Television New Zealand’s chief executive has been challenged by the public broadcaster’s Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver at a fiery staff meeting over job cuts and axing of high profile programmes, reports The New Zealand Herald.
Writing in his Media Insider column today, editor-at-large Shayne Currie reported that Dreaver, one of TVNZ’s most respected and senior journalists, had made the challenge over the planned layoffs and axing of shows such as the current affairs Sunday and consumer affairs Fair Go.
Dreaver reportedly asked chief executive Jodi O’Donnell if she would apologise to staff — “apparently for referring to her watch during an earlier staff meeting on Friday”.
“TVNZ would not confirm specific details last night, but it is understood O’Donnell pushed back during yesterday’s meeting, along the lines that perhaps she might also be owed an apology,” wrote Currie, a former Herald managing editor.
“One source said she talked at one stage about the response she had been receiving.”
Media Insider quoted a TVNZ spokeswoman as saying: “We expect sessions like this to be robust, but to give all TVNZers the opportunity to be free and frank in their participation, we don’t comment on the details of these internal meetings to the media.”
Dreaver told 1News last night: “We need really strong leadership and we expect to get it. And I’m quite happy to call out and challenge it [and] my own bosses when we don’t get that, just as I would a politician or any other person who deserves it.”
A ‘legend, icon, queen’
Media Insider reported that in a social media post today, Sunday journalist Kristin Hall had described Kiribati-born Dreaver as a “legend, icon, queen” for her Pacific reporting.
In November 2022, Dreaver was named Reporter of the Year at the New Zealand Television Awards and in 2019 she won two awards at the Voyager Media Awards for her coverage of the Samoa measles outbreak.
Yesterday’s TVNZ meeting came amid a strained relationship between the TVNZ newsroom and management over the way the company has handled the announcement of up to 68 job cuts, as least two-thirds of them journalists.
The shock news followed a week after the US-based Warner Bros Discovery announced that it would be closing its entire Newshub newsroom at the end of June.
Fa’anānā’s unexpected death came as a shock to many, with his aiga — including wife Fia and daughters Kaperiela and Asalemo — saying he was “the anchor of our tight-knit family”.
Politicians and members of the public, including school students, were among those attending Fa’anānā’s funeral at Due Drop Event Centre in Manukau on Thursday afternoon.
Many of the guests were dressed in traditional Pacific clothing, and a gospel choir sang as the crowd filled the room.
Fa’anānā’s wife and daughters were described as his “constant bullseye”. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
To start the service, poet Karlo Mila read a poem that finished: “You become the ancestor we always knew you were.”
Family spokesman Taito Eddie Tuiavii then gave a formal greeting in Samoan, paying tribute to Fa’anānā and his villages.
‘Larger than life’
He described Fa’anānā as “larger than life”.
It was an “indescribable feeling” to mourn the loss of “our champion”, Tuiavii said.
Fa’anānā’s sisters took the stage to share stories from his life.
His sister Jemima . . . “We didn’t have much growing up in Ōtara, but we were raised with an abundance of love, and that made us pretty rich.” Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
As a child, Fa’anānā was known as ‘Boppa’, his sister Jemima said. He loved playing and watching cricket.
“We didn’t have much growing up in Ōtara, but we were raised with an abundance of love, and that made us pretty rich.”
Fa’anānā preferred watching the TV news to children’s programmes and loved trivia.
He attended Auckland Grammar School for just two weeks, before deciding to leave due to “racist comments”, his sister said. He then transferred to “the mighty” Tangaroa College before going on to Auckland University.
Mourners embrace at the Due Drop Events Centre. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
‘Deep friendship with Jesus’
Fa’anānā always had “a deep friendship with Jesus”, the crowd heard.
“Efeso was able to reach so many people because of his relationship with Jesus.”
Jemima signed off by saying: “Manuia lau malaga (rest in peace), Boppa. Until we meet in the clouds.”
Another of Fa’anānā’s sisters, Millie Collins, described her brother as “our family’s golden boy”.
“He was my mum and dad’s sunshine, and to his brothers and sisters, his cousins and friends, he was our superstar.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro
He was always helping out his extended family, Millie Collins said.
“[He was] born to impact the world, born to lead through service. A visionary, a loving, honourable son, husband, father, brother, cousin, nephew and friend.”
Heartbroken at parting
Dickie Humphries, who has known Fa’anānā since they attended Auckland University, addressed his friend’s widow directly, saying he was heartbroken that they had been parted.
“This is not what our friend wanted for you. He wanted to love you through a long life,” he told Fia.
However, he was also happy Fa’anānā had found “his best friend, his greatest champion”, he said.
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
Fa’anānā’s legacy had showed him “we must live big lives”, Humphries said.
“Lives of service, lives that leave this world better for having been in it. Lives that make right on the legacy of Efeso.”
He said all gathered there must keep working towards a better Aotearoa — one where Pasifika people did not die young, or face racist abuse while in Parliament.
Humphries remembered his friend as someone with “an inquiring mind and a curious heart”.
‘Unwavering belief in people’s brilliance’ “He had an unwavering belief in the brilliance of our people.”
The Green Party’s seats in Parliament were empty today as all 15 MPs attended their colleague’s funeral. Image: RNZ/Angus Dreaver
Among the people at the funeral were Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Labour leader Chris Hipkins, and National’s Gerry Brownlee, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi.
Fa’anānā’s wife and daughters were wearing the dresses they wore at Parliament earlier this month, when Fa’anānā gave his maiden speech as an MP.
Like Humphries, Davidson addressed Fia directly in her speech, saying Fa’anānā valued her opinion above all else.
“He lived for the power of Pacific women.”
Family was his “constant bullseye”, Davidson said.
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw with Labour leader Chris Hipkins in the crowd at Fa’anānā Efeso Collins’ funeral. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
She promised the Green Party would wrap their arms around their colleague’s family for their whole lives. All 15 Green MPs were at the funeral.
Legacy of self-determination
The party would also continue his legacy of fighting for the self-determination and wellbeing of Pasifika people, Davidson said.
“My friend, my brother Fes. What I wouldn’t give to hug you close and long right now, even just one more time. You beautiful man. I love you always.”
In his speech, Fa’anānā’s friend Te’o Harry Fatu Toleafoa said the MP was kind to everyone, “whether you’re Christopher Luxon in the Koru Lounge or the cleaner”.
“He treated absolutely everybody with value, dignity, respect and he made them feel special.” Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
“He treated absolutely everybody with value, dignity, respect and he made them feel special.”
Te’o also paid tribute to the next generation of leaders following in Fa’anānā’s footsteps.
“He was the best of us … but if you think Fes is the best, wait ’til the next generation comes up.”
Te’o mentioned the death threats Fa’anānā received in his role as a public servant, before addressing his daughters directly: “Thank you for giving us your dad, even though we didn’t deserve him.”
Racist hate mail
Pasifika journalist Indira Stewart also talked about the difficulties Fa’anānā faced while running for and serving in office.
Fa’anānā . . . “one of the finest leaders of our generation” Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
He received racist hate mail and a bomb threat was made to the home he shared with his wife and daughters.
