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Category: Pacific Islands Forum

  • Indonesia accused of subverting Pacific push for UN rights mission to Papua

    By Stefan Armbruster, Victor Mambor and BenarNews staff

    An unheralded visit to Indonesia’s Papuan provinces by a leading Pacific diplomat has drawn criticism for undermining a push for a United Nations human rights mission to the region where pro-independence fighters have fought Indonesian rule for decades.

    The Melanesian Spearhead Group’s Director-General, Leonard Louma, has not responded to BenarNews’ questions about the brief visit. It occurred just days after the most recent clash between Indonesian forces and the Papuan resistance, which resulted in four deaths and hundreds of civilians fleeing their homes in Paniai regency in Central Papua province.

    Indonesia has capitalised on the visit earlier this month to portray its governance of the contested Melanesian territory, generally referred to as West Papua in the Pacific, in a positive light.

    State news agency Antara said Louma had declared Papua to be in a “stable and conducive” condition.

    A highly critical UN Human Right Committee report on Indonesia released in May highlighted “systematic reports about the use of torture” and “extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Indigenous Papuan people.”

    The Indonesian government’s sponsorship of the visit is “another attempt to downplay a global call, including from the MSG, to allow the UN Human Rights Commission to visit and assess human rights conditions in Papua,” said Hipo Wangge, an Indonesian foreign policy researcher at Australian National University.

    “It’s also another attempt to neutralise regional concern over deep-seated discrimination against Papuans,” he told BenarNews.

    UN human rights rebuff
    For several years, Indonesia has rebuffed a request from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to carry out an independent fact-finding mission in Papua.

    The Pacific Islands Forum, a regional organisation of 18 nations, has called on Indonesia since 2019 to allow the mission to go ahead.

    20230821 MSG DG Louma.png
    MSG Director-General Leonard Louma at the opening of the 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit foreign ministers’ meeting in Port Vila on 21 August 2023. Image: Kelvin Anthony/RNZ Pacific

    The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) — whose members are Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia’s Kanak independence movement FLNKS — has made similar appeals.

    It is unclear whether the comments attributed to Louma by Antara and an Indonesian government statement are his own words. The Antara article, published last week on June 19, in English and Indonesian, is more or less identical to a statement released by Indonesia’s Ministry of Information and Communications.

    An insurgency has simmered in Papua since the early 1960s when Indonesian forces invaded the region, which had remained under a separate Dutch administration following Indonesia’s 1945 declaration of independence from the Netherlands.

    Indonesia argues its incorporation of the mineral rich territory was rightful under international law because it was part of the Dutch East Indies empire that is the basis for Indonesia’s modern borders.

    Papuans, culturally and ethnically distinct from the rest of Indonesia, say they were denied the right to decide their own future and are now marginalised in their own land. Indonesian control was formalised in 1969 with a UN-supervised referendum restricted to little more than 1000 Papuan voters.

    Arrived from PNG
    The Indonesian statement said Louma, his executive adviser Christopher Nisbert and members of their entourage arrived on June 17 at the Skouw-Wutung border crossing after traveling overland from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

    They were met by an Indonesian diplomat and then traveled to Jayapura accompanied by Indonesian officials.

    On June 19 they took part in a conference organised by Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was purportedly to address security concerns in Melanesia.

    Yones Douw, a Papuan human rights activist based in Paniai, said a properly conducted visit by the Melanesian Spearhead Group should have had wide public notice and involved meetings with churches, customary leaders, journalists and civil society organisations, including the independence movement.

    “This visit is just like a thief — in secret. I suspect that the comments submitted to the mass media were the language of the Indonesian government, not on behalf of the MSG,” he told BenarNews.

    000_34YV43T.jpg
    Soldiers from the Indonesian Army’s 112th Raider Infantry Battalion sing during a ceremony at a military base in Japakeh, Aceh province, on 25 June 2024 before their deployment to Papua province. Image: BenarNews/Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP

    “This way can damage the togetherness or unity of the Melanesian people,” he said.

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), an independence movement umbrella organisation, said it should have been notified of the visit because it has observer status at the MSG. Indonesia is an associate member.

    ‘A surreptitious visit’
    “We were not notified by the MSG Secretariat. This is a surreptitious visit initiated by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Markus Haluk, the ULMWP’s executive secretary.

    “We will file a protest,” he told the MSG’s chair, Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.

    Indonesia, over several years, has stepped up its efforts to neutralise Pacific support for the West Papuan independence movement, particularly among Melanesian nations that have ethnic and cultural links to Papuans living under Indonesian rule.

    It has had success in ending direct criticism from Pacific island governments — many of which had used the UN General Assembly as a forum to air their concerns about human rights abuses — but grassroots support for Papuan self-determination remains strong.

    Wangge, the ANU researcher, said the Indonesian government had been particularly active with Melanesian nations since Louma became director-general of the MSG’s secretariat in 2022.

    At the same time it had avoided addressing ongoing reports of abuses in the Papuan provinces, he said, and militarisation of the region.

    Indonesia’s military offered a rare apology to Papuans in March after video emerged of soldiers repeatedly slashing an indigenous man with a bayonet while he was forced to stand in a water-filled drum.

    Regional security meetings
    Among the initiatives, Indonesian police have facilitated regional security meetings, the Indonesian foreign ministry established an Indonesia-Pacific Development Forum, fisheries training has been provided, and the foreign ministry is providing diplomacy training for young diplomats from Melanesian countries and the MSG’s secretariat.

    There was nothing to show, Wangge said, from the MSG’s appointment last year of Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape as special envoys to Indonesia on West Papua.

    The two leaders met Indonesian President Joko Widodo, whose second five-year term finishes in October, at a global summit in San Francisco in November.

    Following the meeting, there was no agenda to facilitate a dialogue over West Papua, he said.

    Marape is due in Indonesia mid-July for an official state visit.

    “One thing is clear: the Indonesian government will buy more time by initiating more made-up efforts to cover pressing problems in West Papua,” Wangge said.

    Copyright ©2015-2024, BenarNews. Republished with the permission of BenarNews.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Kanaky New Caledonia unrest: ‘Everything is negotiable, except independence’

    By Mong Palatino of Global Voices

    The situation has remained tense in the French Pacific territory of Kanaky New Caledonia more than a month after protests and riots erupted in response to the passage of a bill in France’s National Assembly that would have diluted the voting power of the Indigenous Kanak population.

    Nine people have already died, with 212 police and gendarmes wounded, more than 1000 people arrested or charged, and 2700 tourists and visitors have been repatriated.

    Riots led to looting and burning of shops which has caused an estimated 1 billion euros (NZ$1.8 billion) in economic damage so far. An estimated 7000 jobs were lost.

    Eight pro-independence leaders have been arrested this week for charges over the rioting but no pro-French protesters have been arrested for their part in the unrest.

    French President Emmanuel Macron arrived on May 23 in an attempt to defuse tension in the Pacific territory but his visit failed to quell the unrest as he merely suspended the enforcement of the bill instead of addressing the demand for a dialogue on how to proceed with the decolonisation process.

    He also deployed an additional 3000 security forces to restore peace and order which only further enraged the local population.

    Pacific groups condemned France’s decision to send in additional security forces in New Caledonia:

    These measures can only perpetuate the cycle of repression that continues to impede the territory’s decolonisation process and are to be condemned in the strongest terms!

    The pace and pathway for an amicable resolution of Kanaky-New Caledonia’s decolonisation challenges cannot, and must not continue to be dictated in Paris.


    Asia Pacific Report editor David Robie on the Kanaky New Caledonia unrest. Video: Green Left

    They also called out French officials and loyalists for pinning the blame for the riots solely on pro-independence forces.

    While local customary, political, and church leaders have deplored all violence and taken responsibility in addressing growing youth frustrations at the lack of progress on the political front, loyalist voices and French government representatives have continued to fuel narratives that serve to blame independence supporters for hostilities.

    Joey Tau of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) recalled that the heavy-handed approach of France also led to violent clashes in the 1980s that resulted in the drafting of a peace accord.

    The ongoing military buildup needs to be also carefully looked at as it continues to instigate tension on the ground, limiting people, limiting the indigenous peoples movements.

    And it just brings you back to, you know, the similar riots that they had in before New Caledonia came to an accord, as per the Noumea Accord. It’s history replaying itself.

    The situation in New Caledonia was tackled at the C-24 Special Committee on Decolonisation of the United Nations on June 10.

    Reverend James Shri Bhagwan, general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, spoke at the assembly and accused France of disregarding the demands of the Indigenous population.

    France has turned a deaf ear to untiring and peaceful calls of the indigenous people of Kanaky-New Caledonia and other pro-independence supporters for a new political process, founded on justice, peaceful dialogue and consensus and has demonstrated a continued inability and unwillingness to remain a neutral and trustworthy party under the Noumea Accord.

    Philippe Dunoyer, one of the two New Caledonians who hold seats in the French National Assembly, is worried that the dissolution of the Parliament with the snap election recently announced by Macron, and the Paris hosting of the Olympics would further drown out news coverage about the situation in the Pacific territory.

    This period will probably not allow the adoption of measures which are very urgent, very important, particularly in terms of economic recovery, support for economic actors, support for our social protection system and for financing of New Caledonia.

    USTKE trade union leader Mélanie Atapo summed up the sentiments of pro-independence protesters who told French authorities that “you can’t negotiate with a gun to your head” and that “everything is negotiable, except independence.” She added:

    In any negotiations, it is out of the question to once again endorse a remake of the retrograde agreements that have only perpetuated the colonial system.

    Today, we can measure the disastrous results of these, through the revolt of Kanak youth.

    Meanwhile, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) has reiterated its proposal to provide a “neutral space for all parties to come together in the spirit of the Pacific Way, to find an agreed way forward.”

    Mong Palatino is regional editor for Southeast Asia for Global Voices. He is an activist and former two-term member of the Philippine House of Representatives. @mongster  Republished under Creative Commons.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ‘We cannot have peace without independence,’ says Kanak govt official

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    As New Caledonia passes the one-month mark since violent and deadly clashes erupted on last month, there has been no clear path put forward by Paris as far as the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) is concerned.

    Yesterday, eight people — including the leader of the Field Action Coordinating Cell (CCAT) Christian Téin — were arrested by New Caledonia’s security forces over the unrest since May 13.

    According to the Public Prosecutor’s office, they face several potential charges, including organised destruction of goods and property and incitement of crimes and murders or murder attempts on officers entrusted with public authority.

    “All the unrest, all the troubles, is the result of the ignorance of the French government,” said New Caledonia territorial government spokesperson Charles Wea.

    “We cannot have peace without the independence of the country. New Caledonia will always get into trouble if the case of independence is not taken into consideration,” he said.

    But speaking in an exclusive interview with RNZ Pacific, the French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, said there were options to resolve the ongoing conflict — but the violence needed to stop first.

    Roger-Lacan said there was a national process to address the independence issue — that was through the controversial constitutional changes which has sparked the unrest.

    Youth protest peacefully in April 2024.
    A young Kanak protests peacefully during a pro-independence rally in April 2024. Image: RNZ Pacific/Lydia Lewis

    Paris is also engaged with the UN Committee on Decolonisation (C24) where options of self-determination through independence or free association with an independent state are being discussed.

    On top of that, Paris has met with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) heads, or troika, over the phone and said talks are underway to either organise a meeting with regional leaders soon, or at the PIF leaders meeting in Tonga in August.

    Whatever the option, the FLNKS and the wider pro-independence movement want a robust process that leads to independence, said Wea.

    Charles Wea
    Kanaky New Caledonia territorial government spokesperson Charles Wea . . . “All the unrest, all the troubles, is the result of the ignorance of the French government.” Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony

    Militarisation ‘fake news’
    More than 3000 security forces have been deployed, and armoured vehicles with machine gun capability have also been sent to French territory.

    Roger-Lacan said the forces were needed and she rejected claims that the territory was being “militarised”.

    She stressed that the thousands of special forces deployed were “necessary” to contain the violence and restore law and order.

    Territorial Route 1 has been blocked by barricades erected by the rioters, and Roger-Lacan posed the question: “How do you remove this type of barricade if you have no forces?”

    ‘A militarisation movement’ – Reverend Bhagwan
    Pacific civil society groups continue to deplore France’s actions leading up to the ongoing unrest and its response to the violence.

    They have called for the immediate withdrawal of the extra forces and a phasing down of security options.

    Pacific Conference of Churches general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan told RNZ Pacific France’s heavy deployment of security forces looked like militarisation to him.

    “We have seen far too much already these last few weeks to be fooled,” Bhagwan said.

    “We still have militias who are armed, we still have increasing numbers of security forces on the ground. That is militarisation whether it is formal or something that’s been organised in a different way.

    “We are just calling it as we see it.

    “We’ve also seen the way in which the French government treats that particular area, recognising that this is part of maintaining their colonies as part of the Indo-Pacific strategy, that there is a militarisation movement happening by the French in the Pacific.”

    ‘Get their facts right’
    However, Ambassador Roger-Lacan vehemently disagrees with such claims, saying individuals such as Reverend Bhagwan need to “get their facts right”.

    She said claims that the French state had militarised New Caledonia and the region, must be corrected because “it’s not true”.

    “First of all, violence had to be stopped, and public order and law enforcement had to be resumed,” she said.

    “I would like to suggest for those people [civil society] to watch the houses that were burnt, to listen to the people that were harassed in their houses, to listen to people who were scared of the violence.”

    She said such comments were biased, doubling down that “reinforcement was needed”.

