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Category: Pacific Voices

  • Papuan student accomplishes first commercial pilot licence in NZ

    By Laurens Ikinia in Auckland

    Nickson Stevi Yikwa had a dream. As a Papuan student, he wanted to gain a commercial pilot’s licence in New Zealand so that he could go back home to help his fellow indigenous Papuans at remote highlands villages.

    His dream was shared by Papuan provincial Governor Lukas Enembe and his deputy, Klemen Tinal, since they were elected in 2013.

    And Nickson Stevi Yikwa, “Stevi” as he is known, has done it.

    He completed his commercial licence from Ardmore Flying School earlier this month.

    “I need to be a pilot because my people in the remote villages need me and are waiting for me to come home as a pilot to serve them,” he says.

    Since 2014, the provincial government of the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian province Papua has been sending a steady stream of indigenous Papuan students abroad, including to New Zealand, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States.

    This year, several Papuan students will be graduating from New Zealand universities as undergraduate and master’s students. Yikwa’s achievement as a pilot is the first success story of this year and several students will follow him.

    Grateful for governor’s support
    Yikwa, the second oldest of six siblings, says he is really grateful for what he has accomplished.

    He extended his gratitude particularly to Governor Enembe and all those who have helped him on his study journey.

    He has faced many challenges since he first came to New Zealand in 2014 – such as the language barrier, cultural shock, education system, weather, family burden, and other issues.

    “When I first came to New Zealand, I couldn’t speak English at all. What I knew was only several sentences like, ‘what is your name, my name is, how are you, and I am fine’,” says Yikwa.

    He carried the burden of setting an example for his siblings. As he completed his elementary to high school studies in Papua, Yikwa struggled to adjust with the materials delivered in class, given that he did not have good English.

    Yikwa says he was lucky to be surrounded by supportive teachers, instructors, people from the churches he attended, and friends he “hangs out with”.

    Faced with the challenges, Yikwa says he was close to giving up his studies, but he always put his people in West Papua ahead in his mind and their need for him to come home as a pilot.

    ‘Trust in God’
    “While holding onto this kind of thought, I always put my trust in God. I got support from great people around me and I really committed myself towards my study,” says Yikwa.

    He says that while doing English programmes at IPU New Zealand Tertiary Institute, he tried more than 10 tests – both TOEIC and IELTS – to enable him to get into aviation school.

    It wasn’t easy to do as English is his third language and he did not have basic English when he came to New Zealand.

    On behalf of Yikwa’s family, Amos Yikwa, says they are extremely proud of what Stevi has achieved. Amos Yikwa also thanked Governor Enembe and the provincial government for granting Stevi a scholarship.

    “All Stevi’s family are extremely grateful to Lukas Enembe and all the people who have contributed to his success,” says Amos Yikwa.

    Amos Yikwa, who is former Deputy Regent of Tolikara regency, says that as far as he knows, Stevi, is the first student from the regency to officially complete a commercial pilot’s licence.

    Amos Yikwa says Stevi Yikwa was an obedient child and he didn’t play with friends. His daily activities were going to school, helping his parents at home, participating in church activities, and playing soccer.

    Needed in remote highlands
    “I hope that when Stevi returns to Papua, God will use him to serve his people, particularly in the remote highlands area that desperately an aviation service,” says Amos Yikwa.

    Sutikshan Sharma, Yikwa’s instructor at Ardmore Flying School says it was an honour for him to help students achieve their dreams to be a pilot. He says having a student like Stevi Yikwa is encouraging.

    “What I can tell you about Stevi is that he is very hard working, honest and he knows his purpose. He knows what he wants, and he works for it. It is always good to have students like him,” says Sharma.

    “He has come through a lot, he had to learn English as English is not his first language. Coming to a country where English is not their first language and doing a hard course like aviation is an achievement in itself. And I really praise him for that and what he has achieved, good on him to be honest,” says the instructor.

    Sharma says that when Yikwa was having a flight test, he passed with 85 percent. This is a really good standard and it is really tough for the student to reach to that level, he says.

    Marveys Ayomi, the Papuan provincial scholarship coordinator in New Zealand, who selected Stevi Yikwa as a Papua provincial government scholarship recipient in 2014, says that the study success of a student cannot necessarily be viewed from academic capability alone.

    He believes that self-strength is also one of the attributes that has contributed to the success of Stevi and other Papuan students.

    Motivation to succeed
    “Being an academic myself and being in this position as the scholarship coordinator sometimes we overlook the importance of one’s inner strength and an individual’s drive and motivation to succeed,” says Ayomi.

    Ayomi, who is also the first indigenous Papuan to become a lecturer in New Zealand, says that mental strength is a key because he believes that when students have the right academic skills then they are bound to succeed. But that’s not the only attribute that contributes to success.

    “It takes much more than that and I think the mental or inner-strength that Stevi has was probably the key driving factor behind his success – and the faith to believe that ‘I can do it’.

    It wasn’t an easy journey, but I knew he was capable of accomplishing his goal,” says Ayomi.

    Ayomi, who has been working as a coordinator of the scholarship programme since 2014, says that serving Papuan students is a great honour and having seen Stevi accomplishing his dream gives him great pleasure.

    He says all the parents in Papua would like to see their children doing well on their studies.

    “As Barack Obama always says, ‘Yes We Can’. I believe that Papuans also can make this world to be a better place,” Ayomi says.

    “So, what Papuan students should do is not only being proud of being Papuans but they need to take it seriously and show it through their studies. With that in mind, we shouldn’t be at the back of the queue, but we should be in the front line,” says Ayomi.

    Stevi Yikwa says that if other people can do it, “we also can do it”.

    Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan Masters in Communication Studies student at Auckland University of Technology who has been studying journalism. He contributes to Asia Pacific Report.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Hard to speak up at first as the only woman, but Mori conquers challenges

    Catherine Mori is the oldest female employee in the Customs and Tax Administration in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). And she may well be the oldest female employee in the Department of FSM Finance, the jurisdiction under which her institution comes under. Beginning her career as a Revenue Officer III with the Revenue and Tax Division in 1990, Mori has witnessed numerous developments over the years. A major one was the merger of the Revenue and Customs divisions in 1998, her eighth year on the job. No mountain has been too high to scale for Mori, who was promoted to Deputy Assistant Secretary in the field office in Chuuk State, FSM – a position she has held since 2007. This is her story.

    SPECIAL REPORT: By a Pacnews correspondent

    Catherine Mori began her career in the tax domain in 1990.

    She started as an auditor with the Revenue and Tax Division, but she held the position of a Revenue Officer III. And in that capacity alone, she was required to perform various tax-related functions.

    As a Revenue Officer III, Mori had had to assist customers with their tax returns, input tax roll, and also input income tax, and transmit these to the headquarters in Pohnpei.

    She was also tasked to assist customers with their import transactions, and carry out daily bank deposits, amid other duties. In December this year, Mori will have completed 31 years of service with the organisation.

    “I am the oldest female on this job and maybe also in the Department of FSM Finance,” she says.

    The merge
    At the time Catherine Mori joined the Revenue and Tax Division, the institution operated separately from the Customs Division. And in 1998, the two institutions merged to form the Customs and Tax Administration under the Department of FSM Finance. During that transition, employees of both institutions had to undergo cross trainings in areas of tax revenue and customs.

    “That year was a big adjustment for me,” Mori recalls.

    The merge meant that aside from her already-hectic work schedule, she also had to carry out an additional role of a Customs official at the island nation’s port of entries.

    Underpinned by the lack of manpower, Mori had had to leave her office work aside and attend to inspection and clearance duties, involving cargoes at the airport, the dock and or at the post office.

    And to ensure efficiency in productivity, she says she has had to be patient in all areas of her responsibilities.

    The leader
    Seventeen years of service and commitment with the Customs and Tax Administration paid off for Catherine Mori. In 2007, she was promoted to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary in the administration’s field office in Chuuk State, Micronesia.

    Chuuk State is the most populous of the four States in the FSM – including Pohnpei, Yap and Kosrae – which according to the April census of 2010 had 48,654 inhabitants.

    As the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Mori now plays a more managerial role. She oversees the overall operation of her unit that includes human resources, revenue and customs collection.

    “My duties now include overseeing the work of my employees, making sure the post office, the airport as well as the ship port are attained well and cleared,” she says.

    “I do monthly reports on all areas of both customs and revenue collections, monthly reports on PC Trade and awareness in the field office.”

    She also has to ensure that deposits of collections are maintained and sent to the central office in Pohnpei daily.

    Embracing cultural challenges
    Mori openly declares her love for what she does and her positive approach to the challenges she faces. But she notes the challenge of conscience between the matter of gender in the workplace and her present cultural landscape.

    “I have enjoyed my job all my life, learning to get along with others, learning how to communicate, and experiencing new ideas.

    “But overall, my challenge on the job is being the only woman in the position.

    “In Chuuk, Micronesia, males are mostly the heads in all departments.

    “It was hard for me to speak up, and it was not because I was scared but it is because of our respect for men.”

    And it is because of their culture in Micronesia, especially for Chuuk State, that they are still adjusting to the modern way of life.

    “Nowadays, because people go out of FSM to the United States or Hawai’i, they have come a long way to understand that women do not only have a place at home but they also have a place in departments and offices.

    “Today, I am very happy with my job. I feel free working among many males on the job and getting acquainted with my colleagues.

    “I gain more experience working with the male on the job. It helps me to gain more experience in the work I do.”

    She adds this has also helped her family understand and support her in her work.

    The covid-19 pandemic
    This pandemic has adversely impacted the world in many ways, largely on human lives lost and global economic collapses.

    Again, Catherine Mori capitalises on her natural ability to take a positive approach and look on the bright side.

    Her work schedule has changed significantly, in particular with limited flights and cargo ships.

    “For me, this means I have more time to rest and more time to spend with the family. It has helped me to relax and enjoy life.”

    This article is part of the OCO/Pacnews Pacific Women in Customs series to celebrate the achievements of women customs officers in the Oceania region.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Hard to speak up at first as the only woman, but Mori conquers challenges

    Catherine Mori is the oldest female employee in the Customs and Tax Administration in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). And she may well be the oldest female employee in the Department of FSM Finance, the jurisdiction under which her institution comes under. Beginning her career as a Revenue Officer III with the Revenue and Tax Division in 1990, Mori has witnessed numerous developments over the years. A major one was the merger of the Revenue and Customs divisions in 1998, her eighth year on the job. No mountain has been too high to scale for Mori, who was promoted to Deputy Assistant Secretary in the field office in Chuuk State, FSM – a position she has held since 2007. This is her story.

    SPECIAL REPORT: By a Pacnews correspondent

    Catherine Mori began her career in the tax domain in 1990.

    She started as an auditor with the Revenue and Tax Division, but she held the position of a Revenue Officer III. And in that capacity alone, she was required to perform various tax-related functions.

    As a Revenue Officer III, Mori had had to assist customers with their tax returns, input tax roll, and also input income tax, and transmit these to the headquarters in Pohnpei.

    She was also tasked to assist customers with their import transactions, and carry out daily bank deposits, amid other duties. In December this year, Mori will have completed 31 years of service with the organisation.

    “I am the oldest female on this job and maybe also in the Department of FSM Finance,” she says.

    The merge
    At the time Catherine Mori joined the Revenue and Tax Division, the institution operated separately from the Customs Division. And in 1998, the two institutions merged to form the Customs and Tax Administration under the Department of FSM Finance. During that transition, employees of both institutions had to undergo cross trainings in areas of tax revenue and customs.

    “That year was a big adjustment for me,” Mori recalls.

    The merge meant that aside from her already-hectic work schedule, she also had to carry out an additional role of a Customs official at the island nation’s port of entries.

    Underpinned by the lack of manpower, Mori had had to leave her office work aside and attend to inspection and clearance duties, involving cargoes at the airport, the dock and or at the post office.

    And to ensure efficiency in productivity, she says she has had to be patient in all areas of her responsibilities.

    The leader
    Seventeen years of service and commitment with the Customs and Tax Administration paid off for Catherine Mori. In 2007, she was promoted to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary in the administration’s field office in Chuuk State, Micronesia.

    Chuuk State is the most populous of the four States in the FSM – including Pohnpei, Yap and Kosrae – which according to the April census of 2010 had 48,654 inhabitants.

    As the Deputy Assistant Secretary, Mori now plays a more managerial role. She oversees the overall operation of her unit that includes human resources, revenue and customs collection.

    “My duties now include overseeing the work of my employees, making sure the post office, the airport as well as the ship port are attained well and cleared,” she says.

    “I do monthly reports on all areas of both customs and revenue collections, monthly reports on PC Trade and awareness in the field office.”

    She also has to ensure that deposits of collections are maintained and sent to the central office in Pohnpei daily.

    Embracing cultural challenges
    Mori openly declares her love for what she does and her positive approach to the challenges she faces. But she notes the challenge of conscience between the matter of gender in the workplace and her present cultural landscape.

    “I have enjoyed my job all my life, learning to get along with others, learning how to communicate, and experiencing new ideas.

    “But overall, my challenge on the job is being the only woman in the position.

    “In Chuuk, Micronesia, males are mostly the heads in all departments.

    “It was hard for me to speak up, and it was not because I was scared but it is because of our respect for men.”

    And it is because of their culture in Micronesia, especially for Chuuk State, that they are still adjusting to the modern way of life.

    “Nowadays, because people go out of FSM to the United States or Hawai’i, they have come a long way to understand that women do not only have a place at home but they also have a place in departments and offices.

    “Today, I am very happy with my job. I feel free working among many males on the job and getting acquainted with my colleagues.

    “I gain more experience working with the male on the job. It helps me to gain more experience in the work I do.”

    She adds this has also helped her family understand and support her in her work.

    The covid-19 pandemic
    This pandemic has adversely impacted the world in many ways, largely on human lives lost and global economic collapses.

    Again, Catherine Mori capitalises on her natural ability to take a positive approach and look on the bright side.

    Her work schedule has changed significantly, in particular with limited flights and cargo ships.

    “For me, this means I have more time to rest and more time to spend with the family. It has helped me to relax and enjoy life.”

    This article is part of the OCO/Pacnews Pacific Women in Customs series to celebrate the achievements of women customs officers in the Oceania region.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • OPM isn’t a ‘terrorist group’ – the Indonesian state is, says Wenda

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Indonesia has been accused of a ‘disgraceful attack on the people of West Papua’ by considering listing the pro-independence militia Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) as a terrorist organisation.

    The exiled interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda has condemned the reported move by Jakarta, saying Papuans are generally in support of the OPM struggle for a free and independent West Papua.

    “In reality, Indonesia is a terrorist state that has used mass violence against my people for nearly six decades,” Wenda said in a statement.