Fa’anānā was “one of the finest leaders of our generation”, she said.
“We are so proud of the legacy you leave behind for the next generation of Pasifika.”
Fa’anānā’s widow Vasa Fia Collins was the last speaker and took the stage with her daughters beside her.
She introduced herself by saying: “I am an ordinary woman who married an extraordinary man.”
The funeral of Fa’anānā Efeso Collins. Video: RNZ
Fa’anānā was “born to lead”, she said.
“If you knew him, you’d know that he always tried to discreetly enter spaces and sit at the back. But how can you miss a man who’s 6’4 with a booming voice and a beautiful big smile?”
A doting father
He was also a doting father, taking their daughters to school, teaching them how to pray and “feeding them ice cream when I wasn’t looking”, she said.
“He treated me like a queen, every single moment we were together . . . a true gentleman, always serving our needs before his own.”
Fa’anānā had a great capacity for the “square pegs” in society — those who did not fit in, she said.
He valued the knowledge of his Pasifika ancestors and always mentored and love young people, she said.
“Fes died serving others. He has finished his leg of the race and the baton is now firmly in our hands.
“Please don’t let all that he did, all his hard work — blood, sweat and tears — be for nothing.”
Fa’anānā’s sisters in the crowd. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro
Fa’anānā was charismatic, humble and wise, she said. He saw the potential in others and made them better people.
Be ‘the very best of us’
“[He] never stopped encouraging people to rise, to aim high, to be the best version of themselves . . . he was the very best of us.”
Vasa told her daughters she was proud of them: “Daddy would be, too.”
Fa’anānā was the family’s “warrior” and protector, she said, and now he was their “eternal Valentine”.
“I’m so grateful for the life that we built together. But I trust and know that Fes is in the presence of God.”
Vasa finished her speech by singing a Samoan hymn.
Fa’anānā would be laid to rest privately after his casket was driven through Ōtara and Ōtāhuhu one last time.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
In 2020, it took over the New Zealand channel’s assets which had been then part of Mediaworks.
Staff were called to a meeting at Newshub at 11am, RNZ News reported on its live news feed.
They were told that the US conglomerate Warner Brothers Discovery, owners of Newshub, was commencing consultation on a restructuring of its free-to-air business
This included the closure of all news operations by its Newshub operation
All local programming would be made only through local funding bodies and partners.
James Gibbons, president of Asia Pacific for Warner Bros Discovery, said it was a combination of negative events in NZ and around the world. The economic downturn had been severe and there was no long hope for a bounce back
Staff leave the Newshub office in Auckland today after the meeting about the company’s future. Image: RNZ/Rayssa Almeida
Revenue has ‘disappeared quickly’
“Advertising revenue in New Zealand has disappeared far more quickly than our ability to manage this reduction, and to drive the business to profitability,” he said.
He said the restructuring would focus on it being a digital business
ThreeNow, its digital platform, would be the focus and could run local shows
All news production would stop on June 30.
The consultation process runs until mid-March. A final decision is expected early April.
“Deeply shocked’
Interviewed on RNZ’s Nine to Noon programme, a former head of Newshub, Mark Jennings, said he was deeply shocked by the move.
Other media personalities also reacted with stunned disbelief. Rival TVNZ’s Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver said: “Thinking of my friends and colleagues from Newshub.
“So many super talented wonderful people. Its a terrible day for our industry that Newshub [will] close by June, we will be all the much poorer for it. Much aroha to you all.”
TVNZ Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver reacts to news about the plan to close Newshub’s newsroom. Image: Barbara Dreaver/FB
Newshub has broken some important Pacific stories over the years.
Jennings told RNZ a cut back and trimming of shows would have been expected — but not on this scale.
“I’m really deeply frankly shocked by it,” said Jennings, now co-founder and editor of Newsroom independent digital media group.
He said he expected all shows to go, including AM Show and investigative journalist Patrick Gower’s show.
Company ‘had no strategy’
“I think governments will be pretty upset and annoyed about this, to be honest.”
“Unless they have been kept in the loop because we’re going to see a major drop in diversity.
“Newshub’s newsroom has been, maybe not so much in recent times, but certainly in the past, a very strong and vibrant player in the market and very important one for this country and again as [RNZ Mediawatch presenter] Colin [Peacock] points out, who is going to keep TVNZ’s news honest now?
“I think this is a major blow to media diversity in this country.”
“First of all, Discovery and then Warner Bros Discovery, this has been an absolute shocker of entry to this market by them. They came in with what I could was . . . no, I couldn’t see a strategy in it and in the time they owned this company, there has been no strategy and that’s really disappointing.
“If this had gone to a better owner, they would have taken steps way sooner and maybe we wouldn’t be losing one of the country’s most valued news services.”
Loss of $100m over three years
Jennings said his understanding was the company had lost $100 million in the past three years, which was “really significant”.
“I wonder if it had been a New Zealand owner, whether the government might have taken a different view around this, but I guess because it’s owned by a huge American, multi-national conglomerate, they would’ve been reluctant to intervene in any way.”
He said Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee, a former journalist who ran the Asia Down Under programme for many years, faced serious questions now.
“It’ll be her first big test really, I guess, in that portfolio.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The family of Green MP Fa’anānā Efeso Collins say they are “devastated” at his loss and have thanked the public for their patience during a “difficult time”.
Fa’anānā, 49, collapsed and died during a charity event in the Auckland CBD on Wednesday.
In their first statement since his death, his aiga — which includes wife Fia and daughters Kaperiela and Asalemo — said he was “the anchor of our tight-knit family”.
“Anyone who knew Efeso, knew that his daughters were at the heart of everything he did. They were his inspiration and drive,” they said.
Details about the funeral were expected to be announced on Friday, the family said.
Meanwhile, a notice posted by Tipene Funerals said it was with “heavy hearts” that the family announced Fa’anānā’s death.
He was a “dear husband, son, brother, uncle and loving father”, the notice said.
“Words cannot express our gratitude for all the messages of love, support and comfort received since Fa’anānā was called to rest. Thank you for your prayers and wrapping us firmly in your love as we navigate through this difficult time.
“We respectfully ask for privacy and your patience as we come to terms with the loss and prepare the final celebration of his life.”
Fa’anānā Efeso Collins . . . his family “respectfully ask for privacy and your patience”. Image: Fa’anānā Efeso Collins/RNZ
An inspiration for young people Fa’anānā was remembered as warm, kind and an inspiration for Māori and Pasifika communities — particularly rangatahi.
Community members said he left an enduring legacy for his South Auckland community, where he served three terms on the local board and as ward councillor before giving his maiden speech in Parliament just a week ago.
University student Winiata Walker, 22 . . . saw Fa’anānā Efeso Collins as a role model. Image: Lucy Xia/RNZ
In Ōtara, where Fa’anānā was born, raised and served his community, his loss was deeply felt.
University student Winiata Walker, who volunteered his time teaching music to kids in Ōtara, said Fa’anānā was always a role model.
“Such a humble man, and from South Auckland to Parliament, that’s such a big step for South Auckland.”
