라이
RESHMA; Kuih Lapis (Layer Cake)
tei.; sabre
Terrible Sons; Thank You, Thank You
Valere; Lily’s March
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
General Seth Rumkorem and Jacob Prai declared it, defended it, and received official recognition. Dakar, Senegal, was among them, the first international diplomatic office opened by OPM shortly after the declaration.
As Papuans resisted the invasion, they sought refuge in the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Sweden, Australia, and Greece. All joined, at least in spirit, under the name OPM.
Its spirit of revolution that bonded West Papua and Vanuatu with those across Europe, Oceania, and Africa. This was a time of decolonisation, revolution, and a Cold War.
The decolonisation movement back then was more conscious in heart and mind of humanity than now.
Rex Rumakiek’s ‘sacred connection’
Rex Rumakiek (now aged 78), a long time OPM fighter alongside others, established this sacred connection in 1978.
In Papua New Guinea, Rumakiek met with students from Vanuatu studying at the University of Papua New Guinea and shared the OPM’s revolutionary victory, tragedy, and solution.
These students later took prominent roles in the formation of the independent state of Vanuatu — became part of the solution — laid a foundation of hope.
A common spirit emerged between the OPM’s resistance to Indonesian colonisation and Vanuatu’s struggle for freedom from long-term European (French and English) confederation rule.
A brutal system of dual rule known as Condominium — critics called it “Pandemonium” (chaos and disorder).
West Papua, a land known as “little heaven” is indeed like a Garden of Eden in Milton’s epic Paradise Lost poem.
To restore freedom and justice to that betrayed, lost paradise was the foundation of Vanuatu and West Papua’s relationship. For more than 40 years Vanuatu has been a beacon of hope.
Deep connections
Both shared deep religious metaphysical, cultural, and political connections.
On a metaphysical level, Vanuatu became a place of hope and redemption. Apart from supporting the West Papua freedom fighters, Vanuatu played a critical role in the reconciliation of Papuans who split off in various directions due to internal conflicts over numerous issues, including ideologies and strategies.
A tragedy of internal disputes and conflicts that placed a long-lasting strain on their collective war against Indonesian occupation.
This can be seen from Vanuatu’s decades-long effort to invite two key leaders of the West Papuan Provisional Parliament — General Seth Rumkorem and Jacob Prai.
In 1985, Vanuatu brought the two conflicting leaders of OPM, Mr. Jacob Prai and Gen. Seth Rumkorem, to Vanuatu and ended their differences so that they could work together (p. 217).
In 2000, Vanuatu invited the OPM leaders and Papua’s Presidium Council (PDP) to sign a memorandum of understanding. The year 2008 was also a year of reconciliation, which led to the formation of the West Papua Nation Coalition of Liberation (WPNCL).
In 2014, there was another big reconciliation summit in Port Vila, which led to the formation of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).
Melanesian identity
Culturally, Vanuatu and West Papua share a deep sense of Melanesian identity — a common bond from shared experiences of colonisation, racism, mistreatment, dehumanisation, and slavery.
This bond, however, is strengthened far beyond these European and Indonesian atrocities as Barak Sope, one of Melanesia’s key thinkers and prominent supporters of West Papua put it in 2017, Papuans and Vanuatu and all Melanesians in Oceania have deep ancient roots. There are deep Melanesian links that connect our ancestors. Europeans came and destroyed that connection by rewriting our history because they had the power of written language, and we did not.
Our connections were recorded in myths, legends, songs, dances, and culture. It is our duty now to revive that ancient link (Conversation with Yamin Kogoya in Port Vila, December 2017).
Politically, Vanuatu and West Papua also share a common sense of resistance to both European and Indonesian colonisations.
Father Walter Lini, founder of Vanuatu and MSG, later became Prime Minister. Following its renaming as the Vanua’aku Pati in 1974, Lini’s party pushed hard for independence — the Republic of Vanuatu was formally established in 1980.
The OPM and Black Brothers helped shape this new nation and were part of a force that created a pan-Melanesian identity through music.
“Vanuatu will not be completely free until all Melanesia is free from colonialism” is Walter Lini’s famous saying, which has been used by West Papua and New Caledonian Kanaks in their struggle for liberation against Indonesian and French colonisation.
A just world
During this long journey, a profound bond and sense of connection and a shared cause, and destiny for a just world was born between Vanuatu and West Papua and the greater Oceania. A kind of Messianic hope developed with name Vanuatu that Papuans a hope that deliverance would come from Vanuatu.
Papuans can only express their gratitude in social media through their artistic works and heartfelt thanksgiving messages.
Ahead of the upcoming MSG summit, the Free West Papua Campaign Facebook page has posted the following image showing a Papuan with Morning Star clothing crossing a cliff on the back of a larger and taller figure representing Vanuatu.
In politics, it is all about diplomacy, networks, and cooperation, as the famous PNG politicians’ mantra in their foreign policy, “Friend to all and enemy to none.” This is such an ironic and tragic position to be in when half of PNG’s country men are “going extinct”, and they know how and why?
Sometimes it is necessary to confront such an evil head on when/if innocent lives are at risk. The notion of being friends with everyone and enemies with nobody has no virtue, value, substance, or essence.
In the real-world, humans have friends and enemies. The only question is, we must not only choose between friends and foes but also understand the difference between them.
No human, whether realist, idealist, traditionalist, or transcendentalist, who sincerely believes, can make a neutral virtue less stand — where right and wrong are neither right nor wrong at the same time. Human agents must make choices. Being able to choose and know the difference and reasons why, is what makes us human — this is where value is contested, for and against.
Stand up for something
In the current world climate, someone must stand up for something — for the oppressed, for the marginalised, the abused, the persecuted, the land, for the planet and for humanity.
This tiny island country, Vanuatu has exhibited that warrior spirit for many years. In March, Vanuatu spearheaded a UN resolution on climate change. Nina Lakhani in The Guardian wrote:
“The UN general assembly adopted by consensus the resolution spearheaded by Vanuatu, a tiny Pacific island nation vulnerable to extreme climate effects, and youth activists to secure a legal opinion from the international court of justice (ICJ) to clarify states’ obligations to tackle the climate crisis — and specify any consequences countries should face for inaction.”
More than 60 years ago, when West Papua was kicked around like a football by the imperial West and East, Indonesia, the Netherlands, the United Nations and the illegal UN-sponsored sham referendum of 1969, no one on this planet dared to stand up for West Papua.
West Papua was abandoned by the world.
The Dutch attempted to safeguard that “sacred trust” by enlisting West Papua into the UN Decolonisation list under article 73 of the UN charter. The Dutch did the right thing.
The sacred trust, however, was betrayed when West Papua was transferred to the United Temporary Executive (UNTEA) following the infamous New York Agreement on 15 August 1962.