    The ULMWP statement said the people of West Papua were forming their own independent state in 1961.

    “On December 1 of that year, the West New Guinea Council selected our national anthem, flag, and symbols. We had a territory, a people, and were listed as a Non-Self-Governing Territory by the UN Decolonisation Committee,” Wenda said.

    “Our flag was raised alongside the Dutch, and the inauguration of the West New Guinea Council was witnessed by diplomats from the Netherlands, UK, France and Australia.

    “This sovereignty was stolen from us by Indonesia, which invaded and colonised our land in 1963. The birth of the independent state of West Papua was smothered.

    Launched struggle
    “This is why the people of West Papua launched the OPM struggle to regain our country and our freedom.”

    The ULMWP said that under the international conventions on human rights, the Papuans had a right to self-determination, which legal research had repeatedly shown was “violated by the Indonesian take-over and the fraudulent 1969 Act of No Choice”.

    “Under the 1960 UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, we have a right to determine our own political status free from colonial rule,” Wenda said.

    “Even the Preamble to the Indonesian constitution recognises that, ‘Independence is the natural right of every nation [and] colonialism must be abolished in this world because it is not in conformity with Humanity and Justice’.”

    Indonesia’s anti-terrorism agency wanted to designate pro-independence Papuan movements OPM and KKB as “terrorists”.

    “Terrorism is the use of violence against civilians to intimidate a population for political aims. This is exactly what Indonesia has been doing against my people for 60 years. Over 500,000 men, women and children have been killed since Indonesia invaded,” said Wenda.

    “Indonesia tortures my people, kills civilians, burns their bodies, destroys our environment and way of life.

    ‘Wanted for war crimes’
    “General Wiranto, until recently Indonesia’s security minister, is wanted by the UN for war crimes in East Timor – for terrorism.

    “A leading retired Indonesian general this year mused about forcibly removing 2 million West Papuans to Manado – this is terrorism and ethnic cleansing. How can we be the terrorists when Indonesia has sent 20,000 troops to our land in the past three years?

    “We never bomb Sulawesi or Java. We never kill an imam or Muslim leader. The Indonesian military has been torturing and murdering our religious leaders over the past six months.

    “The Indonesian military has displaced over 50,000 people since December 2018, leaving them to die in the bush without medical care or food.”

    Wenda said ULMWP was a member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), “sitting around the table with Indonesia”.

    “We attend UN meetings and have the support of 84 countries to promote human rights in West Papua. These are not the actions of terrorists. When 84 countries recognise our struggle, Indonesia cannot stigmitise us as ‘terrorists’.

    OPM ‘like home guard’
    “The OPM back home is like a home guard. We only act in self-defence, to protect ourselves, our homeland, our ancestral lands, our heritage and our natural resources, forests and mountain.

    “Any country would do the same if it was invaded and colonised. We do not target civilians, and are committed to working under international law and international humanitarian law, unlike Indonesia, which will not even sign up to the International Criminal Court because it knows that its actions in West Papua are war crimes,” Wenda said.

    “Indonesia cannot solve this issue with a ‘war on terror’ approach. Amnesty International and Komnas HAM, Indonesia’s national human rights body, have already condemned the proposals.

    “Since the 2000 Papuan People’s Congress, which I was a part of, we have agreed to pursue an international solution through peaceful means. We are struggling for our right to self-determination, denied to us for decades. Indonesia is fighting to defend its colonial project.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • OPM isn’t a ‘terrorist group’ – the Indonesian state is, says Wenda

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Indonesia has been accused of a ‘disgraceful attack on the people of West Papua’ by considering listing the pro-independence militia Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) as a terrorist organisation.

    The exiled interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda has condemned the reported move by Jakarta, saying Papuans are generally in support of the OPM struggle for a free and independent West Papua.

    “In reality, Indonesia is a terrorist state that has used mass violence against my people for nearly six decades,” Wenda said in a statement.

    The ULMWP statement said the people of West Papua were forming their own independent state in 1961.

    “On December 1 of that year, the West New Guinea Council selected our national anthem, flag, and symbols. We had a territory, a people, and were listed as a Non-Self-Governing Territory by the UN Decolonisation Committee,” Wenda said.

    “Our flag was raised alongside the Dutch, and the inauguration of the West New Guinea Council was witnessed by diplomats from the Netherlands, UK, France and Australia.

    “This sovereignty was stolen from us by Indonesia, which invaded and colonised our land in 1963. The birth of the independent state of West Papua was smothered.

    Launched struggle
    “This is why the people of West Papua launched the OPM struggle to regain our country and our freedom.”

    The ULMWP said that under the international conventions on human rights, the Papuans had a right to self-determination, which legal research had repeatedly shown was “violated by the Indonesian take-over and the fraudulent 1969 Act of No Choice”.

    “Under the 1960 UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, we have a right to determine our own political status free from colonial rule,” Wenda said.

    “Even the Preamble to the Indonesian constitution recognises that, ‘Independence is the natural right of every nation [and] colonialism must be abolished in this world because it is not in conformity with Humanity and Justice’.”

    Indonesia’s anti-terrorism agency wanted to designate pro-independence Papuan movements OPM and KKB as “terrorists”.

    “Terrorism is the use of violence against civilians to intimidate a population for political aims. This is exactly what Indonesia has been doing against my people for 60 years. Over 500,000 men, women and children have been killed since Indonesia invaded,” said Wenda.

    “Indonesia tortures my people, kills civilians, burns their bodies, destroys our environment and way of life.

    ‘Wanted for war crimes’
    “General Wiranto, until recently Indonesia’s security minister, is wanted by the UN for war crimes in East Timor – for terrorism.

    “A leading retired Indonesian general this year mused about forcibly removing 2 million West Papuans to Manado – this is terrorism and ethnic cleansing. How can we be the terrorists when Indonesia has sent 20,000 troops to our land in the past three years?

    “We never bomb Sulawesi or Java. We never kill an imam or Muslim leader. The Indonesian military has been torturing and murdering our religious leaders over the past six months.

    “The Indonesian military has displaced over 50,000 people since December 2018, leaving them to die in the bush without medical care or food.”

    Wenda said ULMWP was a member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), “sitting around the table with Indonesia”.

    “We attend UN meetings and have the support of 84 countries to promote human rights in West Papua. These are not the actions of terrorists. When 84 countries recognise our struggle, Indonesia cannot stigmitise us as ‘terrorists’.

    OPM ‘like home guard’
    “The OPM back home is like a home guard. We only act in self-defence, to protect ourselves, our homeland, our ancestral lands, our heritage and our natural resources, forests and mountain.

    “Any country would do the same if it was invaded and colonised. We do not target civilians, and are committed to working under international law and international humanitarian law, unlike Indonesia, which will not even sign up to the International Criminal Court because it knows that its actions in West Papua are war crimes,” Wenda said.

    “Indonesia cannot solve this issue with a ‘war on terror’ approach. Amnesty International and Komnas HAM, Indonesia’s national human rights body, have already condemned the proposals.

    “Since the 2000 Papuan People’s Congress, which I was a part of, we have agreed to pursue an international solution through peaceful means. We are struggling for our right to self-determination, denied to us for decades. Indonesia is fighting to defend its colonial project.”

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indonesian police make an arbitrary arrest of 5 students in Jayapura

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Indonesian police have made an arbitrary arrest of ffve students holding a peaceful action in front of the Jayapura University of Science and Technology, according to Papuan news sources.

    The students were detained yesterday by the police because they took peaceful action demanding that the Indonesian government grant permission to allow the UN Human Rights High Commissioner to visit West Papua.

    A media release received by Asia Pacific Report named four students detained by the police as Ernesto Matuan, Malvin Yobe, Apedo Doo, Devio Tekege and Dese Dumupa. However, some news reports said five students were detained.

    The release said the university was a higher education provider that guaranteed freedom of speech.

    It said the police or military had no right to intervene in university students’ activities.

    Before the action took place, the release said, the police had been monitoring the scene and when the demonstration began, the police entered the campus and brutally carried out the arrests.

    “The students took action, while the police had rushed and left the campus before the students took action.

    “While the students were taking action, within a few minutes the police had arrived using a Sabhara car(registration XIVII 2406-28) and a white Avansa car (DS 5032 KN).

    “Upon arrival, the police went straight to the scene of the action on campus and dispersed the crowd while forcibly seizing some tools and equipment for the action,” said the report.

    Illegal flag-raising
    One of the images shared with APR showed a Morning Star flag of independence being held by one of the demonstrators.

    In Indonesia, when someone raises the Morning Star flag, risk being jailed for 15 years for “treason”.

    The assistant rector three in charge of student affairs Isak Rumbarar told APR that his party was surprised by the messages circulating on social media. He said the public had asked him many questions about the demonstration and the arrests.

    But he said he was not in Jayapura – he is in Biak.

    “I was so shocked when I received a lot of messages from my colleagues and messages circulated on social media that there was a demonstration and the Morning Star flag was raised at the campus yard. Another thing that makes me shocked is because there is no initial notification to us,” said Rumbarar.

    He said his party had reminded students several times about the risks of demonstrations during the covid-19 period.

    “During this covid-19 period it would be better if demonstration activities involving many people should not be conducted because law enforcement officials could use this excuse to disperse and arrest demonstrators,” Rumbarar said.

    Alert campus authorities plea
    Rubarar said that if the students would like to demonstrate to the government, either the central government in Jakarta or provincial government in Papua, and the demonstration was planned to take place in the university, then the organisers should let the campus know first.

    “When the Morning Star is raised and when the police officers or law enforcement officials have taken over, we as university cannot do much,” said Rumbarar.

    The tabloid Jubi reports that the director of the Papua Legal Aid Institute, Emanuel Gobay, said that his party had confirmed the news of the arrest of five students to the Jayapura City Police (Polresta).

    “Earlier I confirmed [this with the] police, but the police said there was no arrest warrant, and they were detaining [them] just for clarification. That’s why I asked us to assist with clarification,” said Gobay.

    Gobay said that initially the five students were taken to the Abepura City Sector Police Headquarters. They were then taken to the Jayapura Police Headquarters to undergo a medical examination, and have their fingerprints and photographs taken.

    The head of Jayapura Police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Gustav Urbinas, said that the arrested students had not been “restrained”.

    According to him, the five students were only transported to the Jayapura Police to be asked for information.

    Filed for Asia Pacific Report by a West Papuan correspondent who cannot be named.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Getting the message through: How are South Aucklanders staying informed about covid?

    Have the New Zealand government’s covid-related messages been getting through to Pacific and non-Pacific ethnic communities in South Auckland? Justin Latif tried to find out.


    LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTING:     By Justin Latif of The Spinoff

    John Pulu is one of the best-known television and radio personalities in New Zealand’s Pacific community.

    He not only fronts TVNZ’s Tagata Pasifika Saturday morning show, but also hosts a four-hour Tongan-language current affairs and talkback programme on Pacific Media Network’s 531pi radio station every Wednesday afternoon.

    Pulu says combating misinformation has been a major focus in his roles over the last year.

    Local Democracy Reporting
    LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTING PROJECT

    “Covid is real, it’s happening, but I’m also a believer that listeners and viewers must make their own mind up. So rather than just us saying it, we’re in a position to connect our listeners to people who have the right information.”

    The Ōtāhuhu resident not only ensures his audiences hear from Pacific epidemiologists and health clinicians, but thanks to his strong relationship with Jacinda Ardern, he’s able to ensure the prime minister can speak directly to Pacific audiences.

    “I’ve lost count how many times I’ve interviewed her. It shows she is not just focused on one community or one group. And because the current outbreak is on our side of Auckland, having her front up is so important.”

    Pulu says their relationship goes back to when Ardern was still an opposition MP.

    ‘Met her at movie screening’
    “I met her at a movie screening when she came as Carmel Sepuloni’s date for the night. We took a selfie and she asked me to add her on Instagram. I didn’t realise she would be the leader of the nation one day.

    “I wouldn’t say we’re BFFs [best friends forever], but we’re connected on social media and she’s always said I can get in touch whenever we want an interview, and she respects our community.”

    Pulu, who is regularly interviewed by Tongan-language radio shows from Tonga and Australia for updates on the situation in Aotearoa, says the pandemic has made his life much busier.

    “I consider myself very fortunate that I’m able to continue doing what I love and in a role where we can help make a difference by negating the misinformation that’s out there, and try and use our platforms wisely.”

    Brian Sagala
    One of Pacific Media Network’s programme hosts Brian Sagala. Image: PMN/531pi/Spinoff

    Pacific Media Network chief executive Don Mann says the organisation, which annually receives $4.5 million in government funding, provides shows in nine different Pacific languages and also supports the Ministry of Pacific Peoples with public information campaigns.

    “Part of our response has been to place Ministry of Health messaging on our channels and radio shows and to do that we’ve given up some of our airtime that we normally sell commercially, and we’ve been recompensed for that – not huge amounts, but it’s fair.”

    Mann says the network’s two radio stations have experienced significant audience growth over the last 12 months, which he puts down to “people wanting information from a trusted source and in their own language”.

    But Mann says people shouldn’t think Pacific and migrant communities consume their news in just one way.

    “Our people are a sophisticated audience who are used to seeking information from multiple sources, from an entity like ourselves or from other organisations, and they are able to consume information in multiple languages.”

    Commentators
    Covid news in the ethnic media: Raju Ramakrishna (from left), Dr Gaurav Sharma and Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan. Image: Spinoff

    Covid news in the ethnic media
    Gaurav Sharma was associate editor at the Indian News up until recently, when he had to return to India to be with family. He says his publication ran covid-related double-page spreads most of last year and he believes most ethnic news organisations have done an incredible job at covering the pandemic. His only complaint is that it took a while for the government to direct their advertising spend towards migrant-focused publications such as his.

    “We took the initiative [to inform people about Covid] and the government advertising did come, but it came quite a bit later, maybe around August. And the proportion of funding that ethnic media gets is quite low. It has been a struggle at times for the media with advertising being down in general, but I think our media have done a wonderful job.”

    Raju Ramakrishna lives and works in ethnically diverse Papatoetoe. He has noticed people have been much more reticent to venture outside during this latest lockdown.

    “In the first few lockdowns, people were rushing in and out of the supermarket, but this time around people are more well-behaved in many ways – more circumspect, keeping to themselves, and there’s a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity.”

    Ramakrishna helps run the Papatoetoe Food Hub and is well-known in Auckland’s Indian community as the former lead singer of a popular South Asian band. He believes his fellow Indians are keen to stay up to date with the latest covid news and comply with any restrictions.

    “Generally South Asians conform to authorities and are quite compliant. In the circles I’m familiar with, people are well-informed and they know where to go when they need some information. Radio Tarana, which is the station most people listen to, is up to date with news and any breaking news is reported.”