    The general secretary of the Pacific Council of Churches, James Bhagwan.
    Pacific Council of Churches general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan. . . . Image: RNZ/Jamie Tahana

    The general secretary of the Pacific Council of Churches, James Bhagwan. Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana

    Intergenerational trauma
    The French Ambassador to the Pacific said concerns that the death toll from the unrest was much higher than reported was also not true.

    The death toll stands at eight, she said, adding that three state security officers and five civilians had died.

    But some indigenous Kanaks have called for Paris to investigate the death toll, as they believe more young rioters were feared dead.

    Roger-Lacan wants worried parents to know France had heard them and concerned parents could call the 24/7 hotline.

    “With gendarmes in New Caledonia everywhere, they know all the families, they know all the tribes,” she said.

    “It is not true that we don’t have the appropriate links with the whole population.”

    Reverend Bhagwan believes it is naive to expect communities to simply trust France given the political history of the territory.

    He said there was “intergenerational trauma” simmering under the surface, especially when Kanaks see French forces on their land.

    “You can understand then why mothers are concerned about their children, and so to ignore that intergenerational trauma for people in Kanaky, is really a little bit of naivety on the French High Commissioner’s part,” Reverend Bhagwan said.

    But one thing all parties agree on is that “force” is not the answer to solve the current crisis.

    “Of course, force is not the answer,” Ambassador Roger-Lacan said, but added “force has to be used to bring back public order sometimes”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PM Luxon talks doubling RSE in PNG – plane breakdown almost derails Japan

    RNZ Pacific

    The leaders of Papua New Guinea and New Zealand have discussed a refreshed partnership that could boost the number of places for short-term RSE horticultural workers coming to Aotearoa.

    Christopher Luxon had a stopover in Papua New Guinea yesterday while en route to Japan with a business delegation, and met with PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

    But the Japan leg of the trip was almost derailed when Luxon had to leave most of his delegation behind in Papua New Guinea when the RNZ Air Force plane he was travelling on broke down.

    Luxon was only supposed to be in Port Moresby for 90 minutes while the Boeing 757 was refuelled.

    After an hour’s delay, a Defence Force spokesperson confirmed the aircraft had blown two fuses, forcing the prime minister to take a commercial flight.

    In Port Moresby, Marape and Luxon discussed regional issues, a new partnership agreement between the countries expected to be signed before September, and the expansion of the RSE (Recognised Seasonal Employer) worker programme.

    The programme allows workers from participating Pacific countries to fill short-term roles in New Zealand’s horticulture industry.

    Workers well-respected
    The workers from PNG were well-respected in New Zealand, Luxon said.

    “We personally think we need to double the amount of RSE workers that we have in New Zealand, from 19,000 up to about 38,000 . . . over a period of time.

    “So that it’s actually digestible to the countries where those workers are coming from, but also to make sure we’ve got the right accommodation in place and all the investments have happened in those horticultural farms.

    “That’s something that we’ll consider through the statement of partnership, with the view of how does that help PNG . . . so that when those workers go to New Zealand they learn a set of skills that they can advance in New Zealand but also ultimately bring back here to Papua New Guinea.”

    Marape said he hoped the workers would be able to earn qualifications while in New Zealand.

    New Zealand and PNG both shared ambitions to increase their exports, Luxon said, and should work together on that more.


    Luxon talks to media from PNG.   Video: RNZ News

    Landslide killed thousands
    New Zealand’s assistance after a massive landslide in PNG’s Enga province had been very welcome, Marape said.

    The landslide in late May is believed to have killed thousands, and affected about 10,000 people.

    Defence forces from New Zealand were sent to distribute supplies in the remote area, and funds were now being funnelled through non-government organisations, Luxon said.

    “We’re open to helping any way we can. Initially, it was about getting supplies into the region using some of our defence assets . . .  we did talk about geotech where there’s expertise we can bring.

    “It’s a pretty tragic set of events – it’s in a very remote part of the country, it’s difficult to access, and we stand ready to help.”

    Luxon in PNG
    NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon being welcomed to Port Moresby. Image: Nathan McKinnon/RNZ

    Luxon’s visit was warmly welcomed, Marape said.

    “New Zealand has a senior presence in our part of Planet Earth.

    ‘Quality interventions’
    “[It] has always made quality interventions in PNG matters over the last 49 years we’ve been independent; they’ve always had an active presence in our country.

    “The future is where we will not take each other for granted but we consolidate on our past … and create a shared future that is mutually beneficial for both nations.”

    Luxon also underlined the value of the relationship New Zealand holds with PNG.

    “Papua New Guinea is such a critical relationship to us, it’s a relationship that matters,” he said.

    “We want to continue to move forward and … deepen our partnership, that’s why we’re hopeful … we’ll be able to sign an enhanced statement of partnership, a renewed statement about how our countries are going to work together.”

    The pair planned to hold further discussions at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga, on August 26-30.

    Luxon had also been invited to Papua New Guinea for the country’s 50th anniversary of independence in September 2025.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Baron Waqa ‘more than able’ to lead Pacific Islands Forum, says Rabuka

    RNZ Pacific

    The new secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, Baron Waqa, is “well equipped” for the role, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says.

    Waqa, a former Nauru president is the first Nauruan national to assume the top job at the Forum.

    He began his tenure last week and was welcomed during a special ceremony on Thursday night in Suva.

    Rabuka said Waqa would serve the region and the Pacific people well, given his wealth of experience.

    “As one who has held multiple leadership roles at the national, regional and global levels, we are assured that you are well equipped to take on this role and that you will lead us well,” he said.

    “We believe that you will serve our region and our Pacific people and with the vast experience that you bring, we are confident that our Blue Pacific is in safe hands.”

    Rabuka said the region continued to be confronted with multidimensional challenges and stressed that climate change remained the region’s “greatest threat impacting our ability to meet our development aspirations”.

    Increased urgency
    He added there was an increased urgency to act collectively to progress shared priorities and goals as outlined in the 2050 Strategy.

    “We have laid out our pathway through the 2050 Strategy with its implementation plan. It is now in your hands. We hold high expectations because we know that you are more than able.”

    Since taking up office, Waqa has already made his first official regional trip to the Solomon Islands, meeting with Prime Minister Jeremaiah Manele and his foreign minister Peter Agovaka on June 10.

    “One of my key priorities as Secretary-General is to continue to strengthen our solidarity as a Pacific family,” he said.

    “We look forward to working with Prime Minister Manele to build our one Blue Pacific continent and improve the lives of all Pacific people.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘France has caused this crisis’ – Pacific Islands Forum offers support to New Caledonia

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    Cook Islands Prime Minister and Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) chair Mark Brown has written to the president of the government of New Caledonia to offer support in finding a way forward.

    Brown said the political situation in the French territory — which is a full member of the PIF — remains deeply concerning to the Forum family.

    He said there were a number of mechanisms and processes available to PIF members to help resolve “complex and historical issues” which remain “unsettled”.

    He also stressed implementing an agreed way forward “must not be rushed”.

    “Our Pacific region is home to independent experts and skilled personnel, that are familiar with this region, its history, its people, and importantly, its context, that can support all parties to move this process forward,” Brown said.

    “Pacific Islands Forum [is ready to] to facilitate and provide a supported and neutral space for all parties to come together in the spirit of the Pacific Way, to find an agreed way forward that safeguards the interests of the people of New Caledonia.”

    French President Emanuel Macron came and left Nouméa last week without announcing a return to a freeze or scrapping of the controversial constitutional amendment, which indigenous Kanaks and pro-independence groups have been calling for.

    Dialogue promised
    He promised dialogue would continue, “in view of the current context, we give ourselves a few weeks so as to allow peace to return, dialogue to resume, in view of a comprehensive agreement,” he said.

    Indigenous Kanaks have also called for Macron to investigate the death toll, with more young rioters feared dead, and for the proposed constitutional amendments to be withdrawn.

    Concerns have also been raised around the Kanak population facing a great deal of inequity and poor health, education and job outcomes.

    Vanuatu Climate Minister Ralph Regenvanu told the media at the fourth UN Small Islands Developing States conference that “everyone could see this coming three years ago”.

    “France has caused this crisis by its failure to recognise the Kanaks’ call for the third referendum to be deferred,” Regenvanu said.

    Regenvanu said Macron’s visit made no difference “because France has to withdraw its legislative change to open the electoral rolls to allow for a resolution through dialogue”.

    He said if that did not happen it will push the situation back to the cycle of violence that was prevalent in the 1980s.

    “We are calling on France to withdraw the legislative proposals, and come back to the table and set up a new accord with the indépendantistes and the anti-independentists in the territory,” Regenvanu said.

    “If France does not withdraw the legislative amendments, the violence will continue.”

    ‘France’s credibility challenged’
    Massey University Defence and Security Studies associate professor Dr Powles said the PIF had produced a “fairly scathing” report on the third and final New Caledonia referendum.

    But the French President’s stand on the issue of the third self-determination referendum (held in December 2021 and boycotted by the pro-independence camp) is: “I will not go back on this.”

    Dr Powles said there were options for the Forum Secretariat, including using the existing regional crisis mechanism under the Biketawa Declaration.

    The declaration has been used on a number of occasions in the Pacific, in Nauru, in Solomon Islands, as well as in several other cases, she said.

    “France’s credibility was strongly challenged by virtue of the fact that it is a colonial power in the Pacific,” Dr Powles said.

    “A resilient Pacific is a Pacific in which all Pacific peoples are free and independent. And that is really the best type of resilience which will keep the region safe.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Open letter from Kanaky: Things are really bad, we need to speed up decolonisation

    Asia Pacific Report

    By a Kanak from Aotearoa New Zealand in Kanaky New Caledonia

    I’ve been trying to feel cool and nice on this beautiful sunny day in Kanaky. But it has already been spoiled by President Emmanuel Macron’s flashy day-long visit on Thursday.

    Currently special French military forces are trying to take full control of the territory. Very ambitously.

    They’re clearing all the existing barricades around the capital Nouméa, both the northern and southern highways, and towards the northern province.

    Today, May 25, after 171 years of French occupation, we are seeing the “Lebanonisation” of our country which, after only 10 days of revolt, saw many young Kanaks killed by bullets. Example: 15 bodies reportedly found in the sea, including four girls.

    [Editor: There have been persistent unconfirmed rumours of a higher death rate than has been reported, but the official death toll is currently seven — four of them Kanak, including a 17-year-old girl, and two gendarmes, one by accident. Lebanonisation is a negative political term referring to how a prosperous, developed, and politically stable country descends into a civil war or becomes a failed state — as happened with Lebanon during the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War.]

    One of the bodies was even dragged by a car. Several were caught, beaten, burned, and tortured by the police, the BAC and the militia, one of whose leaders was none other than a loyalist elected official.

    With the destruction and looting of many businesses, supermarkets, ATMs, neighbourhood grocery stores, bakeries . . . we see that the CCAT has been infiltrated by a criminal organisation which chooses very specific economic targets to burn.

    Leaders trying to discredit our youth
    At the same time, the leaders organise the looting, supply alcohol and drugs (amphetamines) in order to “criminalise” and discredit our youth.

    A dividing line has been created between the northern and southern districts of Greater Nouméa in order to starve our populations. As a result, we have a rise in prices by the colonial counters in these dormitory towns where an impoverished Kanak population lives.

    President Macron came with a dialogue mission team made up of ministers from the “young leaders” group, whose representative in the management of high risks in the Pacific is none other than a former CIA officer.

    The presence of DGSE agents [the secret service involved in the bombing of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior in 1985] and their mercenaries also gives us an idea of ​​what we are going to endure again and again for a month.

    The state has already chosen its interlocutors who have been much the same for 40 years. The same ones that led us into the current situation.

    Therefore, we firmly reaffirm our call for the intervention of the BRICS, the Pacific Islands Forum members, and the Melanesian Spearhead group (MSG) to put an end to the violence perpetrated against the children of the indigenous clans because the Kanak people are one of the oldest elder peoples that this land has had.

    There are only 160,000 individuals left today in a country full of wealth.

    Food and medical aid needed
    Each death represents a big loss and it means a lot to the person’s clan. More than ever, we need to initiate the decolonisation process and hold serious discussions so that we can achieve our sovereignty very quickly.

    Today we are asking for the intervention of international aid for:

    • The protection of our population;
    • food aid; and
    • medical support, because we no longer trust the medical staff of Médipôle (Nouméa hospital) and the liberals who make sarcastic judgments towards our injured and our people.

    This open letter was written by a long-standing Kanak resident of New Zealand who has been visiting New Caledonia and wanted to share his dismay at the current crisis with friends back here and with Asia Pacific Report. His name is being withheld for his security.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • New Caledonia violence ‘unfortunate’ but ‘not surprising’, says Pacific Forum chief

    RNZ Pacific

    Outgoing Secretary-General Henry Puna of the Pacific Islands Forum is “not surprised” with the violent unrest in New Caledonia which has shut down the French Pacific territory.

    New Caledonia has come to a virtual stop after three days of civil unrest, resulting in burning, shooting and looting, as leaders call for calm.

    French police reinforcements have arrived in Nouméa, with reports of dozens of arrests being made.

    New Caledonia’s territorial President, pro-independence leader Louis Mapou, has condemned violent actions, saying “anger cannot justify harming or destroying public property, production tools, all of which this country has taken decades to build”.

    Secretary-General Puna told journalists in his final news conference as the region’s top diplomat from Rarotonga that “to see the collapse [and], protesting is very unfortunate” — but it was predictable.

    He said the issue “has been boiling” since the 2021 independence referendum in the French territory, the third and final vote under the Nouméa Accord, which was boycotted by the pro-indigenous Kanak population.

    He said he was there in December 2021 to monitor the independence referendum when it was taken and “it was unfortunate that it was allowed to go ahead during that time”.