This sacred trust was to be protected by the UNTEA but it was betrayed when it was handed over to Indonesia in May 1963, resulting in Indonesia’s invasion of West Papua.
This invasion instilled fear throughout West Papua, paving the way for the 1969 referendum to be held under incredible fear and gunpoint of the already intimidated 1025 Papuan elders.
In 1969, instead of protecting the trust, the UN betrayed it by being complicit in the whole tragic events unfolding.
OPM’s answer to the illegal referendum — The Act of Free Choice
OPM’s proclamation on 1 July 1971 was the answer to the (rejection of that illegal and fraudulent) referendum, known as the Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat-Pepera in 1969.
In protest, out of fear, and in resistance to one of the most tragic betrayals and tragedies in human history, an overwhelming number of Papuans left West Papua during this period. Several countries opened their arms to West Papua, including Vanuatu.
A major split occurred in OPM camps due to internal conflict and disagreement between the two key founding members. The legacy of this tragedy has been disastrous for future Papuan resistance fighters.
Papuans are partly responsible for betraying that sacred trust as well. This realisation is critical for Papuan-self redemption. That is the secret, redemption, and genuine reconciliation.
Every time a high-profile figure from Vanuatu or any Melanesian country engages internationally, Papuans feel extremely anxious. Amid the historical betrayals, Papuans wonder, “Will they betray us or rescue us?”
This tiny doubt eats at the soul of humankind. It is always toxic, a seed that contaminates and derails human trust.
In such difficult times, it is crucial for Papuans to reflect sincerely and ask, “where are we?” Are we doing, okay? What’s going on? Are we making the right decisions, are our collective defence systems secure?
Vanuatu historic visit to Jakarta
Jotham Napat, the Foreign Minister of Vanuatu, visited Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on 16 June 2023. The main topic of discussion was bilateral relations between the two countries.
It is the first visit by a Vanuatu foreign minister to Indonesia in more than a decade. This marks an important milestone.
According to Retno, “I am delighted to hear about Vanuatu’s plan to open an embassy in Indonesia, and I welcome the idea of holding annual consultations between the two countries,” in her statement.
At Monday’s meeting, Napat expressed urgency to build a sound partnership between Vanuatu and Indonesia and expressed his eagerness to recover trust. The minister also expressed his country’s eagerness to create a technical cooperation agreement between the two countries and to establish sister city and sister province partnerships, which he said could begin with Papua.
Welcoming DPM/FM Jotham Napat of Vanuatu on his 1st official visit to Indonesia – the 1st visit of FM in more than a decade
An important milestone in our bilateral relations, based on respect to sovereignty, territorial integrity & principles of mutual interests & benefits pic.twitter.com/Y8GkpwxvQC
— Menteri Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia (@Menlu_RI) June 16, 2023
During a joint press conference with Indonesian Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin, Napat expressed his commitment to the “Melanesian way”.
Vanuatu’s Napat meets Indonesian Vice-President
In response to Minister Napat’s visit to West Papua, Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) said he welcomed the minister’s remarks on the “Melanesian Way”. Though it isn’t really clear what the Melanesian way is all about?
“Melanesian Way” is a complicated term. Although intuitively, everyone in the Melanesian context assumes to know it. Bernard Narakobi, the person who coined the term refused to define it. It has been described by Narakobi as being comparable to Moses asking God to explain who God was to him.
“God did not reveal himself by a definition, but by a statement that I am who I am,” wrote Narakobi.
Because God is the archetypical ultimate, infallible, eternal, omnipresent, alpha and omega. Narakobi’s statement about the God and Moses analogy is true that God cannot be defined by any point of reference; God is the point of reference.
For Melanesians, however, we are not God. We are mortal, unpredictable, flawed, with aspects of both malevolence and goodness. Therefore, to state that “we are who we are” could mean anything.
Continuing his search for a path for Melanesia, Narakobi wrote:
“Melanesian voice is meant to be a force for truth. It is meant to give witness to the truth. Whereas the final or the ultimate truth is the divine source, the syllogistically or the logical truth is dependent on the basic premises one adopts. The Melanesian voice is meant to be a forum of Melanesian wisdom and values, based on Melanesian experience.”
It seems that these truths and virtues as outlined by this great Melanesian philosopher do not have a common shared value system that binds the states of the MSG together.
‘Bought for 30 pieces of silver’
Following the rejection of ULMWP’s membership bid in Honiara in 2016, Vanuatu’s then Deputy Prime Minister, Joe Natuman, stated,
“Our Prime Minister was the only one talking in support of full membership for West Papua in the MSG, the Solomon Islands Prime Minister couldn’t say very much because he is the chairman.
“Prime Minister Charlot Salwai was the only one defending Melanesians and the history of Melanesian people in the recent MSG meeting in Honiara.
“The MSG, I must repeat, the MSG, which I was a pioneer in setting up, was established for the protection of the identity of the Melanesian people, the promotion of their culture and defending their rights. Right to self-determination, right to land and right to their resources.
“Now it appears other people are trying to use the MSG to drive their own agendas and I am sorry, but I will insist that MSG is being bought by others.
“It is just like Jesus Christ who was bought for 30 pieces of silver. This is what is happening in the MSG. I am very upset about this, and we need to correct this issue.
“Because if our friends in Fiji and Papua New Guinea have a different agenda, we need to sit down and talk very seriously about what is happening within the organisation.”
Principles or a facade?
Whatever agenda Minister Napat had in mind when he travelled to Jakarta on June 16 — in a capital of rulers whose policies have resulted in fatalistic and genocidal outcomes for West Papuans for 60 years — these wisdoms from Melanesian elders will either be his guiding principle, or he will use the term “Melanesian Way” as a facade to conceal different intents not in agreement with these Melanesian values.
These are the types of questions that are at stake for West Papua, Vanuatu, and Melanesians, particularly in a world which is rapidly changing, including ourselves and our values.
In an interview with Island Business published on 3 February 2023, Minister Napat stated his priority for the 100-day work plan.
“Vanuatu has, like other Pacific countries, too often in the past been seen in the international limelight as a subservient associate to others’ interests and agendas, this must change if Vanuatu is to take its rightful place as an equal partner in the international arena.
“The creation and implementation of a new National Foreign Policy must take into account current global geopolitical trends”.
Minister Napat continued:
“The global geopolitical environment has and will continue to change. Our government must implement foreign policy directions which will have as its first priority, the best interests of the nation and people of Vanuatu.
“Since the original foreign policy directions after independence, Vanuatu’s foreign policy approaches in the last 30 years have been at times unclear, ad hoc, and reactive to circumstances and influences. It is time we set our own course and become proactive at all times”.
