Indonesia has cut off the internet in West Papua to conceal its crackdown on the peaceful liberation movement, says a leading Papuan campaigner.
Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP), has condemned the internet gag while Indonesia’s leading English-language daily newspaper, The Jakarta Post, has also criticised Jakarta’s actions.
In an editorial last Friday, the Post said that many people “suspect that the disruption to the [Papua] internet service in April was actually a deliberate move to silence anti-government critics and activists”.
“The government has been cutting off Papua from the outside world for decades by measures that included restricting foreign visitors, especially foreign journalists,” the newspaper said.
Jakarta remained “stubbornly insistent on maintaining its isolation policy for Papua”.
Erik Walela, secretary of the ULMWP’s “Department of Political Affairs”, is now in hiding, and two of his relatives — Abi, 32, and Anno, 31 — were arrested by the Indonesian colonial police on June 1.
Victor Yeimo, spokesperson of the KNPB, had already been arrested.
Stigmatised as ‘terrorists’
“I am concerned that all the ULMWP leaders and departments inside West Papua are now at risk after Indonesia has tried to stigmatise us as ‘terrorists’,” said Wenda.
“The head of Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has stated that it considers the entire liberation movement, including anyone associated with me, to be terrorists.
“Anyone who stands up to injustice in West Papua is now in danger. Indonesia is cutting off the internet to conceal its crackdown and military operations, continuing its long tradition of concealing information from the world by banning international journalists and spreading propaganda.
“The only way anyone can currently access the internet inside is by standing near a military, police, or government building.”
Wenda said Indonesian authorities had tried to label Papuan pro-independence groups “separatists”, “armed criminal groups”, and in 2019, “monkeys’”.
“Now they are labelling us ‘terrorists’. This is nothing but more discrimination against the entire people of West Papua and our struggle to uphold our basic right to self-determination,” he said.
“I want to remind the United Nations and the Pacific and Melanesian leaders that Indonesia is misusing the issue of terrorism to crush our fundamental struggle for the liberation of our land from illegal occupation and colonisation.”
Samoa’s Court of Appeal (CA) ruled yesterday that Article 44(1A) of the Constitution requires that six women should sit in Parliament. With all due respect, I believe that the CA’s decision was incorrect.
This is on the grounds that the CA has overreached its powers by encroaching on the law-making powers of Parliament and has made an unpragmatic (or impractical) decision that has now prolonged and further complicated Samoa’s constitutional crisis.
While the CA’s decision is final and cannot be appealed, I believe that it is still important that this decision be critiqued because the decision has set a dangerous precedent for future judges interpreting the Constitution — a precedent which essentially signals to them that they can disregard the clear and unequivocal words of the Constitution and insert their own words as they see fit.
To be clear, nothing in this critique should be taken as my disapproval or dissatisfaction with the fact that more women are now required to sit in Parliament.
It goes without saying that having only six women in a Parliament with 51 seats is shameful for any country and is representative of a deeply entrenched gender inequity problem in Samoa that must be addressed.
Fuimaono Dylan Asafo … “it’s important for all Samoans to understand both the dangerous precedent that’s been set by the CA and the wider implications.” Image: RNZ
However, I believe that it is important for all Samoans to understand both the dangerous precedent that has been set by the CA and the wider implications of the decision on Samoa’s constitutional crisis.
Accordingly, I set out three reasons here why I believe that that the CA’s decision was incorrect:
1. The CA encroached on the law-making powers of Parliament by ignoring the explicit wording of Article 44 of the Constitution As stated in the Supreme Court’s judgment, the court’s function is to “give primary attention to the words used, and the Court does not have the power and ability to go beyond the clear and unequivocal words used”. This function was made clear in three previous landmark Court of Appeal cases on constitutional interpretation: Attorney-General v Saipaia Olomalu, Mulitalo v Attorney General, and Jackson & Ors v Attorney General.
This statement of the court’s function recognises the fundamental importance of the doctrine of separation of powers in any democracy. The doctrine of separation of powers follows that it is only for the democratically elected Parliament to make and amend the law (including the Constitution) and the courts, as the unelected independent body, should only interpret and apply the law as Parliament intended and not make or amend the law themselves.
In this case, the “clear and unequivocal words” of Article 44(1A)(a) that the Court of Appeal had to apply are: “…women Members of the Legislative Assembly shall: (a) consist of a minimum of 10 percent of the Members of the Legislative Assembly specified under clause (1) which for the avoidance of doubt is presently 5”.
Therefore, the CA’s decision to ignore the explicit wording of Article 44(1A) demonstrates that it consciously chose not to take the correct approach to interpret the Constitution that has been laid down in key landmark cases.
In the CA’s judgment, they state that “there is a principled way to resolve the two ideas which are presently before the court…guided by well-established principles of interpretation from earlier rulings of this Court”.
In my view, the CA’s approach to constitutional interpretation was not at all “principled”, but bizarre and dubious in a way that hopefully would not be adopted by any courts after them. This dubious approach was supported and encouraged by the arguments submitted by counsel for the appellants, that in my view, were insincere and unduly motivated by political gain.
In adopting this dubious approach, the CA deliberately ignored the great (if not determinative) significance of the passing of the Constitution Amendment Act 2019. This 2019 Act amended Article 44 to increase the number of seats in Parliament from 49 to 51 specifically for the “2021 general elections”
The wording of Article 44 in the Samoan Constitution.
If they gave proper consideration to the impact of the 2019 Act, the CA would have recognised that if Parliament wanted to increase the minimum number of seats for women to six, they would have changed “five” to “six” while amending Article 44 for the “2021 general elections” when they had the chance. However, Parliament did not do this, and the courts are not authorised to do this for them.
Parliament’s choice to leave “five” in Article 44(1A)(a) untouched while amending other parts of the Article 44 specifically should be taken as a clear indication that they intended the minimum number of women to remain “five” and not “six” for the “2021 general elections”. Again, it should be emphasised that under the doctrine of the separation of powers, only Parliament can amend the Constitution as the democratically elected body – not the unelected judiciary.
In an attempt to reason or justify their disregard for the clear and unambiguous wording of the Constitution, the CA looked to the overall purpose of Article 44(1A) and said that: “We consider that Article 44 1A [of the constitution] is ambiguous as to the ideas it promotes and that primacy should be given to whichever of the competing ideas best promotes the establishment of human rights practice in Samoa.”
However, the CA knew, or should have known, that it is not for them, as a body of unelected apolitical justices, to consider political matters like what “best promotes the establishment of human rights practice in Samoa”. It is only for Parliament to do so as the democratically elected body which has been chosen by the people of Samoa to debate and legislate on these political issues.
This particular separation of powers is in place for a very good reason — Parliament is the only body that has the capabilities, time and resources to consider submissions from people in Samoa, (including experts and groups specialising in the relevant issues) in order to make the best laws possible that represent the will of the people. In contrast, the courts do not have the capabilities, time and resources to fully consider matters of great importance before making or amending the law (including the Constitution).
More fundamentally, judges and justices of the courts have not been elected by the people or appointed by elected officials based on their political views or sensibilities as MPs have. In fact, they have the constitutional mandate to act apolitically and objectively when interpreting and applying the law.
Therefore, I believe that the CA’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for other courts to possibly follow, where they have signalled to other judges and justices who’ll interpret the Constitution that they’re permitted to disregard clear and unequivocal words of the Constitution and insert their own words as they see fit.
2. The CA has encroached on the law-making powers of Parliament by creating its own process for Article 44(1A)
Another major part of the CA’s decision is the finding that a sixth woman can only be added only after all petitions and potential byelections have been completed.
For reasons similar to the ones I have given above, I argue that the CA’s creation of a process for Article 44(1A) was an overreach of their powers because it is only for Parliament to design and explicitly set out this process in the Constitution or any relevant legislation (i.e. the Electoral Act).
This was rightfully respected by Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai in the Supreme Court, who observed in their joint judgment that Parliament needed to provide:
“Some clarity as to the ‘process’ to be followed when Article 44(1A) is activated. There is no process provided in regards to a woman candidate appointed pursuant to Article 44(1A). Section 84 of the Electoral Act refers to successful candidates or elected candidates. Section 2 of the Electoral Act defines the word ‘election’ means the election of a Member in a general election or byelection to represent a constituency. The woman candidate coming in through Article 44(1A) is (in our view) not ‘elected’.”
Here, Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai acknowledge that Parliament (in 2013 and 2019) unfortunately did not provide a clear process for the activation of Article 44(1A). However, both justices chose not to go beyond their constitutional powers to engineer and create this process themselves.
Instead, they appreciated that it is only appropriate for Parliament to create this process lawfully and transparently after they have taken the time to fully consider the merits of different options and ideas.
Unfortunately, the CA did not show such respect for Parliament and the separation of powers and decided to engineer and create their own process for Article 44(1A) in less than three days.
In my view, the CA should have simply interpreted the clear and unambiguous words of Article 44(1A) as mentioned above, and stated that it was therefore unnecessary for them to discuss the process as this was a matter for Parliament to determine.
While the CA attempted to design their process with some regard to the practical realities surrounding election petitions, counter petitions and potential byelections — it was still wrong for them to create this process in the fraught context of a dispute in which arguments from parties, namely the appellants, are motivated by political gain.
Therefore, it would not be surprising if the rushed and unprincipled manner in which the CA created the process provides even more confusion, ambiguity, conflict and controversy in the near or distant future. In any case, it is hoped that the new Parliament takes the time needed to fix the problems with Article 44(1A), before designing a new process following its activation, fairly and democratically.
3. The CA’s process for Article 44 is unpragmatic for prolonging and further complicating Samoa’s constitutional crisis
Aside from the issues with the CA’s problematic interpretation of the Constitution, the CA’s decision should also be criticised as being unpragmatic (or in other words, impractical) for having the effect of prolonging and further complicating Samoa’s constitutional crisis.
The CA’s finding that a sixth woman can only be added after all petitions and potential byelections have been completed (and there are still only five women MPs), means that the addition of another woman MP could be several months away. This is due to the sheer volume of petitions that the courts are due to consider next week, a reality the CA was no doubt aware of.