Walker said Fa’anānā’s death was a big loss for the communities that relied on him to have their voices heard.
“As our community we have to fight harder, because he was the change, he was someone we could look up to for change for our community. But since he passed away, I think we have to work together more and work harder for progress.”
A valuable mentor
Twenty-five-year-old Terangi Parima, who ran the Ōtara youth hub and Ōtara Kai Village, said Fa’anānā was a valuable mentor for rangatahi.
Terangi Parima, who runs the Otara Kai Village and Otara youth hub, . . . she will always remember how Fa’anana encouraged youth to become leaders. Image: RNZ/Lucy Xia
“Empowering our rangatahi to see themselves in spaces that he sat in, empowering our rangatahi to think beyond the lines that have been drawn out for us . . . he’s a legend, an absolute legend.”
Parima said she will always remember how he encouraged youth to consider becoming leaders.
“He actually was a significant part in supporting our rangatahi, our youngest rangatahi who ever went for a local board role, to actually step into those spaces, and encourage her.”
Parima said it made a difference to have someone like Fa’anānā, who had been through disadvantaged communities like Ōtara, to be in Parliament.
She said he bridged the gaps between political spaces and communities.
A group pay respects where Efeso Collins died . . . singing a waiata led by Dave Letle. Image: RNZ/Finn Blackwell
Parima said Fa’anānā departed in a way that embodied what he stood for.
“He literally passed away [doing] exactly what he’s always done, and what he loves, and that’s serving his community and being purposeful.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Asia Pacific Report recalls how Fa’anānā Efeso Collins was inspirational with a range of local ethnic communities, including being a special guest at Auckland’s Ethnic Communities Festival in 2022. He also supported local body ethnic election teams with his mahi with the Whānau Community Hub and Centre.
The Auckland Rotuman Fellowship Group’s Rachael Mario with Fa’anānā Efeso Collins at the Whānau Hub. Image: Nik Naidu/Whānau HubGuest of honour Fa’anānā Efeso Collins at Auckland’s Ethnic Communities Festival in Mt Roskill in 2022. Image: Nik Naidu/Whānau Hub
Fa’anānā Efeso Collins is being remembered as a pillar of the Pacific community with a “big heart of service”, who loved being a husband and father.
The 49-year-old Samoan-Tokelauan leader and Greens MP has been described as someone who embodied the Samoan proverb: “o le ala i le pule o le tautua” — the pathway to leadership is through service.
Prominent leaders say Fa’anānā was “a strong community advocate”, known for serving disadvantaged communities.
A beloved father, husband, brother and friend, Fa’anānā died suddenly in Auckland yesterday afternoon and leaves behind a strong legacy of service as someone whose mission was helping the poor.
Health leader Sir Collin Tukuitonga said his death sent shock waves across the region, especially in the heart of South Auckland, where he grew up and had spent most of his time serving others.
“Shocking is an understatement. He was on the same mission as the rest of us [Pacific leaders]. A good man. Good community values. It’s absolutely devastating for his family, for the Pasifika community, for NZ and beyond.
“Efeso was a rare person. The Pasifika community is not well endowed with community leaders like Efeso – ethical, strong, community-minded.”
‘Stand out community leader’
Tukuitonga noted Fa’anānā’s contribution to students when he became the first Polynesian president of the Auckland University Students’ Association in the late 1990s.
“He did a lot at university for students, for local government. He was a stand-out community leader. A number of us were hopeful he would also have an impact at national Parliament, no doubt his legacy will live on in many of the things he had supported.”
National candidate and longtime friend Fonoti Agnes Loheni said he was “a very special person”.
“I am grateful for our friendship. His faith in God made him strong. He was a very fearless and fierce voice for the poor. He had a big heart of service. He was not only an advocate but also a man of action,” she said.
Loheni acknowledged his family, wife and two girls, saying just last week they had connected during his induction into Parliament and he shared with her just how much he loved his family.
“He was catching me up on his wife and his daughter. That was it for him, being a husband and a father were the main roles for him. The most important.”
Loss felt across region
Former minister for Pacific peoples Aupito William Sio said the loss was being felt across the region.
Tonga’s Princess also paid tribute online.
“It was no mystery to any of us in the islands how loved he was by many of our Pasifika community in New Zealand.”
Shocked to hear of the sudden passing of @efesocollins It was no mystery to any of us in the islands how loved he was by many of our Pasifika community in New Zealand. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. Toka aa ‘i he nonga moe melino ‘a e ‘Eiki pic.twitter.com/XBnJkNhooi
Aupito William Sio . . . “His [Fa’anānā’s] profile reached the four corners of the Pacific region.” Image: Johnny Blades / VNP
Sio said: “His [Fa’anānā’s] profile reached the four corners of the Pacific region. He was getting support from overseas when he ran for mayor. He gave everybody the belief that anybody can achieve the highest office in NZ society. Even though he didn’t win it he got major endorsements from two political parties and made everyone hopeful of the future.”
Sio said Fa’anānā was always speaking truth to power, recalling the night of his swearing-in as an Auckland councillor.
“He confronted racism and discrimination in the council. I think he made everyone uncomfortable and made them reflect on their behaviours. I think he was fearless, he woke everybody up. It enabled the next generation to build some confidence in who they were.”
Friends and colleagues of Fa’anānā have told RNZ Pacific their thoughts were with his family, wife and children.
‘He was always there to help’ Hana Schmidt, a director of Papatoetoe-based, Pasifika-led creative agency Bluwave, counted Fa’anānā as one of her mentors and supporters.
She told RNZ Nights that a lot of young people were able to relate to him and speak to him, because he could relate to their experiences growing up in South Auckland
“He was an awesome person gave a lot of guidance to those in south Auckland who are in the community space, and also the business space and the governance space.”
She said he was always there to help, and wasn’t always wearing his political hat
“He would rather have genuine connections with the youth that he did come into contact with, the conversations were very genuine and close to heart.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Former Fiji prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the country’s intervention at the International Court of Justice over Israel’s occupation of Palestine betrays Fiji’s legacy as peacekeepers.
Fifty countries and three international organisations are calling for self-determination and an end to the Israeli military occupation which has lasted more than half a century.
Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (left) condemned by former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama over Fiji’s stance on military occupation of Palestine . . . “with what credibility will we support the independence of territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia?” Image: Vanguard/IDN
Bainimarama said Fiji’s stance “insults the intelligence of every Fijian”.
The former prime minister and military commander said that that position undid Fiji’s long-standing commitment to neutrality, peacekeeping, and the principles of self-determination and decolonisation.
“The coalition government’s claim that the occupation of foreign territory by Israel is legal — an argument not even advanced by Israel itself — reveals a disturbing truth that Fiji’s voice to the world is hostage to a demented few who are hellbent on destroying our national reputation,” he said in a statement today.
‘Contradicts our stance on independence’
“This action contradicts our firm stance on the rights to independence and statehood, rights we have championed for our Pacific brothers and for all colonial peoples.
He said Fiji has stood with Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, and others in their pursuit of independence.