Vanuatu only support
The minister did not rule out West Papua as one of the countries that influences Vanuatu’s engagement with the world. As anyone familiar with West Papua’s plight knows, Vanuatu is the only sovereign UN member country that has publicly supported West Papua.
There is no indication as to whether those “other interests” and “agendas” pertain to West Papua, Indonesia, MSG, the USA, China, or Australia.
If the minister’s trip to Jakarta was demonstrative of his pragmatic words and West Papua is one of the external interferences the Minister has implied, then Papuans can only hope for the best, that new developing relationships between Jakarta and Port Vila will not be another major betrayal for Papuans.
Minister Napa’s pragmatic approach to adapting to an unpredictable changing world is crucial for the country. Especially since Oceania is becoming increasingly similar to the New Middle East as China and the United States continue to compete, contest, revive or renew their engagement with island nations.
There is also another major player in the region, Indonesia, which has its own interests.
The government and the people of Vanuatu have a duty and responsibility to ensure they must be ready to face these vulgar threats, they pose as stated by the Minister. For persecuted Papuans, their only wish is: Please don’t betray us — the Sacred Trust.
West Papua will always remain a lingering issue — a unresolved murder mystery that has been swept under the rug. For a long time, the Vanuatu government and its people have decided to resolve this issue.
Vanuatu’s Wantok Blong Yumi Bill – Sacred Trust
On 19 June 2010, this sacred trust was protected when the notion regarding West Papua was passed by Vanuatu’s Parliament. The purpose of the “Wantok blong yumi” Bill was to allow the government of Vanuatu to develop specific policies regarding the support of West Papua’s independence struggle.
Then, both the government under the late Prime Minister Edward Natape and his opposition leader, Maxime Carlot Korman, united and sponsored the motion to be drafted by one of the young proponents of West Papua’s cause, Ralph Regevanu, on behalf of the people of Vanuatu and West Papua.
In fact, this was a historic and extraordinary event. It was called a “Parliament extraordinary session” — a sacred session. This Act is an analogy to the declaration of war by tiny young ancient Jews against the giant Goliath and his fearsome army. With a slingshot, David defeated Goliath, not with a giant weapon, bomb, or money, but with courage, bravery and faith.
The Wantok Bill was Vanuatu’s slingshot to fight against and defeat the might of pandemonium warlords and Goliath armies that tortured Papuans everyday while scavenging the richness of this paradise land that has been continuously betrayed.
After the success of the motion, the prime minister promised to sponsor the issue of West Papua at the MSG and PIF meetings.
This promise was partially fulfilled when West Papua was granted observer status in the MSG in 2015. Tragically, this courageous figure passed away on 28 July 2015 (aged 61) just a few days after West Papua was granted observer status by the MSG on June 26.
Furthermore, West Papua has seen some positive developments at an international level. In September 2016, seven Pacific Island countries raised the plight and struggle of the West Papuan people at the UN General Assembly.
A resolution was passed by the PIF in 2019 regarding West Papua.
During the ninth ACP summit of heads of state and government, Ralph Regevanu and Benny Wenda succeeded in convincing the group to pass a resolution calling for urgent attention to be paid to the rights situation in Indonesia-ruled Papua.
Vanuatu also made it possible for Pacific leaders to request that the UN Human Rights Commissioner visit West Papua in 2019. Ralph Regevanu, then Vanuatu’s Foreign Minister, drafted the wording of the PIF’s Communique.
Edward Natape also said his government would apply to the UN Decolonisation Committee for West Papua to be relisted so the territory could undergo the due process of decolonisation.
West Papuans still wait for the UN’s promised decolonisation A long time OPM representative from West Papua, Dr John Otto Ondawame, and Andy Ayamiseba, were among those who witnessed and assisted in this victory. Sadly, both of them have since died.
Dr Ondawame died in 2014 and Andy Ayamiseba in 2020.
Both of these figures, as well as others, were long-time residents of Vanuatu since the 1980s. With their Vanuatu, Melanesia, and Oceania Wantoks, they had tirelessly fought for the rights of West Papua.
The people of West Papua continue to look towards Vanuatu and Melanesia and pray, just as the exiled diaspora of persecuted Jews looked towards Jerusalem and prayed. Vanuatu remains a beacon of hope for West Papua
Papuans’ greatest task, challenge and responsibility is to determine where to go from here.
This spirit of revolution was ignited by the OPM elders, and many brave young men, women, and elderly are fighting for it in West Papua today.
On 30 June 2023, the MSG Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) concluded successfully with members approving the outcomes of the MSG senior officials meeting (SOM) at the MSG secretariat in Port Vila, Vanuatu. A traditional welcome ceremony was conducted for the delegates.
A progress report by the MSG Director-General was presented to the SOM, along with the secretariat’s annual reports for 2020 and 2021, a calendar of events for 2023, a proposal to establish MSG supporting offices in member countries and a draft of the MSG secretariat’s work programme and budget for 2023.
The same people who were seen in Jakarta dancing, singing and propagated imageries of gestures, symbols, images, and rhetoric are the ones driving this MSG meeting. Indonesia’s delegation with the red and white flag is also seen sitting inside the MSG’s headquarters — the sacred place, sacred building, of the Melanesian people.
The test for Vanuatu is so high at the moment — reaching a climactic decision for West Papua. Hundreds of Free West Papua social media campaigns groups are inundated with so much optimistic images, symbols, cartoon drawing, words, prayers.
Giving this connection and high emancipation with the upcoming MSG summit, Minister Jotham Napat’s visit to Jakarta was indeed a huge shock for Papuans.
For Papuans, this is a stressful time for such a visit. Pressures, anticipation, prayers, and anxiety for MSG is too high.
Adding to this, this year the Chairmanship and Leaders’ Summit of the MSG are being entrusted to Vanuatu and Vanuatu is also the home base of MSG.
One of the moments West Papua have been waiting for
In the upcoming MSG games, Vanuatu had all the best cards at her disposal to achieve something big for Papuans. Vanuatu was one of key founding fathers of MSG, the MSG embeds Vanuatu’s spirit and values.
It would be “THE” long-awaited moment for Papuans to enter into MSG as Papuans have been insisting that their Melanesian family has been left out for decades.
Social media images and small videos of Vanuatu’s delegation, MSG’s leader and Papuans who support the Indonesian occupation of West Papua dancing and singing during the visit was indeed disheartening for Papuans.
The imagery and propaganda of the visit spread through the media. They intended to dim Vanuatu’s dawn Morning Star. A sacred beacon of light where tortured West Papuans look to, every morning, and pray for deliverance.
Vanuatu’s “Messianic hope” for West Papua in a world where almost no nations, empires, kingdoms, and institutions such as the UN offer refuge, to listen to and seeing such propaganda imageries spread through social media is dispiriting.