While the courts are not necessarily required to be influenced by what is pragmatic and best for the general wellbeing and smooth running of the country, it is hoped that they at least do not go out of their way to make decisions that would create further uncertainty and delay in a country suffering from an already drawn out constitutional crisis.
Of course, there is already a degree of uncertainty around which party would hold the majority of seats due to the unprecedented number of petitions that have been filed and are yet to be heard,
However, adding the potential activation of Article 44(1A) to the mix does not help things at all. This has already been seen by how both the leaders of the FAST party and the HRPP have interpreted the CA’s decision to mean that their parties hold the majority in judgement and should be able to govern until the election petitions and any potential by-elections are completed.
In my view, had the CA interpreted Article 44(1A) in the correct, honest and principled manner (to find that the minimum number of seats for women is “five” and not six) this would not be a legitimate dispute as the leader of the HRPP would not have any real reason to believe that a sixth woman MP could be added as a 52nd seat in parliament in their favour.
FAST would then have a clearer path for transitioning into the government — a path which I believe they legitimately have because in my view, their convening of parliament was legitimate and constitutional in the extraordinary circumstances Samoa was facing. [NOTE: Although the constitutionality of FAST’s swearing-in on 24 May 2021 is another matter due to be heard by the courts on Friday, I have argued in a previous opinion piece that their swearing-in was constitutional and that the courts should declare this when they do rule on this case — most likely sometime next week.]
Another practical problem the CA could have (and should have) avoided was the risk of creating an even-numbered hung Parliament of 52, with each party having 26 seats. When Article 44(1A) was introduced in 2013, the parliament of that day (and any day up to the 2021 general election) didn’t foresee that its activation could lead to an even-numbered hung parliament which could create major issues in the future. For example, a hung 52 seated parliament (with 26 seats for both parties) could lead the Head of State to use their powers under Article 63 to dissolve parliament and call for a new general election on the grounds that the office of the Prime Minister has vacant beyond a “reasonable period” of time (Article 63(2)) or that the Prime Minister does not command the majority in parliament (Article 63(3)). With due respect, it can only be hoped that this wasn’t the underlying motivation behind the CA’s decision.
In any case, there is an urgent need for a government to come into power to govern Samoa. This is not only because Samoa is in a global pandemic, but also because the government should have already set and announced its annual budget by this time in the year. Therefore, the CA’s decision shows an unfortunate lack of pragmatism for which the people of Samoa will continue to bear the costs.
A case of ‘judicial activism’? Some might celebrate and defend the CA’s decision as a case of “judicial activism” because it was apparently decided in the interests of gender equality and human rights in Samoa.
“Judicial activism” is a term that refers to when judges go outside their apolitical and objective roles to become “activists” in the courtroom pursuing their political agendas. They do this by interpreting and applying laws in a way that is obviously incorrect and contrary to established legal principles because they believe that the outcome would be morally unacceptable and unjust according to their political beliefs if they did not.
One key instance of “judicial activism” in New Zealand was in the 1985 case of Finnigan v New Zealand Rugby Football. In this case, the Court of Appeal of NZ disregarded well established legal principles in order to prevent the All Blacks from touring South Africa during the nation’s apartheid era.
It is well known now that the justices hearing this case were influenced not only by anti-apartheid protests outside the courtroom but by their own values and beliefs against South Africa’s racist system.
Of course, anyone committed to anti-racism (and the fundamental human right to freedom from discrimination) would not question or fault the Court of Appeal of NZ for being judicial activists in the Finnigan case. However, in my view, the CA’s decision should not be seen or understood as a legitimate and justified case of “judicial activism” like that in Finnigan.
Some may disagree and argue that the need to have six women (rather than five) in Parliament is a critically urgent and important human rights and social justice issue that is analogous or comparable to the moral dilemma the NZ justices faced in the Finnigan case.
However, if anything, this litigation has shown that Article 44(1A) is a deeply flawed mechanism for ensuring the representation of women in Parliament and upholding Samoa’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In my view, instead of further complicating a deeply flawed mechanism during a constitutional crisis, the CA should have upheld the observations of Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai in the Supreme Court to allow Parliament (and the people of Samoa whose voices they represent) to improve Samoa’s deeply entrenched gender inequity issue in the fair and transparent manner that is expected of a democratic state.
In terms of what a new gender-based quota system for Samoa would look like, it is clear that the new Parliament will need to pay closer attention to the laws and experiences of other democratic countries that have introduced similar gender-based quota laws, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark who have since achieved an average of 40 percent women in their parliaments.
It’s also important that the new Parliament tackle deeply entrenched gender inequity in Samoan politics more broadly. A 2015 report on “Political Representation and Women’s Empowerment in Samoa” by the Centre for Samoan Studies at the National University of Samoa (NUS) found that Article 44(1A) would “not address what this research found to be the core issue: the barriers to women’s equal participation in local government” and that Samoa does not have gender parity laws and candidate pre-selection mechanisms that other countries like France, Timor-Leste, Senegal and Rwanda have introduced to increase the number of women in their parliaments.
Similarly, Kiki Matire has commented that while Article 44(1A) would increase the representation of women in Samoa’s parliament, “much more needs to be done to address the cultural and tangible obstacles to women as political leaders”.
Fuimaono Dylan Asafo is a law lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland. He holds a Master of Laws from Harvard University and a Master of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland.
Samoa’s 59th Independence Day has come and gone, without the usual fanfare and intense patriotism we have grown accustomed to from previous years.
What we’ve seen for the last few weeks and indeed months has tested the strength of our democracy at the highest of levels and the lowest of lows.
Our Independence document, our Constitution, set out the supreme law for self-governance. The preamble outlines what Samoa stands for as a sovereign nation.
IN THE HOLY NAME OF GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, THE EVER LOVING WHEREAS sovereignty over the Universe belongs to the Omnipresent God alone and the authority to be exercised by the people of Samoa within the limits prescribed by God’s commandments is a sacred heritage. WHEREAS the Leaders of Samoa have declared that Samoa should be an Independent State based on Christian principles and Samoan custom and tradition AND WHEREAS the Constitutional Convention, representing the people of Samoa, has resolved to frame a Constitution for the Independent State of Samoa WHEREIN the State should exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people WHEREIN should be secured to all the people their fundamental rights WHEREIN the impartial administration of justice should be fully maintained AND WHEREIN the integrity of Samoa, its independence, and all its rights should be safeguarded NOW THEREFORE, we the people of Samoa in our Constitutional Convention, this 28th day of October 1960, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.
The founding document of our government has undergone the toughest stress test it has ever had to go through, with poking and prodding and pulling and tugging from legal minds, concerned citizens, inquisitive media and the endless electioneering of politicians.
All while the silent backdrop of a global pandemic and economic recession keeps us wary of possibly greater perils.
So what is there to feel proud of this Independence Day?
Well, despite the challenges and political instability, we have not descended in to chaos or a state of anarchy. The people of this country continue to keep the engines moving, whether they are the struggling private sector or threatened public service.
While the question of Parliamentary majority remains unknown with an appeal pending before the Courts, and both the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) and Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) staking their claims on the executive government, Samoa has remained peaceful and mostly respectful of each other.
Where we find deficiencies in leadership, we take the reins and steer our own families and communities towards peaceful accord.
There may be passionate differences of opinion, but for the most part we are still in this rocky boat together.
As we have seen with the unusual sight of protests in recent weeks, our people are able to defy cultural norms and use their constitutional rights to protest peacefully.
The Samoa Solidarity International Group (SSIG) protests were led by a woman. The Women Empowerment march was led by women. These are the pae and auli of our families and communities. They are generally seen to be the background advisors and soothsayers. And yet there they were, front and center on the national stage, speaking up for what they believe.
This year’s Independence may be a muted affair, but its significance is great as we remember the rights and privileges that come with being citizens of a sovereign nation.
All citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression; to assemble peaceably and without arms; to form associations or unions and to move freely throughout Samoa and reside in any part.
We have seen this exemplified in recent weeks and months with the people of this country using their right to assemble and listen to election campaigning, to form supporter groups and debate one another on the merits of their chosen political affiliations.
This newspaper has also used its privilege to bring to light issues that best reflect its values and adherence to journalism standards and ethics.
All people are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection under the law. We have seen this in action as our Police have done their best to provide protection and lawful interventions across the board during this political crisis.
The Head of State’s Independence Address calls for a return to Christian values as a way to solve the political impasse. He called on the people of Samoa to reflect and remember our ancestors and those who fought for Samoa’s freedom, whose sacrifices enabled us to live as an independent nation.
This was his first public statement in over a week; since his proclamation to suspend an earlier call for Parliament to convene. He called on all leaders – church, government, private sector, political – and every citizen to seek guidance from God to solve the current political impasse.
The carefully worded speech by the Head of State acknowledges that our crisis will take all of us to fix. His reference to youth is also noteworthy.
“On this day, the youth of Samoa should feel the special pride of being citizens of a free nation; let us ensure this is a legacy they will be proud to pass on,” he said.
At this very moment in our history, the impasse is not a legacy anyone should be proud to pass on. But the peacefulness of our people, in this crisis, most definitely is.
Last year’s announcement of a muted national celebration, without a parade and the singing and dancing of villages assigned the honour of entertaining our dignitaries and our country, was met with disappointment. But we accepted the decision due to concerns over the coronavirus.
This year, a call to have another virtual ceremony to mark our 59th Independence, appears to be less about public health concerns and more about our political instability.
After all, how would you host an official celebration with two prime ministers staking their claim on this country?
So we are grateful for the resilience and independent spirit of our people, who took it upon themselves to host their own celebrations.
As shown in our Tuesday edition, Samoa Primary held their own Independence Day fete on Monday with tributes to Samoan tradition such as artwork displays, dancing and singing, the preparation and serving of Samoan food. They even had a float parade.
“Every year’s celebration is remembering our forefathers who have fought for the independence of Samoa and for that we give the opportunity to the students to expand their minds and research former leaders and also those who were fighting for the sake of our country,” said principal Anne Leauga.