“We must ask ourselves: with what credibility will we support the independence of territories like New Caledonia and French Polynesia? We must not be selective in our support for statehood and independence.
“Our actions today will define our legacy and our ability to lead in the Pacific and beyond.
“The world should know that the vast majority of Fijians stand on the side of peace. That is our national character and that is the spirit in which we offer our service on the frontlines of conflict zones around the world.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The fourth smallest country in the world with a population of just over 11,000 people — Tuvalu — fears being “wiped off its place on the map”.
A report by ABC Pacific states that the low-lying island nation is widely considered one of the first places to be significantly impacted by rising sea levels, caused by climate change.
According to the locals the spring tides this year in Tuvalu have been the worst so far with more flooding expected with the king tides that usually occur during late February to early March.
Tuvalu residents are fighting for their home in the face of worsening tides and climate change. Image: Wahasi/ Wansolwara News
In 2021, Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister, Simon Kofe, addressed the world in a COP26 speech while standing knee-deep in the sea to show how vulnerable Tuvalu and other low-lying islands in the Pacific are to climate change.
A 27-year-old climate activist from Tuvalu said he loved his home and his culture and did not want to lose them.
Kato Ewekia spoke to Nedia Daily and said seeing the beaches that he used to play rugby on with his friends had disappeared gave him a wake-up call.
“I was worried about my children because I wanted my children to grow up, teach them Tuvaluan music, teach them rugby, teach them fishing. But my island is about to disappear and get wiped off it’s place on the map.”
First youth Tuvaluan delegate
Ewekia was also at COP26 and made history as the first youth Tuvaluan delegate to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Despite only speaking limited English, he took to the global stage to tell the world about his home.
“Since I was the first Tuvaluan activist, people didn’t really know where Tuvalu is, what Tuvalu is,” he said.
“It was culture shocking, overwhelming. But the other youth gave me the confidence to just speak with my heart, and get my message out there.”
Ewekia has been the national leader of the Saving Tuvalu Global Campaign, an environmental organisation that aims to amplify the voices and demands of the people of Tuvalu since 2020.
“Going out there, it’s not easy. We really, really love our home and we want how our elders taught us how to be Tuvaluan, we want our children to experience it — not when it disappears and future generations will be talking about it (Tuvalu) like it’s a story.”
He shared that in the four years that he has been advocating for Tuvalu on the public stage, there have been many moments of frustration that are specifically directed towards world leaders who aren’t paying attention.
“My message to the world is I’ve been sharing this same message over and over again,” he said.
“If Tuvalu was your home and it [was] about to disappear, and you wanted your children to grow up in your home in Tuvalu — what would you have done? If you were in our shoes, what would you have done to save Tuvalu?”
Asia Pacific Report collaborates with The University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme newspaper Wansolwara.
King tide, Funafuti, Tuvalu in February 2024. Image: Wahasi/Wansolwara News
Some people are literally making a killing in Enga.
Yes, they really are.
Hired gunmen are getting rich by the day and picking up women and girls as payments as well, leaving deaths and destruction in their wake in what is apparently becoming a booming industry.
The news is disturbing, to say the least, for a province that has got so much going at the moment.
As the illegal industry takes root by the day, we do not see this deadly business which is already stretching the limits of tolerance and the resources of the law and justice sector, ending soon.
Police Commissioner David Manning promised more manpower will be deployed into the province to assist those on the ground to curb the tribal fighting.
At the same time, he is asking for help from the provincial leaders to get down to their communities to stop the fighting and killing.
Grabbed world attention
The recent massacre in Wapenamanda has grabbed world attention again and this time the Australian government, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing the event as “very disturbing”, promising more technical aid to PNG to address this madness.
Tribal fighting has always been a curse in Enga for years. What started as bow and arrow affairs in the past have now gone high-tech with the deployment of drones, Google maps and high-powered guns, resulting in the high number of deaths
Genocide is the word to describe what is happening.
Horror . . . the bodies of tribesmen killed in Wapenamanda piled up alongside the Highlands Highway. Image: PNG Post-Courier
Powerful tribes are eliminating the weak, and leaving the disciplinary forces helplessly watching by the roadsides as the massacre continues to go.
There is no concern for the lives killed, the injuries or the plight of the hundreds of mothers and children caught up in this mayhem.
In the words of Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent George Kakas, businessmen, educated elites and well-to-do people fund these activities, hire gunmen and purchase firearms and ammunitions.
We would like to add politicians to the list because we suspect that they procured the weapons and left them with their supporters during the elections and these guns are now coming out.
How could they sleep peacefully?
How could these people find the peace to sleep peacefully in the night when their money, the technology, the guns and bullets they supplied are killing in big numbers and the murderers are uploading images of the dead bodies online for the world to see?
Prime Minister James Marape recently promised new legislation to curb domestic terrorism and we wait to see whether this law will ever get passed by Parliament.
This law is needed now to make the facilitators and the killers account for their actions.
In the interim, the government must declare a State of Emergency in Enga to deploy the full force of the law into the fighting zones to deal with the perpetrators.
They are known to the police, the leaders and even the Prime Minister.
What is stopping the police from arresting these culprits? Are they above the law? Are they protected species, vested with the power to end lives of other people in this manner?
Entire tribes wiped out
What are we waiting for?
To see entire tribes wiped out from the face of Enga before we move in to collect the bodies, take the women and children to care centres and keep watching from the roadsides.
Enough is enough. Declare the SOE in Enga. Enact the domestic terrorism legislation. Arrest those that facilitate and kill.
So much is going for Enga today and if nothing is done to end this ugly disease, Enga is doomed.
This PNG Post-Courier editorial was originally published under the title “Genocide in Enga” on 21 February 2014. Republished with permission.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape made his historic address to the Australian Federal Parliament in Canberra today.
Following Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s welcome address, Marape highlighted with gratitude the historical ties between the two nations and made special reference to the continuous support given to PNG by Australia since independence in 1975.
“We thank Australia for the profound work that has gone into the setting up of key institutions that remain the anchor of this free vibrant democracy of PNG,” said Marape.
Speaking during his address to senators and members of the Australian federal Parliament, Marape described the relationship between the two countries as being “joined to the hips” and “locked into earth’s crust together”, referring to the Indo-Australian tectonic plate.
He emphasised the efforts of Australia as being a “huge pillar of support” in terms of infrastructural development for Papua New Guinea.
Marape also made reference to former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam and Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare as the “forefathers who made independence possible” and described Australia as being a big brother or sister that had nurtured PNG into adulthood.
Today’s a historic day in PNG Australia relationships.
On this day, January 8, 2024, in Canberra, a son of Kondom Agaundo, the legendary Papua New Guinean warrior chief, will address the Australian Federal Parliament.
This simple act will fulfill the prophecy of Chief Kondom of Wandi, Chimbu province. His prophecy titled “my sons will come” has become a rallying call for Papua New Guineans to set forth and explore the world of globalism in education, business, sports, foreign policy, tourism and politics.
It was in Canberra that Kondom, a member of the PNG Legislative Council, felt humiliated when he tried to address an Australian audience. His lack of English proficiency irritated the audience who responded with laughter.