Whatever the reason for this visit might be, Papuans who simply just want their freedom from Indonesia, seeing such a visit and display of their trusted friend at the headquarters of their tormentors prompts immediate questions: What happened and why?
“Bring West Papua back to the Melanesian family”. Image: West Papua-Melanesia Facebook
‘Liklil Hope Tasol’ (Little Hope At All)
Dan McGarry, former media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post, writes:
“One of the more popular songs Ayamiseba wrote for the Black Brothers is ‘Liklik Hope Tasol’, a ballad written in Tok Pisin whose title translates as ‘Little Hope At All’. Its narrator lies awake in the early morning hours, the victim of despair.
The vision of the Morning Star and a songbird breaking the pre-dawn hush provide the impetus to survive another day. The song, with its clear political imagery and simplistic evocation of strength in adversity, is clearly autobiographical. It is, arguably, the anthem which animated Ayamiseba’s lifelong pursuit of freedom.”
Such an extravagant display of rhetoric and imagery in the capital of the Pandemonium army that has mercilessly been hunting down “Papuans” on “their ancient timeless land”, New Guinea, as PNG philosopher Narakobi described it, or “little heaven” as Papuans referred to it, can only mean two things: either destroy that “little hope” or “rescue it”.
Only God knows the answer to this question as well of the real intent of the visit and what outcome will emerge from it — will it bring disappearance or hope for Papuans.
The late Pastor Allen Nafuki, a key figure in Vanuatu responsible for bringing warring factions of Papuan resistance groups together in Port Vila in 2014, which helped precipitate much of the ULMWP’s international success, left his last message on West Papua before he died: “God will never sleep for West Papua.”
Vanuatu is a sovereign independent country and as a sovereign nation, Vanuatu has every right to choose to whom she wants to be friends with, visit and sign any treaties and agreements with.
However, when the sacred trust of hope for the betrayed, rejected, persecuted nation like West Papuans is entrusted to them either by choice, force, or compassion, then the choice is clear: You either betray that trust, compromise it, or protect it.
The seed of the sacred bond planted by legendary OPM freedom fighters when the nation of Vanuatu was founded, before MSG was founded, will be either dimmed, betrayed, or resurrected.
The 2010 “Wantok Blong Yumi” Bill should be resurrected and protection given for the “Sacred Trust” (The Sovereignty of West Papua) that has been betrayed for more than 60 years.
The United Nations was the place that the Sacred Trust was betrayed and Vanuatu as a new Guardian of this Trust should restore that trust in the same institution. The statement by the former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, during the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Summit in Auckland stated: “West Papua is an issue; the right place for it to be discussed, is the Decolonisation Committee of UNGA”.
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.
Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Jotham Napat and the MSG Director-General while visiting the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and meeting with representatives of the Indonesian soccer team companied by the Indonesian foreign affairs minister. Image: Jubi/Twitter.
Last Monday, suspended Papua Governor Lukas Enembe was indicted on gratification, bribery and corruption charges in Indonesia’s central Corruption Criminal Court in Jakarta.
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors accused and charged Governor Enembe of accepting bribes totalling Rp 45.8 billion (US$3 million) and gratuities worth Rp 1 billion (US$65,000).
Tomorrow the ailing former high official will know the judges’ rulings and responses to his requests.
Prosecutors argued that these funds came from private infrastructure development companies in West Papua.
As the Governor of Papua Province, Enembe, along with his subordinates Mikael Kambuaya and Gerius One Yoman, are accused of giving the bribe in order to obtain the companies used by Piton Enumbi and Rijatono Lakka for the 2013-2022 procurement project within the Papua Provincial government.
Enembe was charged under Article 12a and Article 12b of Law 31 of 1999 regarding the Eradication of Corrupt Criminal Acts, Kompas.com reports.
A barefooted Governor Enembe sat in the middle of the courtroom beside his lawyer Petrus Balapationa, looking directly at the panel of judges. Both of his defence attorneys and KPK prosecutors were seated on opposite sides of the courtroom.
‘Empty speeches, trickery’
During the 2.5 hour hearing, the governor shouted angrily at the KPK’s prosecutors, asking, “Woi (hey) — lying, where did I receive (Rp 45 billion)?” . . . “Not right, not right, empty speeches, you’re lying, empty speeches, trickery and lying, where did I get it?,” Lukas Enembe said during his indictment reading, reports Kompas.com.
The governor’s lawyer Petrus Balap read out statements of objections written by Enembe in response to the allegations and charges.
“I am being vilified, dehumanised, impoverished and made destitute,” said the governor in his statement to the judges and prosecutors, raising 32 objections to the indictment. He said:
“To all my Papuan people. I, the Governor, whom you have elected twice, I am the traditional chief, I have been vilified, dehumanised, demonised, mistreated and, I have been [made] destitute and impoverished.
“I, Lukas Enembe, never stole state money, never took bribes, yet the KPK provides false information and manipulates public opinion as if I were the most notorious criminal.
The suspended Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, enters Jakarta’s Corruption Criminal Court last Monday . . . He shouted out, “I am being vilified, dehumanised, [made] impoverished and destitute”. Image: Kompas.com
“I have been accused of being a gambler. Even if this were true, it is a general criminal offence, KPK does not have the authority to investigate gambling issues. Even the alleged bribe of one billion dollars in my indictment grew into a bribe of tens of billions of rupiah, resulting in the confiscation of all my savings.
“Not only was my money confiscated, but also the money of my wife and children. Even though I have emphasised in my BAP (minutes of the legal examination) that the one billion rupiah is my personal money and does not constitute bribes or gratuities.
“On my oath as a witness against defendant Rijatono Lakkadi in court on May 16, 2023, I explained the same statement.
“Once again, I dare to declare that the one billion rupiah is not the result of a bribe that Rijatono Lakka gave me at my request. I have never given Rijatono Lakka facilities, Rijatono Lakka’s wealth has come from his own work.
‘Cruel treatment’
“I have never interfered in the tender process of the procurement of goods and services, nor do I know the participants of the Electronic Tender since I created the E-Tender process to prevent the participation of KKN (Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism) in the tender process.
“Not only was I the target of the pensoliman (cruelty and inhumane treatment), but my wife and son were also called as witnesses for me, despite their refusal to cooperate which is protected by the constitution.”
The governor continued to protest against the KPK’s arrest of Dr Stefanus Roy Rening, one of his lawyers who had defended Enembe against the allegations and the attempt to arrest him September last year.
“It was also difficult for me to comprehend that my lawyer, Dr Stefanus Roy Rening, was made a suspect, obstructing the examination, despite the fact that he did not accompany the witnesses and stated that because of the statements made by Dr Stefanus Roy Rening who had defended me in public, which could affect the testimony of witnesses. He (Dr Roy) did not accompany the witnesses of my case.