On Independence Day itself, we witnessed a few community events starting with Falelauniu, where the Church of Nazareth braved the rain and put on a parade in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Pastor Toeleiu Alatise told this newspaper that he hoped the youth find the spirit of Independence, despite there not being any national celebrations.
“It took two weeks to prepare this event for the children as we had received news that there will be no Independence celebrations, so we prepared this,” he said.
The Marist Old Pupils Association also came together and hosted their own Independence parade, flag raising and celebrations.
The keynote address was given by the Association’s Patron, 81-year-old Tuala Tom Annandale.
“I am happy to see each and every one of our Marist brothers participating in the celebration of the 59th independence day of Samoa,” he said.
“We leave politics aside and focus on the celebration itself as we are all one; we are all called the children of Mother Mary.
“Once you enter the gate, whatever title you have will stay behind gates. We are known as one.”
In whatever way you celebrated Samoa’s 59th Independence Day, we hope you did so in the spirit of appreciation for the great privilege we have been given, to live freely and to choose our own paths as individuals and as a nation.
The Samoa Observer editorial on 2 June 2021. Republished with permission.
Bananas, balaclavas and banners … these were stock-in-trade for human rights activists of the New Zealand-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji who campaigned against then Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka’s original two coups in 1987 and the “banana republic” coup culture that emerged.
Many of the original activists, politicians, trade unionists, civil society advocates and supporters of democracy in Fiji gathered at an Auckland restaurant in Cornwall Park to reflect on their campaign and to remember the visionary Fiji Labour Party prime minister Dr Timoci Bavadra who was ousted by the Fiji military on 14 May 1987.
Speakers included Auckland mayor Phil Goff, who was New Zealand foreign minister at the time, and keynote Richard Naidu, then a talented young journalist who had emerged as Dr Bavadra’s spokesperson — “by accident” he recalls — and movement stalwarts.
The mood of the evening was a fun-filled and relaxed recollection of coup-related events as about 40 participants — many of them exiled from Fiji — sought to pay tribute to the kindly and inspirational leadership of Dr Bavadra who died from cancer two years after the coup.
Participants agreed that it was a tragedy that Dr Bavadra had died such an untimely death at 55, robbing Fiji of a new style of social justice leadership that stood in contrast with the autocratic style of the current Fiji “democracy”.
Naidu, today an outspoken lawyer and commentator, spoke via Zoom from Suva about Dr Bavadra’s unique approach to politics, not unlike a general practitioner caring for his patients, a style that was drawn from his background as a public health specialist and trade unionist.
He referred to Johns Hopkins University in the United States — “the bible of global statistics about covid-19 pandemic in the world” — and remarked that Dr Bavadra had gained his public health degree at that celebrated campus.
Covid and Dr Bavadra
Naidu asked how, if he had been alive today and still prime minister, Dr Bavadra might have approached the Fiji covid-19 crisis with 46 new cases of infection being reported last night.
Fiji has now had 360 cases in total since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 161 recoveries and four deaths.
A shadowy “banana republic” … protesters imitate the seizing of Fiji parliamentarians at gunpoint by hooded soldiers in response to the first coup on 14 May 1987. Image: David Robie screenshotPrime Minister Dr Timoci Bavadra ousted in Fiji’s first coup on 14 May 1987. Image: CDF
Naidu described the current leadership in Fiji in response to the covid pandemic as unresponsive and lacking in direction. He believes Fiji is in a worse position today than it was in 1987 and poverty and food shortages were a growing problem.
The challenge for Fiji was a lack of consultation with grassroots organisations and a “bubble” mentality among the key leaders of Voreqe Bainimarama’s government that refused to see the suffering on the ground.
“Everything was bad in Fiji before 2006 [when Bainimarama staged his coup],” he said, reflecting the leadership’s mantra. “Everything good in Fiji is after 2006.”
Lawyer Richard Naidu speaking about Dr Bavadra’s legacy and the reality of Fiji today. Video: David Robie/FB
Naidu referred to a social media posting in relation to the Samoan constitutional crisis when he commented: “ Australia and New Zealand must be wondering: Is Samoa ‘21 just a rehearsal for Fiji ’22.” The question is what would happen if Bainimarama loses the election next year.
In spite of his fears for the future, Naidu said he still remained optimistic because of the young leadership and committed civil society that was emerging in spite of the barriers.
‘Have we won?’
Looking back 34 years, Naidu asked the audience: “Have we won?”
With a negative response, he challenged the participants to keep working for a better Fiji.
Auckland mayor Phil Goff speaking at the Bavadra reunion last night. Image: David Robie/FB
Mayor Phil Goff said that after the 1987 coups, New Zealand did not just have a “trickle of migration, we had a flood of migration, and I think something like 20,000 or 30,000 people came from Fiji in the wake of the coups”.
And, he added, “that was a huge benefit to our country, it strengthened our country. But it was a huge drain on Fiji because these were the people with skills and energy and they could have been contributing had Fiji been a welcoming country, if everybody had first class citizenship.
“But they didn’t see that future for themselves in Fiji and I understand that and they came to make a better life in New Zealand.”
Goff called on those present to keep campaigning for human rights.
“Criminals go free in Fiji” … an image on display at the Bavadra event in Auckland last night. Image: David Robie screenshot
Union and NFIP days
Trade unionist Ashok Kumar recalled when he had worked for the Fiji Public Service Association and Dr Bavadra had been president at the time and he had inspired many people with the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement, “which had been a big issue for Fiji”.
Trade unionist Ashok Kumar speaking. Video: David Robie/FB
Other speakers also spoke of their admiration for a “forgotten” Dr Bavadra and how they hoped to “keep his memory alive”.
Former National Federation Party MP Ahmed Bhamji said it was hoped that the Bavadra lecture event would become an annual one and he declared that they were already planning for the 35th anniversary of Rabuka’s first coup next year.
Bhamji was a sponsor of this year’s event and among his fellow organisers were Nikhil Naidu, Rach Mario and Maire Leadbeater, who was MC for the evening.
Friends of CDF …James Robb, Maire Leadbeater, Rach Mario and David Robie at the Bavadra event in Auckland last night. Image: David Robie/APROrganiser Nikhil Naidu … thrilled with a successful Bavadra night. Image: David Robie/APRFormer National Federation Party MP Ahmed Bhamji … engaging with Richard Naidu over Fiji’s future. Image: David Robie/APRAdi Asenaca Uluiviti (left) and Del Abcede at the Bavadra memorial event last night. Image: David Robie/APRSome of the CDF group and supporters at the Bavadra memorial event in Auckland last night. Image: David Robie/APR
COMMENT:By Fred Wesley, editor-in-chief, The Fiji Times
Bula.
The big announcement last night must be a very firm reminder for us all in Fiji about what we are dealing with. Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong confirmed 46 new cases.
That must inch out some concern if it hasn’t already done so. It must force a rethink of what we do today and moving forward. So what were the key takeaways from this latest announcement?
Aside from the staggering figure, it has to be the fact that people are still engaging in unsafe behaviour! They are still attending large gatherings.
Understandably there are emotional aspects to consider, however, the fact remains, the virus moves when we move!
Think about what Dr Fong said: “This increase was not unexpected, but it should serve to show how easily this virus is transmitted and why restrictions are in place.”
This was Fred Wesley’s editorial yesterday before the announcement of 46 new cases.
EDITORIAL:Doing this together
In his announcement at 5.14pm yesterday [Friday], the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong confirmed 22 new cases of covid-19.
By 7.31pm, there were six more new cases added to this number, taking the total to 28 new cases yesterday.
Breaking down the cases in the earlier announcement, one was a resident of Kinoya with no links to other cases at the early stage of investigation, two were connected to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks cluster, seven were connected to the Navy cluster and 12 were residents of Vunivivi in Nausori.
They were connected through a common exposure event — a funeral!
In the late announcement, four cases were connected to the Muanikoso cluster and two to the Vunivivi cluster.
The rising number is surely going to attract interest.
In fact, it is going to raise concern as well.
There will be a great sense of apprehension, uncertainty, great fear, doubt, insecurity, frustration and anger.
It is not unusual that Fijians will look up to the powers that be for reassurance.
They will seek that and hope the powers that be are accommodating.
They will look to them for guidance, and to give them confidence to move forward.
They will need to be reassured enough to not panic in the face of the rising numbers daily.
So lest we forget though, let’s not panic right now.
Understandably it would be encouraging to get some semblance of order first up.
However, perhaps we can be buoyed by the fact that with the exception of one, all the other cases are actually connected to known clusters.
Whatever your take is on the growing numbers, we may take comfort in the fact that the outbreak right now is in the Suva-Nausori area.
Most of the new cases in recent days were discovered through contact tracing investigations for known cases.
This, according to Dr Fong, is an indicator that our contact tracing efforts are effective.
Now for the serious bit! The revelation that significant escalations in daily case numbers have been largely driven by the fact that recent cases have been linked to large households or workplace groups, funeral gatherings and the associated grog sessions in big groups is obviously a major concern.
Then there is the connection to a common exposure event — a funeral!
There can be no doubts about what we must do moving forward.
There can be no social gathering! In fact we should just stay home, within our little safe bubbles.
The virus will not move if we stay still. Thousands of Fijians are already doing their bit for the greater good of our nation. They are staying home.
They are staying within their bubbles. They are adhering to physical distancing rules. Together we must stay on course.
The Fiji Times editorial, 28 May 2021.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
As the focus of Samoa’s political crisis shifts to the courtrooms of our Supreme and District Courts, and with Monday, 24 May 2021, going down in the history books as a tale of alternate realities, we are left wondering if there is something missing.
Wherever you stand and whoever you support, surely there can be some common ground to be found among all Samoans, in the simple question of – where is the Head of State?
The Head of State, Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, has for all intents and purposes, gone AWOL.
The country has not heard from His Highness since the weekend, when issuing his Saturday night proclamation to suspend his Friday afternoon proclamation for Parliament to convene on Monday morning.
A promise to provide reasons for suspending the Friday proclamation was made, but four days later and the country is still waiting for answers as we uncoil ourselves from fetal positioning, after Monday’s events.