Chief Kondom, the son of a powerful warrior chief, felt slighted.
He thought maybe, if not for his poor English, then maybe it was the insinuation of his name.
While he felt insulted, he was a warrior and would not show any weakness. He held fast to his belief that payment for an offence now would be fulfilled later.
He was determined to prove his leadership skills. He was determined to tell the white “mastas” that their time in Papua and New Guinea would end.
He responded with the famous lines: “In my village, I am a chief among my people but today, I stand in front of you like a child and when I try to speak in your language, you laugh at my words.
“But tomorrow, my son will come and he will talk to you in your language, this time you will not laugh at him.”
And that the sons and daughters of Chief Kondom, well educated, very confident, fluent and sophisticated, cultured, tasteful, elegant and vibrant have descended on Australia in the last 50 years.
Former politicians and knights Sir Yano Belo and Sir Nambuka Mara are in Canberra with Prim Minister Marape.
It was the wisdom of people like Chief Kondom, Sir Yano, Sir Nambuka, Sir Peter Lus and many other political warriors that inspired Chief Sir Michael Somare to demand political independence from Australia.
The memory of Chief Kondom lives on in Chimbu and across the country. His legacy is written on buildings and schools.
In 1965, Kondom Agaundo was the Member for Highlands region. He also became a kiap, the first local to embrace Western civilisation.
He was the first president of Waiye Rural LLG 1959 and the first Chimbu man to own and ride horses.
He is remembered as the man who fostered coffee in the Central highlands. Sadly, chief Kondom died in a car crash at Daulo Pass in August 1966.
It is said that the funeral and burial ceremony lasted weeks and over 100 pigs were slaughtered for the man who reminded the Australians his sons would come.
Today, Prime Minister completes the evolution of the legend of Chief Kondom Agaundo, under the watchful gaze of two of Chief Kondom’s surviving peers.
Academic Andrew Anton Mako says the Papua New Guinea’s systemic dysfunction was plain to see in the rioting and looting throughout the country’s main cities two weeks ago.
That rioting was sparked by a protest by police after unannounced deductions from their wages.
It led to a riot causing the deaths of more than 20 people, widespread looting and hundreds of millions of dollars damage to businesses.
Andrew Anton Mako of ANU . . . “the government and the policymakers really need to take a comprehensive approach.” Image: DevPolicy Blog
The government, which declared a two-week long state of emergency, put the wage deductions down to a glitch in the system.
Mako, who is a visiting lecturer and project coordinator for the ANU-UPNG Partnership with the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre, said that the rioting would not have happened if the system was working properly.
“That information could have been transmitted through the system so that not only the police officers, but other public servants would have been assured that there was a glitch in the system, and then they would return the money in the next pay,” he said.
Symptom of major problems
“I think that information could have been made available to the officers quickly and the protests should not have happened.”
He said it was not an isolated event but a symptom of major problems facing the country.
“The government and the policymakers really need to take a comprehensive approach in addressing that,” Mako said.
He said that in the administration there were entire areas where little development or reform had happened in a generation.
The last attempt to look at the government machinery was more than 20 years, under Sir Mekere Morauta, but since then “there hasn’t been any sort of reforms to improve governance, improve public safety, efficiency, and all that.”
Mako believes if the work of Sir Mekere had been continued the country would not be facing the problems it is at the moment.
What reforms are needed Mako said the government needs to know it faces major issues that cannot be resolved quickly — they will need to think in terms of years before reforms can be bedded in.
“It’s not going to be easy, they have to really work on it for a number of years. They will have to come up with a reform agenda work on it for the next four or five years.”
Up to now, Mako said, politicians have just dealt with the symptoms, rather than addressing the underlying issues, such as unemployment.
He sees the high crime rate as being closely linked to the lack of work opportunities, along with high inflation and the failure of wages to keep pace.
“The focus has to be on the sectors that create jobs. So over the last few years, over the last decade or so, a lot of focus has really been on the resources sector, the mineral, petroleum and gas sector.
“Those sectors are really called enclave sectors and they have really limited linkage with the broader sectors of the economy,” Mako said.
“So the mineral sectors do not create a lot of jobs. A lot of the jobs [there] are done by either machines or highly skilled workers. So it is the sectors like agriculture, like fisheries, like tourism, forestry, those are the sectors really, really create jobs.”
Mako added the government should be focussing on investing in, and developing policies, in these traditional sectors, enabling many of the unemployed, especially the young, to find work.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
The pro-independence United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has declared a boycott of the Indonesian elections next month and has called on Papuans to “not bow down to the system or constitution of your Indonesian occupier”.
The movement’s president Benny Wenda and prime minister Edison Waromi have announced in a joint statement rejecting the republic’s national ballot scheduled for February 14 that: “West Papuans do not need Indonesia’s elections — [our] people have already voted.”
They were referring to the first ULMWP congress held within West Papua last November in which delegates directly elected their president and prime minister.
ULMWP’s president Benny Wenda (left) and prime minister Edison Waromi . . . “Do not bow down to the system or constitution” of the coloniser. Image: ULMWP
“You also have your own constitution, cabinet, Green State Vision, military wing, and government structure,” the statement said.
“We are reclaiming the sovereignty that was stolen from us in 1963.”
At the ULMWP congress, more than 5000 Papuans from the seven customary regions and representing all political formations gathered in the capital Jayapura to decide on their future.
“With this historic event we demonstrated to the world that we are ready for independence,” said the joint statement.
Necessary conditions met
According to the 1933 Montevideo Convention, four necessary conditions are required for statehood — territory, government, a people, and international recognition.
“As a government-in-waiting, the ULMWP is fulfilling these requirements,” the statement said.
“Governor Lukas was killed by Indonesia because he was a firm defender of West Papuan culture and national identity.
“He rejected the colonial ‘Special Autonomy’ law, which was imposed in 2001 in a failed attempt to suppress our national ambitions.
“But the time for bowing to the will of the colonial master is over. Did West Papuan votes for Jokowi [current President Joko Widodo] stop Indonesia from stealing our resources and killing our people?
“Indonesia’s illegal rule over our mountains, forests, and sacred places must be rejected in the strongest possible terms.”
‘Respect mourning’ call
The statement urged all people living in West Papua, including Indonesian transmigrants, to respect the mourning of the former governor and his legacy.
“West Papuans are a peaceful people – we have welcomed Indonesian migrants with open arms, and one day you will live among your Melanesian cousins in a free West Papua.
“But there must be no provocations of the West Papuan landowners while we are grieving [for] the governor.”
The statement also appealed to the Indonesian government seeking “your support for Palestinian sovereignty to be honoured within your own borders”.
“The preamble to the Indonesian constitution calls for colonialism to be ‘erased from the earth’. But in West Papua, as in East Timor, you are a coloniser and a génocidaire [genocidal].
“The only way to be truthful to your constitution is to allow West Papua to finally exercise its right to self-determination. A free West Papua will be a good and peaceful neighbour, and Indonesia will no longer be a human rights pariah.