“Is it possible for Dr Stefanus Roy Rening to influence witnesses when they are not accompanied by a lawyer and at the end of every witness BAP [statement] a sentence is included stating that the witness’ testimony is free from influence, and it is the witness’ own testimony without any influence from others?”
The governor concluded his statement of objections by stating:
“What I have explained and [with] the facts stated above, I have the right in this court to be treated fairly, not to be slandered, vilified, or impoverished, as I have been accused of gambling to the tens of hundreds of millions in Singapore, despite the fact that no one has ever given a statement about gambling, or that I was involved in the purchase of KKB weapons (arms for West Papuan freedom fighters) by a pilot arrested in the Philippines.”
Lawyers’ objection letter
An objection letter by the governor’s legal team was released last Thursday stating:
Lukas Enembe’s senior lawyer, OC Kaligis, expressed his objection to KPK officials’ attitude during the trial at the Jakarta District Court, Thursday (22 June 2023). Lukas Enembe’s legal counsel have only been able to consult with him for two hours a week since he has been detained.
Is it possible that legal counsel will only be given two hours of visitation time per week? Kaligis stated that the two-hour period was insufficient for discussing all the witnesses in the case file (184 witnesses) and the 1024 minutes of seizure according to Article 129 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
According to Kaligis, his defence counsel had the right to provide legal assistance, as per Article 56 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in order to determine whether there were any witnesses who directly gave bribes or gratuities to Lukas Enembe.
“The [details] in this case need to be explained carefully to Lukas Enembe, with adequate time. Two hours of consultation each week is definitely not enough,” said Kaligis.
Kaligis stated that on June 19, 2023, following the indictment, when legal counsel sought to meet with Lukas Enembe, the time given was very short, and a KPK official who claimed to be the Public Prosecutor closely monitored the meeting.
“Even though the legal counsel had requested that the seating be changed in the same area, the Public Prosecutor arrogantly still forbids, despite the fact that the panel of judges before the court had stated that we can meet Lukas Enembe after the hearing. Particularly now that the power of detention lies with the panel of judges and not with the KPK anymore,” said Kaligis.
Detention visits
His legal team requested that the panel of judges allow him to visit Lukas Enembe at the KPK detention centre every day before his trial.
“The legal counsel team filed an application with the panel of judges, as the extension of detention is now within the jurisdiction of the court and is no longer under the authority of the KPK. The KPK prohibited us from meeting Lukas Enembe in court, everything was done based on the KPK’s power and arrogance.
“Doesn’t that violate Article 56 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, granting a right to legal counsel to consult the law?” Kaligis said.
Governor Enembe’s ordeal has been characterised by numerous twists and turns as the KPK, doctors, the governor himself, and the defence legal team strive to find a resolution to these problems.
The situation is made worse by the fact that in Indonesia the lines between law enforcement agencies, KPK officials, medical doctors, and judges are blurred in a country notoriously known for corruption and impunity from top officials to local mayors.
Dealing with cases like Lukas Enembe is even worse — coming from Indonesia’s most contested territory — West Papua.
Legal system questioned
Indeed, this case undermines the whole foundation of the Indonesian legal system.
Judging whether Papua’s governor is guilty or not within Indonesia’s legal system — which regards Papuans as being “illegal” in managing Papuan affairs — is always going to be perceived with suspicion from the Papuan side. This is because the fundamental issue (West Papua’s sovereignty) underlying the West Papua-Indonesia conflict has never been resolved.
What has broken down between Papuans and Indonesia’s government for the past 60 years is trust.
Unfortunately, Governor Lukas and every Papuan considered to be breaking Indonesian laws, must face the Indonesian legal system. This in itself is so ironic and demoralising for Papuans, as every moral, ethical and legal framework Jakarta employs is viewed as fraught by Papuans within the West Papua sovereignty disputes in Indonesia.
Jakarta’s criminalisation of Papuans is like criminalising innocents and accusing them of breaking the law through the perpetrator’s legal system.
This is due to the fact that the Indonesian government has a long history of targeting Papuans for their political views and beliefs. This has led to an environment of fear and intimidation, where Papuans are often accused of crimes they did not commit and are treated harshly by the Indonesian legal system.
For more than 500 years, most indigenous people around the globe have been criminalised and exterminated since a series of Papal bulls (decrees) signed by European Catholic popes and Christian kings during the early period of European colonisation in the 1400s and 1500s.
Legal myths
They were legal myths for conquests, civilising mission — the myth of discovery, the myth of empty lands, and the myth of Terra Nullius.
It has been used to justify the exploitation of indigenous peoples, to strip them of their rights, and to deny them access to land and resources.
By criminalising the indigenous population, colonial authorities have maintained an unequal power dynamic and control over them. These colonial myths have had devastating consequences for the original inhabitants.
Today, Jakarta still propagates this myth in West Papua. Colonial myths have been made truer than truth, more real than reality, and unfortunately, indigenous leaders, such as Governor Lukas Enembe, have been swayed by them by their legal jargon, codes, numbers, symbols, grammar, and semantic power.
Currently there are three high profile Papuan leaders locked up in KPK’s prison cells — Papua Governor Lukas Enembe; the Regent of Mimika Regency, Eltinus Omaleng; and the Regent of Mamberamo Tengah Regency, Ricky Ham Pagawak. All are accused of corruption.
The status of the two regents remains unclear.
As for Governor Lukas Enembe, he requested that the judges take his deteriorating health seriously and that he receive medical assistance from specialists in Singapore, and not from KPK’s appointed general practitioners.
This is partially due to the breakdown of trust.
Further, the Governor has also requested that the block on the bank account of his son (a student based in Melbourne) be lifted in order for him to be able to continue his studies.
The judges are due to deliver their verdict tomorrow regarding the outcome of his requests and all charges against him.
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.
The deposed Papua Governor Lukas Enembe has been indicted this week on charges of bribery, allegedly over about US$3 million.
The amount of bribes in this indictment is far greater than the Corruption Eradication Commission’s initial allegation, when naming Enembe as a suspect at the end of 2022.
The commission’s public prosecutor alleges that the money was given to the defendant in an act that went against his duties.
Enembe’s declining health has been a constant concern for his supporters, who claim the outspoken leader’s arrest in January was politically motivated.
Earlier this week, Asia Pacific Report correspondent Yamin Kogoya reported that Enembe faced a critical “D Day” hearing about his controversial case as he had been seen as a critic of the Indonesian administration in Papua.
“His drawn out ordeal has been full of drama and trauma,” reported Kogoya.
“There has been indecisiveness around the case and the hearing date has been repeatedly rescheduled — from 20 more days, to 40 more days, and now into months.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The deposed Papua Governor Lukas Enembe has been indicted this week on charges of bribery, allegedly over about US$3 million.