    ‘In middle of covid pandemic’
    “We were in the middle of the covid pandemic and the Kanak custom is that when somebody passes, they mourn for one year. So they weren’t allowed that freedom.

    “As a result, they didn’t want to take part in the referendum because they couldn’t go against their tradition and go campaigning or do other work. That’s disrespectful for the custom.”

    Puna said the Nouméa Accord — all the processes, and the steps leading to that referendum, had been set and agreed to by all parties and if that had been followed right through, the referendum would not have been held then but in September 2022.

    “To see the collapse and protesting is very unfortunate because it does raise some issues that need to be resolved. But I think it can be resolved in the wisdom of our leaders at this time.

    “That’s something that we really need to talk about openly and honestly. What the causes of the problem are, and what the solutions could be.

    Henry Puna in Rarotonga. 15 May 2024
    Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna . . . the New Caledonia unrest is “unfortunate”. Image: PIF Secretariat

    ‘Recognise greater autonomy’ – Mark Brown
    The outgoing chair of the Forum and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said greater autonomy for the indigenous Kanak population was needed.

    Brown said Pacific peoples valued sovereignty and the protests were in response to that.

    He said many forum members were former colonies.

    “If there’s one thing that specific countries value, it is the sovereignty and independence. To be able to have control over the destiny of your own country,” he said.

    New Caledonia, French Polynesia were new entrants into the Forum and this was in recognition of their calls they had made for greater autonomy coming from their people.

    “My initial view of the unrest that’s occurring in Caledonia, it is a call to recognise greater autonomy and greater independence from the people on those islands,” he said.

    “As a member of the Forum now, we will be able to provide support assistance to these member countries as to the best way forward without trying to avoid any escalation of conflict.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Pacific alliance condemns France over bid to ‘derail’ Kanaky decolonisation

    Asia Pacific Report

    A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination.

    The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in a statement that it reaffirmed its solidarity with the Kanaks in a bid to to expose ongoing efforts by the French government to “derail a decolonisation process painstakingly pursued in this Pacific Island territory for the last 30 years”.

    It said that France — especially under the Macron government — as the colonial power administering this UN-sanctioned process of decolonisation had repeatedly shown that it
    could not remain a “neutral party” to the Noumea Accords.

    The 1998 pact was designed specifically to hand sovereignty back to the people of Kanaky New Caledonia and end French colonial rule, said PRNGOs.

    “In recent months, the Macron government [has] forced through proposed constitutional
    amendments aimed at changing voting eligibility rules for local elections in the French
    territory,” said the statement.

    “These eligibility provisions have been preserved and protected under the [Noumea] Accords as a safeguard for indigenous peoples against demographic changes that could make them a minority in their own land and block the path to freedom.”

    The electoral amendments were passed by the French Senate in early April and
    will be voted on in Parliament this month.

    Elections deferred
    “The Macron government has, in a parallel move, also managed to defer local elections,
    initially scheduled for mid-May, to mid-December at the latest, to allow voting under new
    provisions that would favour pro-French parties,” the statement said.

    In 2021, President Macron unilaterally called for the third independence referendum to be
    held in December that year amid the covid-19 pandemic that “heavily affected the
    ability of indigenous communities to organise and participate”.

    Although it was a “no” vote, only 43.87 percent of the 184,364 registered voters exercised their right to vote.

    “Express reservations and requests by Kanak leaders and representatives for a later date were ignored, casting serious doubt on genuine representation and participation,” said PRNGOs.

    A Pacific Islands Forum Mission sent to observe proceedings concluded in its report that “the self-determination referendum that took place 12 December 2021 did so with the non-participation of the overwhelming majority of the indigenous people of New Caledonia.

    “The result of the referendum is an inaccurate representation of the will of registered voters . . . ”

    The alliance said that in all of these actions, the French government had shown no interest at all in respecting the Noumea Accords or in granting the Kanak people their most fundamental rights — “particularly the right to be free”.

    ‘Democracy’ link claimed
    Macron’s allies and pro-French advocates have claimed that these initiatives by the
    French government are more consistent with democratic principles and the rule of law.

    The aspirations of the Kanak people for self-determination had been
    “mischaracterised as being ethno-nationalistic, akin to the ‘far-right’, and racist,” PRNGOs said.

    The alliance said that if the vote on May 13 succeeded in removing the electoral roll restrictions succeed, it would be seen as a direct attack on the principle of the right to self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter and its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

    “That the evil of colonialism can continue unchecked in this manner, and in this 21st century, is not only an insult to the Pacific region but to the international system,” the statement said.

    “The Pacific is not distracted by French false narratives. The Kanak, as people, are the rightful inhabitants of what is present day New Caledonia still under enduring French colonial rule.”

    The alliance called on President Macron to withdraw the constitutional changes on electoral roll provisions protecting the rights of the indigenous people of Kanaky, and it appealed to France to send a neutral high-level mission to resume dialogue between pro-independence parties and local anti-independence groups over a new political agreement.

    It also called for another independence referendum that “genuinely reflects their will”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • West Papuan wounds of suffering – diplomatic pressure on Indonesia needed urgently

    COMMENTARY: By Ronny Kareni

    Recent videos depicting the barbaric torture of an indigenous Papuan man by Indonesian soldiers have opened the wounds of West Papua’s suffering, laying bare the horrifying reality faced by its people.

    We must confront this grim truth — what we witness is not an isolated incident but a glaring demonstation of the deep-seated racism and systematic persecution ravaging West Papuans every single day.

    Human rights defenders that the videos were taken during a local military raid in the districts of Omukia and Gome on 3-4 February 2024, Puncak Regency, Pegunungan Tengah Province.

    Deeply proud of their rich ethnic and cultural heritage, West Papuans have often found themselves marginalised and stereotyped, while their lands are exploited and ravaged by foreign interests, further exacerbating their suffering.

    Indonesia’s discriminatory policies and the heavy-handed approach of its security forces have consistently employed brutal tactics to quash any aspirations for a genuine self-autonomy among indigenous Papuans.

    In the chilling footage of the torture videos, we witness the agony of this young indigenous Papuan man, bound and submerged in a drum of his own blood-stained water, while soldiers clad in military attire inflict unspeakable acts of violence on him.

    The state security forces, speaking with a cruel disregard for human life, exemplify the toxic blend of racism and brutality that festers within the Indonesian military.

    Racial prejudice
    What makes this brutality even more sickening is the unmistakable presence of racial prejudice.

    The insignia of a soldier, proudly displaying affiliation with the III/Siliwangi, Yonif Raider 300/Brajawijaya Unit, serves as a stark reminder of the institutionalised discrimination faced by Papuans within the very forces meant to protect civilians.

    This vile display of racism underscores the broader pattern of oppression endured by West Papuans at the hands of the state and its security forces.

    These videos are just the latest chapter in a long history of atrocities inflicted upon Papuans in the name of suppressing their cries for freedom.

    Regencies like Nduga, Pegunungan Bintang, Intan Jaya, the Maybrat, and Yahukimo have become notorious hotspots for state-sanctioned operations, where Indonesian security forces operate with impunity, crushing any form of dissent through arbitrary arrests.

    They often target peaceful demonstrators and activists advocating for Papuan rights in major towns along the coast.

    These arrests are often accompanied by extrajudicial killings, further instilling intimidation and silence among indigenous Papuans.

    Prabowo leadership casts shadow
    In light of the ongoing failure of Indonesian authorities to address the racism and structural discrimination in West Papua, the prospect of Prabowo’s presidential leadership casts a shadow of uncertainty over the future of human rights and justice in the region.

    Given his controversial track record, there is legitimate concern that his leadership may further entrench the culture of impunity. We must closely monitor his administration’s response to the cries for justice from West Papua.

    It is time to break the silence and take decisive action. The demand for the UN Human Rights Commissioner to visit West Papua is urgent.

    This is where the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), with its influential members Fiji and Papua New Guinea, who were appointed as special envoys to Indonesia can play a pivotal role.

    Their status within the region paves the opportunity to champion the cause and exert diplomatic pressure on Indonesia, as the situation continues to deteriorate despite the 2019 Pacific Leaders’ communique highlighting the urgent need for international attention and action in West Papua.

    While the UN Commissioner’s visit would provide a credible and unbiased platform to thoroughly investigate and document these violations, it also would compel Indonesian authorities to address these abuses decisively.

    I can also ensure that the voices of the Papuan people are heard and their rights protected.

    Let us stand unyielding with the Papuan people in their tireless struggle for freedom, dignity, and sovereignty. Anything less would be a betrayal of our shared humanity.

    Filed as a special article for Asia Pacific Report.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Pacific wants open discussion on AUKUS to keep region ‘nuclear free’

    By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific journalist

    Keeping the Pacific nuclear-free, in line with the Rarotonga Treaty, was a recurring theme from the leaders of Tonga, Cook Islands and Samoa to New Zealand last week.

    The New Zealand government’s Pacific mission wrapped up on Saturday with the final leg in Samoa.

    Over the course of the trip, defence and security in the region was discussed with the leaders of the three Polynesian nations.

    In Apia, Samoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa addressed regional concerns about AUKUS.

    New Zealand is considering joining pillar two of the agreement, a non-nuclear option, but critics have said this could be seen as Aotearoa rubber stamping Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.

    “We would hope that both administrations will ensure that the provisions under the maritime treaty are taken into consideration with these new arrangements,” Fiamē said.

    New Zealand’s previous Labour government was more cautious in its approach to joining AUKUS because it said pillar two had not been clearly defined, but the coalition government is looking to take action.

    Nuclear weapons opposed
    Prime Minister Fiamē said she did not want the Pacific to become a region affected by more nuclear weapons.

    She said the impact of nuclear weapons in the Pacific was still ongoing, especially in the North Pacific with the Marshall Islands, and a semblance of it still in the south with Tahiti.

    She said it was crucial to “present that voice in these international arrangements”.

    “We don’t want the Pacific to be seen as an area that people will take licence of nuclear arrangements.”

    The Treaty of Rarotonga prohibits signatories — which include Australia and New Zealand — from placing nuclear weapons within the South Pacific.

    Mark Brown, left, and Winston Peters in Rarotonga. 8 February 2024
    Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown (left) and Winston Peters in Rarotonga last week. Image: RNZ Pacific/Eleisha Foon

    Cook Island’s Prime Minister Mark Brown said Pacific leaders were in agreement over security.

    “I think our stance mirrors that of all the Pacific Island countries. We want to keep the Pacific region nuclear weapons free, nuclear free and that hasn’t changed.”

    Timely move
    Reflecting on discussions during the Pacific Islands Forum in 2023, he said: “A review and revisit of the Rarotonga Treaty should take place with our partners such as New Zealand, Australia and others on these matters.”

    “It’s timely that we have them now moving forward,” he said.

    Last year, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka proposed a Pacific peace zone which was discussed during the Forum leaders’ meeting in Rarotonga.

    This year, Tonga will be hosting the forum and matters of security and defence involving AUKUS are expected to be a key part of the agenda.

    Tongan Acting Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu acknowledged New Zealand’s sovereignty and said dialogue was the way forward.

    “We do not interfere with what other countries do as it is their sovereignty. A talanoa process is best,” Vaipulu said.

    New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Health and Pacific People Minister Dr Shane Reti reiterated that they cared and had listened to the needs outlined by the Pacific leaders.

    They said New Zealand would deliver on funding promises to support improvements in the areas of health, education and security of the region.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    Winston Peters and Tonga's Acting PM Samiuela Vaipulu. 7 February 2024
    Winston Peters and Tongan Acting Prime Minister Samiuela Vaipulu in Nuku’alofa last week. Image: RNZ Pacific/Eleisha Foon


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Pacific predictions: Elections, security and regionalism top 2024 agenda

    ANALYSIS: By Tess Newton Cain

    As the new year gets underway, now is the time to look ahead to what will be significant in the Pacific islands region. Chances are this part of the world will continue to be a focus for the media and commentariat who will view what happens through their own lenses.

    However, more now than ever, it is imperative to see the events of the Pacific in their context, with the nuance that allows for them to be more fully understood.

    The Pacific will play a small part in the year in which more than half of the global population will go to the polls. We have already seen Dr Hilda Heine sworn in as the 10th President of Marshall Islands following elections late last year.

    Next cab off the rank is Tuvalu, with voting to take place at the end of January. Of particular interest here is how, if at all, a change of government might affect the future of the Falepili Union with Australia that was signed in November 2023.

    Perhaps most closely watched will be the elections in Solomon Islands, scheduled to take place in April. The Sogavare government is now in caretaker mode, but a date for the polls is yet to be announced.

    These are the first general elections since the controversial “switch” in 2019 which saw diplomatic relations between Solomon Islands and Taiwan come to an end and China established as a leading development and security partner for Sogavare’s government.

    It is hard to know how significant this switch will be for voters more than three years down the track. Sogavare can point to last year’s Pacific Games as a stellar achievement for his government and one in which the support of China was key.

    Largely irrelevant outside Honiara
    But this is unlikely to have much resonance for those Solomon Islanders who live outside Honiara and for whom the games were largely irrelevant.

    Other Pacific island countries holding elections this year are Palau (November) and Kiribati (date to be confirmed).

    In addition, Vanuatu is expected to hold its first-ever referendum on proposed constitutional changes intended to address chronic political instability.

    The issue of security will continue to be vexed in 2024 in the Pacific islands region. As we have seen in recent years, narratives around climate change and those centred on “traditional” security concerns will become increasingly enmeshed.

    The apparent acceptance of the significance of climate change as a security threat by partners such as the US is no doubt welcome. However, it is not enough to assuage concern among those who warn against the increased militarisation of the region.