    Newly elected Indian-born Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma (who shares a name with the former Indian News associate editor mentioned above) attends numerous cultural events as well as being regularly interviewed on ethnic radio stations for his expertise as a medical doctor.

    Positive information in cultural settings
    “I think the information is out there. I know from talking to community leaders that every time there’s a level change, they have been sharing information through their networks and they’ve also been talking about it in their communal settings.

    “It’s really positive to hear that people are accessing information in their own cultural settings and in their own language.”

    According to the government’s Office for Ethnic Communities, $1.4 million has been spent on advertising for “culturally and linguistically diverse” audiences. Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who’s the minister for diversity, inclusion and ethnic communities,  says video updates in a range of languages have also been distributed through community networks.

    “Having a diverse Labour caucus has allowed us to share important messages in different languages on ethnic media channels and social media,” she says.

    “We also held a Zoom hui with Dr Ashley Bloomfield and ethnic community leaders around the South Auckland region to listen to their feedback and answer questions they had about Covid-19 and the vaccine.

    “Concerns have been raised with us about whether the vaccine will be halal, for example, and Dr Bloomfield confirmed to the group of hundred plus attendees that it is.”

    Raju Ramakrishna says if there’s any concern about people not being informed, it’s not for a lack of effort on the part of the media or the government.

    “I know people are saying the messaging hasn’t been quite right, but I really think that’s not true. The messaging has been out there, so a lot of it boils down to carelessness, rather than people not getting the information.”

    Justin Latif is the South Auckland editor at The Spinoff. This article is republished with the permission of The Spinoff and the Local Democracy Project.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Getting the message through: How are South Aucklanders staying informed about covid?

    Have the New Zealand government’s covid-related messages been getting through to Pacific and non-Pacific ethnic communities in South Auckland? Justin Latif tried to find out.


    LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTING:     By Justin Latif of The Spinoff

    John Pulu is one of the best-known television and radio personalities in New Zealand’s Pacific community.

    He not only fronts TVNZ’s Tagata Pasifika Saturday morning show, but also hosts a four-hour Tongan-language current affairs and talkback programme on Pacific Media Network’s 531pi radio station every Wednesday afternoon.

    Pulu says combating misinformation has been a major focus in his roles over the last year.

    Local Democracy Reporting
    LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTING PROJECT

    “Covid is real, it’s happening, but I’m also a believer that listeners and viewers must make their own mind up. So rather than just us saying it, we’re in a position to connect our listeners to people who have the right information.”

    The Ōtāhuhu resident not only ensures his audiences hear from Pacific epidemiologists and health clinicians, but thanks to his strong relationship with Jacinda Ardern, he’s able to ensure the prime minister can speak directly to Pacific audiences.

    “I’ve lost count how many times I’ve interviewed her. It shows she is not just focused on one community or one group. And because the current outbreak is on our side of Auckland, having her front up is so important.”

    Pulu says their relationship goes back to when Ardern was still an opposition MP.

    ‘Met her at movie screening’
    “I met her at a movie screening when she came as Carmel Sepuloni’s date for the night. We took a selfie and she asked me to add her on Instagram. I didn’t realise she would be the leader of the nation one day.

    “I wouldn’t say we’re BFFs [best friends forever], but we’re connected on social media and she’s always said I can get in touch whenever we want an interview, and she respects our community.”

    Pulu, who is regularly interviewed by Tongan-language radio shows from Tonga and Australia for updates on the situation in Aotearoa, says the pandemic has made his life much busier.

    “I consider myself very fortunate that I’m able to continue doing what I love and in a role where we can help make a difference by negating the misinformation that’s out there, and try and use our platforms wisely.”

    One of Pacific Media Network’s programme hosts Brian Sagala. Image: PMN/531pi/Spinoff

    Pacific Media Network chief executive Don Mann says the organisation, which annually receives $4.5 million in government funding, provides shows in nine different Pacific languages and also supports the Ministry of Pacific Peoples with public information campaigns.

    “Part of our response has been to place Ministry of Health messaging on our channels and radio shows and to do that we’ve given up some of our airtime that we normally sell commercially, and we’ve been recompensed for that – not huge amounts, but it’s fair.”

    Mann says the network’s two radio stations have experienced significant audience growth over the last 12 months, which he puts down to “people wanting information from a trusted source and in their own language”.

    But Mann says people shouldn’t think Pacific and migrant communities consume their news in just one way.

    “Our people are a sophisticated audience who are used to seeking information from multiple sources, from an entity like ourselves or from other organisations, and they are able to consume information in multiple languages.”

    Commentators
    Covid news in the ethnic media: Raju Ramakrishna (from left), Dr Gaurav Sharma and Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan. Image: Spinoff

    Covid news in the ethnic media
    Gaurav Sharma was associate editor at the Indian News up until recently, when he had to return to India to be with family. He says his publication ran covid-related double-page spreads most of last year and he believes most ethnic news organisations have done an incredible job at covering the pandemic. His only complaint is that it took a while for the government to direct their advertising spend towards migrant-focused publications such as his.

    “We took the initiative [to inform people about Covid] and the government advertising did come, but it came quite a bit later, maybe around August. And the proportion of funding that ethnic media gets is quite low. It has been a struggle at times for the media with advertising being down in general, but I think our media have done a wonderful job.”

    Raju Ramakrishna lives and works in ethnically diverse Papatoetoe. He has noticed people have been much more reticent to venture outside during this latest lockdown.

    “In the first few lockdowns, people were rushing in and out of the supermarket, but this time around people are more well-behaved in many ways – more circumspect, keeping to themselves, and there’s a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity.”

    Ramakrishna helps run the Papatoetoe Food Hub and is well-known in Auckland’s Indian community as the former lead singer of a popular South Asian band. He believes his fellow Indians are keen to stay up to date with the latest covid news and comply with any restrictions.

    “Generally South Asians conform to authorities and are quite compliant. In the circles I’m familiar with, people are well-informed and they know where to go when they need some information. Radio Tarana, which is the station most people listen to, is up to date with news and any breaking news is reported.”

    Newly elected Indian-born Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma (who shares a name with the former Indian News associate editor mentioned above) attends numerous cultural events as well as being regularly interviewed on ethnic radio stations for his expertise as a medical doctor.

    Positive information in cultural settings
    “I think the information is out there. I know from talking to community leaders that every time there’s a level change, they have been sharing information through their networks and they’ve also been talking about it in their communal settings.

    “It’s really positive to hear that people are accessing information in their own cultural settings and in their own language.”

    According to the government’s Office for Ethnic Communities, $1.4 million has been spent on advertising for “culturally and linguistically diverse” audiences. Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who’s the minister for diversity, inclusion and ethnic communities,  says video updates in a range of languages have also been distributed through community networks.

    “Having a diverse Labour caucus has allowed us to share important messages in different languages on ethnic media channels and social media,” she says.

    “We also held a Zoom hui with Dr Ashley Bloomfield and ethnic community leaders around the South Auckland region to listen to their feedback and answer questions they had about Covid-19 and the vaccine.

    “Concerns have been raised with us about whether the vaccine will be halal, for example, and Dr Bloomfield confirmed to the group of hundred plus attendees that it is.”

    Raju Ramakrishna says if there’s any concern about people not being informed, it’s not for a lack of effort on the part of the media or the government.

    “I know people are saying the messaging hasn’t been quite right, but I really think that’s not true. The messaging has been out there, so a lot of it boils down to carelessness, rather than people not getting the information.”

    Justin Latif is the South Auckland editor at The Spinoff. This article is republished with the permission of The Spinoff and the Local Democracy Project.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • NZ Girmit group fights for ‘Pacific’ classification for Fiji-Indians

    By Anish Chand in Suva

    The Fiji Girmit Foundation of New Zealand is opposing moves by the New Zealand government to classify Fiji-Indians as Asians.

    President of the organisation Krish Naidu received a letter from Minister for Pacific Peoples ‘Aupito William Sio, which stated that Statistics New Zealand’s specific classification for Fijian-Indians falls under “Asian” followed by an “Indian” sub-classification”, not Pacific peoples.

    Naidu told The Fiji Times there were about 90,000 Indians from Fiji who would be affected.

    “It would contribute to the weakening and loss of our identity as a distinct community with our distinctive language, customs, traditions and history that have evolved in the Pacific and are an integral part of the Pacific fabric,” he said.

    “Lumping us under Asians would mean our people would continue to be omitted from appropriate moral, linguistic, health, educational, and cultural support services.”

    He said they wanted to be identified as Pacific peoples.

    “Pasifika peoples recognised by the New Zealand government represent different communities and cultures and we are one of several.

    “All groups of people from Fiji — our Fijian iTaukei brothers and Rotumans —are classified as Pacific people.

    “Yet the largest population from Fiji in NZ – Fijian Indians – is part of the Asian classification.”

    Naidu said the Fiji-Indian community was “pursuing this issue with vigour”.

    “We have absolutely no doubt that the New Zealand government would see the justification in reclassifying us as part of the Pacific peoples.”

    Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Battle to spread truth about covid-19 vaccine in Pacific communities

    By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific journalist

    The race is on to reach Pasifika communities in New Zealand to counter the spread of misinformation about the covid-19 vaccine.

    Pacific and Māori communities have the highest risk of dying from covid-19 and that has caused leaders and doctors within this group to work hard to dispel fears and misinformation about what it might mean to get the jab.

    “People can have confidence that the vaccine is effective and safe,” said Auckland University public health professor Dr Collin Tukuitonga, who has 40 years’ experience in medicine.

    The amount of research, testing and studies behind the vaccine was “phenomenal”, he said.

    People with reservations have every right to ask questions – but they can rest assured there is nothing to be worried about, he said.

    “It is highly effective. There is increasing evidence that it reduces transmission to others and protects us all as a nation and community.”

    There have also been very few side effects so far, besides a headache and sore arm and most medication and vaccines have side effects anyway, he said.

    “In Israel, where they have pretty much vaccinated everyone, they have found the vaccine to reduce hospitalisation and infection.”

    Widespread vaccination against covid-19 was an important tool in efforts to control the pandemic.

    What to know about covid-19 Pfizer vaccine

    • New Zealand has secured 10 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine – enough for 5 million people to get two doses.
    • The vaccine is for people over 16 years because it is yet to be tested on a younger age group.
    • Like all medicines, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may cause side effects like a headache and/or sore arm in some people. These are common, are usually mild and don’t last long.
    • Nine out of 10 people will be protected.
    • There has been at least 250m doses given around the world.
    • New Zealand’s Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, Medsafe is closely monitoring the safety of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
    • Impacts of the vaccine are monitored and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).
    Dr Collin Tukuitonga
    Dr Collin Tukuitonga … “People can have confidence that the vaccine is effective and safe.” Image: SPC

    Cultural nuances when communicating to Island communities

    The Pacific peoples’ ethnic group is the fourth largest major ethnic group in New Zealand, behind European, Māori and Asian ethnic groups.

    The Ministry of Health has been on a mission to communicate helpful information to people about the vaccination.

    Anyone calling the Covid Healthline can speak with someone in their own language, with access to interpreters for more than 150 languages, including te reo Māori and the nine main Pacific languages.

    Māori and Pacific providers hold trusted relationships with the whānau they serve and play a crucial role to maximize uptake and achieve equity, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said.

    Dr Tukuitonga praised Associate Minister of Health ‘Aupito William Sio for organising meetings with Pacific leaders and groups about the vaccine – which sometimes included up to 500 people over Zoom.

    A Ministry of Health spokesperson said it planned to support district health boards to engage with people who may be hesitant about getting a vaccine dose.

    Otara Health chairperson Efeso Collins.
    Manukau councillor Fa’anānā Efeso Collins … a conversation approach is needed to connect with Māori and Pacific communities. Image: Jessie Chiang/RNZ

    But Manukau councillor Fa’anānā Efeso Collins was “not convinced” that the Ministry of Health had been taking the “right approach” to connect with Māori and Pacific communities – although small improvements were only just being made.

    “Those of us who were raised in the islands have an oral tradition. The Ministry of Health need to understand that just sending out information on a sheet of A4 or link on a website isn’t the way you engage with these communities.”

    He wanted “trusted community champions” to be sent into communities to have a korero and discussion around the table.

    Change could only truly happen in family homes, he said, where they can air any fears around the vaccine and address certain distrust when it comes to public institutions.

    “If we don’t take a conversation approach then we will always allow misinformation to win the battle and that’s where I believe the Ministry of Health have fallen over, because we haven’t trusted local organisations to go into the community and talk to the families,” Fa’anānā said.

    Church influence and community champions
    About 70 percent of Pacific Islanders attend church regularly, so leaders of these congregations are being reminded of the influential role they play as a vaccine messenger.

    Fa’anānā planned to help those on the fence about the vaccine in his South Auckland electorate.

    He encouraged the importance of “a conversation after church … with a coffee and a muffin to talk through distrust to make a difference”.

    Social workers and community groups who already have trusted connections with whānau would also be valuable in helping vulnerable people who had digested misinformation.

    There were still small groups across the country who did not believe in vaccines and their views had led to the spread of misinformation and wild allegations, founded on rumours and falsehoods.

    “The Tamakis of this world are a nuisance,” Dr Tukuitonga said, but believed overall that most Pacific peoples would choose the vaccine.

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Tahitian academic says Paris must pay for impacts of French nuclear tests

    RNZ Pacific

    A Tahitian academic living in Auckland whose family and home island of Mangareva were impacted on by three decades of French nuclear weapons tests says Paris must pay for the full extent of health and other damage caused.

    Ena Manuireva is a doctoral candidate at Auckland University of Technology.

    He responds to RNZ’s Koroi Hawkins about the recent revelations by the Moruroa Files investigation and a new book, Toxique, that the impact of the the 193 nuclear tests in Polynesia was far worse than previously admitted by French authorities.

    Ena Manuireva
    Ena Manuireva … doctoral research on the nuclear testing impact on the Gambiers.

    Transcript
    On a more personal level a Tahitian whose family and home island was impacted by French nuclear weapons tests says Paris must pay for the full extent of the fallout.

    Maururu Ena, thanks for joining us on the show. So you were born in Mangareva in 1967 just one year after the French started testing nuclear weapons in French Polynesia?

    [More later]

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

     

    Moruroa atoll 6 June 2000
    Part of Moruroa atoll four years after the French nuclear testing was halted in 1996. Almost all the installations that sheltered up to 3000 people for 30 years have been dismantled , giving the natural vegetation a chance to grow again. Image: Eric Feferberg/AFP/RNZ

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Scott Waide: Grand Chief Somare and the wisdom he left for everyone

    COMMENT: By Scott Waide in Wewak

    I have not written anything on my blog My Land, My Country since our arrival in Wewak the Sunday before last.  In fact, it has been overwhelming.