The amount of bribes in this indictment is far greater than the Corruption Eradication Commission’s initial allegation, when naming Enembe as a suspect at the end of 2022.
The commission’s public prosecutor alleges that the money was given to the defendant in an act that went against his duties.
Enembe’s declining health has been a constant concern for his supporters, who claim the outspoken leader’s arrest in January was politically motivated.
Earlier this week, Asia Pacific Report correspondent Yamin Kogoya reported that Enembe faced a critical “D Day” hearing about his controversial case as he had been seen as a critic of the Indonesian administration in Papua.
“His drawn out ordeal has been full of drama and trauma,” reported Kogoya.
“There has been indecisiveness around the case and the hearing date has been repeatedly rescheduled — from 20 more days, to 40 more days, and now into months.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
A new national communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space – a joint venture between French and Italian defence primes – for Indonesia was successfully launched via a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the company announced on 19 June. According to Thales Alenia Space, SATRIA-1 (SAteliT Republik IndonesiA) is a very-high-throughput […]
The pro-independence United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has welcomed Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Jotham Napat’s comments on West Papua during this week’s diplomatic visit to Indonesia.
In a joint press conference with Indonesian Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin, Napat restated his commitment to the “Melanesian way”.
Movement president Benny Wenda has issued a statement saying that hearing those words, “I was reminded of Vanuatu’s founding Father Walter Lini, who said that ‘Vanuatu will not be entirely free until all Melanesia is free from colonial rule’ — West Papua and Kanaky included.”
The Melanesian way had been shown in full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) being extended to the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), despite them representing a Melanesian people rather than a Melanesian state [New Caledonia], Wenda said.
It has also been demonstrated in Papua New Guinea’s approach to Bougainville, where Prime Minister Marape showed true moral courage by respecting their right to self-determination with a 98 percent vote in favour of independence in 2019.
“Vanuatu has always shown the same courage in supporting West Papuan freedom. By referencing the Melanesian way in the joint press conference, Deputy Napat was conveying to Indonesia the message Moses gave to Phaoroah: ‘let my people go’,” Wenda said.
“As West Papuans we are also committed to Melanesian values. This is why we have turned to our Melanesian family in seeking full membership of the MSG.
Vanuatu ‘steadfast in support’
“In their role as chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Vanuatu has been steadfast in supporting ULMWP full membership.
“At this crucial hour, we need all Melanesian leaders to show the same commitment, and help bring West Papua home to its Melanesian family.
“Indonesia must respect Vanuatu and other Melanesian nations by allowing the fulfillment of this decades-long dream.”
To resolve the West Papuan issue peacefully in the Melanesian way, the first step was admitting the ULMWP as a full member of the MSG at the forthcoming summit of the group, Wenda said.
The Jakarta Post reports that an earlier meeting between Minister Napat with his Indonesian counterpart Retno LP Marsudi on Friday is being seen in Jakarta as a bid to build a “bridge over the troubled waters of the past”.
During the visit, Vanuatu has announced plans to open an embassy in Jakarta and to hold annual bilateral meetings with Indonesia.
In addition, the two ministers pledged to strengthen cooperation in trade and development, which experts pointed out were part of Indonesia’s larger strategy for the Indo-Pacific region.
The joint Indonesia-Vanuatu foreign ministers media statement from Jakarta.
Jakarta announces ‘development steering committee’ RNZ Pacific reports that the joint talks between Vanuatu and Indonesia this week had West Papua high on the agenda
The talks have come amid tensions in the region, and ahead of a state visit next month to Papua New Guinea by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Indonesia’s state-owned news agency Antara reports Vice-President Amin meeting with Minister Napat in Jakarta on Monday.
Vanuatu has strongly supported the pro-independence push in West Papua for many years and Antara reports the issue of conflict in the Melanesian region was discussed.
Amin announced a Papua Special Autonomy Development Acceleration Steering Committee had been formed to evaluate development in the Papua region.
“The granting of this special autonomy has been planned for the long term up to 2042,” he said.
Amin said Indonesia “respected the diversity” in West Papua.
Indonesia is moving the first planned military exercise with other Southeast Asian nations away from disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing has increasingly been asserting its sweeping territorial claims.
The Indonesian military announced Wednesday a change of location for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations exercise, scheduled for Sept. 18-25. The non-combat drills were originally planned to take place in the North Natuna Sea, which lies within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but parts of which China claims.
Indonesia is this year’s holder of the rotating ASEAN chairmanship.
The new ASEAN exercise locations “include Batam [near Singapore] and the waters of South Natuna that are part of Indonesia’s archipelagic sea lane,” military spokesman Col. Suhendro Oktosatrio said. He was referring to designated areas where foreign ships are allowed passage while transiting through those waters innocently.
These new locations were chosen because they were suitable for non-combat drills such as joint maritime patrols, medical evacuation and disaster relief, said another Indonesian military official, Rear Adm. Julius Widjojono.
“Priority is given to areas that are prone to [natural] disasters,” he said.
Indonesia renamed the southern reaches of the South China Sea the North Natuna Sea in 2017, to emphasize its sovereignty over those waters, which encompass natural gas fields.
Indonesia does not have any territorial disputes with China, but it has repeatedly lodged protests against Chinese fishing boats and coast guard vessels entering its EEZ near the Natuna Islands.
China has claimed “traditional rights” over fishing resources in the area. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including waters within the exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and ASEAN member-states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, a U.N. arbitration court ruled that China’s nine-dash line, a boundary used by Beijing on Chinese maps to illustrate its claim, was invalid. But Beijing has rejected the ruling and insisted it has jurisdiction over all areas within the dashed line.
Chinese officials said back then that the nine dashes were “for security and order at sea.”
China has built artificial islands and military installations on some reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, raising concerns among other claimants and the United States.
The United States has regularly conducted “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea to challenge China’s claims and has urged ASEAN countries to stand up to Beijing’s assertiveness.
Indonesia’s military commander Adm. Yudo Margono, who proposed the ASEAN drill during a meeting of the bloc’s defense forces chiefs in Bali earlier this month, said the joint drills would enhance regional stability and “boost our countries’ economy.”
‘Afraid of clashing’
But Cambodia and Myanmar, two ASEAN members with strong ties to China, did not take part in an initial planning conference for the exercise on Monday, according to military spokesman Suhendro. It was not clear whether they would join the drills.
The Indonesian military said it sent official invitations for the planning meeting to the Cambodian and Burmese defense attachés in Jakarta but got no response.
Myanmar, which has been wracked by violence since the military ousted an elected government in 2021, is persona non grata at major ASEAN meetings.
Cambodia’s defense ministry said earlier this month it had not decided on participation in the ASEAN joint exercise, saying that it was still waiting for more information from Indonesia, according to media reports in that country.