    Preliminary findings from the Rules of Engagement project led by Associate Professor Anna Powles and I show that “defence diplomacy” has become an important aspect of international engagement with Pacific island countries. We can expect this to continue throughout this year.

    We need to understand better the extent to which these engagements add to feelings of security and safety in Pacific communities and how, if at all, they influence how Pacific people feel about the relationships between their countries and their international partners.

    Internal security threats
    As we have seen already this year, internal security threats will be front of mind in Papua New Guinea, and likely elsewhere in the region. Given the mix of cost-of-living pressures, political instability, and a febrile (social) media environment fuelled by rumour and counter-rumour, maintaining social cohesion will become increasingly challenging.

    With globalisation in retreat and geopolitical competition on the rise, there is every reason to expect that the high tempo of international strategic engagement with Pacific policymakers, businesses, civil society leaders, and communities will continue throughout 2024.

    While this provides numerous opportunities to secure resources for development and other initiatives, it can also create a serious burden in terms of transaction costs, particularly for small resource-constrained administrations.

    Last year, the government of Solomon Islands announced that it would have a “block out” period during which senior officials are unavailable to meet with visiting delegations. This is an approach that could be beneficial for other countries to preserve valuable time for budget preparation or key policy work.

    At the regional level, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is still in the process of determining how best to manage the increased attention the organisation is receiving from countries that want to become dialogue partners. There are currently six applications awaiting consideration (Denmark, Ecuador, Israel, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine).

    Last year at the PIF Leaders Meeting it was made clear that the ongoing review of regional architecture includes a refreshed framework for engagement with dialogue partners — one that is led and driven by Pacific priorities.

    In conclusion, 2024 holds both challenges and opportunities for the Pacific islands region. With elections, security concerns, and regionalism on the agenda, policymakers, businesses, civil society leaders, and communities must work together to tackle these issues.

    Tess Newton Cain is the project lead for the Pacific Hub at the Griffith Asia Institute and is an associate of the Development Policy Centre. The author’s Pacific Predictions have been produced annually since 2012. Republished under a Creative Commons licence.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Marshall Islands reaffirms ties with Taiwan in wake of Nauru shift

    By Giff Johnson, editor of the Marshall Islands Journal and RNZ Pacific correspondent

    Marshall Islands officials quickly moved this week to reaffirm this nation’s ties with Taipei in the wake of Nauru shifting diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China.

    “The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) values the strong relationship with Republic of China (Taiwan) as an indispensable partner in promotion of democratic principles,” said Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko.

    “The RMI pledges its diplomatic allegiance with Taiwan and will continue to stand in solidarity with the government and people of Taiwan.”

    President Hilda Heine quickly congratulated President-elect Lai Ching-te after his win in Taiwan’s presidential election last Saturday, adding that the Marshall Islands “looks forward to working closely with the Republic of China (Taiwan) to further strengthen the close and friendly ties between the two nations”.

    Just two days after Lai’s election victory, Nauru announced its change to China — the latest development in the tit-for-tat between Taipei and Beijing, which views Taiwan as a renegade province that needs to be reunited with the mainland.

    The mayors of the two largest local governments, in the capital Majuro and at Kwajalein, which hosts the US Army’s Reagan Test Site, took out full-page advertisements in the weekly Marshall Islands Journal supporting Taiwan.

    Both local governments have benefited significantly from partnerships with Taiwan that have funded the building of numerous community sports facilities, installation of solar lighting, and purchase of equipment for maintenance of facilities.

    Friendship ‘remains strong’
    The “Marshall Islands-Republic of China (Taiwan) friendship remains strong and will continue to withstand the test of time,” Kaneko said.

    “In parallel, we wholeheartedly respect the sovereignty of all countries and will continue to foster open and friendly dialogue with other nations for the sake of peace and stability for all.”

    Kaneko said he wanted to reassure the dozens of Marshall Islands students currently attending universities in Taiwan “that the Nauru-ROC relationship change will not affect their current immigration status while in Taiwan.”

    While Taiwan voters sent Beijing a message last Saturday by giving the ruling Democratic Progressive Party an unprecedented third four-year term by electing Lai, whose party and candidacy China had opposed, on Monday, China struck back, with the announcement by Nauru that it was dropping diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognising China instead.

    This development leaves only the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu as Taiwan allies in the Pacific, and reduces the total globally to 12 that recognise Taiwan.

    Recently elected Nauru President David Adeang’s government issued a statement on Monday saying that Nauru was “moving to the One-China Principle…which recognises the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China.”

    “This is a big win for China,” wrote Cleo Paskal, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies who regularly writes on US-China issues in the Pacific, on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.

    She commented that one of the implications of Nauru’s switch is that now the incoming secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum will be from a China-aligned nation, not Taiwan.

    ‘A real problem for Beijing’
    “Apart from the myriad other implications, the announced next Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum was to be former Nauru President Baron Waqa, who has stood up to China in the past and, at the time of his selection, was from a country that recognised Taiwan — two things that were a real problem for Beijing,” Paskal said on X.

    “This change means that, at least, the next Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General will be from a country that recognises China rather than Taiwan. Now let’s see if it stays Baron Waqa.”

    American Samoa Congresswoman Amata Radewagen congratulated the new Taiwan president and said in a statement issued by her office Wednesday.

    “I’m confident that by far most leadership throughout the Pacific Islands fully supports a strong US commitment in the region and appreciates Taiwan’s role in our many economic and security partnerships that provide enduring regional stability, peace and prosperity.”

    She also pointed out that people in the islands “value and support the right to self-determination and democratic elections, for themselves and their neighbours” — an unsubtle dig at China, a dictatorship run by the Chinese Communist Party without national elections.

    “The Pacific Islands have a widespread desire to stand with the US and our key allies, which includes our friendship to the people of Taiwan.

    I am certain that the decision by Nauru did not take our professional diplomats by surprise and will be an exception in the Pacific Islands,” she added.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘It’s tragic’ – Palau president slams NZ govt’s oil and gas exploration plans

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    The President of Palau has slammed New Zealand’s new government for its oil and gas exploration plans as the COP28 global climate summit gets underway.

    The National-led government intends to reopen Aotearoa waters to oil and gas exploration, despite a commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

    Pacific leaders are poised to hold what they describe as “perpetrators of climate chaos” to account.

    The National-led government intends to reopen Aotearoa waters to oil and gas exploration, despite a commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

    Pacific leaders are poised to hold what they describe as “perpetrators of climate chaos” to account.

    While the new Climate Change Minister Simon Watts was not expecting criticism over fossil fuels at the summit, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr has served it up.

    “What a backward position that an island that is part of the Pacific Island Forum that should understand the challenges that we’re facing,” Whipps Jr said.

    NZ ‘should take lead’
    “New Zealand as a Pacific Island and a member of the forum should take a leadership role and should be active in doing all they can to transition away from fossil fuels. That’s what they should be working on,” he said.

    “They shouldn’t be going out and exploring more gas and oil.”

    Surangel Whipps Jr in Rarotonga. 7 November 2023.
    President Surangel Whipps Jr of Palau in Rarotonga . . . “What a backward position” taken by New Zealand. Image: RNZ Pacific/ Lydia Lewis

    The Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) has also taken aim at the New Zealand government’s plans.

    Regional coordinator Lavetanalagi Seru said it was not the time to be exploring and expanding the extraction of fossil fuel including gas.

    “At a time when the Pacific and many climate frontline communities are grappling with the single greatest security threat of climate change, intensifying fossil fuel dependency, not only undermines collective efforts, but also sends a very strong sense of wrong market signals, neglecting broader environmental and social ramifications,” Seru said.

    “It will undermine all our efforts to ensure climate resilience for communities, and this isn’t the time to be exploring and expanding the extraction of fossil fuels, including gas.”

    Watts said the overturning of the ban did not weaken New Zealand’s climate position.

    From left to right: National's Simon Watts, Dale Stephens (Nats candidate for Christchurch Central) National Party leader Christopher Luxon, and Transport spokesperson Simeon Brown.
    New NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (centre) flanked by ministers including Climate Change Minister Simon Watts (left) . . . plans to reopen Aotearoa waters to oil and gas exploration, despite a commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Image: RNZ/Nathan McKinnon

    ‘We rely on NZ’
    Tuvalu’s former prime minister and now opposition leader Enele Sopoaga has a reminder for the new government: “We rely on New Zealand to stand up strong with the island countries”.

    Niue’s Minister for Natural Resources Mona Ainu’u will be drumming home the tangable impacts felt in the Pacific while in Dubai.

    “We come to COP, without any commitment from a lot of these countries and these perpetrators of climate chaos, as I call them,” she said.

    “It’s very difficult to hold them accountable. We continue to travel 1000s and 1000s of miles, because our people are suffering. People continue to find innovative ways to survive on this earth. From no fault of ours. But we need to hold these countries accountable.”

    Ainu’u said there had been little to no movement on last year’s commitment by the world’s biggest emitters to contribute to costs caused by climate change.

    This year, one of the main Pacific priorities is building up that loss and damage fund.

    A delegate from Palau, Xavier Matsutaro said there was a lot to put into action.

    “Let’s just put it this way, there’s a lot to prove on COP28, and every subsequent COP becomes more and more urgent because it narrows down that window that we need to do to wrap up in emission reduction,” he said.

    “And that’s one of the things are the heart of this meeting. And one of the things that will spell out the level of success.”

    ‘Affect real lives’
    A Pacific youth delegate, Metoyer Lohia who is also there, wants to remind the world of the reality of the situation:

    “There’s a lot of that. I guess media and the Western world don’t really understand about the real problems and the real challenges that are faced by our communities and people on the ground,” Lohia explained.

    “Because at the end of the day, although these are very high level discussions, they ultimately affect real people with real lives and as a Pacific.”

    President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. at the World Green Economy Summit in Dubai with Minister of Finance of the United Arab Emirates.
    Palau President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr at the World Green Economy Summit in Dubai with Minister of Finance of the United Arab Emirates. Image: Palau Press Office/RNZ

    Whipps Jr said US President Joe Biden was a noticeable absence from this year’s meeting.

    “The United States needs to be active, it needs to show leadership. And of course, not having Biden here definitely weakens at least or gives us concern about our hope for the future,” he said.

    “But there’s Australia, there’s China, there’s India, there’s the EU. I mean, everybody’s got to step it up.”

    “As a Pacific island country. I believe that New Zealand should understand better than any other country in the world the challenges that Pacific islands have,” Whipps Jr said.

    “We have Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, all their islands are less than two metres above water.

    “I mean, if you’re a Pacific island nation, and you don’t understand that, I don’t know, I don’t know how, what else we can say.

    “It’s just tragic to be hearing these kinds of actions by the New Zealand government.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Human rights group wants climate mobility justice on COP28 agenda

    By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific contributing journalist

    A new legal framework to support climate-displaced people and guarantee their human rights is being served up ahead of COP28.

    The United Nations Climate Change Conference opens tomorrow and is being held in the fossil fuel giant United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12.

    The human rights advocacy centre — the International Centre for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) — wants to ensure climate frontline communities will not be neglected.

    The UN is estimating there could be 1.2 billion climate-displaced people by 2050.

    ICAAD and partners are calling for climate mobility justice to feature on the agenda of COP28.

    The Human Rights Centre wants discussions around how to expand protections for climate-displaced persons to ensure their dignity is upheld now and in the future.

    In the Pacific, many islands could become uninhabitable in the coming decades due to sea level rise, yet there is no legal clarity on how, or if, these communities will be protected.

    ICAAD director and facilitator Erin Thomas said more than 40 indigenous and climate activists and researchers from eight Pacific Island countries were advocating for COP28.

    ‘Right to life of dignity’
    “This is part of our right to life of dignity project which we have been working on over a number of years,” she said.

    “But one of the thornier issues that the international community has yet to respond to effectively is protecting those who are displaced across borders.”

    The group warned that climate change is already creating human rights abuses, especially for those already migrating without access to dignified migration pathways.

    At the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) annual meeting in Rarotonga two weeks ago, regional leaders noted that more than 50,000 Pacific people were displaced due to climate and disaster related events annually.

    The leaders endorsed a Pacific regional framework on climate mobility to “provide practical guidance to governments planning for and managing climate mobility”.

    They also called on development partners to “provide substantially greateer levels of climate finance, technology and capacity to accelerate decarbonisation of the Blue Pacific”.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Human rights group wants climate mobility justice on COP28 agenda

    By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific contributing journalist

    A new legal framework to support climate-displaced people and guarantee their human rights is being served up ahead of COP28.

    The United Nations Climate Change Conference opens tomorrow and is being held in the fossil fuel giant United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12.

    The human rights advocacy centre — the International Centre for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) — wants to ensure climate frontline communities will not be neglected.

    The UN is estimating there could be 1.2 billion climate-displaced people by 2050.

    ICAAD and partners are calling for climate mobility justice to feature on the agenda of COP28.

    The Human Rights Centre wants discussions around how to expand protections for climate-displaced persons to ensure their dignity is upheld now and in the future.

    In the Pacific, many islands could become uninhabitable in the coming decades due to sea level rise, yet there is no legal clarity on how, or if, these communities will be protected.

    ICAAD director and facilitator Erin Thomas said more than 40 indigenous and climate activists and researchers from eight Pacific Island countries were advocating for COP28.

    ‘Right to life of dignity’
    “This is part of our right to life of dignity project which we have been working on over a number of years,” she said.

    “But one of the thornier issues that the international community has yet to respond to effectively is protecting those who are displaced across borders.”

    The group warned that climate change is already creating human rights abuses, especially for those already migrating without access to dignified migration pathways.

    At the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) annual meeting in Rarotonga two weeks ago, regional leaders noted that more than 50,000 Pacific people were displaced due to climate and disaster related events annually.