For the uninitiated: an ad-hoc Parliament was convened under a marquee outside Samoa’s hallowed Maota Fono. This was due to the fact that the doors of the Maota were locked and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly’s refusal to adhere to a Supreme Court ruling.
The Head of State and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and staff were not in attendance for the late afternoon sitting of Parliament. Also conspicuously absent were the 25 elected MPs from the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), including their leader and caretaker Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi.
That the HRPP was not in attendance came as no surprise, because Tuila’epa had made it clear that they would not be attending.
That they would stoop to such levels to stop the convening of the 17th Parliament is reprehensible, but frankly, unsurprising.
Tuilaepa’s reach is long, and the Head of State’s absence from Monday’s convening, shows just how long.
So the majority of Parliament’s elected members (26) – all from Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) – went ahead with their own swearing-in ceremony, swore their oaths and signed in as legislators of the 17th Parliament using collapsible tables, stackable plastic chairs and Chinese mats.
It was a woeful sight; and yet perfectly emblematic of what Samoa’s democracy has been reduced to.
OPINION: The Head of State’s previous edicts to delay Parliament denied 26 constituencies their right to see their elected members sworn-in and seated in our Maota Fono on Monday. It has added to the destructive trail on our already battered Constitution. https://t.co/mhUMY3XaBI
The Head of State’s absence from that watershed Parliament sitting on Monday may perhaps debunk any wholesale belief that his role is merely in title alone.
We say this because only he could have changed the course of Monday’s events, had he shown up and flouted the HRPP leader’s declaration that there would be no convening of Parliament.
By following his own Friday afternoon proclamation and allowing the 17th Parliament to convene, and by conducting the swearing-in of new members of the Legislative Assembly inside the Maota Fono, His Highness could have set our current political path back to where it should be.
And that is with the installation of our next government, which would have been FAST-led.
Whatever else that was set to come, such as petitions, would see their day in court and the outcome could have been dealt with accordingly.
Considering the significant number of election petitions filed with the courts, the final lineup of government could have changed over time.
Well, that was what we believe should have happened.
Whether that fits with a caretaker government’s timeline or party politics is irrelevant. That is what is enshrined in our constitution and the process we have always followed.
Stepping back and allowing another party to take the wheel, as the courts make their way through the petitions, may not be a desirable outcome for the HRPP, but that’s not their call to make.
How is it that a political party can stop the swearing in of another political party? The answer is they can’t.
Government is involved, to be sure, as we saw with the non-attendance of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, the locking of the Assembly doors and of course – the missing Head of State.
His absence has added to the destructive trail on our already battered constitution.
The Head of State’s previous edicts to delay Parliament denied 26 constituencies their right to see their elected members sworn-in and seated in our Maota Fono on Monday.
His absence leaves us with the caretaker government at the helm, refusing to step away; led by the caretaker Prime Minister, who appears to move seamlessly between his role as caretaker PM and HRPP party leader, as he continues to fulfill the duties of both, often simultaneously.
His absence leaves us with a Prime Minister-elect, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, who was sworn-in under unprecedented circumstances.
What could have been a simple timeline moving from general elections to the swearing in of our complete Legislative Assembly has veered off in to uncharted territory.
We are now in the ugly position of having two parties claiming to be government.
Our supreme law is there to guide us in these times, and so our beacon of hope remains with the judiciary.
Any questions requiring the interpretation of law should never be left to the court of public opinion nor in the hands of politicians, because that is not their purview.
No one person should ever be judge, jury and executioner. This is pertinent when considering the current actions of the caretaker leader, who has levelled serious accusations at his political opponents and the judiciary.
The separation of these powers is what makes a democracy, and keeps everyone accountable.
When you attempt to circumvent that path by altering an electoral timeline that has been tried and true over previous elections and by undermining the integrity of the judiciary and denying elected Members of Parliament from being sworn in as others have been sworn for decades, we have to ask if there is something amiss in the house of HRPP. Or are all members of the party as complicit as their leader?
The sitting of our new Parliament, and adherence to the electoral process where petitions would ultimately decide the final makeup of seats in the Assembly should have been the path we follow.
The next step in the Samoan crisis is to see where the police land and to get a sense of who is going to line up on which side and who will get “the social licence” to be the legitimate government, says a leading New Zealand academic.
Associate professor of Pacific studies at the University of Auckland Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa told RNZ Morning Report today that the police seemed to be waiting for clearer signals, however, so far they had acted appropriately because there was calm in Samoa and they did not want to take any action that would threaten that.
“It’s right for people to stay on the sidelines until there’s clarity delivered either politically or legally that can be taken forward into the transition of government.”
It was unlikely that Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi would concede but this was the real problem and it was needed for a peaceful transition.
Those working in the public service had been appointed by either his party or him.
“Samoa’s had no practice at transitioning power. This is not a position that any of these public service heads have been in …we’re asking a lot of these public service heads but they need to deliver,” he said.
The courts had been “heroic” in the last fortnight and had shown a real commitment to upholding the law by coming out of the courtroom and walking up to Parliament yesterday, Toeolesulusulu said.
Asked if other Pacific nations had a role to play, he said it was not the Pacific way to interfere in the domestic concerns of other nations but Tuila’epa had made some enemies in the region.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Papua New Guinea’s Communications Minister, Timothy Masiu, recently told a news conference to mark World Press Freedom Day that the state of journalism and broadcasting in the country has seen a general decline.
He was critical of the quality and the content of the media in general. The former NBC journalist and broadcaster had reported on Bougainville during the decade-long crisis. He had served with former NBC head and senior journalist Joseph Ealedona.
I agreed with him. But I couldn’t let the statement go without challenge. While many have been critical of the state of “investigative” journalism in the country and the apparent lack of impact the media has had on the corruption and abuse, there has been very little investment in Papua New Guinea’s journalism schools over 25 years.
Back then, the university produced journalists who were a force to be reckoned with. They shaped the politics, rubbed shoulders with the political and business heavies and were were unafraid to be openly critical of the government abuses.
At Divine Word University, the people focused approach to journalism and development shaped how rural communities were given a voice.
Their former students provided a vital link between the people and their government.
Quality training
That generation reported on the various constitutional impasses, Bougainville, the Sandline crisis and the inquiries that followed all of the above. The quality of training prepared them to be active participants in a growing country.
Both schools are now struggling. The lack of investment from government is evident. Both universities have tried their best, with the little resources they have, to produce the best they can.
So I issued a challenge to the Communications Minister: If you are going to be critical of the training, I want you, through the Communications Ministry, to invest in training in our universities.
He was kind enough to listen. We began a discussion immediately after the conference which I sincerely hope will lead to some progress.
The same challenge goes to every other politician who is critical of the quality of journalism training. Students have to be taught well. Schools have to be given the ability to improve, build, innovate and grow. That means spending money to help achieve this.
The same challenge goes to the government for investment in our teachers’ colleges and our biggest engineering university, UNITECH. If our foundations are flawed, the outcome will be disastrous.
Asia Pacific Report republishes articles from Lae-based Papua New Guinean television journalist Scott Waide’s blog, My Land, My Country, with permission.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Auckland University of Technology has denied it is sidelining the Pacific Media Centre in the School of Communication Studies, but it is yet to announce the new leadership following disputes over office space and a succession plan.
The multi-disciplinary research and professional development unit was founded in 2007 by Professor David Robie with a focus on Pacific media research and producing stories of marginalised communities in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.
The centre also housed several outlets that provided journalists covering regional issues and Pasifika researchers a space to publish their work, such as the academic journal Pacific Journalism Review and the award-winning Pacific Media Watch.
Dr Robie retired last December as the centre’s director but the position was not filled immediately. There have been no updates from the PMC’s website, YouTube and Soundcloud channels since, while Southern Cross, the weekly radio segment produced by the PMC on 95bFM’s The Wire at Auckland University has not had a new episode since last August.
Only one month after his retirement, Dr Robie was told that the PMC’s office on the 10th floor of the WG Building had been emptied of its awards, theses, books and other memorabilia, with people involved with the centre not being notified or consulted about the move.
The Pacific Newsroom reported that the contents, including a traditional carved Papua New Guinean storyboard presented by then Pacific Island Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban to celebrate the centre’s opening in October 2007, had been removed “with the lack of a coherent explanation from AUT”.
Dr Robie told Debate in April that there was a gap between what was said by AUT and “reality”, saying that the office being cleared out affirmed a lack of commitment by the university for the PMC’s future.
He also said a succession plan drawn up several years ago that had involved “headhunting” possible successors before his sabbatical in 2019 so the candidate could familiarise themselves with the role before formally taking over, but AUT did not follow through on this.
The Pacific Media Centre office in AUT’s Sir Paul Reeves Building … stripped clean in February. Image: PMC
‘Opportunity wasted by the school’
“This opportunity was wasted by the school and by the time I left, nobody had been prepared for continuity and the very able and talented people still working hard for the centre were not given support,” he said.
“This is unconscionable in my view.
“The school needs to listen to the vision of the stakeholders and treat them with respect.”
The move was also criticised by journalists and academics, with the influential Sydney-based Australia Asia Pacific Media Initiative (AAPMI) advocacy group calling on AUT’s vice-chancellor Derek McCormack in an open letter in February to ensure that the PMC would continue to be developed “at a time when Pacific journalism is under existential threat”.
Meanwhile, Dr Camille Nakhid, the chair of the PMC’s advisory board and an associate professor in AUT’s School of Social Sciences and Public Policy, told The Spinoff that she believed the PMC directorship should be advertised externally to “attract a range of qualified candidates”.
Dr Rosser Johnson, the head of AUT’s School of Communications Studies, told Debate at the end of April that the office “relocation” was due to security reasons and the PMC’s “new space” on the 12th floor of the WG Building has “twice as much office space” for students and affiliate researchers.
The new PMC leadership had been expected to be announced in April, but has been again delayed.
‘Expensive specialist gear’
“There’s one department who uses specialist gear that is very expensive and we have a very high level of risk around that gear,” Dr Johnson said.
“We had to consider the space that the Pacific Media Centre was in because it can be made secure through two sets of security doors.”