Arie Afriansyah, an expert in international sea law at the University of Indonesia, said there could be many reasons for the change of the locations, such as safety and security considerations.
“Maybe they are afraid of clashing with other countries. If it is conducted in South Natuna, Indonesia has full control in that area,” Arie told BenarNews.
“It would be a shame if fear of China is the reason, because this exercise is a way for ASEAN countries to show their unity on the North Natuna and South China Sea issue, which Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also support,” he said.
The joint ASEAN drill is planned as an effort to maintain regional stability, Khairul Fahmi, a military and security observer from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies, told BenarNews.
“The message will not come across well if some ASEAN countries are not on board,” he said.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news organization.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Tria Dianti for BenarNews.
Next month, on July 10, six months will have passed since Papua’s Governor Lukas Enembe was “kidnapped” and flown to Jakarta for charges over alleged one million rupiah (NZ$100,000) graft.
Despite his deteriorating health, he has been detained in a Corruption Eradication Commission’s cell (KPK) in the Indonesian capital — more than 3700 km from his hometown of Jayapura.
He is due to appear in court today, but that depends on his health status.
His drawn out ordeal has been full of drama and trauma. There has been indecisiveness around the case and the hearing date has been repeatedly rescheduled — from 20 more days, to 40 more days, and now into months.
There are no clear signs of any definite closure. For his family, friends, colleagues, and the Papuan people, this has been a nightmare.
While being held captive and tortured in the KPK’s prison cell in Jakarta, his kidney, stroke, and heart specialists in Singapore are concerned about what has been happening to their long-term patient.
In December 2020, Governor Enembe had a major stroke — for the fourth time. He lost his voice completely in Singapore, but his medical specialists at Mount Elizabeth hospital brought his voice back.
Since then, during a covid lockdown in 2021, he had another stroke, and was flown to Singapore.
Between 2020 and 2022 he had been receiving intensive medical assistance from Singapore. He was about to go to Singapore last September as part of his routine check-ups, only to discover that his bank account had been frozen, and his overseas travel blocked.
The trip in September was supposed to fix his already failing kidneys. He was unable to walk properly, his foot kept swelling and he began to lose his voice again.
He was on a strict diet as advised by his doctors in Singapore.
After Jakarta’s special security forces and KPK “abducted” him during a happy lunch hour at a local restaurant in his homeland on January 10, all his routine medical treatment in Singapore came to an abrupt halt.
Governor’s health
Following the abduction, medical specialists in Singapore expressed their concern in writing and requested that the medical report of his latest blood test from KPK Jakarta be released so that they could follow up on his critical health issues.
On 24 February 2023, the medical centre in Singapore wrote a medical request letter and addressed it directly to KPK in Jakarta.
The above mentioned (Lukas Enembe) is a patient at Royal Healthcare Heart, Stroke and Cancer Centre under Patrick Ang (Senior Consultant Cardiologist) and Dr Francisco Salcido-Ochoa (Senior Renal Physician). He was last reviewed by us in October 2022. As his primary physicians, we are gravely concerned about his current medical status.
We are aware that his renal condition has deteriorated over the last few months with suboptimal blood pressure control. We are humbly requesting a medical report on his renal parameters via biochemistry, blood pressure readings and a list of his current medications.
To date, however, KPK has prevented his trusted long-time Singaporean medical specialists and family members from obtaining any reports regarding his health.
The governor’s family in Jakarta have repeatedly requested for an independent medical team to oversee his health, but KPK has refused.
Only KPK’s approved medical team is allowed to monitor his health and all the results of his blood tests, types of medications he has been offered and overall report on his treatment since the kidnapping has not been released to the governor, his family, medical specialists in Singapore or the Papuan people.
Elius Enembe, spokesperson of the governor’s family said they want the panel of judges at the Tipikor Jakarta court to appoint a team of independent doctors outside the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) to check the governor’s health condition.
According to the family, it was important to ensure Enembe’s current health conditions are verified independently before the court hearing takes place. This is because “we consider IDI to no longer be independent”, Lukas Enembe’s brother, Elius Enembe, told reporters in Jakarta, reports Medcom.
“After all,” he continued, “Indonesia’s Human Rights Commissioner had issued a recommendation that Lukas continue his treatment, rights that had been obtained before being arrested by the KPK, a service to be received from the Mount Elisabeth Singapore hospital doctor’s team.”
An independent opinion of the governor’s actual health condition is critical before the hearing so that judges have a clear, objective picture on his health condition.
“If there is an independent doctor, then there is another opinion that could be considered by the judge to ensure the governor’s health condition. This is what we are hoping for, so that the panel of judges can objectively make its decisions,” said Elius Enembe.
The court hearing
One of his five times failed case hearing attempts was supposed to be held in Central Jakarta’s District Court at 10am last Monday, 12 June 2023. This highly publicised and anticipated hearing did not take place.
Two conflicting narratives emerged about why this was adjourned.
Papua Governor Lukas Enembe on a video monitor inside Jakarta’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building last Monday – June 12. Image: Irfan Kamil/compas.com
KPK’s view
According to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Lukas Enembe’s actions hampered the legal process. In fact, the head of the KPK news section, Ali Fikri, stated that his first session was met with a very uncooperative attitude.
“We regret the attitude of the defendant, which we consider uncooperative,” Fikri said in his statement quoted by Holopis.com on June 12.
“The confession of Lukas Enembe, who was ill and could not attend the trial, was considered strange and far-fetched by the KPK. The defendant can answer the judge’s questions and explain his situation, even though he later claims that he is ill,” he said.
Fikri also threatened Lukas Enembe by saying that the Governor would face consequences during the prosecution process.
“The KPK Prosecutor Team and the panel of judges will assess his attitude separately when conducting prosecutions or drafting charges,” he said. ‘
“Of course, there are aggravating matters or mitigating issues, which will be a consideration when a defendant is uncooperative in the trial process,” he continued.
“When the trial process takes place, the KPK will always include a doctor’s health report to anticipate Luke’s uncooperative attitude in the retrial,” Fikri said. “The KPK Prosecutor Team will convey to the court in detail the defendant’s health condition during the next [hearing],” he said.
The first hearing in Lukas Enembe’s gratuity case has been postponed until this week. The reason for this is that Lukas Enembe claimed he was sick and could not participate in the virtual trial.
The Governor’s legal team protest The Governor’s legal team protested against the KPK, saying that it was a “deliberate attempt” by the agency to manipulate public opinion based on biased and inaccurate information about what actually happened on Monday, June 12.
The following is the account provided by the Governor’s legal team after KPK was accused of spreading media news that the hearing had failed due to an “uncooperative governor” in terms of the legal proceedings on that day.
Monday, 12 June 2023, around 9.30am local Jakarta time, a guard entered the KPK’s detention room where Papua’s Governor, Lukas Enembe, was detained. The guard was requested to accompany the detained Governor to the hearing room.