    The demonstration of sorrow and the pride is something to behold here in Wewak and all over Papua New Guinea.

    I  stayed away from the livestream that we in EMTV produced out of Port Moresby. I did watch parts of it. But it has been hard to watch a full session without becoming emotional and emotion is  something that has been in abundance over the last 16 days.

    There are a thousand and one narratives embedded in the life of  the man we call Michael Somare.

    How could I do justice to all of it?

    Do I write about the history? Do I write about the stories people are telling about him? Do I write about his band of brothers who helped him in the early years?

    Narratives embedded
    There are a thousand and one narratives embedded in the life of the man we call Michael Somare.

    Sir Michael was, himself,  a storyteller.

    Narratives woven into relationships
    He didn’t just tell stories with words.  The narratives were woven into his existence and in the relationships he built throughout his life.  From them, came  the stories that have been given new life with his passing.

    I went to speak to Sir Pita Lus, his closest friend and the man who, in Papua New Guinean terms, carried the spear ahead of the Chief.  He encouraged Michael Somare to run for office.

    Sir Pita Lus
    Speaking to Sir Pita Lus, Somare’s closest friend and the man who, in Papua New Guinean terms, carried the spear ahead of the Chief. Image: Scott Waide

    He told me about the old days about how he had told his very reluctant friend that he would be Prime Minister.  In Drekikir,  Sir Pita Lus told his constituents that his friend Michael Somare would run for East Sepik Regional.

    Sir Pita Lus and his relationship with Sir Michael is a chapter that hasn’t yet been written.  It needs to be written.  It is up to some young proud Papua New Guinean to write about this colorful old fella.

    Sir Michael Somare
    Sir Michael Somare (1936-2021) farewells a nation … a livestreamed tribute by EMTV News. Image: EMTV News screenshot APR

    A chief builds alliances. But what are alliances? They are relationships. How are they transmitted? Through stories.  Sir Michael built alliances from which stories were told.

    When I went to the  provincial haus krai in Wewak, there were  huge piles of food. I have never seen so much food in my life.  Island communities of Mushu, Kadowar and Wewak brought bananas, saksak and pigs in honor of the grand chief.  They also have their stories to tell about Sir Michael.

    The Mapriks came. Ambunti-Drekikir brought huge yams, pigs and two large crocodiles.  The Morobeans, the Manus, the Tolais, West Sepik, the Centrals.

    In Port Moresby, people came from the 22 provinces …  From  Bougainville, the Highlands, West Sepik and West Papua.

    In Fiji, Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama sent his condolences as he read a eulogy. In Vanuatu, Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) members held a special service in honour of Sir Michael.  In Australia, parliamentarians stood in honour of Sir Michael Somare.

    Followed to his resting place
    Our people followed the Grand Chief to his resting place. The Madangs came on a boat. Others walked for days just to get to Wewak in time for the burial.

    How did one man do that?  How did he unite 800 nations?  Because that is what we are. Each with our own language and our own system of government that existed for 60,000 years.

    Here was a man who said, “this is how we should go now and we need to unite and move forward”.

    In generations past, what have our people looked for? How is one deemed worthy of a chieftaincy?

    I said to someone today that the value of a chief lies in his ability to fight for his people, to maintain peace and to unite everyone. In many of our cultures, a chief has to demonstrate a set of skills above and beyond the rest.

    He must be willing to sacrifice his life and dedicate himself to that  calling of leadership. He must have patience and the ability to forgive.

    The value of the chief is seen both during his life and upon his passing when people come from all over to pay tribute.

    For me, Sir Michael Somare, leaves wisdom and guidance – A part of it written into the Constitution and the National Goals and Directive Principles. For the other part, he showed us where to look.  It is found in our languages and in the wisdom of our ancestors held by our elders.

    Asia Pacific Report republishes articles from Lae-based Papua New Guinean television journalist Scott Waide’s blog, My Land, My Country, with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • AUT defends its controversial role over PMC, but ‘office’ still a mystery

    The Pacific Newsroom

    Auckland University of Technology has responded to queries from a media aid watchdog about the future of the regional Pacific Media Centre based at the institution, saying that it remained committed to the centre and would not downplay its importance.

    The head of the School of Communication Studies, Dr Rosser Johnson, said in an email to the Australia Asia Pacific Media Centre (AAPMI) on February 26 that “everything that the school is planning will, we believe, enhance its status and increase its visibility”.

    He was replying to a letter addressed to university vice-chancellor Derek McCormack on February 16 and made public by The Pacific Newsroom earlier this month which appealed for action to save PMC, saying recent closure of the centre’s physical office came “at a time when Pacific journalism is under existential threat and Pacific journalism programmes suffer from underfunding”.

    The centre, founded in 2007 and described by AAPMI as a “jewel in the AUT crown”, had worked in its Communication Studies office in the Sir Paul Reeves Building at the AUT’s city campus since it opened eight years ago.

    The office was abruptly emptied in early February of more than a decade of awards, books, files, publications, picture frames and treasures, including a traditional carved Papua New Guinean storyboard marking the opening of the centre by then Pacific Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban in October 2007.

    Dr Johnson replied that the school’s “senior leadership team” had decided that the PMC would be relocated from the tenth floor (WG10) to the twelfth floor (WG12) of the main Sir Paul Reeve’s building to “bring it alongside the Journalism, Radio + Audio, Public Relations, and Critical Media Studies departments, all of which have had staff actively involved in the PMC in recent years”.

    “This move will mean a one hundred percent increase in dedicated PMC office space … and guarantees at least as much space for postgraduate students enrolled in research degrees related to Pacific media topics as there was on WG10,” he wrote.

    Puzzled over ‘new office’
    However, PMC staff challenge this claim and are puzzled where this “new office” is supposed to be located. One staff member who did not wish to be named said: “Four desks have been put together …essentially. There is no notice or signpost to say where PMC is or if that corner is PMC”.

    In the letter, Dr Johnson complimented former director Professor David Robie, who retired in December after leading the centre for 13 years, for his “many years of achievements and unrelenting advocacy of the Pacific within and without AUT”.

    He applauded the “excellent work conducted in recent years by a number of students and staff”, including PMC’s Bearing Witness environmental project leader senior lecturer Jim Marbrook and cross-cultural affairs and international collaborations senior lecturer Khairiah Rahman.

    Professor Robie himself is critical of AUT’s handling of the transition at PMC and the “trashing” of the old office and its taonga and memorabilia.

    He wrote a letter to Dr Rosser in response to the AUT reply to AAPMI on March 5, saying that the school’s approach to the PMC had been “characterised in my experience, by a lack of honesty and transparency”.

    He said the success of the PMC had been founded on its “autonomy and the contribution by its cross-disciplinary stakeholders as established initially under the faculty’s Creative Industries Research Institute (CIRI) and continued in the school rather than being located in a silo discipline”.

    PMC Annual Review 2020
    The PMC Annual Review 2020.

    As outlined in the AUT University Mission Theme 3 directions, he said, the institution had “prioritised social, economic and environmental development” and was especially active in … responding to Pacific communities, and ethnic diversity, and playing our part in its development as a world centre”.

    ‘Excelled with objectives’
    “The PMC has consistently met and excelled with these objectives as demonstrated in the annual reports and research publication metrics,” Dr Robie said.

    He also appealed to the university to ensure that the people “who have worked so hard to make PMC successful” would be given a “rightful place in its future directions – they have earned it.”

    Some of the PMC’s flagship publications, notably the 26-year-old research journal Pacific Journalism Review and Asia Pacific Report current affairs website, have opted to publish independently of the PMC umbrella.

    RNZ Pacific reported on Monday that Dr Johnson had pledged that the “expressions of interest” in the director’s role would be presented to staff this week – three months after Dr Robie’s retirement.

    It will be an internal appointment, not a “global” one, as the AAPMI had urged in its letter to AUT last month.

    Republished from The Pacific Newsroom.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • AUT defends its controversial role over PMC, but ‘office’ still a mystery

    The Pacific Newsroom

    Auckland University of Technology has responded to queries from a media aid watchdog about the future of the regional Pacific Media Centre based at the institution, saying that it remained committed to the centre and would not downplay its importance.

    The head of the School of Communication Studies, Dr Rosser Johnson, said in an email to the Australia Asia Pacific Media Centre (AAPMI) on February 26 that “everything that the school is planning will, we believe, enhance its status and increase its visibility”.

    He was replying to a letter addressed to university vice-chancellor Derek McCormack on February 16 and made public by The Pacific Newsroom earlier this month which appealed for action to save PMC, saying recent closure of the centre’s physical office came “at a time when Pacific journalism is under existential threat and Pacific journalism programmes suffer from underfunding”.

    The centre, founded in 2007 and described by AAPMI as a “jewel in the AUT crown”, had worked in its Communication Studies office in the Sir Paul Reeves Building at the AUT’s city campus since it opened eight years ago.

    The office was abruptly emptied in early February of more than a decade of awards, books, files, publications, picture frames and treasures, including a traditional carved Papua New Guinean storyboard marking the opening of the centre by then Pacific Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban in October 2007.

    Dr Johnson replied that the school’s “senior leadership team” had decided that the PMC would be relocated from the tenth floor (WG10) to the twelfth floor (WG12) of the main Sir Paul Reeve’s building to “bring it alongside the Journalism, Radio + Audio, Public Relations, and Critical Media Studies departments, all of which have had staff actively involved in the PMC in recent years”.

    “This move will mean a one hundred percent increase in dedicated PMC office space … and guarantees at least as much space for postgraduate students enrolled in research degrees related to Pacific media topics as there was on WG10,” he wrote.

    Puzzled over ‘new office’
    However, PMC staff challenge this claim and are puzzled where this “new office” is supposed to be located. One staff member who did not wish to be named said: “Four desks have been put together …essentially. There is no notice or signpost to say where PMC is or if that corner is PMC”.

    In the letter, Dr Johnson complimented former director Professor David Robie, who retired in December after leading the centre for 13 years, for his “many years of achievements and unrelenting advocacy of the Pacific within and without AUT”.

    He applauded the “excellent work conducted in recent years by a number of students and staff”, including PMC’s Bearing Witness environmental project leader senior lecturer Jim Marbrook and cross-cultural affairs and international collaborations senior lecturer Khairiah Rahman.

    Professor Robie himself is critical of AUT’s handling of the transition at PMC and the “trashing” of the old office and its taonga and memorabilia.

    He wrote a letter to Dr Rosser in response to the AUT reply to AAPMI on March 5, saying that the school’s approach to the PMC had been “characterised in my experience, by a lack of honesty and transparency”.

    He said the success of the PMC had been founded on its “autonomy and the contribution by its cross-disciplinary stakeholders as established initially under the faculty’s Creative Industries Research Institute (CIRI) and continued in the school rather than being located in a silo discipline”.

    PMC Annual Review 2020
    The PMC Annual Review 2020.

    As outlined in the AUT University Mission Theme 3 directions, he said, the institution had “prioritised social, economic and environmental development” and was especially active in … responding to Pacific communities, and ethnic diversity, and playing our part in its development as a world centre”.

    ‘Excelled with objectives’
    “The PMC has consistently met and excelled with these objectives as demonstrated in the annual reports and research publication metrics,” Dr Robie said.

    He also appealed to the university to ensure that the people “who have worked so hard to make PMC successful” would be given a “rightful place in its future directions – they have earned it.”

    Some of the PMC’s flagship publications, notably the 26-year-old research journal Pacific Journalism Review and Asia Pacific Report current affairs website, have opted to publish independently of the PMC umbrella.

    RNZ Pacific reported on Monday that Dr Johnson had pledged that the “expressions of interest” in the director’s role would be presented to staff this week – three months after Dr Robie’s retirement.

    It will be an internal appointment, not a “global” one, as the AAPMI had urged in its letter to AUT last month.

    Republished from The Pacific Newsroom.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Dear President Widodo, be honest with Papua about the military operations

    OPINION: By Theo Hesegem in Wamena, Papua

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo has repeatedly made trips to two of Melanesian provinces, Papua and West Papua, in the easternmost part of Indonesia.

    However, the working visits made by the head of state to the land of Papua have actually not produced the results expected by indigenous Papuans.

    The President always prioritises infrastructure, while the hopes of indigenous Papuans have been that the President would be serious about handling and resolving cases of alleged human rights violations in Papua.

    The visit of the head of state is only ceremonial. It is as if the father comes and the child is happy. He does not have good intentions to resolve cases of alleged human rights violations in Papua.

    The president always prioritises the interests of the nation and the state, and never thinks of the interests of “humanity”. He should see the real interests for Papuans are self-esteem and dignity.

    Meanwhile, the conflict in Papua continues to claim casualties. As a president, he should think about the people who are experiencing casualties and also the refugees who have now lost their leader.

    As executive director of the Papua Justice and Human Integrity Foundation and a world human rights defender, I would say that the ability of a president is very limited and immeasurable, even though he has served for two periods as President of the Republic of Indonesia.

    In our encounters with the president, he has been aware that all this time the conflict in Papua continues to claim a lot of casualties. It appears that the president is unable to handle and resolve cases of alleged human rights violations in the Land of Papua.

    Indonesia’s focus is always on the strength of the military apparatus in Papua, thus they always send non-organic troops to carry out military operations.

    According to the president, sending thousands of troops to Papua is considered addressing the problem of Papua, and thus human rights violations in Papua will end. I believe the conflict will increase greatly.

    Does this president have no solutions and policies?
    In my opinion, no. The president seems incapable and he has no new policies and no initiatives against the violence that has just an adverse impact on civil society as his own citizens. He sits on a soft and comfortable chair and just orders the commander and the chief of police to send troops to West Papua.

    As a citizen of this country, I am ashamed that the president’s policy of always sending an extraordinary numbers of troops in Papua, thousands of Indonesia Military (TNI) and Police (POLRI) forces have now occupied the land of Papua.

    We know several countries around the world have highlighted Indonesian and the human human rights violations. However, the President has not taken this spotlight seriously, perhaps because he considered it is an ordinary thing.

    So, the situation of human rights violations in Papua are not taken seriously and resolved with the heart.

    Law enforcement operations?
    President Widodo needs to explain the status of the conflict in Papua to the Papuan people and the international community.

    Is it a military operation or a law enforcement operation? So that the Papuans and international observers can know clearly.

    The reason why the president has to explain these two things is that the status of the conflict in Tanah Papua is not yet clear, even though law enforcement officials often say that the operations in Nduga and Intan Jaya are for law enforcement.

    This situation is very worrying because civilians who do not have weapons and do not know about any problems are always victims. Therefore, this impacts seriously on indigenous Papuans experiencing an extraordinary humanitarian crisis, and almost every time there are victims.