The school also scheduled two faculty and school-wide planning days to talk with people who would be affected.
Dr Johnson said the School had opted for an expression of interest approach within the department to fill Dr Robie’s position because the original plan did not follow protocol. An external hiring freeze imposed by AUT last year and the part-time nature of the PMC’s directorship meant the school preferred to look internally.
“David [Robie] was asking if it was possible for us to shoulder-tap two or three people to be co-directors but the School is supposed to have a transparent process where everyone who wants to be considered can be considered.
“If you want to grow and develop a research culture, it makes sense to look internally first.”
Dr Johnson also said he respected the care and commitment Dr Robie had towards the PMC, but insisted the school had no intention to shape the centre’s future direction, as the responsibility would fall on the next director.
Justin Wong is a postgraduate student journalist at AUT. He is also the student news reporter at AUT’s Debate magazine and the presenter of The Wire on student radio station 95bFM at the University of Auckland. This article is republished with permission from Debate.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
A collective of community groups in Tahiti trying to preserve a historical-cultural icon at Tautira have condemned the Tahitian government for “deliberately trying to destroy our heritage”.
The iconic Tahua-Reva is the community’s sacred mountain on the southeastern tip of Tahiti-Iti, the smaller section adjoining the main island of Tahiti.
The community groups have appealed for help in their campaign to save the mountainside.
“All the government sees is [that] the mountainʻs cliff must be secured to protect against tumbling rocks, and they came up with no alternative other than dynamite [it] because they say itʻs a cheaper solution,” wrote Vaihei Paepaetaata, a voice of the community groups trying to save the mountainside, in a letter today to Asia Pacific Report.
Tautira on Tahiti-Iti. Image: Google Maps
“Their experts say the danger arises from three stones, 50 tonnes each, which threaten to
collapse on the road at the foot of Tahua-Reva mountain. But for us the danger is the
loss of our heritage, the loss of our history and identity.”
Cultural educator and linguist Paepaetaata said that was why she was seeking help in relaying information “as widely as possible” on behalf of her community of Tautira.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for us that such a decision be taken without any consultation with the population. This cultural site is of capital importance for Polynesian heritage in so far as its history is intimately linked to the marae Tapu-Tapu-Tea, which is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“These three stones carry a story and have a powerful energy. They are a resting place for
the departing souls before they rise to the firmament called Rauhotu No’ano’a.
“Tahua-Reva is a place of collective memory but unfortunately it is not registered, so no
law can protect her from being damaged by humans.
“Tahua-Reva allows me and everyone in my community from Tautira to claim our
affiliation to the land and to say:
I have a mountain, its name is TAHUA-REVA E MOU’A TŌ’U, ‘O TAHUA-REVA I have a water, it is called VAIT -PIHA E VAI TŌ’U, ‘O VAIT PIHA I have a piece of land, it is called FATUTIRA-I-TE-TAI-PA’A’INA E FENUA TŌ’U, ‘O FATUTIRA-I-TE-TAI-PA’A’INA
“This chant is taught to young children from preschool. What will we show to our children if
our mountain is destroyed?
“What meaning will we give to this desecration? What legacy will we leave for them tomorrow?”
Paepaetaata has appealed to Pacific journalists to take up the issue and report their concerns.
Tahua-Reva … sacred rocks. Image: #ProtectTahuaRevaTahua-Reva … the sacred mountain in Tahiti-Iti. Image: #ProtectTahuaReva
#ProtectTahuaReva
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on the Indonesian police to drop politically motivated treason charges against West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson Victor Yeimo.
Yeimo was arrested for calling for an independence referendum for Papua which he expressed in 2019 during the anti-racism protests and riots in Papua and West Papua province.
Human Rights Watch said that the Indonesian government had discriminated against indigenous Melanesians in Papua and West Papua for decades.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is being asked to publicly direct security forces involved in operations in Papua to act in accordance with international law to be held to account for violence there.
“Indonesian police should investigate the deadly violence and arson attacks in Papua in 2019 but not use that as a pretext to crack down on peaceful activists,” said HRW Asia director Brad Adams in a statement.
In August 2019, Papuans held protests in at least 30 cities across Indonesia in response to a racist attack against Papuans at a student dormitory in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya.
Videos show soldiers shouting words such as “monkeys” at the students. Police also fired teargas into the dormitory and arrested scores of students.
Triggered riots
The polemic over this triggered riots in the form of attacks, looting and the torching of public facilities in Jayapura, Manokwari, Sorong and Wamena.
In the aftermath of this, HRW noted that at least 43 protest Papuan protest leaders and KNPB activists were charged with treason and sentenced despite the fact that they were not involved in violence.
HRW said that it takes no position on Papuan claims to self-determination, but supports everyone’s right, including independence supporters, to express their political views peacefully without fear of arrest or other forms of reprisal.
“The Indonesian authorities should ensure that all security force operations in Papua are carried out in accordance with the law and that peaceful activists and other civilians are not targeted,” added Adams.
Separately, lawyers from the Coalition for Upholding the Law and Human Rights in Papua said that Yeimo’s arrest on Saturday, May 9, was not in accordance with arrest procedures under Law Number 8/1981 on the Criminal Procedural Code.
This is because the arrest was made on that day while the warrant was received by Coalition lawyers more than a week later on May 19 at 6 pm at the Mobile Brigade Command Headquarters (Mako Brimob) investigators office in Kotaraja, Abepura, Jayapura.
“The coalition could not assist or directly accompany Victor F. Yeimo yet he is not just being charged under Article 106 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) or the articles on makar [treason, subversion, rebellion] but he is also charged under Article 170 Paragraph (1) of the KUHP where in the process lawyers can sit alongside their client,” said the Coalition’s litigation coordinator Emanuel Gobay.
Prevented from helping
Gobay also stated that they were prevented from assisting Yeimo because they were unable to directly accompany him. Yeimo was then transferred from the Papua regional police to the Mako Brimob without the Coalition’s knowledge.
At the Mako Brimob, meanwhile, Yeimo is said to have been placed in a cell far away from any sources of fresh air and is said to have asked prison guards to move him to a more comfortable cell.
Furthermore, Gobay revealed that his client also asked police why only he had been arrested if the pretext for the arrest was because he gave a speech during an anti-racism protest on August 19, 2019.
“Many other people also gave speeches (during the action) such as women figures, religious figures, youth figures and so forth. Aside from this [the action] was also attuned by the Papuan provincial governor, the speaker of the MPR [Papua People’s Council], members of the DPRP [Papuan Regional House of Representatives], several SKPD [Regional Administrative Work Unit] members as well as OAP [indigenous Papuans] and non-OAP. But why am I the only one that has been arrested and charged while the others haven’t,” said Yeimo as conveyed by Gobay.
Yeimo was a fugitive from the law who had been on the police wanted persons list (DPO) since 2019.
He is alleged to have committed crimes against state security and makar and or broadcasting reports or issued statements which could give rise to public unrest and or broadcasting news which is unreliable or news which is excessive or incomplete.
He is also alleged to have insulted the Indonesian national flag, language and state symbols as well as the national anthem and or incitement to commit a crime.
Koman named as lawyer
In London, Pelagio Doutel of the Indonesian human rights advocacy group TAPOL said UN rapporteurs should call for Yeimo’s immediate and unconditional release.
An urgent appeal on behalf of Yeimo has been submitted by TAPOL and lawyer Veronica Koman to the UN Special Procedures mechanisms of the Human Rights Council.
Yeimo had been living in exile in Papua New Guinea since the crackdown against the so-called Papuan Uprising and had recently returned to his homeland.
“Lawyers have been prevented from accompanying Mr Yeimo during interrogations,” said Pelagio Doutel.
“No family member or anyone else has been able to pay him a visit. He is practically in solitary confinement and currently arbitrarily detained at the Police’s Mobile Brigade Headquarters (Mako Brimob) in Abepura. He was moved there without prior notice to his lawyers.”
Veronica Koman reported that “Papua’s police chief Mathius Fakhiri has publicly indicated that extra charges will likely be put against Victor Yeimo until he ‘gets old’ in prison.
‘History of torture’
“Victor Yeimo has a history of being subjected to torture. Therefore we will be in close communication with UN officials to update them on developments including additional interrogation and maltreatment.”
To support his lawyers on the ground, Yeimo has appointed Koman as his international lawyer.
Veronica Koman is the international advocacy coordinator of the Jayapura-based Association of Human Rights Lawyers for Papua (PAHAM Papua).
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on the Indonesian police to drop politically motivated treason charges against West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson Victor Yeimo.
Yeimo was arrested for calling for an independence referendum for Papua which he expressed in 2019 during the anti-racism protests and riots in Papua and West Papua province.
Human Rights Watch said that the Indonesian government had discriminated against indigenous Melanesians in Papua and West Papua for decades.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is being asked to publicly direct security forces involved in operations in Papua to act in accordance with international law to be held to account for violence there.
“Indonesian police should investigate the deadly violence and arson attacks in Papua in 2019 but not use that as a pretext to crack down on peaceful activists,” said HRW Asia director Brad Adams in a statement.
In August 2019, Papuans held protests in at least 30 cities across Indonesia in response to a racist attack against Papuans at a student dormitory in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya.
Videos show soldiers shouting words such as “monkeys” at the students. Police also fired teargas into the dormitory and arrested scores of students.
Triggered riots
The polemic over this triggered riots in the form of attacks, looting and the torching of public facilities in Jayapura, Manokwari, Sorong and Wamena.
In the aftermath of this, HRW noted that at least 43 protest Papuan protest leaders and KNPB activists were charged with treason and sentenced despite the fact that they were not involved in violence.
HRW said that it takes no position on Papuan claims to self-determination, but supports everyone’s right, including independence supporters, to express their political views peacefully without fear of arrest or other forms of reprisal.
“The Indonesian authorities should ensure that all security force operations in Papua are carried out in accordance with the law and that peaceful activists and other civilians are not targeted,” added Adams.
Separately, lawyers from the Coalition for Upholding the Law and Human Rights in Papua said that Yeimo’s arrest on Saturday, May 9, was not in accordance with arrest procedures under Law Number 8/1981 on the Criminal Procedural Code.