Upon arriving at the door, the Governor asked the guard where the hearing was being held. The guard explained that he was taking him to the online courtroom in the red and white KPK building (red and white symbolise the colours of Indonesia’s flag or Bendera Merah Putih in Bahasa Indonesian).
The Governor said he would not attend the hearing via tele link. The Governor wanted to attend the hearing in person, not virtually via a screen.
Afterwards, the Governor went to his detainee room and wrote a letter of protest, explaining his aversion to viewing the proceedings on television. After the letter was written, the guard accompanied the Governor to the detention room to inform them of his desire to appear in court physically.
The court hearing was scheduled for 10am that day. Guards from KPK’s detention arrived at 9.30am to escort the Governor, allowing him only 30 minutes to prepare.
The Governor’s legal team was waiting outside the KPK’s building. As 10am approached, the legal team (Petrus, along with Cosmas Refra and Antonius Eko Nugroho), went to KPK’s receptionist and asked why they were not called to enter the hearing room.
The receptionist replied that they were still in the process of coordination since Enembe was not yet awake. Moments later, officers took the legal team into the detention visiting room, where there were masses of visitors because it was visiting time.
At one corner of the room, Governor Enembe was surrounded by prison guards working on a laptop. The governor’s lawyers were then told that the hearing would begin when the audio system was fixed.
When the Governor and the legal team finally met, the legal team asked Enembe why he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt to court. Governor Lukas said he was annoyed at the guard for suddenly arriving to escort him without warning, which is why he had not dressed neatly. He could not wear sandals because his feet were swollen.
Governor Enembe refused to have an online hearing because he had not been informed in advance of Monday’s hearing and the summons was only signed once the hearing was opened by the judges.
If the KPK prosecutor had notified him at least the day before the hearing, Governor Enembe would have cooperated. But he was only notified 30 minutes earlier.
As the judge covered the trial, the legal team led by Petrus, informed Governor Enembe to appear before the court on 19 June 2023. The governor nodded in agreement.
“In light of this explanation, we must emphasise that Mr Lukas does not intend to be uncooperative in facing the alleged case,” said the legal team.
According to Petrus, “the detained Governor Lukas Enembe did not immediately leave the detention room because he was still writing a statement that the prosecutor had not informed him in advance of the trial scheduled for Monday, 12 June 2023”.
The Governor’s next court hearing has been rescheduled for today and whether he can physically attend will depend on his health.
However, the main issue is will he be found guilty of the charges? There is a lot at stake.
Governor Lukas Enembe’s wife, Yulce Wenda (left) on the front bench in court last Monday. Yunus Wonda, chairman of Papua’s People Parliament, is on the front right and the governor’s family and staff are sitting behind. Image: ebcmedia.id.
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.
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) chair Muhammad Isnur has condemned the drafting of the Healthcare Bill (RUU Kesehatan) as “fake”, saying that the draft is almost the same as the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (Cipta Kerja).
According to Isnur, the similarity can be seen from a test of the academic context, which like the Jobs Law is unable to be seen.
“Should we say it’s a fake — yeah, the academic manuscript is fake,” he said.
Isnur said that the initial study or academic manuscript used in the drafting the draft Health Law was written carelessly and it had no legitimacy.
It could not be called an academic manuscript as the basis for drafting a law.
“For example, in the research methodology it quotes several specialists or experts whose books are outdated, their books have even been revised by the authors themselves,” said Isnur.
Isnur noted that the Health Bill would result in the reevaluation of policies in other laws, yet the references in the academic manuscript were unclear, including who did the research for it.
Lack of accountability
“We also do not know at all who drafted this. How can this be accountable as an academic manuscript if we don’t know who wrote it,” he said.
The YLBHI along with 42 other civil society groups are asking that the ratification of the Health Bill be postponed.
Aside from the fact that the academic manuscript was similar to Jobs Law, several concerns were raised by the Civil Society Coalition such as the deliberations on the law which were closed and without meaningful public participation.
Another reason was the weakness of the argument that the Health Bill was urgent and therefore needed to use the omnibus law method.
The law was also seen as tending to lead towards the liberalisation of the health system, expanding the privatisation of health services and would eliminate the minimum allocation for the health budget.
The centralisation of healthcare management by the central government is also regarded as reducing independent learning and development in the health sector.
Seven regional executives representing all the customary regions of West Papua have declared their support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) gaining full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
The executives are of the ULMWP ‘provisional government’ in the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian region.
ULMWP’s executive, legislative and judicial councils had earlier made a declaration in support of full membership in Jayapura on 4 June 2023.
ULMWP president Benny Wenda had separately announced his support for MSG full membership, saying “our agenda is now totally focused on consolidating support for full membership”.
According to the statement, the whole of the West Papuan liberation movement stood united behind the shared goal of MSG full membership.
The seven customary regions of West Papua and the executives representing them are: Anim-Ha Region – Mathias Tambai; Bomberay Region – Erik Fimbay; Domberay Region – Markus Yenu; Lapago Region – Herman Kossay; Mamta/Tabi Region – Beny Yantewo; Meepago Region – Habel Nawipa; Saireri Region – Edison Kendi.
While MSG membership comprises the Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, there is a long-established precedent in a political grouping, the Kanak and Soclalist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), representing New Caledonia as a full member.
19 arrested
Meanwhile, the human rights watchdog Tapol reports that the Indonesian government “continues to tread on the right to peaceful free expression in West Papua”.
“This can be seen from arrests and treason charges against three members of the peaceful independence campaign group, the National Committee for West Papua (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB), in Tambrauw Regency, Southwest Papua province,” the agency said in a statement.
The arrests took place on 9 June 2023, in Sarwom village, where 19 people were taken into custody.
Those arrested were a mixture of members of the coordinating body for the KNPB from neighbouring Maybrat regency, as well as local members.
The head of West Papua area police claimed that those arrested had been proclaiming the founding of the KNPB in Tambrauw, and calling for the independence of West Papua from Indonesia.
Police also claimed that the group put up a fight, being arrested with TNI support.
However, activist groups stated that they were actually only eating food and drinking coffee together without disturbing anybody in the local area, when the police arrived with weapons.
Activist groups also fiercely denied the “police insinuation” that the KNPB had links to the West Papua National Liberation Army – Free Papua Movement (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat – Organisasi Papua Merdeka (TPNPB-OPM)).
West Papua’s seven customary regions . . . united behind Papuan full membership of the MSG. Image: Tabloid Jubi
at the official opening of the 7th Melanesian Arts & Culture Festival (MACFEST). #MSG #StorianBloYumi#wanpipolwanrijan
#unityindiversity pic.twitter.com/vow2i2M85L
– the 1st visit of FM