Issue no longer isolated
Wenda and Waromi said West Papua was no longer an isolated issue.
“We sit alongside our occupier as a member of the MSG [Melanesian Spearhead Group], and nearly half the world has now demanded that Indonesia allow a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Now is the time to consolidate our progress: support the congress resolutions and the clear threefold agenda of the ULMWP, and refuse Indonesian rule by boycotting the upcoming elections.”
The ULMWP congress in Jayapura . . . attended by 5000 delegates and supporters. Image: ULMWP
The pro-independence United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has declared a boycott of the Indonesian elections next month and has called on Papuans to “not bow down to the system or constitution of your Indonesian occupier”.
The movement’s president Benny Wenda and prime minister Edison Waromi have announced in a joint statement rejecting the republic’s national ballot scheduled for February 14 that: “West Papuans do not need Indonesia’s elections — [our] people have already voted.”
They were referring to the first ULMWP congress held within West Papua last November in which delegates directly elected their president and prime minister.
ULMWP’s president Benny Wenda (left) and prime minister Edison Waromi . . . “Do not bow down to the system or constitution” of the coloniser. Image: ULMWP
“You also have your own constitution, cabinet, Green State Vision, military wing, and government structure,” the statement said.
“We are reclaiming the sovereignty that was stolen from us in 1963.”
At the ULMWP congress, more than 5000 Papuans from the seven customary regions and representing all political formations gathered in the capital Jayapura to decide on their future.
“With this historic event we demonstrated to the world that we are ready for independence,” said the joint statement.
Necessary conditions met
According to the 1933 Montevideo Convention, four necessary conditions are required for statehood — territory, government, a people, and international recognition.
“As a government-in-waiting, the ULMWP is fulfilling these requirements,” the statement said.
“Governor Lukas was killed by Indonesia because he was a firm defender of West Papuan culture and national identity.
“He rejected the colonial ‘Special Autonomy’ law, which was imposed in 2001 in a failed attempt to suppress our national ambitions.
“But the time for bowing to the will of the colonial master is over. Did West Papuan votes for Jokowi [current President Joko Widodo] stop Indonesia from stealing our resources and killing our people?
“Indonesia’s illegal rule over our mountains, forests, and sacred places must be rejected in the strongest possible terms.”
‘Respect mourning’ call
The statement urged all people living in West Papua, including Indonesian transmigrants, to respect the mourning of the former governor and his legacy.
“West Papuans are a peaceful people – we have welcomed Indonesian migrants with open arms, and one day you will live among your Melanesian cousins in a free West Papua.
“But there must be no provocations of the West Papuan landowners while we are grieving [for] the governor.”
The statement also appealed to the Indonesian government seeking “your support for Palestinian sovereignty to be honoured within your own borders”.
“The preamble to the Indonesian constitution calls for colonialism to be ‘erased from the earth’. But in West Papua, as in East Timor, you are a coloniser and a génocidaire [genocidal].
“The only way to be truthful to your constitution is to allow West Papua to finally exercise its right to self-determination. A free West Papua will be a good and peaceful neighbour, and Indonesia will no longer be a human rights pariah.
Issue no longer isolated
Wenda and Waromi said West Papua was no longer an isolated issue.
“We sit alongside our occupier as a member of the MSG [Melanesian Spearhead Group], and nearly half the world has now demanded that Indonesia allow a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Now is the time to consolidate our progress: support the congress resolutions and the clear threefold agenda of the ULMWP, and refuse Indonesian rule by boycotting the upcoming elections.”
The ULMWP congress in Jayapura . . . attended by 5000 delegates and supporters. Image: ULMWP
Barbara Dreaver is a familiar face on Aotearoa New Zealand television screens, beloved to some, and feared by others who have been exposed by her work across three decades.
Dreaver has been named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Years Honours list, for services to investigative journalism and Pacific issues.
Speaking after pulling a late night finishing news stories, Dreaver says it is hard to find the words.
“Completely overwhelmed, really honoured . . . I’m really pleased because my family are super thrilled.,” she says.
“That’s really what it’s about, is when the people who you love and mean so much to you, when they’re so proud, that means the world.
“It does feel awkward . . . to be talking about myself, and as Pacific people we find that a bit hard as well . . . because they don’t want to stick their head out of the water, they just do what they do, and now I’m getting a good taste of my own medicine.”
Dreaver was born in Kiribati, her mother’s homeland and grew up on the island of Tarawa, she also has close family in Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Solomon Islands. She says receiving the accolade will be momentous for her family, as well as honouring her parents and those who have gone before her.
“My Dad said he’s going to go and buy a new suit, and my Mum said to him, [being from] Kiribati, ‘you could hire one’, and he says, ‘my daughter is getting a medal, I will buy a new suit, and I don’t care how much it costs I’m going to save up and buy one’.
“So to have them beside me in their later years and to be blessed with that, when it’s the time of our lives when we have to appreciate every single day with the people you love, so while I love my family so much, it’s Mum and Dad who mean so much to me.”
A history of telling stories Dreaver’s journalism background includes co-owning a newspaper in the Cook Islands, working at Radio New Zealand, before carving out a space for herself at TVNZ working her way up to being Pacific correspondent, a role she has held for 21 years.
“My job has always been about allowing Pacific voices to have airtime, or to be there and to be represented, because that’s what’s seriously lacking, not just in New Zealand, but also internationally, it’s getting Pacific voices to be heard.
“I just play a role and am one of the many parts of the jigsaw.”
Barbara Dreaver with camera op Paul Morrissey on one of many trips to the Pacific. Image: Pacific Media Network
“Instead of trying to hide an issue and pretend that it’s not really happening, I believe that we have to show the big stuff and show the problems that we have to address it.
“You can’t just hide things under the carpet because it will come out at some point. Let’s do it our way. Let’s get it out there now.
Dreaver says being truthful isn’t hard, but sometimes goes against the grain of how Pacific communities and politicians like to be portrayed.
“Sometimes we like to just say we’re all just amazing, but things don’t change if we don’t’ speak up, if we don’t put those issues to the fore, things never change, and I think that’s wrong.”
In 2008, Dreaver was locked up in Fiji then banned from returning for eight years, after questioning the then-Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.
“That was because I challenged the military commander who was pretending to be a prime minister at the time.
“Democracy and freedom of speech is everything to a journalist, so I was yelling questions to him and challenging him and it was really only a matter of time before a military dictator wants to lock up that journalist.”
Behind the scenes of a live TV cross in Vanuatu, March 2023. Image: Khalia Strong/PMN News
Dreaver designed a journalism training programme in the Pacific, but says there is no blanket approach, remembering a workshop she ran for the Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL).
“Melanesia is complicated, you open one layer and then there’s another layer and that’s the way I conduct myself and journalism, I never pretend that I know it, because inevitably, the minute you think you know, something happens.
“I gave some advice about door stopping someone and they said to me, ‘well, what if we get stoned?’ and was like ‘we’re going to have to rethink this’.”
An ongoing conversation, and media mission Dreaver says the reality of TV journalism isn’t glamourous, with constant deadlines and a never-ending news cycle.