    Failures and wrong operations
    Previously, we knew that the operations in Nduga and Intan Jaya regencies were law enforcement operations. However, law enforcement operations have failed.

    Law enforcement operations of the Indonesia military and police officers have not succeeded in arresting Egianus Kogoya and his friends who are alleged to have carried out the massacre at Mount Kabo on December 2, 2018, until now – three months into 2021.

    The capabilities and actions of the officers are actually worse in the process of searching for the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) suspects. To this day, we have never heard that the group led by Egianus Kogoya and his friends have been arrested and processed.

    Where are the thousands of military troops who have been assigned to Papua?

    The law enforcement process has not gone well according to the expectations of the Indonesian government.

    People who were suspected of being OPM have been immediately executed on the spot and members of the TNI only submitted evidence to the law enforcement apparatus without being accompanied by the person arrested.

    Is it by means of submitting evidence without the person that the law enforcement process can be run.

    The TNI/POLRI military apparatus needs to learn professional law enforcement processes, so that the application of the law in the field can be carried out in accordance with the mechanisms or laws in force in Indonesia.

    Civilians who were arrested were shot, then the authorities put the gun on their chest or body to show it as having belonged to them, then the TNI apparatus handed over only the evidence – pistol – to the law enforcement apparatus.

    Law enforcement officials do not dare to prove in an honest and fair investigation that the weapons really belonged to the OPM or were engineered by officers in the field.

    Missing serial numbers on firearms
    The law enforcement process is very important, so that anyone who has committed a violation of the law must be processed according to the applicable law in Indonesia.

    The confiscation of evidence of weapons in the hands of the OPM was a success of the TNI/POLRI apparatus, only the weapons in question could not be proven in the law enforcement process.

    For example, the police, as law enforcement officers can prove with the serial number of the pistol or weapon seized in the hands of the OPM to be able to prove it with the serial number registered in each police or military institution. This is ecause all weapons and pistols used by the TNI and POLRI officers have been officially registered with their respective institutions.

    Thus the serial number of the weapon needs to be proven. If the serial number of the weapon or pistol is not registered, it means that the weapon or pistol belongs to the OPM.

    Then in the process of proving the serial numbers of weapons and pistols registered with the military institution or POLRI, it means that there has been manipulation in the field by the authorities.

    For this reason, proving a weapon’s number is very important, but to my knowledge, the authorities as law enforcers have never done it. A serious failure.

    This is why I argue that the operations in Nduga and Intan Jaya are law enforcement operations that have failed and gone wrong.

    President does not respect citizens
    President Widodo does not respect its own people, which to this day, the indigenous Papuan people, as citizens, have always been victims of violence, but a president just chooses to remain silent.

    As a human rights defender, I am very disappointed with the attitude of a president who does not protect civilians, indigenous Papuans, as citizens who have the right to live and to freedom.

    The president also does not respect the international community which always urges open access to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations and foreign journalists to enter Papua.

    Perhaps, according to the president, the humanitarian crisis in Papua is considered an ordinary thing, not an extraordinary thing, so that Jakarta always sends troops to carry out military operations in Papua.

    Honourable President, I, as a human rights defender in Papua, am very surprised and feel sad about the attitude of a president who always sends troops using warships to lean on Jayapura for military operations in Papua Land.

    I appeal to you, President Widodo, to please convey honestly to us as the Papuan region about sending of troops in such excessive numbers.

    If indeed Papua has been designated as a Military Emergency Operation area, we need to know that! Being honest is an important part of being a President.

    Theo Hesegem is the executive director of the Papua Justice and Human Integrity Foundation and a world human rights defender. This article was contributed to Asia Pacific Report.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Outcry over signs of upheaval at Pacific Media Centre

    Auckland University of Technology has denied claims that the Pacific Media Centre is being dumped or sidelined.

    The centre’s recently retired director Professor David Robie has raised concern about the way AUT is handling the PMC’s leadership succession, as well as the removal of its physical office without a clear relocation.

    It prompted an outcry among regional exponents of Pacific journalism.

    Johnny Blades reports:

    Since its inception in 2007, the Pacific Media Centre has built an extensive body of work in regional Asia-Pacific journalism and media research.

    But a little over a month after Dr David Robie retired as its director in December, he was sent photos of the PMC’s office stripped of its theses, books, monographs, research journals, media outputs, indigenous taonga and other history.

    “I was hugely disappointed when I heard about the removal of the office and we were sent photographs,” Dr Robie said.

    “Hugely disappointing because basically it’s trashing 13 years of building up the centre. And this was done without any consultation with any of the stakeholders or the PMC people themselves.”

    Professor Robie, who said no clear relocation plan had been presented to the PMC and there was no inventory of the removed materials, also criticised AUT for not taking up his succession plan.

    But the head of AUT’s School of Communication Studies, Dr Rosser Johnson, said the faculty had opted for a call for expressions of interest in the leadership role, rather than directly appointing someone.

    Professor Berrin Yanıkkaya, PMC director Professor David Robie and Victoria University's Luamanuvao Winnie Laban at OPMC 10-year event
    Former head of school Professor Berrin Yanıkkaya, then PMC director Professor David Robie and Victoria University’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika) Luamanuvao Winnie Laban at the 10th anniversary anniversary event of the Pacific Media Centre. Image: Mata Lauano/Spasifik

    He said they were looking to make the Pacific Media Centre more visible and more integrated with the life of the faculty.

    “We’re moving a few people around. One of the groups of people who are moving around is the PMC,” Dr Johnson explained.

    “But it’s moving to space that’s got double the office space and at least double the space for people to work in.”

    However, people within the School of Communication Studies who spoke to RNZ Pacific were uncertain about where the PMC office would be, and whether it may simply be a small part of a larger, open space shared with other divisions.

    The former office of the Pacific Media Centre at Auckland University of Technology was abruptly emptied of its contents in early 2021.
    The former office of the Pacific Media Centre at Auckland University of Technology was abruptly emptied of its contents in early 2021. Image: Cafe Pacific

    A lack of communication and consultation over the move has drawn condemnation from many regional journalists and researchers.

    With almost three months having elapsed since Dr Robie retired, there has been growing suspicion that AUT management will look to change the Asia-Pacific focus of the centre.

    Ena Manuireva, a Tahitian doctoral candidate, said that given the recent Davenport review of the university’s culture which found bullying was rife, the handling of the PMC was “shameful”.

    “It’s good for AUT to have some critical thinking in that department in their university. I’m trying to see what is the gain that they’re trying to have, what will be the outcome [of the changes],” Manuireva said.

    “The outcome would be that AUT would be looked at as a university that’s not open to everyone, especially to the Pacific.”

    Furthermore, the Australia Asia Pacific Media Initiative (AAPMI) has called for action to save PMC, warning that its closure would come “at a time when Pacific journalism is under existential threat and Pacific journalism programmes suffer from underfunding”.

    But Dr Johnson denied that the School of Commuications was looking to change the centre’s focus. His characterisation of the matter suggests that the PMC will grow its presence.

    “There’s only so much one or two or three people can do. So having more people involved opens up more opportunities for people to link into their communities,” he said.

    “There’s absolutely no intention at all to limit the Pacific Media Centre.”

    The former office of the Pacific Media Centre, February 2021.
    The former office of the Pacific Media Centre in early February 2021. Image: Cafe Pacific

    Professor Robie said he would wait and see what transpires, but in his view there was a gap between what was being said by AUT and the reality.

    “The thing is that as a centre, [the PMC] had this unique combination of media output as well as the research,” Dr Robie explained.

    “I guess what I fear is that there will be a stepping back from the actual media outputs and especially that very broad coverage that we had [through student projects such as Bearing Witness and Pacific Media Watch].”

    Dr Johnson said a call for expressions of interest in the Pacific Media Centre leadership role would go out this week.

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Gallery: Somare tribute marches from Hela, Western Highlands and Jiwaka people in Port Moresby

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Sir Michael Somare. Founding father and three times prime minister of Papua New Guinea. Born Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, April 9, 1936. Died Port Moresby, February 26, 2021, aged 84.

    As the nation has mourned for the past two weeks for one of the Pacific’s leadership giants in the cultural process known as haus krai, Papua New Guinea television journalist and blogger Scott Waide threw open his blog, My Land, My Country, for tributes and photographs to the great man.

    On this gallery page is a selection of some of the photos provided by the country’s “citizen photojournalists” from the tribute marches of tribespeople from Hela, Western Highlands and Jiwaka in the capital of Port Moresby on Tuesday.

    The state funeral is on Friday.

    Asia Pacific Report republishes items from Waide’s blog with permission.

    Haus Krai for Sir Michael Somare
    1 of 8
    Somare tribute marches
    Haus Krai 1. Image: Scott Waide blog
    Haus Krai 2. Image: Scott Waide blog
    Haus Krai 3. Image: Scott Waide blog
    Haus Krai 4. Image: Scott Waide blog
    Haus Krai 5. Image: Scott Waide blog
    Haus Krai 6. Image: Scott Waide blog
    Haus Krai 7. Image: Scott Waide blog
    Haus Krai 8. Image: Scott Waide blog

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Teen killed as Indonesian police tell Papuans: ‘You’re legitimate target! Shoot!’

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    A 17-year-old youth has become the latest victim of Indonesia’s six-decades-long colonisation of West Papua, alleges the United Liberation Movement of West Papua.

    “Killed on March 6, Melianus Nayagau has been murdered in Intan Jaya, where Indonesian military operations have displaced thousands of my people,” said ULMWP interim president Benny Wenda in a statement today.

    Separately, a video has shown an Indonesian police chief in Java telling demonstrating West Papuan students that they are “a legitimate target”, and giving the order to “shoot”, said the ULMWP website.

    “This is the reality of what we face in West Papua. As the people of West Papua resist Jakarta’s re-imposition of ‘Special Autonomy’, Papuan students are being beaten by Indonesian nationalist gangs and arrested by colonial police,” Wenda said.

    The cold-blooded killing and viral video came just after the Indonesian military killed a 36-year-old deaf disabled man, Donatus Mirip, on February 27.

    “As I previously stated, three West Papuan men were tortured and murdered in a West Papuan hospital by Indonesian soldiers on February 15,” Wenda said.

    Late last year, West Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani, Catholic catechist Rufinus Tigau and other religious figures were tortured, shot and killed by troops, and three school children were executed by an Indonesian state death squad on November 20, 2020, reports the ULMWP website.

    Burning bodies
    Several soldiers were recently found to have killed two other family members of Pastor Zanambani last year, burning the bodies and throwing their ashes into a local river.

    Tens of thousands of West Papuans have been displaced by these military operations since December 2018.

    Hundreds have died from lack of water, food and medicine, in the middle of a global pandemic, said Wenda.

    “As the largest religious organisation in our nation, the West Papua Council of Churches, has stated, ‘The Land of Papua has become a Military Operation Area’.

    “No one can deny that this is an absolute humanitarian catastrophe, a pattern of systematic human rights abuses targeted at the Indigenous population of West Papua by the Indonesian colonial regime.

    “This is serial, repeated murder of the young, of religious figures, of displaced women and children. We are treated with inhumanity on our own land.”

    The ULMWP website said Indonesia’s response to this undeniable disaster had been to deploy 1350 more highly armed troops to West Papua yesterday, joining the thousands of additional security personnel deployed since 2019.

    ‘Concealing the blood’
    “The Indonesian state is trying to conceal the blood that is dripping from its hands,” said Wenda.

    At the UN Human Rights Council last month, the Indonesian Foreign Minister denounced “double standards” and “politicisation” of the council, something Indonesia had done more to promote than any other state, Wenda said.

    “While they take a noble stand on the Palestinian and Myanmar struggles, they lie to the world about what they are doing to their own neighbours in West Papua,” he said.

    “I’m calling on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to pay urgent attention to the situation in West Papua. This is not one-off killings and human rights violations.

    “This is a systematic attempt to subjugate the Indigenous population, to destroy our will to resist, to eliminate our culture and way of life. But we will not give up until we win back our right to self-determination, stolen from us in the 1960s.

    “We need regional leaders in Melanesia and the Pacific to listen to our cry. All 83 countries that support the visit of the UN High Commissioner to West Papua must redouble efforts to ensure the visit takes place as a matter of extreme urgency, before more of my people are murdered.

    “As I have stated since 2019, I am ready to sit down with the Indonesian President to find a just solution to live in peace and harmony in West Papua.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The Moruroa Files – how cutting edge science, secret documents and journalism exposed a Pacific lie

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Cutting edge nuclear science, a trove of declassified documents, and investigative journalism have exposed the human and environmental impacts of French nuclear testing in the Pacific in a new book and web microsite/database.

    Between 1966 and 1996, France conducted 193 atmospheric and underground nuclear weapons tests in Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean.

    These nuclear explosions profoundly affected the environment and health of local indigenous Maohi people and of French veterans involved in the testing programme.

    Using an archive of 2000 pages of declassified French government documents, hundreds of hours of computer simulations of the nuclear tests and fallout predictions, dozens of interviews in France and Polynesia, the book Toxique presents the results of a two-year long study on the consequences of French nuclear testing in the Pacific and the continued struggle of local communities and veterans to seek justice and compensation.

    It sheds unprecedented light on the radiological and environmental contamination of the people of the Pacific through scientific research, journalism, and storytelling.

    It challenges existing official narratives of the consequences of the test, and reveals that more could have been done to protect the public and that justice is owed.

    The book, authored by Sébastien Philippe and Tomas Statius, has a parallel microsite and database – Moruroa Files: Investigation into French nuclear tests in the Pacific.

    Unprecedented collaboration
    “This work is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between a Princeton University nuclear expert, INTERPRT, a collective of architects specialising in the forensic analysis of environmental crimes, and investigative journalists from the media Disclose.

    Classified until 2013, the archives were finally made public as a result of a long legal battle between the French state and the victims of the nuclear tests.

    Toxique
    Toxique … the book of the investigation. Image: APR screenshot

    Until now, the documents have never been studied in their totality. The research team reorganised them by date and subject matter and have now filed them into a database that can be accessed by victims of the tests, researchers and the wider public.

    Along with the study of the documents, the team carried out interviews with more than 50 people, including 18 inhabitants of Polynesian atolls, 16 former military personnel, as well as with magistrates, scientists and organisations from civil society in both French Polynesia and mainland France.

    Using 3D modelling tools and the visualisation of data, we have reproduced, for the first time ever, the events that followed the most contaminating of France’s atmospheric nuclear explosions carried out between 1966 and 1974.

    The team also re-evaluated the extent of the radioactive contaminations these caused, and in which the civilian populations were the principal victims.