This is because the arrest was made on that day while the warrant was received by Coalition lawyers more than a week later on May 19 at 6 pm at the Mobile Brigade Command Headquarters (Mako Brimob) investigators office in Kotaraja, Abepura, Jayapura.
“The coalition could not assist or directly accompany Victor F. Yeimo yet he is not just being charged under Article 106 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) or the articles on makar [treason, subversion, rebellion] but he is also charged under Article 170 Paragraph (1) of the KUHP where in the process lawyers can sit alongside their client,” said the Coalition’s litigation coordinator Emanuel Gobay.
Prevented from helping
Gobay also stated that they were prevented from assisting Yeimo because they were unable to directly accompany him. Yeimo was then transferred from the Papua regional police to the Mako Brimob without the Coalition’s knowledge.
At the Mako Brimob, meanwhile, Yeimo is said to have been placed in a cell far away from any sources of fresh air and is said to have asked prison guards to move him to a more comfortable cell.
Furthermore, Gobay revealed that his client also asked police why only he had been arrested if the pretext for the arrest was because he gave a speech during an anti-racism protest on August 19, 2019.
“Many other people also gave speeches (during the action) such as women figures, religious figures, youth figures and so forth. Aside from this [the action] was also attuned by the Papuan provincial governor, the speaker of the MPR [Papua People’s Council], members of the DPRP [Papuan Regional House of Representatives], several SKPD [Regional Administrative Work Unit] members as well as OAP [indigenous Papuans] and non-OAP. But why am I the only one that has been arrested and charged while the others haven’t,” said Yeimo as conveyed by Gobay.
Yeimo was a fugitive from the law who had been on the police wanted persons list (DPO) since 2019.
He is alleged to have committed crimes against state security and makar and or broadcasting reports or issued statements which could give rise to public unrest and or broadcasting news which is unreliable or news which is excessive or incomplete.
He is also alleged to have insulted the Indonesian national flag, language and state symbols as well as the national anthem and or incitement to commit a crime.
Koman named as lawyer
In London, Pelagio Doutel of the Indonesian human rights advocacy group TAPOL said UN rapporteurs should call for Yeimo’s immediate and unconditional release.
An urgent appeal on behalf of Yeimo has been submitted by TAPOL and lawyer Veronica Koman to the UN Special Procedures mechanisms of the Human Rights Council.
Yeimo had been living in exile in Papua New Guinea since the crackdown against the so-called Papuan Uprising and had recently returned to his homeland.
“Lawyers have been prevented from accompanying Mr Yeimo during interrogations,” said Pelagio Doutel.
“No family member or anyone else has been able to pay him a visit. He is practically in solitary confinement and currently arbitrarily detained at the Police’s Mobile Brigade Headquarters (Mako Brimob) in Abepura. He was moved there without prior notice to his lawyers.”
Veronica Koman reported that “Papua’s police chief Mathius Fakhiri has publicly indicated that extra charges will likely be put against Victor Yeimo until he ‘gets old’ in prison.
‘History of torture’
“Victor Yeimo has a history of being subjected to torture. Therefore we will be in close communication with UN officials to update them on developments including additional interrogation and maltreatment.”
To support his lawyers on the ground, Yeimo has appointed Koman as his international lawyer.
Veronica Koman is the international advocacy coordinator of the Jayapura-based Association of Human Rights Lawyers for Papua (PAHAM Papua).
Ingrid Leary, MP for Taieri and an ex-Pacific journalist, media academic at the University of the South Pacific and former director of the British Council, shares her experience with the importance of maintaining the Rotuman language and culture for her children.
What does Rotuman language week mean personally to you?
Noa’ia e Mauri to our Rotuman communities in Aotearoa.
Rotuman Language Week is an opportunity for me to celebrate my teenage children’s unique culture and language. It’s an important part of the revitalisation of a beautiful and endangered language, an opportunity to celebrate the new wave of cultural leaders who have bravely stepped out to make Rotuman arts relevant in a modern context while honouring the traditional practices, and a great excuse for Rotumans everywhere to get together as communities and have fun.
What events … will you be attending during Rotuman language week?
I am discussing the marking of Rotuman Language Week at Parliament with my Labour colleagues from the Pasifika Caucus and have the huge honour of saying the opening prayer for Parliament on Wednesday. I was asked to do this, given that I also said my Parliamentary Oath of Allegiance in Rotuman and Te Reo. I am hoping to get to some of the events, including the official closing, if my parliamentary duties allow.
Unfortunately I could not make the opening ceremony in Auckland with the Minister of Pacific Peoples, ‘Aupito William Sio, as I had important business in my electorate last weekend. However, I encouraged all my extended family and friends to attend that and as many events as they could.
What do you think the significance is, and importance of, New Zealand officially observing Rotuman language week?
Rotuman Language Week brings visibility both to the language/culture of Rotumans and to the communities themselves. This is vital to Rotumans having a voice at decision-making tables, as well as to ensuring young Rotuman New Zealanders are safe, confident and proud in their own cultures.
What is your favourite Rotuman food?
Fekei of course – the national dish made from starch, sugar and coconut milk – and cooked in an earth oven similar to a hangi pit. Yum!
Can you tell us something unique about the Rotuman culture that you think most people would not be aware of?
Rotumans who live on Rotuma spend the month of December (after a year of very hard work) in a Christmas Fara or traditional party – which entails going from house to house, one day at a time right around the island, singing, dancing and feasting. If the leaders decide to continue the party, then it can even go on for up to six weeks. The best place to be for Christmas, I’d say!
MP Ingrid Leary’s son, Marli Atu … serving kava in a covid environment on election night. Image: PCF
This is the second year now that New Zealand, as part of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ observance of Pacific language weeks, has observed Rotuman language week. Do you think New Zealanders are starting to understand and know more about the Rotuman Islands, and what significance do you think this has for Rotuman people living in New Zealand and abroad?
MP Ingrid Leary’s daughter Lily Atu. Image: PCF
Celebrating different Pacific languages is part of New Zealand celebrating who we are as a country. Certainly I’ve seen a shift in awareness of Rotuma since when I first came back to live in New Zealand in 2000, after living in Fiji for five years.
The Ministry of Pacific Peoples’ observance of Rotuman Language Week last year elevated that awareness significantly.
I do want to thank all those in the Rotuman communities over the last 20 years who worked so hard to promote the language and culture, and who engaged with government agencies to push for official recognition of the language. We would not be there without them, and on behalf of my family and the future generations of my family, I give them heartfelt thanks. Foak’sia!
Republished from the Pacific Cooperation Foundation. The original article is here.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
The caretaker Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, thinks the newspaper you hold in your hands is dedicated to trying to “tear down” the Samoan government but the broader economic progress of Samoa.
So, reader, are you subsidising borderline treachery by having paid for the edition you hold in your hands?
We certainly don’t think so. This newspaper has been part of Samoan public life for longer than the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) and Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi. And for all these 43 years we have lived by a simple rule: telling truths, however uncomfortable, is the best thing for our country.
Our loyalties belong to our readers, the people of Samoa, and the truth and nothing and no one else. We consider not telling the truth about failures of government or corrupt goings-on to be the height of disloyalty to one’s country.
Tuilaepa’s statement was not entirely surprising to us but further evidence that he evidently lives by the saying that consistency is a preoccupation of small minds.
Many would have noticed that the Prime Minister’s office space at the Human Rights Protection Party Headquarters has as its backdrop several articles from what he this week described (and later retracted as a ) “vile” and “miserable” tabloid.
It is a strange thing indeed for a leader to have clippings from the pages of what he has described as essentially a magazine subversive to national loyalties.
Flattering coverage
There is after all an alternative, government-owned newspaper in this country and one that has not been short at all of flattering coverage of the Prime Minister that could serve as alternative decoration.
On Thursday, Tuilaepa asserted that it was very typical of Samoans to try and tear each other down even when they are trying to do good.
“That’s like this paper, the [Samoa] Observer. Everything [they publish] is incorrect, I do not know when they will correct it,” he said.
“Others try to do something good while others try to tear it down […] just like the Samoa Observer newspaper.
“Whatever happens, they never report about anything bad from other political parties, but when it is criticism from something very minimal, oh, the [Samoa] Observer would be so full of a collection of irrelevant reports on it.”
We would beg to differ with the caretaker Prime Minister’s observations. But of course we would; no one would admit to harbouring such a rotten agenda as to seek to sabotage this country.
So we suggest you don’t take our word for it but rather Tuilaepa’s own.
‘Loved’ Samoa Observer
It was earlier this year that the then-Prime Minister said that he “loved” the Samoa Observer.
He was mixing his words with a touch of irony but as the old Russian saying goes: in every joke, there is a trace of a joke. And in this case, he was obviously making a serious point about the deficiencies of this country’s state-owned media empire and its inability to ask questions of him during press conferences.
He reproached the announcers at the state-owned radio station 2AP for deriving all the questions they asked of the Prime Minister from the Samoa Observer.
“Even though I make harsh comments towards them most of the time, I still love the (Samoa) Observer,” he said.
“You guys then go and read their articles and use those articles to formulate the questions you ask me during our weekly programmes.
“That is how you get your questions and that is what makes these interviews interesting, but it’s all because of the issues highlighted in the Observer.”
If Tuilaepa truly desired scrutiny he would have invited us to ask him unscripted questions at press conferences over the last two years for which he was in power. We never requested nor required what the Government Press Secretariat styled as the special “privilege” of being the only media outlet obliged to submit questions in advance to the Prime Minister.
Returning scrutiny
Returning scrutiny to your press conferences, Tuilaepa, is only a phone call away.
But let’s consider the Prime Minister’s broader accusation. Do we set out to undermine the credibility of our government?
No, we just do our job every day.
Politics is about power. Journalism is about asking questions about how that power is exercised to ensure that it is in the interest of the public.
In recent times at the Samoa Observer, this has involved a range of stories.
We of course measured the multi-million dollar airstrip at Ti’avea Airport – sold to the public as an alternative to Faleolo International Airport – and found it three times too small to land a passenger jet. There were plenty of questions there.