“There is no work balance, it’s extremely long hours, in fact last week I had about three hours sleep when travelling with Winston Peters on a 24-hour trip to Fiji.”
Dreaver says the Pacific’s relationship with other countries is becoming more important with global superpowers scrambling for influence in the Pacific, evident at last year’s Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands.
“There were 21 countries, Saudi Arabia, Norway, all there vying for influence, and I’ve been going to the Forum since the 1990s and to see this was really disturbing to me.
“Some of the big leaders were saying ‘it’s really great because it shows interest in the Pacific’, yes, but it also shows they want something from the Pacific, so the Pacific needs to be smart about how they do this and not give in to big powers throwing around money, we’ve got to stay true to ourselves.”
Hopes for the future Despite New Zealand’s new coalition government having no Pacific representation, Dreaver is optimistic about the future of Pacific journalism.
“Pacific journalists in this country are very strong and they’re just going to keep doing their job.
“Winston Peters . . . there’s lots of controversies around him and some of them are well deserved, but he does like the Pacific and he upped the funding for the Pacific when he worked under Jacinda Ardern’s government, so let’s see what happens there.
“But whatever happens in this government, this is why journalism is important, and it’s people like me, like you, and it’s people like our colleagues who will hold them to account.”
Barbara Dreaver was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities. Khalia Strong is a Pacific Media Network journalist and this Public Interest Journalism article is republished with permission.
On 1 December each year, in cities across Australia and New Zealand, a small group of West Papuan immigrants and refugees and their supporters raise a flag called the Morning Star in an act that symbolises their struggle for self-determination.
Doing the same thing in their homeland is illegal.
This year is the 62nd anniversary of the flag being raised alongside the Dutch standard in 1961 as The Netherlands prepared their colony for independence.
Formerly the colony of Dutch New Guinea, Indonesia controversially took control of West Papua in 1963 and has now divided the Melanesian region into seven provinces.
In the intervening years, brutal civil conflict is thought to have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives through combat and deprivation, and Indonesia has been criticised internationally for human rights abuses.
Ronny Kareni represents the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) in Australia . . . “It brings tears of joy to me.” Image: SBS News
The Morning Star will fly in Ronny Kareni’s adopted hometown of Canberra and will also be raised across the Pacific region and around the world.
“It brings tears of joy to me because many Papuan lives, those who have gone before me, have shed blood or spent time in prison, or died just because of raising the Morning Star flag,” Kareni, the Australian representative of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) in Australia told SBS World News.
‘Our right to self-determination’
“Commemorating the anniversary for me demonstrates hope and also the continued spirit in fighting for our right to self-determination and West Papua to be free from Indonesia’s brutal occupation.”
Indonesia’s diplomats regularly issue statements criticising the act, including when the flag was raised at Sydney’s Leichhardt Town Hall, as “a symbol of separatism” that could be “misinterpreted to represent support from the Australian government”.
Supporters of West Papuan independence hold the Morning Star flag outside the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra in 2021. Image: SBS News
“It’s a symbol of an aspiring independent state which would secede from the unitary Indonesian republic, so the flag itself isn’t particularly welcome within official Indonesian political discourse,” says Professor Vedi Hadiz, an Indonesian citizen and director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne.
“The raising of the flag is an expression of the grievances they hold against Indonesia for the way that economic and political governance and development has taken place over the last six decades.
“But it’s really part of the job of Indonesian officials to make a counterpoint that West Papua is a legitimate part of the unitary republic.”
The history of the Morning Star After World War II, a wave of decolonisation swept the globe.
The Netherlands reluctantly relinquished the Dutch East Indies in 1949, which became Indonesia, but held onto Dutch New Guinea, much to the chagrin of President Sukarno, who led the independence struggle.
In 1957, Sukarno began seizing the remaining Dutch assets and expelled 40,000 Dutch citizens, many of whom were evacuated to Australia, in large part over The Netherlands’ reluctance to hand over Dutch New Guinea.
The Dutch created the New Guinea Council of predominantly elected Papuan representatives in 1961 and it declared a 10-year roadmap to independence, adopted the Morning Star flag, the national anthem – “Hai Tanahku Papua” or “Oh My Land Papua” – and a coat-of-arms for a future state to be known as “West Papua”.
Dutch and West Papua flags fly side-by-side in 1961. Image: SBS News
The West Papua flag was inspired by the red, white and blue of the Dutch but the design can hold different meanings for the traditional landowners.
“The five-pointed star has the cultural connection to the creation story, the seven blue lines represent the seven customary land groupings,” says Kareni.
The red is now often cited as a tribute to the blood spilt fighting for independence.
Attending the 1961 inauguration were Britain, France, New Zealand and Australia — represented by the president of the Senate Sir Alister McMullin in full ceremonial attire — but the United States, after initially accepting an invitation, withdrew.
Cold War in full swing
The Cold War was in full swing and the Western powers were battling the Russians for influence over non-aligned Indonesia.
The Morning Star flag was raised for the first time alongside the Dutch one at a military parade in the capital Hollandia, now called Jayapura, on 1 December.
On 19 December, Sukarno began ordering military incursions into what he called “West Irian”, which saw thousands of soldiers parachute or land by sea ahead of battles they overwhelmingly lost.
Then 20-year-old Dutch soldier Vincent Scheenhouwer, who now lives on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, was one of the thousands deployed to reinforce the nascent Papua Volunteer Corps, largely armed with WW2 surplus, arriving in June 1962.
“The groups who were on patrol found weapons, so modern it was unbelievable, and plenty of ammunition,” he said of Russian arms supplied to Indonesian troops.
Former Dutch soldier Vincent Scheenhouwer served in the then colony in 1962. Image: Stefan Armbruster/SBS News
He did not see combat himself but did have contact with the local people, who variously flew the red and white Indonesian or the Dutch flag, depending on who controlled the ground.
“I think whoever was supplying the people food, they belonged to them,” he said.
He did not see the Morning Star flag.
“At that time, nothing, totally nothing. Only when I came out to Australia (in 1970) did I find out more about it,” he said.
Waning international support
With long supply lines on the other side of the world and waning international support, the Dutch sensed their time was up and signed the territory over to UN control in October 1962 under the “New York Agreement”, which abolished the symbols of a future West Papuan state, including the flag.
The UN handed control to Indonesia in May 1963 on condition it prepared the territory for a referendum on self-determination.
“I’m sort of happy it didn’t come to a serious conflict (at the time), on the other hand you must feel for the people, because later on we did hear they have been very badly mistreated,” says Scheenhouwer.
“I think Holland was trying to do the right thing but it’s gone completely now, destroyed by Indonesia.”
The so-called Act Of Free Choice referendum in 1969 saw the Indonesian military round up 1025 Papuan leaders who then voted unanimously to become part of Indonesia.
The outcome was accepted by the UN General Assembly, which failed to declare if the referendum complied with the “self-determination” requirements of the New York Agreement, and Dutch New Guinea was incorporated into Indonesia.