    Moruroa Files 2
    Moruroa Files … the Moruoa atoll bunker pictured in the investigation. Image: APR screenshot

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • How Fiji could help resolve the Pal Ahluwalia and USP crisis

    USP vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia … a reputable academic with an impressive track record as a scholar. Image: Linked-In

    ANALYSIS: By Tony Fala

    The arrest, detention, and deportation of University of the South Pacific vice-chancellor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife are significant issues for Fiji and the “Sea of Islands”.

    As a son of the Pacific committed to Oceania, I am dismayed by recent events at USP. I write in support of all the peoples of Fiji. Moreover, I uphold the mana of the many artistic and intellectual ancestors USP has provided for the education of younger generations of Pacific people across Oceania.

    I acknowledge USP’s educational leadership for all peoples in Oceania with humility and respect. I extend solidarity to all USP staff and students from Fiji and around the Moana.

    I do not arrogate the right to tell USP staff or students how they might resolve their issues. We Pasifika in Aotearoa are not qualified to lecture our brothers and sisters at USP about conflict resolution. USP has the collective culture, history, people, and protocols to resolve some of the issues about the expulsion of their vice-chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

    But I wish to provide some humble suggestions to empower those seeking to resolve the issues that USP in Fiji confronts today.

    Speaking as a Pasifika activist, I acknowledge that the only resolutions will be holistic ones involving all parties. But I think the Fiji government can perform an important role in resolving all issues. In broader terms, I feel the Fiji government could perform an important leadership role in allowing USP to heal and move forward in a spirit of Moana unity.

    Ramifications for Fiji, region
    The Fiji government’s expulsion of Professor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife from Fiji has had tremendous ramifications for Fiji and the region.

    Academic organisations, activists, legal organisations, NGOs, journalists, Fiji members of Parliament, regional politicians, and USP alumni, staff, and students have all clarified relevant issues about the Fiji government’s unilateral decision to expel Ahluwalia and his wife.

    In summary, some of these issues are:

    1. The rule of law and the right of due process;
    2. Protection of human rights;
    3. The protection of the right to dissent;
    4. Academic freedom;
    5. Unilateral government intervention into the affairs of USP;
    6. Protection of USP staff from unfair dismissal,
    7. Safety and the wellbeing of USP staff, students at USP in Fiji, including safe from arrest or detention;
    8. Claims of corruption at USP;
    9. Allegations against Pal Ahluwalia;
    10. Claims of punitive action against Ahluwalia by the Fiji government and Fiji members of the USP Council;
    11. Issues of staff remuneration;
    12. The health of relationships between Fiji and other member states who co-own USP;
    13. Distinctions between state and civil society, i.e. the distinctions between the Fiji government and the regional university campus in Fiji; and
    14. Calls for a relocation of the office of USP’s vice-chancellor from Fiji to other member nations, such as Samoa or Vanuatu.

    Helpful resolutions
    The Fiji government could help resolve these matters by engaging in a number of actions, discussions and processes. It could:

    • Invite Professor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife back into the country so the issues could be resolved in Fiji.
    • Clarify precisely what part of the law Ahluwalia his wife are alleged to have breached.
    • Recommit to protecting the human rights of all in Fiji. More specifically, the government could ensure that all USP employees’ human rights are guaranteed so academic freedom can be exercised responsibly.
    • Acknowledge that Pal Ahluwalia and his wife’s human rights have been breached. Moreover, the government could act to ensure this does not happen again to any other USP employee.
    • Take precautions not to directly intervene in the affairs of USP again by expelling employees of the university. Moreover, Fiji government representatives on the USP Council could work to ensure this is never carried out again at the university.
    • Release the funding the Fiji government owes USP without strings attached.
    • Work closely with USP’s member nations to work out collective resolutions to enhancing the regional nature and character of the institution. This could be achieved through the creation of innovative policies that ease current immigration restrictions on the recruitment and retention of staff particularly from the region, and, further, by helping to facilitate an easing of inter-country movement of USP staff and students among member countries.
    • Uphold the sanctity of USP as a learning space and strongly discourage police and military units from entering any USP grounds in Fiji and elsewhere.
    • Respect the autonomy of USP’s staff and student organisations.
    • Ensure the University Council-commissioned 2019 BDO Report, which independently investigated all allegations of corruption, is officially released to all stakeholders including staff and students. The only way to investigate criticisms of Ahluwalia is for independent people to assess the truth of these allegations. Similarly, only independent voices can consider the truth of claims made on Ahluwalia’s behalf. The government agrees to accept the outcomes of such investigations. The search for truth and fact are being politicised because of the Fiji government’s interference in university matters. Truth can only prevail if it is not weaponised for political purposes.
    • Ensure all concerns regarding staff remuneration are scrutinised fully and fairly by investigators acting independently of both the Fiji government and USP. The government could respect the independence of investigator’s findings. Moreover, the issue of remuneration for those staff who have served the region selflessly over long years could be examined with sensitivity and respect by investigators.
    • Allow USP staff and students privacy to work through issues raised by Professor Ahluwalia’s deportation. The government could step back and encourage USP’s people on all sides of this issue to engage in toktok or talanoa in order to heal and move forward in unity. This might encourage people not to settle scores with one another via government and/or university politics.
    • Articulate and clarify the lines of autonomy existing between the spheres of the Fijian state – and USP as part of Moana civil society. Then healthy lines of intersection between state and civil society might be established. If such lines are not clearly established, the Fiji government could be accused of trying to absorb USP in Fiji into an apparatus of the state.
    • Seek assistance from Pacific neighbours to help sort out issues. Pacific unity is perhaps best demonstrated when we support one another. Working with Pacific Island friends ensures USP’s vision of re-shaping the future in Oceania continues. Moreover, working in partnership with other Pacific Island peoples ensures USP’s mission of empowering Moana peoples in the region continues for the foreseeable future.

    Tony Fala is an activist, volunteer community worker and researcher living in Auckland, Aotearoa. He has Tokelau ancestry. According to genealogies held by family elders, Fala also has ancestors from Aotearoa, Samoa, Tonga, and other island groups in Oceania. He works as a volunteer for the Community Services Connect Trust rescuing food and distributing this to families in need. Fala is currently producing a small Pan-Pacific research project, and is also helping organise an Auckland anti-racist conference.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • How Fiji could help resolve the Pal Ahluwalia and USP crisis

    ANALYSIS: By Tony Fala

    The arrest, detention, and deportation of University of the South Pacific vice-chancellor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife are significant issues for Fiji and the “Sea of Islands”.

    As a son of the Pacific committed to Oceania, I am dismayed by recent events at USP. I write in support of all the peoples of Fiji. Moreover, I uphold the mana of the many artistic and intellectual ancestors USP has provided for the education of younger generations of Pacific people across Oceania.

    I acknowledge USP’s educational leadership for all peoples in Oceania with humility and respect. I extend solidarity to all USP staff and students from Fiji and around the Moana.

    I do not arrogate the right to tell USP staff or students how they might resolve their issues. We Pasifika in Aotearoa are not qualified to lecture our brothers and sisters at USP about conflict resolution. USP has the collective culture, history, people, and protocols to resolve some of the issues about the expulsion of their vice-chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

    But I wish to provide some humble suggestions to empower those seeking to resolve the issues that USP in Fiji confronts today.

    Speaking as a Pasifika activist, I acknowledge that the only resolutions will be holistic ones involving all parties. But I think the Fiji government can perform an important role in resolving all issues. In broader terms, I feel the Fiji government could perform an important leadership role in allowing USP to heal and move forward in a spirit of Moana unity.

    Ramifications for Fiji, region
    The Fiji government’s expulsion of Professor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife from Fiji has had tremendous ramifications for Fiji and the region.

    Academic organisations, activists, legal organisations, NGOs, journalists, Fiji members of Parliament, regional politicians, and USP alumni, staff, and students have all clarified relevant issues about the Fiji government’s unilateral decision to expel Ahluwalia and his wife.

    In summary, some of these issues are:

    1. The rule of law and the right of due process;
    2. Protection of human rights;
    3. The protection of the right to dissent;
    4. Academic freedom;
    5. Unilateral government intervention into the affairs of USP;
    6. Protection of USP staff from unfair dismissal,
    7. Safety and the wellbeing of USP staff, students at USP in Fiji, including safe from arrest or detention;
    8. Claims of corruption at USP;
    9. Allegations against Pal Ahluwalia;
    10. Claims of punitive action against Ahluwalia by the Fiji government and Fiji members of the USP Council;
    11. Issues of staff remuneration;
    12. The health of relationships between Fiji and other member states who co-own USP;
    13. Distinctions between state and civil society, i.e. the distinctions between the Fiji government and the regional university campus in Fiji; and
    14. Calls for a relocation of the office of USP’s vice-chancellor from Fiji to other member nations, such as Samoa or Vanuatu.

    Helpful resolutions
    The Fiji government could help resolve these matters by engaging in a number of actions, discussions and processes. It could:

    • Invite Professor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife back into the country so the issues could be resolved in Fiji.
    • Clarify precisely what part of the law Ahluwalia his wife are alleged to have breached.
    • Recommit to protecting the human rights of all in Fiji. More specifically, the government could ensure that all USP employees’ human rights are guaranteed so academic freedom can be exercised responsibly.
    • Acknowledge that Pal Ahluwalia and his wife’s human rights have been breached. Moreover, the government could act to ensure this does not happen again to any other USP employee.
    • Take precautions not to directly intervene in the affairs of USP again by expelling employees of the university. Moreover, Fiji government representatives on the USP Council could work to ensure this is never carried out again at the university.
    • Release the funding the Fiji government owes USP without strings attached.
    • Work closely with USP’s member nations to work out collective resolutions to enhancing the regional nature and character of the institution. This could be achieved through the creation of innovative policies that ease current immigration restrictions on the recruitment and retention of staff particularly from the region, and, further, by helping to facilitate an easing of inter-country movement of USP staff and students among member countries.
    • Uphold the sanctity of USP as a learning space and strongly discourage police and military units from entering any USP grounds in Fiji and elsewhere.
    • Respect the autonomy of USP’s staff and student organisations.
    • Ensure the University Council-commissioned 2019 BDO Report, which independently investigated all allegations of corruption, is officially released to all stakeholders including staff and students. The only way to investigate criticisms of Ahluwalia is for independent people to assess the truth of these allegations. Similarly, only independent voices can consider the truth of claims made on Ahluwalia’s behalf. The government agrees to accept the outcomes of such investigations. The search for truth and fact are being politicised because of the Fiji government’s interference in university matters. Truth can only prevail if it is not weaponised for political purposes.
    • Ensure all concerns regarding staff remuneration are scrutinised fully and fairly by investigators acting independently of both the Fiji government and USP. The government could respect the independence of investigator’s findings. Moreover, the issue of remuneration for those staff who have served the region selflessly over long years could be examined with sensitivity and respect by investigators.
    • Allow USP staff and students privacy to work through issues raised by Professor Ahluwalia’s deportation. The government could step back and encourage USP’s people on all sides of this issue to engage in toktok or talanoa in order to heal and move forward in unity. This might encourage people not to settle scores with one another via government and/or university politics.
    • Articulate and clarify the lines of autonomy existing between the spheres of the Fijian state – and USP as part of Moana civil society. Then healthy lines of intersection between state and civil society might be established. If such lines are not clearly established, the Fiji government could be accused of trying to absorb USP in Fiji into an apparatus of the state.
    • Seek assistance from Pacific neighbours to help sort out issues. Pacific unity is perhaps best demonstrated when we support one another. Working with Pacific Island friends ensures USP’s vision of re-shaping the future in Oceania continues. Moreover, working in partnership with other Pacific Island peoples ensures USP’s mission of empowering Moana peoples in the region continues for the foreseeable future.

    Tony Fala is an activist, volunteer community worker and researcher living in Auckland, Aotearoa. He has Tokelau ancestry. According to genealogies held by family elders, Fala also has ancestors from Aotearoa, Samoa, Tonga, and other island groups in Oceania. He works as a volunteer for the Community Services Connect Trust rescuing food and distributing this to families in need. Fala is currently producing a small Pan-Pacific research project, and is also helping organise an Auckland anti-racist conference.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Fiji must commit political will over crimes against women, girls, says Ali

    By Talebula Kate in Suva

    While International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women, Fiji must not lose sight of the struggles ahead, says Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali.

    She stressed this in a statement as Fiji marked International Women’s Day today, March 8, saying that while the country’s progress towards gender equality was still lagging, public services needed to be scaled up to meet women’s rights and increase women’s participation.

    Ali said Fiji must continue the collective action to demand for accountability for crimes against women and girls in the country.

    “Inequality, climate emergency, covid-19 and the rise of exclusionary politics have further exacerbated our vulnerability as a nation to address the serious violations of women’s human rights,” Ali said.

    She said violence against women and girls continued to increase and anecdotal evidence showed this was because of the patriarchal society that Fiji lived in.

    “We have a very patriarchal society that’s underpinned by religious and cultural attitudes towards women and their place in our communities,” she said.

    “This is further exacerbated by lack of political will on part of government to commit to the issue of eliminating violence against women and girls. We have poor law enforcement, particularly around the area of gender-based violence.”

    Laws not well implemented
    She said that while Fiji had good legislation and protection orders in place, it was not doing well at implementation level.

    “Gender neutral laws and programmes that are not rights based often act as a backlash for women,” Ali said.

    “Programmes that are not rights based do not address the root cause of violence against women which is gender inequality.”

    Ali said Fiji needed to continue to advocate for more women leaders in government, Parliament, on statutory boards and in leadership positions.

    “We have the general elections next year and more women need to contest the polls. We need to challenge the status quo and demand for inclusion, create an enabling environment, address inequalities, educate our women and girls and amplify their voices,” she said.

    “We have many women leaders in the world, in the Pacific and in Fiji. From my experience, effective women leaders are feminists who do not just accept the status quo.

    “Feminist leadership challenges patriarchy, is fearless, is compassionate and leads with humanity, kindness and firmness.”

    Fiji Times articles are republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Papua New Guinea’s bilum – how the handcrafted bags reached Rangiora

    Florence Jaukae works with a co-operative of women in Papua New Guinea to produce original works of bilum. Video: Pacific Trade Invest Australia

    By Laurens Ikinia

    Papua New Guinean academics and community leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand tackle their concerns about climate change and mental health issue in the Pacific through a traditional and famous craft – weaving bilums.

    The Papua New Guinea cultural language week was held by the PNG Community Trust in Manawatu region at Rangiora Community Hall in Palmerston North late last year.

    Bilum-making was introduced to the audience through a presentation by Dr Hennah Steven who recently completed her doctorate in development studies from Massey University.