    The leaders endorsed a Pacific regional framework on climate mobility to “provide practical guidance to governments planning for and managing climate mobility”.

    They also called on development partners to “provide substantially greateer levels of climate finance, technology and capacity to accelerate decarbonisation of the Blue Pacific”.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Rabuka calls for Pacific peace zone – ‘We don’t want to be caught in struggle’

    By Dionisia Tabureguci in Suva

    The political superpowers of the world have been gently reminded this week of Fiji’s intention to turn the Pacific islands region into a zone of peace and not be pawns in geopolitics.

    In his address at a Lowy Institute event in Canberra on Tuesday afternoon, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka emphasised the Pacific’s peace stand in a world that has become riddled with volatile conflicts.

    Referring to the US-China rivalry as “very evident” in the Blue Pacific, Rabuka said Fiji did not want to be caught in the middle.

    “Fiji’s position is very clear. We’re friendly with China now. And with the US — always. And we do not want to be caught in the struggle between the superpowers,” he said.

    The Pacific region has become known as a contested region, with interest from the two conflicting superpowers increasing in recent times.

    University of the South Pacific academic Professor Sandra Tarte said in an earlier interview with this newspaper that Fiji and other Pacific countries could turn the increased engagement from these countries into economic opportunities to benefit them.

    “I think certainly countries want to retain their independence to do what they want and who they deal with,” she said.

    ‘We don’t want to provoke’
    “I think while you can applaud that, there is also the question: how can our countries actually work more collectively on this sort of thing? And we don’t want to provoke any anything.

    “We don’t want to create more tension. We are a region of peace or zone of peace, as our prime minister said, so how can we as a Pacific Island region actually work together to make that happen?”

    Rabuka said this would be discussed at the next Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leader’s meeting in Cook Islands next month.

    “I envisage the basic foundation built on refraining from actions that may jeorpadise regional order and stability. And maintaining respects for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

    “There will be continued emphasis on the Pacific way of dialogue, diplomacy and consensus. We will continue to promote our concept of the vuvale cooperation and our vuvale way of resolving our differences,” Rabuka said.

    After bilateral talks in Canberra on Wednesday, Rabuka and Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a “renewed and elevated Vuvale Partnership, with a pledge of A$68 million (F$98 million) in budgetary support to Fiji.

    Dionisia Tabureguci is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • MSG leaders defer Papua membership decision to Pacific Islands Forum

    By Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific journalist in Port Vila

    The leaders of five Melanesian countries and territories avoided a definitive update on the status of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua’s application for full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group in Port Vila.

    However, the 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit was hailed as the “most memorable and successful” by Vanuatu’s prime minister as leaders signed off on two new declarations in their efforts to make the subregion more influential.

    As well as the hosts, the meeting was attended by Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the pro-independence FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) of New Caledonia.

    But the meeting had an anticlimactic ending after the leaders failed to release the details about the final outcomes or speak to news media.

    The first agreement that was endorsed is the Udaune Declaration on Climate Change to address the climate crisis and “urging countries not to discharge potentially harmful treated nuclear contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean”.

    “Unless the water treated is incontrovertibly proven, by independent scientists, to be safe to do and seriously consider other options,” Vanuatu Prime Minister Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau said at the event’s farewell dinner last night.

    The leaders also signed off on the Efate Declaration on Mutual Respect, Cooperation and Amity to advance security initiatives and needs of the Melanesian countries.

    This document aims to “address the national security needs in the MSG region through the Pacific Way, kipung, tok stori, talanoa and storian, and bonded by shared values and adherence to the Melanesian vuvale, cultures and traditions,” Kalsakau said.

    He said the leaders “took complex issues such as climate change, denuclearisation, and human rights and applied collective wisdom” to address the issues that were on the table.


    Stefan Armbruster reporting from Port Vila.  Video: SBS World News

    No update on West Papua
    The issue of full membership for the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP)  was a big ticket item on the agenda at the meeting in Port Vila, according to MSG chair Kalsakau.

    However, there was no update provided on it and the leaders avoided fronting up to the media except for photo opportunities.

    Benny Wenda at the 22 Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders' Summit in Port Vila. 22 August 2023
    Benny Wenda at the 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders’ Summit in Port Vila . . . “I don’t know the outcome. Maybe this evening the leaders will announce [it].” Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony

    ULMWP leader Benny Wenda (above) told RNZ Pacific late on Thursday he was still not aware of the result of their membership application but that he was “confident” about it.

    “I don’t know the outcome. Maybe this evening the leaders will announce at the reception,” Wenda said.

    “From the beginning I have been confident that this is the time for the leaders to give us full membership so we can engage with Indonesia.”

    According to the MSG Secretariat the final communique is now expected to be released on Friday.

    Referred to Pacific Islands Forum
    However, it is likely that the West Papua issue will be referred to the Pacific Islands Forum to be dealt with.

    Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said after the signing: “on the issues that was raised in regards to West Papua…these matters to be handled at [Pacific Islands Forum]”.

    “The leaders from the Pacific will also visit Jakarta and Paris” to raise issues about sovereignty and human rights,” he said.

    Kalsakau said he looked forward to progressing the implementaiton of important issue recommendations from the 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit which also include “supporting the 2019 call by the Forum Leaders for a visit by the OHCHR to West Papua”.

    MSG leaders drink kava in Port Vila
    MSG leaders drink kava to mark the end of the meeting and the signing two declarations. Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony

    Indonesia ‘proud’
    Indonesia’s Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pahala Mansury, said Indonesia was proud to be part of the Melanesian family.

    Indonesia is an associate member of MSG and has said it does not accept ULMWP’s application to become a full member because it claims that this goes against the MSG’s founding principles and charter.

    During the meeting this week, Indonesian delegates walked out on occasions when ULMWP representatives made their intervention.

    Some West Papua campaigners say these actions showed that Indonesia did not understand “the Melanesian way”.

    “You just don’t walk out of a sacred meeting haus when you’re invited to be part of it,” one observer said.

    However, Mansury said Indonesia hoped to “continue to increase, enhance and strengthen future collaboration between Indonesia and all of the Melanesian countries”.

    “We are actually brothers and sisters of Melanesia and we hope we can continue to strengthen the bond together,” he said.

    Australia and China attended as special guests at the invitation of the Vanuatu government.

    China supported the Vanuatu government to host the meeting.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

  • ‘This is a big step’ – Japan releases nuclear wastewater into Pacific

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    Japan’s release of more than one million tonnes of treated Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the Pacific is officially underway.

    Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings has confirmed that the disposal started at 1pm local time today.

    “This is a big step and punctuating moment in the process of decommissioning,” TEPCO spokesperson Junichi Matsumoto told news media.

    “We will have 30 years or so [to release the water], we will ensure safety and quality.

    “We will accomplish this discharge, we have to buckle down ourselves and we have to do it with an intense attitude,” he said.

    TEPCO said it was an important step towards decommissioning the destroyed Fukushima power plant after it was hit by a tsunami 12 years ago.

    “Per day 460 tonnes is the amount of discharge. So if there are no troubles in about 17 days, 7800 cubic metres of water will be successfully discharged,” Matsumoto said.

    Assurances given
    Assurances were given in TEPCO’s latest media briefing that if unsafe levels of tritium were detected, the operation would stop until the water has been re-treated through its ALPS processing system and was safe.

    Daily monitoring has begun and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is also independently monitoring the process on site.

    “So, after a sea water pump is operated regarding the vertical shaft, the monitoring will become in service,” Junichi Matsumoto said.

    The treated water is being discharged “continuously”, he added.

    Henry Puna
    Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna . . . “We’ve done our best to get Japan not to commence the discharge.” Image: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

    Holding Japan ‘fully accountable’
    Pacific leaders are committed to holding Japan accountable should anything go wrong, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna said.

    “We’ve done our best to get Japan not to commence the discharge, until there is full agreement that it’s verifiably safe to do so. But Japan has taken a sovereign decision.

    “And you know that point is now past. What we need to focus on now is to hold Japan to account,” he said.

    Puna said Japan had made a guarantee that it would comply with international standards and the Pacific would be watching keenly to make sure it stayed that way.

    “Since the announcement of the discharge in April 2021, our leaders have been busy engaging with Japan,” Puna said.

    “The statements are very clear. Their collective statements expressing our concerns given our nuclear legacy issues and that position has never changed.”

    Pacific leaders are to discuss the issue face-to-face in Rarotonga in November at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

  • Countdown starts as Japan poised to release first batch of treated nuclear wastewater

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    A Japanese government spokesperson says it is “not wilfully trying to divide the Pacific” over the Fukushima treated nuclear wastewater release.

    Japan is set to start discharging more than one million tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean tomorrow (local time).

    This comes 12 years after a tsunami slammed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant resulting in what has been labelled as the largest civil nuclear energy disaster since Chernobyl.

    Palau, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia have publicly backed the plan or at least placed their faith in Japan’s word that it will be safe.

    The release is forecast to take 30 to 40 years to complete.

    IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi delivers report on Japan's ALPS-treated wastewater plans to the Pacific Islands Forum chair, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown in Rarotonga.
    IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi (left) delivers a report on Japan’s ALPS-treated wastewater plans to the Pacific Islands Forum chair, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, in Rarotonga. Image: IAEA/RNZ Pacific

    Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is the most recent Pacific leader to speak out in defence of Japan.

    He said he is satisfied their plan is safe after reading the UN nuclear agency’s report.

    Rabuka’s voice is important because he is in the Pacific Islands Forum leadership team — known as the Troika — as the past chair of the Forum. The other two are current chair Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and future chair, the Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni.

    Since making that statement Rabuka has apologised for speaking ahead of the recent Troika meeting, but he has not backtracked on his view.

    Sitiveni Rabuka
    Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka . . . “Comparisons between the nuclear legacy in the Pacific and Japan’s nuclear wastewater release is fear-mongering.” Image: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

    ‘Discharged’ into Japan’s own backyard
    Rabuka has taken to social media in response to criticism of his statement of support.

    “Comparisons between the nuclear legacy in the Pacific and Japan’s nuclear wastewater release is fear-mongering,” he wrote.

    He also said the wastewater was not being dumped but discharged into Japan’s “own backyard”, over 7000km from Fiji.

    That in itself has been the centre of debate with nuclear activists continuing to call it a dump.

    One nuclear expert appointed by the Pacific Islands Forum said there was an argument that it was a dump over a release.

    Pacific leaders meet with IAEA in July 2023 following release of the Agencies comprehensive report on Japan's plans.
    Pacific leaders meet with IAEA in July 2023 following release of the agency’s comprehensive report on Japan’s plans. Image: IAEA/RNZ Pacific

    But the International Atomic Energy Agency has gone to great lengths — even travelling to New Zealand and Rarotonga — to explain why this is not a dump.

    Director-General Rafael Grossi told RNZ Pacific earlier this year that he condemned dumping which he said had happened in the past and was not the case for Japan’s plan.

    Against and on the fence
    Vanuatu’s Foreign Minister has drafted a declaration urging Japan to stop the discharge.

    He wants the leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) meeting in Port Vila today to support the declaration.

    Tuvalu has also spoken out, expressing opposition to Rabuka’s stance.

    Tuvalu’s Minister for Finance, Seve Paeniu told FBC News that if Japan was genuinely confident, why did it not consider disposing of it within its own lakes and waters.

    TEPCO assures the Pacific
    Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) spokesperson Junichi Matsumoto told the first media briefing today that his team was “moving quickly” to prepare the release which would depend on the conditions.

    “The final decision will be made on the morning of the [August] 24 based on the climate conditions or weather conditions,” he said.

    “A very small amount will be carefully discharged using a two-step process.”

    Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) spokesperson Junichi Matsumoto briefs media on August 23.
    Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) spokesperson Junichi Matsumoto briefs media online today. Image: RNZ Pacific/Lydia Lewis

    RNZ asked TEPCO about the nuclear legacy in the Pacific.

    “To the members of the PIF, we have been providing explanations on the discharge into the sea,” Matsumoto said.

    “So we would like to continue to provide the explanation on our initiative.

    “And in terms of assurance, it may be a bit different in terms of nuance, but the result of sea area monitoring will be communicated.

    Matsumoto said anyone wishing to could check the results of the sea area monitoring on the TEPCO website.

    When questioned about when Pacific nations would see the effects of the release, he said that according to dispersion models particles would arrive on the shores of Papua New Guinea and Fiji in “a few years’ time or a few decades”.

    “It will be impossible to distinguish that [discharged] tritium [in the Pacific Ocean] from that already existing in nature,” Matsumoto said.

    A Japan government spokesperson said Tokyo was not wilfully trying to divide the Pacific and no compensation would be given to Pacific nations for potential reputational damage.

    “The Japanese government has been taking opportunities at international conferences and at bilateral meetings to thoroughly and meticulously explain and disseminate information to the world through its website, as well as through social network media including X [formerly Twitter],” the spokesperson said.

    The Cook Islands Prime Minister and incoming forum chair Mark Brown in Japan with Henry Puna to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
    The Cook Islands Prime Minister and incoming Forum chair Mark Brown in Japan with PIF Secretary-General Henry Puna to meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Image: PIF/RNZ Pacific

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • NZ women’s peace group protests over imminent Fukushima nuclear wastewater release

    Asia Pacific Report

    The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Aotearoa, the longest running women’s peace group in New Zealand, has called on the Japanese government to change its plan to release treated nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean.

    The protest comes as Pacific leaders remain undecided over the controversial — and widely condemned — Japanese move as reports suggest the start of the wastewater release could begin in the next few days.