In 2019, we asked why the government was continuing to downplay the possibility that Measles had reached Samoa when, as we then revealed, an isolation unit for the disease had already been established at the national hospital.
Protecting the youth
More recently, we asked why the government had ignored the advice of its own advisory committee, issued months before, to move quickly to protect the youth of the nation before the disease ravaged the health of Samoa’s children.
Is it the Prime Minister’s contention that we should not investigate matters such as these and ask questions about them? Especially when, by his own admission, state-media employees are not providing scrutiny or even ideas off their own steam.
To be frank, we don’t much care. Our responsibility is not to please the powerful – far from it. But it is obvious that governance in Samoa would be much the worse without a critical press.
But as to the accusation that we are biased, in fact, whichever way misdeeds draw our attention our reporters will follow.
So it was with our critical editorial and coverage of the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party manifesto. We asked how the party planned on funding a policy platform that would almost double the size of the national budget at a time when the economy was shrinking faster than ever.
What about our March front-page story that three electoral committee members from the party were facing charges relating to election forgery?
(Note the party, which is not happy with our journalism, denied this story but has refused to say what the titles of the people arrested were. Until it does so, we stand by our reporting.)
Taking on all comers
The Samoa Observer takes on all comers and has always done so.
If we sense that the rules are being breached or the people of Samoa are being hard done by we will report on it. If we believe that the ongoing level of poverty in this nation is obscene, as we do, we report on it.
What is the alternative of a country without a newspaper with a critical edge?
We see it regularly in the Prime Minister’s press conferences where a sense of apathy radiates around the room as announcers tee up the Prime Minister with questions that fit his agenda.
Question marks loom particularly large over Samoa’s democracy at the moment. The final institution of government standing between Samoa and dictatorship appears to be the judiciary.
Tuilaepa has done his best to undermine that institution through casting aspersions.
But we can assure you that whatever the caretaker Prime Minister says about us will make us think twice about publishing a story.
This editorial was published by the Samoa Observer on 8 May 2021.
The caretaker Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, thinks the newspaper you hold in your hands is dedicated to trying to “tear down” the Samoan government but the broader economic progress of Samoa.
So, reader, are you subsidising borderline treachery by having paid for the edition you hold in your hands?
We certainly don’t think so. This newspaper has been part of Samoan public life for longer than the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) and Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi. And for all these 43 years we have lived by a simple rule: telling truths, however uncomfortable, is the best thing for our country.
Our loyalties belong to our readers, the people of Samoa, and the truth and nothing and no one else. We consider not telling the truth about failures of government or corrupt goings-on to be the height of disloyalty to one’s country.
Tuilaepa’s statement was not entirely surprising to us but further evidence that he evidently lives by the saying that consistency is a preoccupation of small minds.
Many would have noticed that the Prime Minister’s office space at the Human Rights Protection Party Headquarters has as its backdrop several articles from what he this week described (and later retracted as a ) “vile” and “miserable” tabloid.
It is a strange thing indeed for a leader to have clippings from the pages of what he has described as essentially a magazine subversive to national loyalties.
Flattering coverage There is after all an alternative, government-owned newspaper in this country and one that has not been short at all of flattering coverage of the Prime Minister that could serve as alternative decoration.
On Thursday, Tuilaepa asserted that it was very typical of Samoans to try and tear each other down even when they are trying to do good.
“That’s like this paper, the [Samoa] Observer. Everything [they publish] is incorrect, I do not know when they will correct it,” he said.
“Others try to do something good while others try to tear it down […] just like the Samoa Observer newspaper.
“Whatever happens, they never report about anything bad from other political parties, but when it is criticism from something very minimal, oh, the [Samoa] Observer would be so full of a collection of irrelevant reports on it.”
We would beg to differ with the caretaker Prime Minister’s observations. But of course we would; no one would admit to harbouring such a rotten agenda as to seek to sabotage this country.
So we suggest you don’t take our word for it but rather Tuilaepa’s own.
‘Loved’ Samoa Observer It was earlier this year that the then-Prime Minister said that he “loved” the Samoa Observer.
He was mixing his words with a touch of irony but as the old Russian saying goes: in every joke, there is a trace of a joke. And in this case, he was obviously making a serious point about the deficiencies of this country’s state-owned media empire and its inability to ask questions of him during press conferences.
He reproached the announcers at the state-owned radio station 2AP for deriving all the questions they asked of the Prime Minister from the Samoa Observer.
“Even though I make harsh comments towards them most of the time, I still love the (Samoa) Observer,” he said.
“You guys then go and read their articles and use those articles to formulate the questions you ask me during our weekly programmes.
“That is how you get your questions and that is what makes these interviews interesting, but it’s all because of the issues highlighted in the Observer.”
If Tuilaepa truly desired scrutiny he would have invited us to ask him unscripted questions at press conferences over the last two years for which he was in power. We never requested nor required what the Government Press Secretariat styled as the special “privilege” of being the only media outlet obliged to submit questions in advance to the Prime Minister.
Returning scrutiny Returning scrutiny to your press conferences, Tuilaepa, is only a phone call away.
But let’s consider the Prime Minister’s broader accusation. Do we set out to undermine the credibility of our government?
No, we just do our job every day.
Politics is about power. Journalism is about asking questions about how that power is exercised to ensure that it is in the interest of the public.
In recent times at the Samoa Observer, this has involved a range of stories.
We of course measured the multi-million dollar airstrip at Ti’avea Airport – sold to the public as an alternative to Faleolo International Airport – and found it three times too small to land a passenger jet. There were plenty of questions there.
In 2019, we asked why the government was continuing to downplay the possibility that Measles had reached Samoa when, as we then revealed, an isolation unit for the disease had already been established at the national hospital.
Protecting the youth More recently, we asked why the government had ignored the advice of its own advisory committee, issued months before, to move quickly to protect the youth of the nation before the disease ravaged the health of Samoa’s children.
Is it the Prime Minister’s contention that we should not investigate matters such as these and ask questions about them? Especially when, by his own admission, state-media employees are not providing scrutiny or even ideas off their own steam.
To be frank, we don’t much care. Our responsibility is not to please the powerful – far from it. But it is obvious that governance in Samoa would be much the worse without a critical press.
But as to the accusation that we are biased, in fact, whichever way misdeeds draw our attention our reporters will follow.
So it was with our critical editorial and coverage of the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party manifesto. We asked how the party planned on funding a policy platform that would almost double the size of the national budget at a time when the economy was shrinking faster than ever.
What about our March front-page story that three electoral committee members from the party were facing charges relating to election forgery?
(Note the party, which is not happy with our journalism, denied this story but has refused to say what the titles of the people arrested were. Until it does so, we stand by our reporting.)
Taking on all comers The Samoa Observer takes on all comers and has always done so.
If we sense that the rules are being breached or the people of Samoa are being hard done by we will report on it. If we believe that the ongoing level of poverty in this nation is obscene, as we do, we report on it.
What is the alternative of a country without a newspaper with a critical edge?
We see it regularly in the Prime Minister’s press conferences where a sense of apathy radiates around the room as announcers tee up the Prime Minister with questions that fit his agenda.
Question marks loom particularly large over Samoa’s democracy at the moment. The final institution of government standing between Samoa and dictatorship appears to be the judiciary.
Tuilaepa has done his best to undermine that institution through casting aspersions.
But we can assure you that whatever the caretaker Prime Minister says about us will make us think twice about publishing a story.
This editorial was published by the Samoa Observer on 8 May 2021.
Micronesian leaders have received an apology from their colleagues in the Pacific Islands Forum.
In what has been described as a frank and open political dialogue on Monday the Forum leaders aimed to heal the wounds caused by the selection of the Cook Islands’ Henry Puna as the new secretary-general of the agency.
Micronesia’s leaders believed they had a commitment that their candidate, Gerald Zackios from the Marshall Islands, would be named secretary-general.
In February, the five Micronesian members of the Forum announced they would leave in protest at the selection.
But in a virtual meeting, dubbed the Troika Plus dialogue, on Monday, the Micronesian leaders heard apologies from Papua New Guinea’s James Marape, Fiji’s Voreqe Bainimarama, Samoa’s Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Mailielegaoi and the outgoing Secretary-General Dame Meg Taylor.
The leaders expressed regret and acknowledged that the situation could have been managed differently and better.
‘Secure regional solidarity’
The Forum chair, Tuvalu Prime Minister, Kausea Natano, reminded the leaders the dialogue was to listen to the concerns and issues of the Micronesian presidents and to “secure the solidarity of our region.”
Nauru’s President Aingimea was deeply thankful and moved by the depth of sincerity in an apology that he said “resonates deep within my heart.”
“Leadership is shown at times like this and to the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Prime Minister of Samoa, and the Prime Minister of Fiji, you have shown yourselves to be able leaders; wise leaders, in bringing words like this to us here,” he said.
Marape appealed to Micronesia not to leave the Forum and encouraged the leaders to “break bread” and right the wrong.
He reiterated his choice in voting with Micronesia at the election of the PIF secretary-general, and urges that in the interest of regional solidarity the election of the secretary general should be on rotation even if it was not a written agreement, for what he describes as for brotherhood.
Samoa’s Tuila’epa said the meeting came at an opportune time and that more time for discussion could have reached an appropriate way out.
Are apologies too little, too late? Palau’s president says apologies from some Pacific Islands Forum leaders this week is a step in the right direction but more action is needed.
The apologies follow the public falling out with Micronesian states earlier this year over their preferred candidate for the Forum’s secretary general’s post, Gerald Zackios, being snubbed for Cook Islands’ Henry Puna.
On Monday, the leaders of Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa acknowledged the situation could have been managed better.
Surangel Whipps Jr says he believes they are genuine and heartfelt, but that the Micronesian leader’s position remains the same and they need more than an apology to return to the Forum.
“I don’t think any of us are coming back to the Forum unless we see change. We’ve made that position clear and that continues to be our position, and I think the Troika understands that. So, we’ve officially withdrawn and I would assume that no one’s going back unless change happens.”
RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in the Marshall Islands, Giff Johnson, says the apologies are probably too little, too late.