    Dr Steven described the bilum as a handcrafted bag that had been passed down from generation to generation, saying it was a craft that the women in PNG and other Melanesian societies did in their leisure time.

    She said a bilum was one of the “famous items” carried everywhere in PNG.

    “It is a women’s leisure activity, where we normally sit down and make bilum,” she said.

    “Bilum was also a cultural element. If you go to PNG, everywhere people carry at least one bilum – from a little child to young people and to old people – they always carry a bilum.”

    Special occasions
    Dr Steven said that the bilum had several purposes, so during casual occasions people carried a small one. On special occasions – like at a funeral – people used longer ones that were made of traditional materials such as tulip tree and sisal fibre.

    Following the presentation, skilful women – and men – bilum-weavers from Manawatu PNG’s community gave a display.

    Dr Hennah Steven
    Dr Hennah Steven … “In PNG, everywhere people at least carry one bilum.” Image: Laurens Ikinia

    Dr Steven, Dr Stephanie Sageo-Tapungu, who completed her doctorate in communication studies at Auckland University of Technology, and the event organiser Paul Titus, the PNG community trust chairman in the Manawatu region, shared their insights about bilums.

    They described bilums as having ancestral values and that they were a sign of Melanesian identity.

    Bilums are not only used in PNG and across the Pacific, but are also used by people from countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the USA with Melanesian or Pacific experience.

    “Palmerston North – we are the ones doing this thing and we also have done different things in many ways,” said Paul Titus.

    According to him, the aim of the event was “to showcase the bilum-making by using PNG language” so that people could be educated about PNG culture.

    Teaching younger people
    Also it was hoped to be able to teach younger people about bilum-making and the benefits.

    Titus said bilum-making was connected to language and participants chose to demonstrate this.

    Dr Sageo-Tapungu said bilums represented the foundation of society and womanhood.

    “Babies sleep in the bilum because its design is similar to that of the womb. Food and firewood is carried in a bilum. We adorn our bodies with bilums during our traditional celebrations,” she said.

    “Bilums are given as gifts to our precious loved ones. We carry our most precious possessions in the bilum and we do not open another person’s bilum because we do not want to invade their privacy.

    “It represents our Melanesian worldview and is sacred and precious.”

    Bilum display
    The bilum display at Rangiora Community Hall, Palmerston North. Image: Laurens Ikinia

    Dowry for women
    Dr Tapungu added: “To me, a bilum is also a form of dowry for women. When a woman gets married, she is adorned with bilums and she takes that to her groom.”

    “Likewise, the groom is also adorned with bilums to given to his bride as gifts.

    “Bilums are hung over a deceased person’s coffin or body to show that the spirit will have something precious to carry when entering the spirit world.”

    Paul Titus, who has been living in New Zealand since 2003 and frequently visits his home country, said bilum-making had a great benefit over health issues, particularly mental health.

    Women came together and while making or crafting bilum, they are able to share their stories, he said. Thus, they would feel relief from the stress of any problem that they were going through.

    Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan Masters in Communication Studies student at Auckland University of Technology who has been studying journalism. He contributes to Asia Pacific Report.

    Bilum making
    Bilum-weaving at the Palmerston North event … part of the Melanesian world view. Image: Laurens Ikinia

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Michael Somare – the passing of a great man, Sana, the peacemaker

    By Scott Waide in Lae, Papua New Guinea

    Sir Michael was a man of many titles. He was father, grandfather and chief.

    As a tribal leader, he was Sana, the peacemaker. His influence and his reputation extended beyond Papua New Guinea’s border to the Pacific and other parts of the region.

    Sir Michael Somare has left an incredible legacy: 49 years in politics, a total of 17 years as prime minister spread out over three terms.

    The state of Papua New Guinea bestowed upon him the title of grand chief in later years. Ordinary Papua New Guineans called him Chief, Father of the Nation, Papa, Tumbuna.

    From the early years of his leadership, his family had to share their father with the rest of Papua New Guinea. Just after midnight, the eldest of the Somare clan, Bertha sent out a statement announced their father’s passing.

    “Sir Michael was a loyal husband to our mother and great father first to her children, then grandchildren and great granddaughter. But we are endeared that many Papua New Guineans equally embraced Sir Michael as father and grandfather.”

    The Grand Chief was diagnosed with late stage pancreatic cancer and was admitted to hospital on the February 19.

    Father among first policemen
    Michael Somare was born in Rabaul, East New Britain on 9 April 1936. His father, Ludwig, was one of the first policemen in the colonial territory.

    He attended high school in Dregahafen in Morobe Province and later went on to work as a teacher and radio broadcaster.

    During the 1960s, the young Michael Somare, became increasingly dissatisfied with Australian colonial rule and the racial discrimination. He, and other like-minded people began pushing for independence.

    He attributed his entry into politics to the former Maprik MP, firebrand politician, Sir Peter Lus.

    In 1972, and during an era that saw a strong push for decolonisation worldwide, Michael Somare, was elected Chief Minister. Three years later, in 1975, he led the country to independence when he became Papua New Guinea’s first Prime Minister.

    Sir Michael was a pivotal, uniting force in a very fragmented country. He brought together the four culturally district regions and people who spoke close to a thousand different languages.

    A master tactician
    “A multitude of tribes – some of whom were forced to transition, rapidly, from the stone age into the age of artificial intelligence in less than half a century.

    In politics, Sir Michael was a master tactician. Highly skilled in managing volatile political landscapes on multiple fronts. He survived multiple instances of political turmoil and retired in 2017.

    As a regional leader, Sir Michael was the longest serving. In many instances, seeing the sons of those he served with take on leadership reins.

    While Papua New Guineans have accepted that this day would come, many are still coming to terms with the news.

    There is still a lot more to tell about Sir Michael.

    Asia Pacific Report republishes articles from Lae-based Papua New Guinean television journalist Scott Waide’s blog, My Land, My Country, with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Papua New Guinea in grief after Grand Chief Somare, 84, passes on

    Asia Pacific Report

    Papua New Guineans awoke this morning to great sadness, reports the PNG Post-Courier.

    As the bells tolled with the sad news of the passing of the much beloved statesman and the founding father of the nation, newsfeeds and social media were abuzz with shock, grief, sadness and tributes to the great man who led his country to independence in September, 1975.

    Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare was 84 when he succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the Pacific International Hospital in the country’s capital Port Moresby.

    The national government has ordered all flags lowered to fly half mast as the country prepares to mourn a man considered the architect and cornerstone of a free and democratic Papua New Guinea.

    The Somare family announced his passing in a brief media statement saying Michael Thomas Somare had passed away at 2am today.

    In a statement his family announced: “Sir Michael was only diagnosed with a late stage of pancreatic cancer in early February and was admitted to hospital on Friday, 19 February 2021.

    “Sadly, pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers that are rarely detected early. We as a family had only two weeks to look for possible treatments.”

    “Sir Michael, born on 9 April 1936 in Rabaul, was a pivotal politician leading PNG to independence on 16 September 1975.

    “His political career spanned half a century from 1968 until his retirement in 2017. He had been the longest-serving prime minister (17 years and four terms of office).

    “He had been minister of foreign affairs, leader of the opposition and governor of East Sepik.

    “As a man of great faith, Sir Michael was able to be given his last rites and anointing by Cardinal [John] Ribat. In our presence Sir Michael opened his eyes to acknowledge the blessing by his eminence before passing away peacefully. We take this opportunity to thank the cardinal for making himself available so quickly.”

    The family said that Sir Michael would be taken home to his final resting place in the East Sepik province.

    “We, his children, know that it is the wish of both our parents to be laid to rest together on Kreer Heights in Wewak.

    “We thank everyone who in those few days had worked so hard to save Sir Michael’s life be it through a Medivac, healthcare itself or providing transport. We also thank everyone who wrote in to express their support and offer their prayers to our father and our family. We are humbled.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • USP chancellor condemns Fiji’s treatment of Pal – now in Nauru

    By Litia Cava in Suva

    Never again should a University of the South Pacific staff member be treated in the manner vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia was in being deported from Fiji, says the USP chancellor.

    Chancellor Lionel Rouwen Aingimea, who is also the President of Nauru, hinted at the possibility of Professor Ahluwalia “continuing in his role from one of the university’s other member countries”.

    Aingimea said the university’s expatriate staff needed to be assured that they had security of tenure – and allowing staff to operate across member countries would support their job security and enhance the academic reputation of the university.

    He said he had been entrusted by the USP Council to chair a subcommittee that would look into Professor Ahluwalia’s contract and a recommendation would be made soon.

    He also revealed Professor Ahluwalia was in Nauru at his invitation and was witnessing first-hand the challenges countries in Micronesia and the South Pacific faced.

    In an earlier report by Luke Rawalai, Aingimea said USP was not solely owned by one country but 12 countries whose interest it needed to serve well.

    Responding to questions from The Fiji Times, Aingimea said it was called the University of the South Pacific because it was inclusive.

    “It is not a university of any particular country,” said Aingimea.

    ‘Not political institution’
    “It is not a political institution; it should not be treated as a political institution.

    “It should be treated as a place where ideas are fostered, where learning is upheld to be sacrosanct.

    “I am also concerned that because of the reputational risk that USP carries, that we have to carry a reputation that will want donors to come in and give money.”

    Aingimea said donors wanted to invest in the university’s maritime school, law school, and other schools within the institution, adding they needed confidence in the university’s administration.

    “Donors need to see that we have the governance ability to be able to use their money well and to use it for the betterment of the Pacific countries.

    “One of the most important things for us to remember is that the university is a regional institution and what I would like to basically tell the students and the staff is this, as a chancellor that I want to reassure them and want to emphasise that first and foremost are the staff and the students of the USP, their interests come first.

    “Good governance strategy and vision must go hand in hand and that’s what many council members are concerned with and of course council must always be thinking ‘how do we safeguard our students, how do we safeguard our staff’.

    “That also is of great importance.”

    Litia Cava and Luke Rawalai are reporters of The Fiji Times.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • West Papuans send prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare

    By Benny Mawel in Jayapura

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has sent prayers for the recovery of the former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, who is critically ill with pancreatic cancer.

    Sir Michael, who is also the founder of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), is a figure who has played an important role in supporting ULMWP to become a member of the group.

    Now 84, Sir Michael is being treated at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby, as reported by Asia Pacific Report.

    PNG’s The National newspaper said that Cardinal Sir John Ribat had celebrated a special Eucharist with Sir Michael and his wife, Lady Veronica, at his hospital bed.

    The executive director of ULMWP in West Papua, Markus Haluk, said the movement and the people of West Papua also sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “The people of West Papua [send] healing prayers for Sir Michael Somare,” Haluk told Jubi yesterday.

    Haluk said that the news of Sir Michael Somare’s health condition reminded him of the meeting between ULMWP leaders and Sir Michael Somare at the MSG forum in Port Moresby in February 2018.

    ‘Look to the future’
    “I remember a message from Sir Somare, ‘West Papua don’t look at the past, but look to the future. I have opened my heart, you [ULMWP] are not alone anymore,” said Haluk.

    The National 230221
    “Get well, Sir Michael” – today’s front page banner headline in The National. Image: The National screenshot APR

    Haluk also remembers that a few minutes later the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea at the time, Peter O’Neill, came to the MSG meeting venue.

    ULMWP leaders were standing and chatting with Sir Michael Somare.

    Haluk, realising O’Neill had arrived, wanted to turn around and greet the prime minister, but Somare prevented him.

    “Sir Somare grabbed my shoulder, winked at me, telling me, ‘Don’t turn to face PM O’Neill. Later he will come in your midst ‘. I also followed Sir Somare’s body language,” said Haluk.

    What Sir Michael Somare said came to pass. After Peter O’Neill greeted all invited guests, ambassadors and MSG delegates, O’Neill went to Somare’s circle with the ULMWP delegates.

    “I spontaneously greeted PM O’Neill. ‘Nopase waaa… waaa… waaa…’ (Papuan greetings to an honourable figure). Sir Somare gasped at my greeting. O’Neill greeted, ‘waa… waa… waa… Thanks Bro ‘.

    “Then we shook hands with PM O’Neill,” said Haluk.

    ‘That’s Papuan politics’
    Haluk said he was very impressed with the meeting.

    “That’s Papuan politics, Melanesian politics. Everything flows from our hearts. [We] understand each other, acknowledge each other. You are important to me. We both need each other. Continue to keep the fellowship alive,” said Haluk.

    Haluk said the West Papuan people remember the stories and services of great figures such as Sir Michael Somare.

    According to Haluk, the people from Sorong to Samarai sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “Commemorating all the great services and sacrifices for the Papuan people, from Jayapura, West Papua, we send sincere prayers for healing to Sir Somare. I hope you get better soon,” said Haluk.

    This article has been translated by an Asia Pacific Report correspondent from Tabloid Jubi and published with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • West Papuans send prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare

    Get well wishes for Sir Michael Somare from Jayapura … Sir Michael (centre) is pictured in Port Moresby in February 2018 with the United Liberation Movement of West Papua chairman Benny Wenda and secretary-general Rex Rumakiek along with MSG leaders. Image: Markus Haluk/Tabloid Jubi

    By Benny Mawel in Jayapura

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has sent prayers for the recovery of the former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, who is critically ill with pancreatic cancer.

    Sir Michael, who is also the founder of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), is a figure who has played an important role in supporting ULMWP to become a member of the group.

    Now 84, Sir Michael is being treated at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby, as reported by Asia Pacific Report.

    PNG’s The National newspaper said that Cardinal Sir John Ribat had celebrated a special Eucharist with Sir Michael and his wife, Lady Veronica, at his hospital bed.

    The executive director of ULMWP in West Papua, Markus Haluk, said the movement and the people of West Papua also sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “The people of West Papua [send] healing prayers for Sir Michael Somare,” Haluk told Jubi yesterday.

    Haluk said that the news of Sir Michael Somare’s health condition reminded him of the meeting between ULMWP leaders and Sir Michael Somare at the MSG forum in Port Moresby in February 2018.

    ‘Look to the future’
    “I remember a message from Sir Somare, ‘West Papua don’t look at the past, but look to the future. I have opened my heart, you [ULMWP] are not alone anymore,” said Haluk.

    Haluk also remembered that a few minutes later the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea at the time, Peter O’Neill, came to the MSG meeting venue.

    ULMWP leaders were standing and chatting with Sir Michael Somare.

    Haluk, realising O’Neill had arrived, wanted to turn around and greet the prime minister, but Somare prevented him.

    “Sir Somare grabbed my shoulder, winked at me, telling me, ‘Don’t turn to face PM O’Neill. Later he will come in your midst ‘. I also followed Sir Somare’s body language,” said Haluk.