    “Releasing more radioactive materials is a wilful act of harm that will spread further radioactive contamination into the global environment,”said WILPF in its protest letter sent to Japanese Ambassador Ito Koichi last weekend.

    “The treated water contains tritium, which cannot be removed. Tritium will be dumped into the ocean for several decades.

    “There has been no assessment of future biological impacts. Nor has there been a review of less expensive and safer alternatives.”

    An RNZ Pacific report said today that the past, present and future Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) chairs — known as “the Troika” — had not decided if they were for or against the imminent discharge.

    The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu, this week has been urged to call on Japan to drop plans for the wastewater release.

    Accident reminder
    WILPF reminded the Japanese government in its protest letter that after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami which caused the accident at the power station, the radioactive contaminated water was treated by a multi-nuclide removal system (ALPS) and stored in more than 1000 tanks on the power plant site.

    It also reminded Tokyo of its pledge about Fukushima at the time.

    The Japanese government and the operating company, TEPCO, stated that this water would not be disposed of in any way without the understanding of the concerned parties and would be stored on land.

    The London Convention, which Japan ratified in 1980, strictly regulates the dumping of radioactive waste into the ocean.

    “Therefore,” said the protest letter, “the release of treated water is a violation of international law.

    “Such an action would also damage the trust between Japan and its neighbours and the Pacific Islands.”

  • Rabuka, PIF ‘undermine credibility’ of Pacific experts over Japan’s nuclear waste dumping plan

    By Aralai Vosayaco in Suva

    The Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) is disappointed with the Fiji government and Pacific Islands Forum’s endorsement of the Japanese government’s plans to dump 1.3 million tonnes of nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean at the end of this month.

    Nuclear justice campaigner Epeli Lesuma of PANG said this was a “blatant disregard” of the expert opinion of a panel of scientists commissioned by the Forum.

    “It’s disappointing because Pacific leaders appointed this panel of experts so ideally our trust should be with them and the recommendations they have provided to us,” Lesuma said.

    “These are not just random scientists. These are esteemed and respected professionals engaged to provide us with this advice.”

    Last week, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he was satisfied with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) report that stated Japan’s plans to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean had met relevant international standards.

    “I have made it my business as a Pacific Island leader to carefully study the information and data on the matter…I am satisfied that Japan has demonstrated commitment to satisfy the wishes of the Pacific Island states, as conveyed to Japan by the Pacific Island Forum chair,” Rabuka said in a video on the Fiji government’s official Facebook page.

    “I am satisfied that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report is reassuring enough to dispel any fears of any untoward degradation of the ocean environment that would adversely affect lives and ecosystems in our precious blue Pacific,” he said.

    ‘Convinced’ of IAEA’s seriousness
    “I am convinced of the seriousness of the IAEA to continuously monitor this process in Japan.”

    The controversial plan by Japan continues to spark anger and concern across many communities, environmental activists, non-government and civil society organisations.


    Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s statement. Video: Fiji govt

    Sharing Rabuka’s sentiments was the PIF chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown, who said the IAEA was the world’s foremost authority on nuclear safety.

    “We have received the comments, and the report from our scientific panel and the IAEA and [we are] taking a measured response.

    “I’d have to say that as the IAEA is responsible for assessment and for anything to do with the safety of reactors around the world, their findings and credibility need to be upheld.”

    Nuclear justice campaigner Epeli Lesuma
    Nuclear justice campaigner Epeli Lesuma expresses disappointment over Fiji PM Rabuka’s endorsement of Japan’s controversial plan to release 1.3 million tonnes of nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean at the end of this month. Image: Aralai Vosayaco/Wansolwara

    For Lesuma and other concerned members of Pacific communities, the fight was more than just the Pacific being used as a dumping ground.

    He maintains that the two Pacific Island leaders’ support for the IAEA report discredited the PIF-commissioned panel’s decision and credibility.

    “They are contradicting themselves because they have appointed this group of experts to advise them. Yet they do not believe their recommendations.

    ‘Now we are backtracking’
    “It’s disappointing that this panel was appointed during Fiji’s term as Forum chair. Here we were as head of this regional body but now we are backtracking and saying we don’t believe you.”

    Lesuma said civil society groups would continue to back the opinions and recommendations of PIF’s independent panel of scientific experts.

    “Their opinions were formulated by science and with the Pacific people and the care of the ocean at its centre,” he said.

    PIF’s independent panel of experts remains adamant that there is insufficient data to deem the discharge of nuclear waste safe for release into the Pacific Ocean.

    In a June statement this year, PIF General Secretary Henry Puna said the Forum remained committed to addressing strong concerns for the significance of the potential threat of nuclear contamination to the health and security of the Blue Pacific, its people, and prospects.

    “Even before Japan announced its decision in April 2021, Pacific states, meeting for the first time in December 2020 as States Parties to the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga), recalled concerns about the environmental impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor accident in 2011 and urged Japan to take all steps necessary to address any potential harm to the Pacific,” he said.

    “They ‘called on states to take all appropriate measures within their territory, jurisdiction or control to prevent significant transboundary harm to the territory of another state, as required under international law’.

    International legal rules
    “These important statements stem from key international legal rules and principles, including the unique obligation placed by the Rarotonga Treaty on Pacific states to ‘Prevent Dumping’ (Article 7), in view of our nuclear testing legacy and its permanent impacts on our peoples’ health, environment and human rights.”

    Puna said Pacific states therefore had a legal obligation “to prevent the dumping of radioactive wastes and other radioactive matter by anyone” and “not to take any action to assist or encourage the dumping by anyone of radioactive wastes and other radioactive matter at sea anywhere within the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone”.

    Specific concerns by the Forum on nuclear contamination issues were not new, Puna added, and that for many years, the Forum had to deal with attempts by other states to dump nuclear waste into the Pacific.

    “Leaders have urged Japan and other shipping states to store or dump their nuclear waste in their home countries rather than storing or dumping them in the Pacific.

    “In 1985, the Forum welcomed the Japan PM’s statement that ‘Japan had no intention of dumping radioactive waste in the Pacific Ocean in disregard of the concern expressed by the communities of the region’.”

    Against this regional context, he said the Forum’s engagement on the present unprecedented issue signify that for the Blue Pacific, this was not merely a nuclear safety issue.

    “It is rather a nuclear legacy issue, an ocean, fisheries, environment, biodiversity, climate change, and health issue with the future of our children and future generations at stake.

    Pacific people ‘have nothing to gain’
    “Our people do not have anything to gain from Japan’s plan but have much at risk for generations to come,” Puna had said.

    The Pacific Ocean contains the greatest biomass of organisms of ecological, economic, and cultural value, including 70 percent of the world’s fisheries. It is the largest continuous body of water on the planet.

    The health of all the world’s ocean ecosystems is in documented decline due to a variety of stressors, including climate change, over-exploitation of resources, and pollution, a Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) report highlighted.

    The PINA news report cited a paper by the US National Association of Marine Laboratories (NAML), an organisation of more than 100 member laboratories, that stated the proposed release of the contaminated water was a transboundary and transgenerational issue of concern for the health of marine ecosystems and those whose lives and livelihoods depend on them.

    Japan aims to gradually release 1.3 million tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater from the defunct Fukushima power plant over a period of 30-40 years.

    Aralai Vosayaco is a final-year student journalist at The University of the South Pacific. She is also the 2023 news editor (national) of Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s student training newspaper and online publication. Asia Pacific Report and Wansolwara collaborate.

  • Macron in New Caledonia to bolster France’s Indo-Pacific strategy

    By Eleisha Foon, journalist

    France has deployed Rafale jet fighters during a military ceremony in New Caledonia, marking President Emmanuel Macron’s first official day in the Pacific.

    Macron arrived in Noumea overnight on a visit aimed at bolstering his Indo-Pacific strategy and reaffirming France’s role in the region.

    The historic five-day trip includes a visit to Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. It is the first time a French president has visited independent Pacific Islands, according to French officials.

    A big focus will be asserting France’s role in what Macron has called a “balancing force” between the United States and China.

    France assumes sovereignty for three Pacific territories: New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna.

    However, not everyone was happy about the presidential visit.

    New Caledonia was politically divided and seeking a way forward after three referendums on independence.

    Referendum boycott
    The outcome of all three polls was a “no” to independence but the result of the third vote, which was boycotted by Kanaks, was disputed.

    Rallies were expected during the French President’s visit.

    Local committees of the main pro-independence party the Caledonian Union have called for “peaceful” but determined rallies.

    Their presence will be felt particularly when Macron heads north today to the east coast town of Thio, as well as when he gathers the New Caledonian community together tomorrow afternoon for a speech, where he is expected to make a major announcement.

    About 40 percent of the population are indigenous Kanak, most of whom support independence. Pro-independence parties, which have been in power since 2017, want full sovereignty by 2025.

    Macron is expected to meet with all sides in Noumea this week.

    A large delegation has joined Macron on his visit, including Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

    Foreign minister in Suva
    Colonna will also travel to Suva, Fiji today, the first visit of a French foreign affairs minister to the country.

    She will meet with the Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and the Pacific Islands Forum Deputy Secretary General Filimon Manoni.

    The move was to “strengthen its commitment in the region”, French officials have said.

    Meetings have also been set with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape when the delegation travels there on Friday.

    France has investments in PNG to develop its gas resources under French-owned multinational oil and gas company TotalEnergies.

    Vanuatu chiefs appeal
    Emmanuel Macron will be in Port Vila on Wednesday.

    Vanuatu’s Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs want Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau to let President Macron know that the Mathew and Hunter Islands belong to Vanuatu and are not part of New Caledonia.

    Tanna chief Jean Pierre Tom said ni-Vanuatu people were expecting his visit to be a “game changer and not a re-enforcement of colonial rule”.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • How Australia can partner more effectively with France in the Pacific

    ANALYSIS: By Hugh Piper and Anna Gibert

    As geopolitics brings increasing engagement by external actors with the Pacific, there is a need to coordinate more effectively — including Australia and France.

    At the same time, better coordination must be done in a consultative and respectful manner in partnership with Pacific nations, particularly in light of Australia’s commitment to a “new era” with the region.

    In a new report by the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy and Defence Dialogue (AP4D), we identify how Australia can work with France to contribute to addressing some of the Pacific’s challenges.

    To help inform our conclusions, we conducted discussions with Pacific Islanders in Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga who have experience working with Australia and France.

    Development coordination is crucial for maximising the impact of scarce resources and ensuring that the often-limited bandwidth of Pacific governments is not overwhelmed — and that local sovereignty and perspectives are prioritised.

    Playing to the strengths of different actors, drawing on collective expertise, and avoiding duplicating or undermining respective efforts are also crucial. Donor coordination forums and conferences, greater visibility and mapping of respective contributions, alignment on diligence and compliance requirements, and dedicated resources for coordination are all ideas to explore.

    Australia and France can work together to improve coordination, alongside other actors including the US, New Zealand, Japan, European institutions, and multilateral development banks. While yet to demonstrate its practical value fully, the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative promises to perform such a function — though France and the EU are only observers, and it has received a mixed reception in the Pacific.

    Maritime domain awareness
    Australia should ensure that the grouping remains open to, and engaged with, France as much as possible. The first substantial focus area for Partners in the Blue Pacific is illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and it is important for France to remain engaged, given its substantial exclusive economic zones in the Pacific and capacity to contribute to maritime domain awareness.

    At the same time, consultations in the Pacific also noted the risk for Australia in working too closely with France and EU institutions, as this may lead to a reduction in the responsiveness for which Australia is highly valued. Engaging with, and accessing funding from, the EU is widely seen to be onerous, highly bureaucratic and operationally decontextualised.

    Australia must also confront in frank terms the risks of working with France in the Pacific. It needs to grapple with the complexity of relationships with New Caledonia and French Polynesia and how they engage in forums such as the Pacific Islands Forum on essentially the same terms as sovereign nations, even though key policy domains including foreign relations remain under Paris’s purview.

    Australia needs to be cognisant of how perspectives can diverge between overseas and metropolitan France and sensitively navigate this complexity.

    In parts of the region, people express resentment and distrust driven by France’s nuclear testing, colonial history, and ongoing sovereignty over parts of the Pacific. Developments in recent years around New Caledonia’s status, especially the 2021 independence referendum, have added to this.

    Pacific voices saw France’s approach in the Pacific as more top-down, with less engagement with local needs and preferences when compared to Australia’s agenda, which is increasingly focused on localisation and sustainability. A widely held perception of lower French cultural and linguistic competency in the Pacific further hinders this.

    Moreover, the wider context of the Australian government’s push towards a First Nations foreign policy, and its willingness to speak openly about the legacy of colonialism in the Indo-Pacific, must be considered in the context of engaging France in the Pacific.

    Reputational risk
    There is a reputational risk for Australia were it to be conspicuously inactive on indigenous issues with respect to the French territories while engaging with such issues elsewhere.

    While it is clear that the Australian government intends to remain neutral on the future status of French territories, it must be cognisant of, and proactive in, managing these risks while at the same time maintaining a close relationship with metropolitan France.

    One way of doing this is to continue to foster positive people-to-people links with Indigenous people in French Pacific territories. This would build on existing work in New Caledonia, for instance, to establish cultural and artistic links with First Nations Australians and to share indigenous knowledge on land management.

    Expanding the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme to New Caledonians and offering scholarships, similar to Australia Awards, to people in New Caledonia and French Polynesia could also help boost links with Australia.

    Such initiatives are a low-risk way of engaging Indigenous people in French territories without undermining Australia’s neutrality on questions of sovereignty and independence. They would also demonstrate Australia actively boosting the status of Indigenous people in French territories and delivering on its First Nations foreign policy approach.