“Given the feelings that were expressed around the time of the vote, a couple of months back, and just the fallout that developed … in some ways it was perhaps unfortunate that people had painted themselves into a corner on it, in the lead-up to the secretary general vote,” he said.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Micronesian leaders have received an apology from their colleagues in the Pacific Islands Forum.
In what has been described as a frank and open political dialogue on Monday the Forum leaders aimed to heal the wounds caused by the selection of the Cook Islands’ Henry Puna as the new secretary-general of the agency.
Micronesia’s leaders believed they had a commitment that their candidate, Gerald Zackios from the Marshall Islands, would be named secretary-general.
In February, the five Micronesian members of the Forum announced they would leave in protest at the selection.
But in a virtual meeting, dubbed the Troika Plus dialogue, on Monday, the Micronesian leaders heard apologies from Papua New Guinea’s James Marape, Fiji’s Voreqe Bainimarama, Samoa’s Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Mailielegaoi and the outgoing Secretary-General Dame Meg Taylor.
The leaders expressed regret and acknowledged that the situation could have been managed differently and better.
‘Secure regional solidarity’ The Forum chair, Tuvalu Prime Minister, Kausea Natano, reminded the leaders the dialogue was to listen to the concerns and issues of the Micronesian presidents and to “secure the solidarity of our region.”
Nauru’s President Aingimea was deeply thankful and moved by the depth of sincerity in an apology that he said “resonates deep within my heart.”
“Leadership is shown at times like this and to the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Prime Minister of Samoa, and the Prime Minister of Fiji, you have shown yourselves to be able leaders; wise leaders, in bringing words like this to us here,” he said.
Marape appealed to Micronesia not to leave the Forum and encouraged the leaders to “break bread” and right the wrong.
He reiterated his choice in voting with Micronesia at the election of the PIF secretary-general, and urges that in the interest of regional solidarity the election of the secretary general should be on rotation even if it was not a written agreement, for what he describes as for brotherhood.
Samoa’s Tuila’epa said the meeting came at an opportune time and that more time for discussion could have reached an appropriate way out.
Are apologies too little, too late? Palau’s president says apologies from some Pacific Islands Forum leaders this week is a step in the right direction but more action is needed.
The apologies follow the public falling out with Micronesian states earlier this year over their preferred candidate for the Forum’s secretary general’s post, Gerald Zackios, being snubbed for Cook Islands’ Henry Puna.
On Monday, the leaders of Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa acknowledged the situation could have been managed better.
Surangel Whipps Jr says he believes they are genuine and heartfelt, but that the Micronesian leader’s position remains the same and they need more than an apology to return to the Forum.
“I don’t think any of us are coming back to the Forum unless we see change. We’ve made that position clear and that continues to be our position, and I think the Troika understands that. So, we’ve officially withdrawn and I would assume that no one’s going back unless change happens.”
RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in the Marshall Islands, Giff Johnson, says the apologies are probably too little, too late.
“Given the feelings that were expressed around the time of the vote, a couple of months back, and just the fallout that developed … in some ways it was perhaps unfortunate that people had painted themselves into a corner on it, in the lead-up to the secretary general vote,” he said.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Yesterday I worked a 13-hour day unpaid. It’s pretty common in my world. It’s pretty common in the worlds of Indigenous women.
Kaupapa always come first.
Why? Because we are the drivers of change, and positive social and environmental change comes at a cost to someone – and it’s never the rich white man.
The most marginalised have dreams to see a different future for the 7 generations in front of them, so they give up their today for the tomorrow of their mokopuna.
The more Indigenous women I sit down with, the more it becomes cemented in my mind that it is Indigenous women that keep us alive as a planet. They are the matauranga holders, the frontliners, the carers, the whale whisperers, the teachers, the ahi kaa, the boundary pushers, the leaders, the workers, the innovators, the motivators, they are empowering across generations by being unapologetically themselves.
I ended my day yesterday at Putiki Bay (Kennedy Point) where mana whenua and the community of Waiheke are fighting against the destruction of yet another of our taonga species, our natural resources, and our life giving taiao.
I shared in talanoa with two indigenous wāhine and heard a number of solutions that are ignored by governments, scientists and corporations because they come from the mouths of brown women.
We could roll our eyes and accept the dismissal, or we could gather, grow, strengthen, learn, observe, stand up, open our mouths and kick down the doors with our steel capped boots.
What are you going to do this Tuesday morning?
Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Wai-o-hua, Waikato-Tainui) is a journalist, photographer and social activist based in South Auckland’s Ihumātao. She is an indigenous storyteller celebrating wahine toa. She is the founder of the Nuku wahine project and is giving a public kōrero at Western Springs Garden Community Hall, Auckland, tomorrow night at 7pm.
Yesterday I worked a 13-hour day unpaid. It’s pretty common in my world. It’s pretty common in the worlds of Indigenous women.
Kaupapa always come first.
Why? Because we are the drivers of change, and positive social and environmental change comes at a cost to someone – and it’s never the rich white man.
The most marginalised have dreams to see a different future for the 7 generations in front of them, so they give up their today for the tomorrow of their mokopuna.
The more Indigenous women I sit down with, the more it becomes cemented in my mind that it is Indigenous women that keep us alive as a planet. They are the matauranga holders, the front liners, the carers, the whale whisperers, the teachers, the ahi kaa, the boundary pushers, the leaders, the workers, the innovators, the motivators, they are empowering across generations by being unapologetically themselves.
I ended my day yesterday at Putiki Bay (Kennedy Point) where mana whenua and the community of Waiheke are fighting against the destruction of yet another of our taonga species, our natural resources, and our life giving taiao.
I shared in talanoa with two indigenous wāhine and heard a number of solutions that are ignored by governments, scientists and corporations because they come from the mouths of brown women.
We could roll our eyes and accept the dismissal, or we could gather, grow, strengthen, learn, observe, stand up, open our mouths and kick down the doors with our steel capped boots.
What are you going to do this Tuesday morning?
Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Wai-o-hua, Waikato-Tainui) is a journalist, photographer and social activist based in South Auckland’s Ihumātao. She is an indigenous storyteller celebrating wahine toa. She is the founder of the Nuku wahine project and is giving a public kōrero at Western Springs Garden Community Hall, Auckland, tomorrow night at 7pm.
Australian officials say overseas travel is allowed only for “the most profound humanitarian or compassionate reasons, under strictest of circumstances”.
What about Fiji? Under what circumstances is overseas travel allowed? Under what circumstances was the India returnee allowed to travel in the first place – do citizens have a right to know?
Australia has recognised the risks and effectively banned international travel, even though thousands of Australians will be unable to return home for now.
What is the Fiji response to international travel in light of the latest infections from abroad with 12 new cases yesterday? Are we tightening things up or not? The citizens need to know what the government is doing.
Reports indicate Australia adopted varying responses with regards to high-risk countries, including North America and Europe.
Tightening up
Given the crisis in India, Australia has taken steps to further tighten departures after it was found people were travelling for weddings, funerals and sports.
Critics have condemned the Australian government for what they see as its laxity, and for risking lives and dealing a potential blow to the economy.
What about Fiji? On what grounds are people travelling? Were people allowed to travel for weddings, religious reasons and for funerals? We need answers.
How big a risk is it to us as a nation to allow return travel from hot spots like India and the US?
In light of the new cases, have the international travel guidelines been changed or are they still the same?
Dr Shailendra Singh is senior lecturer and coordinator of the journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific. This comment is from Dr Singh’s social media posts and is republished with permission.
Australian officials say overseas travel is allowed only for “the most profound humanitarian or compassionate reasons, under strictest of circumstances”.
What about Fiji? Under what circumstances is overseas travel allowed? Under what circumstances was the India returnee allowed to travel in the first place – do citizens have a right to know?
Australia has recognised the risks and effectively banned international travel, even though thousands of Australians will be unable to return home for now.
What is the Fiji response to international travel in light of the latest infections from abroad with 12 new cases yesterday? Are we tightening things up or not? The citizens need to know what the government is doing.
Reports indicate Australia adopted varying responses with regards to high-risk countries, including North America and Europe.
Tightening up Given the crisis in India, Australia has taken steps to further tighten departures after it was found people were travelling for weddings, funerals and sports.
Critics have condemned the Australian government for what they see as its laxity, and for risking lives and dealing a potential blow to the economy.
What about Fiji? On what grounds are people travelling? Were people allowed to travel for weddings, religious reasons and for funerals? We need answers.
How big a risk is it to us as a nation to allow return travel from hot spots like India and the US?
In light of the new cases, have the international travel guidelines been changed or are they still the same?
Dr Shailendra Singh is senior lecturer and coordinator of the journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific. This comment is from Dr Singh’s social media posts and is republished with permission.
Papuan protesters outside the United Nations headquarters yesterday after John Anari was gagged again from making a full statement at the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. Image: Screenshot from the WPLO YouTube channel
COMMENT:By Andrew Johnson
Gagged again! West Papuan Liberation Organisation (WPLO) representative John Anari was allowed to introduce himself at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues yesterday – and that was the end of his message.
No doubt the UNPFII will claim it was a lucky gremlin, but John’s video feed was up and working and only went silent as he called attention to the United Nations own responsibility for the ongoing oppression, deaths, and looting of West Papua for these past 59 years!
Papuan protesters outside the United Nations headquarters yesterday after John Anari was gagged again from making a full statement at the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. Image: Screenshot from the WPLO YouTube channel
COMMENT:By Andrew Johnson
Gagged again! West Papuan Liberation Organisation (WPLO) representative John Anari was allowed to introduce himself at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues yesterday – and that was the end of his message.
Officials claimed he had used up his two minutes for the forum (UNPFII). Anari says he was shut down early.
No doubt the UNPFII will claim it was a lucky gremlin, but John’s video feed was up and working and only went silent as he called attention to the United Nations own responsibility for the ongoing oppression, deaths, and looting of West Papua for these past 59 years!
Nickson Stevi Yikwa had a dream. As a Papuan student, he wanted to gain a commercial pilot 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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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’.”
“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.”
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’.”
“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.”
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.