    What Sir Michael Somare said came to pass. After Peter O’Neill greeted all invited guests, ambassadors and MSG delegates, O’Neill went to Somare’s circle with the ULMWP delegates.

    “I spontaneously greeted PM O’Neill. ‘Nopase waaa… waaa… waaa…’ (Papuan greetings to an honourable figure). Sir Somare gasped at my greeting. O’Neill greeted, ‘waa… waa… waa… Thanks Bro ‘.

    “Then we shook hands with PM O’Neill,” said Haluk.

    ‘That’s Papuan politics’
    Haluk said he was very impressed with the meeting.

    “That’s Papuan politics, Melanesian politics. Everything flows from our hearts. [We] understand each other, acknowledge each other. You are important to me. We both need each other. Continue to keep the fellowship alive,” said Haluk.

    Haluk said the West Papuan people remember the stories and services of great figures such as Sir Michael Somare.

    According to Haluk, the people from Sorong to Samarai sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “Commemorating all the great services and sacrifices for the Papuan people, from Jayapura, West Papua, we send sincere prayers for healing to Sir Somare. I hope you get better soon,” said Haluk.

    This article has been translated by an Asia Pacific Report correspondent from Tabloid Jubi and published with permission.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Fiji’s actions threaten to unwind the Pacific’s great experiment in regional education at USP

    REFLECTIONS: By Robbie Robertson, Akosita Tamanisau in Melbourne

    The pictures of Professor Pal Ahluwalia, the vice-chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP), and his wife Sandra Price on the morning of Thursday, February 4, during their long and unexpected plane journey back to Brisbane after their shock expulsion from Fiji brought back memories for us.

    Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, still very much a politician and leadership contender for elections in 2022, argued that the FijiFirst government’s behaviour in deporting Ahluwalia and his wife was nothing short of childish.

    He should know. He began Fiji’s coup culture with two coups in 1987, unleashing a wave of violence upon Fiji’s people: assaults, burglaries, arson, and imprisonment.

    Akosita Tamanisau & Robbie Robertson 2
    NOW: Dr Robbie Robertson and Akosita Tamanisau … survivors of unwanted Fiji coup attention in 1988. Image: DevBlog

    One group of demonstrators was gassed. Dr Anirudh Singh, a university scientist who criticised Rabuka’s biography, was hijacked by a military unit and severely tortured, his hands broken. In effect, anyone who by their actions signalled dissatisfaction became fair game.

    In January 1988, we found out too that we had become fair game. After the first coup in May 1987, we had been warned by economist Wadan Narsey (another victim, later forced out of USP by government pressure and, in his case, the Bainimarama government) that our close friendship with William Sutherland, the deposed Prime Minister’s permanent secretary, might create problems for us. (William escaped Rabuka’s military, who came for him immediately after the first coup, and managed to leave the country. But at Nadi, troops dragged him off the plane. Only the pilot’s brave refusal to take off without all his passengers enabled him to leave.)

    In reality, anything could cause problems. USP where one of us (Robbie) worked as a senior lecturer had long been subject to cliques at loggerheads with each other.

    A simple call to the military could create a lifetime of pain for helpless individuals. Then VC, Geoffrey Caston, soon discovered this when hash harriers (social runners) left their cars outside his home and he was charged with holding unauthorised meetings.

    Shadowy Taukeist activists
    We had a member of Rabuka’s shadowy Taukeist activists living next door to us in Raiwaqa who didn’t look kindly on us, particularly around the time of the second coup in September 1987 when he held operational meetings in his home.

    We also brought attention upon ourselves because we decided to write on the coups in our evenings. All news was censored, so to find out what was happening we would frequent certain bars where public servants and officers often hung out.

    Asking the odd question, but mostly listening to conversations, could provide some framework for understanding what was happening.

    The other author of this article (Akosita) was a journalist with the then Fiji Sun, but also did stories for London’s Gemini news service. She had been asked to send a story on the current political scene, but the only way to get it out was via Fintel, the government’s centralised telecommunications system.

    She discovered on handing over the article to be faxed that Fintel had been militarised. An officer read her piece, said the fax was down and asked her to come back in the late afternoon.

    We did, but before we could enter an employee exited and whispered that a whole group of soldiers was waiting for her. We decided to leave but were followed by a military vehicle for some time. Eventually we headed up to the Sun editor’s home and got approval to fax from the newspaper’s offices.

    That still had to go through Fintel and was refused. In the end we used an old telex. But no sooner had the article been sent, power to the suburb was cut.

    Things heated up
    From that moment on, things seemed to heat up. Our house was raided by military intelligence. The family we allowed to live in the empty quarters under the house was turned against us and became the military’s spies. And our phone was tapped. After the first raid we took to taking everything to work that we had been writing in the evening.

    Then everything went quiet. Classes finished at USP and we travelled to Vanuatu where Robbie taught for three weeks. Then we took a three-week holiday in Australia, in part to relieve the tension that went with two military coups, roadblocks, curfews, arrests, and beatings of friends.

    When we returned in January, we went to Akosita’s parents to inform them that we intended to marry. On arriving back in Suva, Robbie received an urgent message to go to the university. There he was told that the government had decided not to renew his work visa and asked that he leave the next day.

    The university suggested we go into hiding while they tried to sort it out. The sociologist Vijay Naidu (later thrown by the military into Fiji’s old death row cells) kindly took us up to the New Zealand High Commissioner’s residence, but his wife informed us that her husband was in the bath preparing to go out.

    “We couldn’t help Richard Naidu (another expelled local who had been assaulted by Taukeists),” she argued. What makes you think you are different?

    The next day was busy. Packers in to remove nine years of living. Then a quick trip down to the Registry Office. Then off to historian Jacqui Leckie’s house ostensibly to hide. Nothing worked. Everyone knew where we were and Rabuka refused to budge.

    How did it come to this?
    He told a New Zealand newspaper that Robbie was a security risk and had to go. So he eventually did, flying first to Auckland to stay with journalist David Robie, feeling we suspect much like Ahluwalia and possibly thinking: how did it come to this. And what is next?

    As it turned out USP was good to Robbie. They kept him employed and planned to install him in Vanuatu. He would fly into Suva two or three times a semester to teach. But once the Fijian government heard of these plans, they declared him a prohibited immigrant and encouraged Vanuatu to ban him also. He eventually found work in Australia and the university paid for our effects to come over.

    All’s well that ends well, and he did go back to teach again in Fiji as a professor of development studies in 2004, smartly leaving ahead of the well-advertised 2006 coup.

    That coup was led by the current Prime Minister and bore all the clandestine and nasty tactics that Rabuka and others had employed since 1987 in the name of sovereignty. This is a country that now chairs the UN Human Rights Committee yet has managed to impose a draconian curfew ever since covid-19 became a potential threat.

    Professor Pal Ahluwalia 2
    USP’s deported Professor Pal Ahluwalia … “Standing up to political pressure is not something that comes naturally to the politically appointed USP Council.” Image: PMW

    Standing up to political pressure is not something that comes naturally to the politically appointed USP Council. Let’s hope it does for Pal’s sake and for the health of the Pacific’s regional university.

    Let’s hope also for the notion of academic freedom, unfortunately often more honoured in the breach in the Pacific. In the early 1980s Mara’s pre-coup government pressured Ziam Baksh – a young Indo-Fijian academic – who called for a common term to refer to all Fijian citizens.

    Much later, USP bowed to criticism and forced Professor Narsey to resign. Governments like to be in control, and Fiji is no different from many others in this regard, preferring instead a culture of silence.

    But its assault on good governance under the pretence of sovereign rights, its attempt to pre-emptively sack a vice-chancellor, now threatens to unwind the Pacific’s great experiment in regional education and end the diversity of views and pathways so valuable for any democracy that wishes to garner the best for its peoples. All will lose if they succeed.

    Dr Robbie Robertson is adjunct professor at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne where he was formerly Dean of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Akosita Tamanisau works as an assessor in the Victorian homelessness sector. They are co-authors of Fiji: Shattered Coups. This article first appeared on DevPolicyBlog and is republished here with the authors’ permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Fiji’s actions threaten to unwind the Pacific’s great experiment in regional education at USP

    REFLECTIONS: By Robbie Robertson, Akosita Tamanisau in Melbourne

    The pictures of Professor Pal Ahluwalia, the vice-chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP), and his wife Sandra Price on the morning of Thursday, February 4, during their long and unexpected plane journey back to Brisbane after their shock expulsion from Fiji brought back memories for us.

    Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, still very much a politician and leadership contender for elections in 2022, argued that the FijiFirst government’s behaviour in deporting Ahluwalia and his wife was nothing short of childish.

    He should know. He began Fiji’s coup culture with two coups in 1987, unleashing a wave of violence upon Fiji’s people: assaults, burglaries, arson, and imprisonment.

    Akosita Tamanisau & Robbie Robertson 2NOW: Dr Robbie Robertson and Akosita Tamanisau … survivors of unwanted Fiji coup attention in 1988. Image: DevBlog

    One group of demonstrators was gassed. Dr Anirudh Singh, a university scientist who criticised Rabuka’s biography, was hijacked by a military unit and severely tortured, his hands broken. In effect, anyone who by their actions signalled dissatisfaction became fair game.

    In January 1988, we found out too that we had become fair game. After the first coup in May 1987, we had been warned by economist Wadan Narsey (another victim, later forced out of USP by government pressure and, in his case, the Bainimarama government) that our close friendship with William Sutherland, the deposed Prime Minister’s permanent secretary, might create problems for us. (William escaped Rabuka’s military, who came for him immediately after the first coup, and managed to leave the country. But at Nadi, troops dragged him off the plane. Only the pilot’s brave refusal to take off without all his passengers enabled him to leave.)

    In reality, anything could cause problems. USP where one of us (Robbie) worked as a senior lecturer had long been subject to cliques at loggerheads with each other.

    A simple call to the military could create a lifetime of pain for helpless individuals. Then VC, Geoffrey Caston, soon discovered this when hash harriers (social runners) left their cars outside his home and he was charged with holding unauthorised meetings.

    Shadowy Taukeist activists
    We had a member of Rabuka’s shadowy Taukeist activists living next door to us in Raiwaqa who didn’t look kindly on us, particularly around the time of the second coup in September 1987 when he held operational meetings in his home.

    We also brought attention upon ourselves because we decided to write on the coups in our evenings. All news was censored, so to find out what was happening we would frequent certain bars where public servants and officers often hung out.

    Asking the odd question, but mostly listening to conversations, could provide some framework for understanding what was happening.

    The other author of this article (Akosita) was a journalist with the then Fiji Sun, but also did stories for London’s Gemini news service. She had been asked to send a story on the current political scene, but the only way to get it out was via Fintel, the government’s centralised telecommunications system.

    She discovered on handing over the article to be faxed that Fintel had been militarised. An officer read her piece, said the fax was down and asked her to come back in the late afternoon.

    We did, but before we could enter an employee exited and whispered that a whole group of soldiers was waiting for her. We decided to leave but were followed by a military vehicle for some time. Eventually we headed up to the Sun editor’s home and got approval to fax from the newspaper’s offices.

    That still had to go through Fintel and was refused. In the end we used an old telex. But no sooner had the article been sent, power to the suburb was cut.

    Things heated up
    From that moment on, things seemed to heat up. Our house was raided by military intelligence. The family we allowed to live in the empty quarters under the house was turned against us and became the military’s spies. And our phone was tapped. After the first raid we took to taking everything to work that we had been writing in the evening.

    Then everything went quiet. Classes finished at USP and we travelled to Vanuatu where Robbie taught for three weeks. Then we took a three-week holiday in Australia, in part to relieve the tension that went with two military coups, roadblocks, curfews, arrests, and beatings of friends.

    When we returned in January, we went to Akosita’s parents to inform them that we intended to marry. On arriving back in Suva, Robbie received an urgent message to go to the university. There he was told that the government had decided not to renew his work visa and asked that he leave the next day.

    The university suggested we go into hiding while they tried to sort it out. The sociologist Vijay Naidu (later thrown by the military into Fiji’s old death row cells) kindly took us up to the New Zealand High Commissioner’s residence, but his wife informed us that her husband was in the bath preparing to go out.

    “We couldn’t help Richard Naidu (another expelled local who had been assaulted by Taukeists),” she argued. What makes you think you are different?

    The next day was busy. Packers in to remove nine years of living. Then a quick trip down to the Registry Office. Then off to historian Jacqui Leckie’s house ostensibly to hide. Nothing worked. Everyone knew where we were and Rabuka refused to budge.

    How did it come to this?
    He told a New Zealand newspaper that Robbie was a security risk and had to go. So he eventually did, flying first to Auckland to stay with journalist David Robie, feeling we suspect much like Ahluwalia and possibly thinking: how did it come to this. And what is next?

    As it turned out USP was good to Robbie. They kept him employed and planned to install him in Vanuatu. He would fly into Suva two or three times a semester to teach. But once the Fijian government heard of these plans, they declared him a prohibited immigrant and encouraged Vanuatu to ban him also. He eventually found work in Australia and the university paid for our effects to come over.

    All’s well that ends well, and he did go back to teach again in Fiji as a professor of development studies in 2004, smartly leaving ahead of the well-advertised 2006 coup.

    That coup was led by the current Prime Minister and bore all the clandestine and nasty tactics that Rabuka and others had employed since 1987 in the name of sovereignty. This is a country that now chairs the UN Human Rights Committee yet has managed to impose a draconian curfew ever since covid-19 became a potential threat.

    USP’s deported Professor Pal Ahluwalia … “Standing up to political pressure is not something that comes naturally to the politically appointed USP Council.” Image: PMW

    Standing up to political pressure is not something that comes naturally to the politically appointed USP Council. Let’s hope it does for Pal’s sake and for the health of the Pacific’s regional university.

    Let’s hope also for the notion of academic freedom, unfortunately often more honoured in the breach in the Pacific. In the early 1980s Mara’s pre-coup government pressured Ziam Baksh – a young Indo-Fijian academic – who called for a common term to refer to all Fijian citizens.

    Much later, USP bowed to criticism and forced Professor Narsey to resign. Governments like to be in control, and Fiji is no different from many others in this regard, preferring instead a culture of silence.

    But its assault on good governance under the pretence of sovereign rights, its attempt to pre-emptively sack a vice-chancellor, now threatens to unwind the Pacific’s great experiment in regional education and end the diversity of views and pathways so valuable for any democracy that wishes to garner the best for its peoples. All will lose if they succeed.

    Dr Robbie Robertson is adjunct professor at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne where he was formerly Dean of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Akosita Tamanisau works as an assessor in the Victorian homelessness sector. They are co-authors of Fiji: Shattered Coups. This article first appeared on DevPolicyBlog and is republished here with the authors’ permission.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.