    Pacific voices told us that humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) is the most advanced area of Australia-France coordination (through the tripartite FRANZ Arrangement), demonstrated by recent responses to natural disasters in Vanuatu, Tonga, and Fiji.

    Such responses, however, could be improved with deeper local political economy analysis and consultation with local people and structures. Australia and France should also seek to derive lessons from HADR to inform coordination in other sectors.

    Cooperation presence
    Consultations identified that France had the most consistent and visible development cooperation presence (outside its own territories) in Vanuatu. However, in both Vanuatu and across the region more broadly, it was seen that there is significant scope for Australia and France to coordinate more effectively.

    Greater dialogue, information sharing, planning and consultation with local leaders and systems should be prioritised in-country to increase aggregated investment effectiveness. A clear commitment to coordination by Australia and France would also mitigate “donor overcrowding” and help manage the workload of Pacific bureaucracies.

    Indeed, it would be to Australia and France’s credit to lead increased coordination as “responsible donors”. Pacific voices across the region identified several areas where joint work between Australia and France could be beneficial, including support for local media and civil society, advancing gender equality, sports development, education (especially in Vanuatu given its bilingual school system), and infrastructure (especially attracting EU finance).

    Australia should generally support a greater French development contribution throughout the Pacific. Naturally, any joint work or coordination should be driven by the policy settings of Pacific nations and developed in consultation with the Pacific leaders.

    In doing so, the language and ethos of the Blue Pacific Continent should be employed.

    The French development agency, AFD, is likely to increase its contribution in the Pacific, focused on infrastructure, environment, oceans and climate resilience. There are, however, almost no established patterns of coordination between Australia and France in the Pacific on development.

    There are substantial barriers to joint work on development projects by Australia and France, given unfamiliar bureaucracies, different languages, different ways of working, and different approaches to financing. Feasible bilateral cooperation is most likely to be in the form of discrete contributions, such as co-financing by one donor on a project predominately managed by the other.

    Increasing contributions
    Australia could consider increasing its contribution to the French-run Kiwa Initiative, and France could build on its current volunteer investment into the Australian-funded Vanuatu Skills Partnership. There could also be scope for France to direct its development finance through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.

    Bilateral coordination mechanisms and regular dialogue between Australian and French officials should be established as soon as possible, including by finalising a letter of intent between DFAT and AFD.

    Effective communication between Canberra and Paris, as well as in-country between Australian and French diplomatic posts and with Pacific governments, will be important to operationalise this intent meaningfully.

    More broadly, Australia should encourage France to direct its development contributions in the Pacific through NGOs, civil society organisations, multilateral institutions, and proven Australian-funded initiatives that support local leadership and have local legitimacy, in line with its First Nations foreign policy approach and localisation agenda.

    Hugh Piper is programme lead of the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D). Anna Gibert is an independent consultant who provides strategic support to a number of locally led DFAT investments in the Pacific. This article is republished from the ANU Development Policy Centre’s DevPolicy Blog under a Creative Commons licence.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Japan’s Fukushima nuclear waste plan stirs ‘Pacific Chernobyl’ risk protests

    By Peter Boyle in Sydney

    As Pacific communities protest the Japanese government’s plan to dump more than a million tonnes of radioactive waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, Australian anti-nuclear activists are highlighting the complicity of Australian uranium exporting companies.

    While the Fukushima Daiichi power station operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), claims that the water will be treated to reduce radioactive content, anti-nuclear activists have no faith in TEPCO’s assurances.

    The Candlelight Alliance, a Korean community group in Sydney, is organising a protest outside the Japanese consulate this Saturday.

    Spokersperson Sihyun Paik told Green Left: “We have a great fear that it may already be too late to stop Japan’s release of radioactively contaminated waste water into our largest ocean, an action by which every Pacific Rim nation will be impacted.

    “There are serious, global ramifications,” he said. “It will directly endanger the marine life with which it comes into contact, as well as devastate the livelihoods of those reliant on such marine life, such as fisherfolk.

    “All living organisms will be implicitly affected, whether it is the unwitting consumer of contaminated produce, or even beachgoers.

    “The danger posed by the plan cannot be contained within just the Northeast Asia region. In two to three years, it will eventually reach and contaminate all ocean waters to certain, yet significant degrees according to scientists.

    Korean fishery victims
    “The local Korean fishery industry is the first commercial victim of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and it raised deep concerns to the Korean government immediately after the explosion of the nuclear reactors.

    “This was in conjunction with Korea’s progressive action groups during the term of the previous Moon Jae-In administration.

    “However, since the current administration (2022), the voice of protest has been extinguished at the government level, invariably raising suspicion of possible under the table dealings between Japan’s Kishida government and current Korean President Yoon [Suk Yeol] during the latter’s recent visit to Japan.”

    Epeli Lesuma, from the Fiji-based Pacific Network on Globalisation, told Green Left that “for Pacific people the Ocean represents more than just a vast blue expanse that Japan can just use as a dumpsite.

    “Our Ocean represents the economic, spiritual and cultural heart of Pacific countries.

    “Pacific people know all too well the cost of nuclear testing and dumping. The Pacific was used as a nuclear test site by the UK, France and the USA who carried out a total of 315 tests on Christmas Island in Kiribati, Australia, Māohi Nui or French Polynesia and the Marshall Islands.

    “These nuclear legacies have cost us countless lives and continue to impact the health and well-being of our people; it has impacted access to our fishing grounds and land to plant crops to support our families; and it has cost us our homes, with Pacific people displaced (on Bikini and Enewetak) due to nuclear contamination.

    Japan, Pacific share trauma
    “Japan and the Pacific share the trauma of nuclear weapons and testing.

    “So it comes as a deep disappointment to us that the Japanese government would consider actions that threaten not only Pacific people and our Ocean but the health and well-being of all the planet’s oceans and the people who depend upon them.

    “The Pacific Ocean also contains the largest tuna fish stocks which are a source of economic revenue for our countries. The Japanese government’s plans to dump its nuclear wastewater into our Ocean pose a direct threat to the economic prosperity of our countries and in turn our developmental aspirations as well as being a fundamental breach of Pacific people’s rights to a clean and healthy sustainable environment.”

    Australian anti-nuclear activist Nat Lowrey delivered a statement of solidarity from the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance when she visited affected local communities in Fukushima in March.

    The statement acknowledged that uranium from the Ranger and Olympic Dam mines was in TEPCO’s Fukushima reactors when the meltdowns, explosions and fires took place in March 2011.

    The ANFA statement said that “Australian governments, and mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto, are partly responsible for the death and destruction resulting from the Fukushima disaster. They knew about the corruption in Japan’s nuclear industry but kept supplying uranium.”

    Lowrey said that since it was Australian uranium that fuelled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, “the Australian government has a responsibility to stand with local communities in Fukushima as well as communities in Japan, Korea, China and Pacific Island states in calling on the Japanese government not to dump radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean”.

    ‘Fundamental self-determination right’
    “We must support Pacific peoples’ fundamental right to their sovereignty and self-determination against Japan’s nuclear colonialism.

    “If Japan is to go ahead with the dumping of radioactive waste, Australia should play a lead role in taking a case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea against Japan.”

    Paik said no Australian government had taken serious action since the Fukushima disaster.

    “Despite the Japanese government’s decision to release nuclear contaminated water into the ocean, no official statement or comment has been made by the [Anthony] Albanese government.

    “We did not expect any form of government level protest on this issue due to conflicts of interest with Australia’s member status in the Quad partnership which is a key pillar in Australia’s foreign policy, and an influential determinant of our stance on nuclear energy.”

    When the G7 met in Tokyo, the Japanese government urged the summit to approve the planned radioactive water release.

    Tanaka Shigeru, from the Pacific Asia Resource Centre in Japan, said: “Japan did not get the approval by the G7 as it had hoped, but it stopped at saying the G7 will adhere to the conclusion of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    ‘IAEA approves release’
    “The IAEA is of course approving of the release, so it is a way for them to say they have approved without explicitly saying so.”

    Shigeru said that despite a three-year propaganda campaign over Fukushima, most people polled in Japan in April said that “the government has not done enough to garner the understanding of the public”.

    Only 6.5 percent of those polled believe that the Japanese government has done enough.

    Yet it has “done enough to keep people from the streets”, Shigeru said.

    “While there are, of course, people who are still continuing the struggle, I must say the movement has peaked already after what has been a fervent three-year struggle.”

    Japanese opponents of the radioactive water release, including fisherfolk, have been fighting through every administrative and legal step but now “there are no more domestic hurdles that the Japanese government needs to clear in order to begin the dumping”, Shigeru said.

    “The opposition parties have been so minimised in Japan that there is very little realistic means to challenge the situation except for maybe international pressure. That is really the only thing standing in the way of the dumping.

    Ambassador propaganda
    “So Japan has been taking ambassadors from the Pacific nations on lucrative paid-for trips to Fukushima to spread the propaganda that the dumping will be safe.”

    Lesuma confirmed the impact on swaying some Pacific Island governments, such as Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia.

    “Pacific Islands Forum member states have been some of the most vocal opponents at the international level of the Japanese government’s plans to dump their nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean,” he said.

    “The PIF leaders had appointed an Independent Panel of Experts who have engaged with TEPCO scientists and the IAEA to provide advice to Pacific governments on the wastewater disposal plans … the Panel has concluded unanimously that Japan should not release nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean and should explore other alternatives.

    “The Fiji government has been one such Pacific government consistent in coming out strongly in opposing Japan’s plans.

    “The PNG Fisheries Minister, Jelta Wong, has also been vocal and consistent in expressing his disapproval of the same, going as far as saying that the nuclear wastewater discharge would create a ‘Pacific Chernobyl’ with the potential to cause harm to Pacific people for generations to come.”

    Peter Boyle is a Green Left activist and contributing writer. Republished with permission.

  • Pacific unity crucial in ‘crowded geopolitical landscape’, says Fiame

    RNZ Pacific

    Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa has urged her fellow Pacific leaders to stop paying lip service to regionalism and walk the talk when making collective decisions.

    Fiame made the remarks last night as she welcomed the Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Henry Puna, to Apia.

    Fiame said Samoa strongly believed in being part of the Blue Pacific that was free from military competition, and a Pacific that remained free from unrest and war that affected many other parts of the globe.

    “More than ever, there is increased interest and jostling for attention in our Blue Pacific region thus creating a very crowded and complex geopolitical landscape for all of us, and our regional architecture,” she said.

    Fiame said collectivism was needed more than ever.

    “Our Blue Pacific region has never ceased to provide us with opportunities to strengthen regionalism. To act collectively and to formulate and carry out effective joint responses to address the challenges we face.

    “But for regionalism to work, Forum leaders must provide inspired and committed leadership in our foreign policy. It is not good form to speak often about the centrality of the Forum, its values and principles, but lack the conviction to act together.

    “The 2050 strategy encapsulates how we can best work together to achieve our shared vision and aspirations through a people-centered lens and the Pacific in control of its regional agenda to improve the lives of our Pacific peoples.

    “In the conduct of Samoa’s relations and work, we endeavor to deal fairly and openly with all our partners, remain a strong advocate of the Forum unity and centrality, as well as promote an inclusive approach and respect for each other’s sovereignty, regardless of size, or economic status.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • West Papuan ‘provisional’ government backs full membership of MSG

    Asia Pacific Report

    The self-styled provisional government of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua
    “with the people” of the Melanesian region have declared political support for full West Papuan membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

    In a statement issued in the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila after a meeting of thew ULMWP executive in Jayapura last Sunday, West Papua Council chair Buchtar Tabuni said full membership of the MSG would be a “sign of victory” for the Papuan nation seeking to become independent from Indonesia.

    “[West Papua] membership in the MSG is our safety [net]. The MSG is one of the UN [recognised] agencies in the Melanesian sub-region, as well as the PIF [Pacific Islands Forum] and others,” he said.

    “For this reason, West Papua’s full membership in the MSG will later be a sign of
    safety for the Papuan people to become independent”.

    The declaration of support was attended by executive, legislative and judiciary leaders who expressed their backing for full MSG membership status for the ULMWP in the MSG by signing the text.

    Representing the executive, Reverend Edison K. Waromi declared in a speech: “Our agenda today [is] how to consolidate totality for full membership [ULMWP at MSG].

    “Let’s work hand in hand to follow up on President Benny Wenda’s instructions to focus on lobbying and consolidating totality towards full membership of the MSG.”

    ‘Bargaining position’
    This was how he ULMWP could “raise our bargaining political position” through sub-regional, regional and international diplomacy to gain self-determination.

    Judicial chair Diaz Gwijangge said that many struggle leaders had died on this land and wherever they were.

    “Today the struggle is not sporadic . . .  the struggle is now being led by educated people who are supported by the people of West Papua, and now it is already at a high level, where we also have relations with other officially independent countries and can sit with them,” he said.

    “This is extraordinary progress. As Melanesians, the owners of this country, who know our Papuan customs and culture that when we want to go to war, we have to go to the wim haus [war house].

    “Today, Mr Benny Wenda, together with other diplomats, have entered the Melanesian and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and more states [are] running.”

    Gwijangge added that now “we don’t just scream in the forest, shout only outside, or only on social media”.

    “Today we are able to sit down and meet with the presidents of independent countries . . .”

    Legal basis for support
    The events of today’s declaration were the legal basis for political support from the leadership of the provisional government of the ULMWP, he said.

    “For this reason, to all the people of West Papua in the mountains, coasts and islands that we carry out prayers, all peaceful action in the context of the success of full membership in the MSG.

    “As chairman of the judicial council, I enthusiastically support this activity.”

    In February, Barak Sope, a former prime minister of Vanuatu, called for Indonesia’s removal from the MSG.

    Former Vanuatu PM Barak Sope
    Former Vanuatu PM Barak Sope . . . opposed to Indonesian membership of the MSG. Image: Hilaire Bule/Vanuatu Daily Post

    Despite being an associate member, Indonesia should not be a part of the Melanesian organisation, Sope said.

    His statement came in response to the MSG’s revent decision to hire Indonesian consultants.

    Sope first brought West Papuan refugees to Vanuatu in 1980.

    The same month, new Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka declared support for full West Papuan membership of the MSG.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Background to SCORI – is this a sell-out of Pacific’s ‘Sea of Islands’?

    By concerned citizens of the Pacific

    The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the University of the South Pacific’s vice-chancellor and president, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, and the Indian government’s National Centre for Coastal Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, in March for the setting up of a Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research Institute (SCORI) has raised serious questions about leadership at USP.

    Critics have been asking how this project poses significant risk to the credibility of the institution as well as the security of ocean resources and knowledge sovereignty of the region.

    The partnership was formally launched last week by India’s High Commissioner to Fiji, Palaniswamy Subramanyan Karthigeyan, but the questions remain.

    Regional resource security threat
    Article 8 of the MOU regarding the issue of intellectual property and commercialisation
    states:

    “In case research is carried out solely and separately by the Party or the research results are obtained through sole and separate efforts of either Party,  The Party concerned alone will apply for grant of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) and once granted, the IPR will be solely owned by the concerned Party.”

    This is a red flag provision which gives the Indian government unlimited access to scientific data, coastal indigenous knowledge and other forms of marine biodiversity within the 200 exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and territorial waters of sovereign countries in the Pacific.

    More than that, through the granting of IPR, it will claim ownership of all the data and indigenous knowledge generated. This has potential for biopiracy, especially the theft of
    local knowledge for commercial purposes by a foreign power.

    No doubt this will be a serious breach of the sovereignty of Pacific Island States whose
    ocean resources have been subjected to predatory practices by external powers over the
    years.

    The coastal indigenous knowledge of Pacific communities have been passed down
    over generations and the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisations (WIPO) has developed protocols to protect indigenous knowledge to ensure sustainability and survival
    of vulnerable groups.

    The MOU not only undermines the spirit of WIPO, it also threatens the knowledge sovereignty of Pacific people and this directly contravenes the UN Convention of Biodiversity which attempts to protect the knowledge of biodiversity of indigenous
    communities.

    In this regard, it also goes against the protective intent of the UN Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which protects resources of marginalised groups.

    This threat is heightened by the fact that the Access Benefit and Sharing protocol under the Nagoya Convention has not been developed in most of the Pacific Island Countries. Fiji has developed a draft but it still needs to be refined and finalised and key government departments are made aware of it.

    Traditional knowledge of coastal eco-systems of Pacific people are critical in mitigation and adaptation to the increasing threat of climate change as well as a means of collective survival.

    For Indian government scientists (who will run the institute), masquerading as USP
    academics, claiming ownership of data generated from these knowledge systems will pose
    serious issues of being unethical, culturally insensitive, predatory and outright illegal in
    relation to the laws of the sovereign states of the Pacific as well as in terms of international
    conventions noted above.

    Furthermore, India, which is a growing economic power, would be interested in Pacific
    Ocean resources such as seabed mining of rare metals for its electrification projects as well
    as reef marine life for medicinal or cosmetic use and deep sea fishing.

    The setting up of SCORI will enable the Indian government to facilitate these interests using USP’s regional status as a Trojan horse to carry out its agenda in accessing our sea resources across the vast Pacific Ocean.

    India is also part of the QUAD Indo-Pacific strategic alliance which also includes the US, Australia and Japan.

    There is a danger that SCORI will, in implicit ways, act as India’s strategic maritime connection in the Pacific thus contributing to the already escalating regional geo-political contestation between China and the “Western” powers.

    This is an affront to the Pacific people who have been crying out for a peaceful and harmonious region.

    The 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, signed by the leaders of the Pacific, tries to guard against all these. Just a few months after the strategy was signed, USP, a regional
    institution, has allowed a foreign power to access the resources of the Blue Pacific Continent without the consent and even knowledge of the Pacific people.

    So in short, USP’s VCP, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, has endorsed the potential capture of the sovereign ownership of our oceanic heritage and opening the window for unrestricted exploitation of oceanic data and coastal indigenous knowledge of the Pacific.

    This latest saga puts Professor Ahluwalia squarely in the category of security risk to the region and regional governments should quickly do something about it before it is too late, especially when the MOU had already been signed and the plan is now a reality.

    Together with Professor Sushil Kumar (Director of Research) and Professor Surendra Prasad (Head of the School of Agriculture, Geography, Ocean and Natural Sciences), both of whom are Indian nationals, he has to be answerable to the leaders and people of the region.

    Usurpation of state protocol
    The second major issue relates to why the Fiji government was not part of the agreement,
    especially because a foreign government is setting up an institute on Fiji’s territory.

    This is different from the regular aid from Australia, New Zealand and even China where state donors maintain a “hands-off” approach out of respect for the sovereignty of Fiji as well as the independence of USP as a regional institution.

    In this case a foreign power is actually setting up an entity in Fiji’s national realm in a regional institution.

    As a matter of protocol, was the Fiji government aware of the MOU? Why was there no
    relevant provision relating to the participation of the Fiji government in the process?

    This is a serious breach of political protocol which Professor Ahluwalia has to be accountable for.

    Transparency and consultation
    For such a major undertaking which deals with Pacific Ocean resources, coastal people’s
    livelihood and coastal environment and their potential exploitation, there should have been
    a more transparent, honest and extensive consultation involving governments, regional
    organisations, civil society and communities who are going to be directly affected.

    This was never done and as a result the project lacks credibility and legitimacy. The MOU itself provided nothing on participation of and benefits to the regional governments, regional organisations and communities.

    In addition, the MOU was signed on the basis of a concept note rather than a detailed plan
    of SCORI. At that point no one really knew what the detailed aims, rationale, structure,
    functions, outputs and operational details of the institute was going to be.

    There is a lot of secrecy and manoeuvrings by Professor Ahluwalia and academics from mainland India who are part of a patronage system which excludes regional Pacific and Indo-Fijian scholars.

    Undermining of regional expertise
    Regional experts on ocean, sustainability and climate at USP were never consulted, although some may have heard of rumours swirling around the coconut wireless. Worse still, USP’s leading ocean expert, an award-winning regional scholar of note, was sidelined and had to resign from USP out of frustration.

    The MOU is very clear about SCORI being run by “experts” from India, which sounds more like a takeover of an important regional area of research by foreign researchers.

    These India-based researchers have no understanding of the Pacific islands, cultures, maritime and coastal environment and work being done in the area of marine studies in the Pacific. The sidelining of regional staff has worsened under the current VCP’s term.

    Another critical question is why the Indian government did not provide funding for the
    existing Institute of Marine Resources (IMR) which has been serving the region well for
    many years. Not only will SCORI duplicate the work of IMR, it will also overshadow its operation and undermine regional expertise and the interests of regional countries.

    Wake up to resources capture
    The people of the Pacific must wake up to this attempt at resources capture by a big foreign power under the guise of academic research.

    Our ocean and intellectual resources have been unscrupulously extracted, exploited and stolen by corporations and big powers in the past. SCORI is just another attempt to continue this predatory and neo-colonial practice.

    The lack of consultation and near secrecy in which this was carried out speaks volume about a conspiratorial intent which is being cunningly concealed from us.

    SCORI poses a serious threat to our resource sovereignty, undermines Fiji’s political protocol, lacks transparency and good governance and undermines regional expertise. This
    is a very serious abuse of power with unimaginable consequences to USP and indeed the
    resources, people and governments of our beloved Pacific region.

    This has never been done by a USP VC and has never been done in the history of the Pacific.

    The lack of consultation in this case is reflective of a much deeper problem. It also manifests ethical corruption in the form of lack of transparency, denial of support for regional staff, egoistic paranoia and authoritarian management as USP staff will testify.

    This has led to unprecedented toxicity in the work environment, irretrievable breakdown of basic university services and record low morale of staff. All these have rendered the university dysfunctional while progressively imploding at the core.

    If we are not careful, our guardianship of “Our Sea of Islands,” a term coined by the
    intellectually immortal Professor Epeli Hau’ofa, will continue to be threatened. No doubt Professor Hau’ofa will be wriggling around restlessly in his Wainadoi grave if he hears about this latest saga.

    This article has been contributed to Asia Pacific Report by researchers seeking to widen debate about the issues at stake with the new SCORI initiative.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Timor-Leste’s opposition party wins election ‘punishing’ ruling Fretilin coalition

    ABC Pacific Beat

    Timor-Leste independence hero Xanana Gusmao has won the parliamentary election, but the country’s first president may contest the count after his party fell short of an outright majority.

    The result of Sunday’s election paves the way for a return to power for the 76-year-old, Timor-Leste’s first president, if he can form a coalition.

    Fellow independence figure Dr Mari Alkatiri’s incumbent Fretilin party, formerly the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, won only 25.7 percent, according to the Electoral Commission.

    Dr Andrea Fahey from the Australian National University said the results signalled a desire for political change from the people of Timor-Leste.

    “The management of the covid pandemic and the fact the government closed down, it was a big punishment vote on the government for that,” she said.

    “For Dr Alkatiri, maybe it’s time to pass the torch.”

    If there is no outright winner from the election, the constitution gives the party with the most votes the opportunity to form a coalition.

    The next government will need to decide on allowing the development of the Greater Sunrise project, which aims to tap trillions of cubic metres of natural gas.

    Dr Fahey said Gusmao was expected to move forward with engaging the Australian government on the project.

    There are also growing calls for Timor-Leste to join the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which could owe to its cultural connections to the region.

    “It’s kind of the bridge between both regions,” Dr Fahey said.

    “Timor-Leste would be a positive addition to the Pacific Forum, and could bring a loud voice [since] Timor has a strong international presence.”

    Republished from the ABC Pacific Beat with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘We’re victims of global power play’ – Pacific backs India, says Marape

    By Sanjeshni Kumar in Port Moresby

    Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Pacific Islands nations consider the Indian premier as the leader of the Global South and will rally behind India’s leadership at international forums.

    Highlighting the problems faced by Pacific Islands nations due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Marape pledged the support while addressing the third India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit which was co-chaired by Prime Minister Modi.

    “We are victims of global powerplay . . . You [PM Modi] are the leader of Global South. We will rally behind your [India] leadership at global forums,” said Marape.

    He pointed to the inflationary pressure on his country due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

    Marape said that Pacific Islands nations had to face the brunt of the war as they had high costs of fuel and power tariffs and suffered as a result of big nations at play in terms of geopolitics and power struggles.

    “The issue of Ukraine war with Russia, or Russia’s war with Ukraine rather, we import the inflation to our own small economies,” said Marape.

    “These nations sitting before you, Prime Minister [PM Modi], have high costs of fuel and power tariffs in their own countries and we suffer as a result of big nations at play in terms of geopolitics and the power struggles out there,” said Marape.

    ‘You are the voice’
    He urged Modi to be an active voice for the small island nations at global forums such as G20 and G7, adding, “You are the voice that can offer our issues at the highest [level] as advanced economies discuss matters relating to economy, commerce, trade and geopolitics.”

    Marape prompted India to use the FIPIC summit to be the strong voice and advocate the challenges of the region.

    “We ask you, using this moment where I am co-chairing and I speak for my small brother and sister nations of the Pacific. While our land may be small and the number may be small, our area and space in the Pacific are big.

    “The world uses [us] for trade, commerce and movement.”

    Marape urged Modi to be an advocate for Pacific Island nations, adding, “We want you to be an advocate for us. As you sit in those meetings and continue to fight for the rights of small emerging nations and emerging economies.

    “Our leaders will have a moment to speak to you. I want you, Prime Minister, for you to spend time hearing them.

    “And hopefully, at the end of these dialogues, may India and the Pacific’s relationship is entrenched and strengthened,” said Marape.

    “But more importantly, the issues that are facing the Pacific island nations, especially the smaller ones among us ahead in its right context and given support by you, the leader of the Global South,” the Papua New Guinea leader said.

    Shared history
    Marape also highlighted the shared history of India and Papua New Guinea.

    He said: “People have been travelling for thousands of years. Just like your people have lived in India for thousands of years. We all come from a shared history.

    “A history of being colonised. History that holds the nations of Global South together. I thank you (PM Modi) for assuring me in the bilateral meeting that as you host G20 this year you will advocate on issues that relate to the Global South.”

    He said that Global South had development challenges and raised concern over the use of its resources while its people are kept aloof from sharing its fruits.

    “In the Global South, we have development challenges. Our resources are harvested by tones and volumes. And our people have been left behind,” said Marape.

    Prime Minister Modi highlighted India’s assistance to Pacific Island nations during the covid-19 pandemic.

    “The impact of the covid pandemic [impacted] most on the countries of the Global South. Challenges related to climate change, natural disasters, hunger, poverty and health were already there, now new problems are arising . . . I am happy that India stood by its friendly Pacific Island countries in times of difficulty,” said Modi.

    Supply chain disruption
    He also talked about disruption in the supply chain, saying that countries of the Global South had been impacted by the global crisis and also called for UN reforms at the Pacific meet.

    “Today we are seeing disruption in the supply chain of fuel, food, fertiliser and pharma. Those whom we trusted, didn’t stand with us when needed,” said Modi.

    Modi added that India would put aspirations of the Global South to the world via its G20 presidency, adding, “This was my focus at the G7 Outreach summit.”

    This article was first published by Asian News International/Pacnews. Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.