“Rightly or wrongly, in the Indonesian imagination, unlike East Timor for example, Papua was always regarded as part of the unitary Indonesian republic because the definition of the latter was based on the borders of colonial Dutch East Indies, whereas East Timor was never part of that, it was a Portuguese colony,” says Professor Hadiz.
“The average Indonesian’s reaction to the flag goes against everything they learned from kindergarten all the way to university.
Knee-jerk reaction
“So their reaction is knee-jerk. They are just not aware of the conditions there and relate to West Papua on the basis of government propaganda, and also the mainstream media which upholds the idea of the Indonesian unitary republic.”
West Papuans protest over the New York Agreement in 1962. Image: SBS News
In 1971, the Free Papua Movement (OPM) declared the “republic of West Papua” with the Morning Star as its flag, which has gone on to become a potent binding symbol for the movement.
The basis for Indonesian control of West Papua is rejected by what are today fractured and competing military and political factions of the independence movement, but they do agree on some things.
“The New York Agreement was a treaty signed between the Dutch and Indonesia and didn’t involve the people of West Papua, which led to the so-called referendum in 1969, which was a whitewash,” says Kareni.
“For the people, it was a betrayal and West Papua remains unfinished business of the United Nations.”
Professor Hadiz says the West Papua independence movement is struggling for international recognition. Image: SBS News
Raising the flag also raises the West Papua issue on an international level, especially when it is violently repressed in the two Indonesian provinces where there are reportedly tens of thousands of troops deployed.
“It certainly doesn’t depict Indonesia in very favourable terms,” Professor Vedi says.
“The problem for the West Papua [independence] movement is that there’s not a lot of international support, whereas East Timor at least had a significant measure.
‘Concerns about geopolitical stability’
“Concerns about geopolitical stability and issues such as the Indonesian state, as we know it now, being dismembered to a degree — I think there would be a lot of nervousness in the international community.”
Asia Pacific Report editor Dr David Robie with Pax Christi Aotearoa activist Del Abcede at a Morning Star flag raising in Auckland today. Image: Asia Pacific Report
Australia provides significant military training and foreign aid to Indonesia and has recently agreed to further strengthen defence ties.
Australia signed the Lombok Treaty with Indonesia in 2006 recognising its territorial sovereignty.
“It’s important that we are doing it here to call on the Australian government to be vocal on the human rights situation, despite the bilateral relationship with Indonesia,” says Kareni.
“Secondly, Australia is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum and the leaders have agreed to call for a visit of the UN Human Rights Commissioner to carry out an impartial investigation.”
Events are also planned across West Papua.
“It’s a milestone, 60 years, and we’re still waiting to freely sing the national anthem and freely fly the Morning Star flag so it’s very significant for us,” he says.
“We still continue to fight, to claim our rights and sovereignty of the land and people.”
Stefan Armbruster is Queensland and Pacific correspondent for SBS News. First published by SBS in 2021 and republished by Asia Pacific Report with minor edits and permission.
University of the South Pacific staff who once stood by vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia are now up in arms about his role in a decision by pro-chancellor Dr Hilda Heine to disallow a staff paper to be placed on the agenda of the 96th USP Council meeting being held today.
A joint press statement by the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the University of the South Pacific Staff Union (USPSU) said the blocked paper was in relation to “many unresolved issues faced by the staff over the period 2021 to May 2023”, which included pay and other matters.
The unions said staff from across the region met on November 22 and “are aggrieved and angry at the refusal of the PC (pro-chancellor) and VCP to allow their voice to be heard at council”.
“This is the same VCP that the staff stood for in his hour of greatest need,” the unions said.
“The same staff who took risks to ensure that he was given worker justice and the opportunity to prove his worthiness of the VCP position.
“That he was a likely party to a decision to disallow the Staff paper is indicative of VCP’s leadership style which has become very clear to staff.”
The unions said USP management refuse to discuss or negotiate a salary adjustment for 2019-2023 and the final course of action was to bring the matter to the council for resolution in preference to industrial action.
What the VC had to say In response to queries from The Fiji Times, Professor Ahluwalia sent a message he had issued to USP staff.
In it, he thanked them for joining him in a staff discussion which had a “record number of staff who attended with a high level of engagement.
“Whilst we have made considerable progresses, some issues remain outstanding,” the VC said.
He said USP now had a budget that would be presented to the council for approval today.
“Despite the alarming situation concerning declining student numbers, we have managed to ensure no redundancies, albeit, we will only be able to fill 30 per cent of our vacancies next year.”
Professor Ahluwalia said in terms of salary adjustments, the university had “made a great deal of progress, with two salary increases in October 2022 and January 2023 and an increment/bonus for all staff in the middle of the year (2023), and provisions have been made for another salary increase next year subject to council approving our 2024 budget.”
Questions sent to pro-vice chancellor Dr Hilda Heine yesterday remained unanswered.
Felix Chaudhary is a Fiji Times journalist. Republished with permission.
Veteran West Papua independence campaigner Benny Wenda has been elected as president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).
The ULMWP held its first ever congress in Jayapura this week, which was attended by 5000 indigenous West Papuans from all seven regions.
The congress was called in response to the ULMWP leaders’ summit in Port Vila where the leaders’ announcement that they had unilaterally dissolved the ULMWP provisional government angering many.
“The ULMWP has officially restored the term ‘provisional government’ which had been removed through the unconstitutional process that took place at the ULMWP Summit-II in Port Vila, Vanuatu [in August],” UNMWP congress chairman-elect Buchtar Tabuni said.
At the meeting, Reverend Edison Waromi was elected as prime minister and Diaz Gwijangge, S. Sos as head of the Judiciary Council.
Tabuni said that the appointment of executive, legislative and judicial leadership as well as the formation of constitutional and ad hoc bodies would be for five years — from 2023 until 2028 — as stipulated in the ULMWP constitution.
Honoured by election
Wenda, who is based in the United Kingdom and well-known across the South Pacific, stepped down as ULMWP leader and Menase Tabuni was appointed as president.
Menase Tabuni’s election was planned for ULMWP to maintain its presence and solidarity with the Papuan people on the ground.
“We must do this from within West Papua as well as campaigning in the international community,” he said at the time.
Wenda said he was honoured to have been elected as the ULMWP president at this “historic congress” in Port Numbay (Jayapura).
He said he and Reverend Waromi took their mandate from the people very seriously and together they would continue to work to free their people.
“I have always represented the people of West Papua, but true representation comes from election,” he said in a statement before the election.
“The people are demanding a choice, and we must listen.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
I welcome the outcome of the first ULMWP Congress in West Papua and am greatly honoured to have been elected by the people as President of the ULMWP Provisional Government, along with PM Edison Waromi. pic.twitter.com/EqE6H0yIub
Veteran West Papua independence campaigner Benny Wenda has been elected as president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).
The ULMWP held its first ever congress in Jayapura this week, which was attended by 5000 indigenous West Papuans from all seven regions.
The congress was called in response to the ULMWP leaders’ summit in Port Vila where the leaders’ announcement that they had unilaterally dissolved the ULMWP provisional government angering many.
“The ULMWP has officially restored the term ‘provisional government’ which had been removed through the unconstitutional process that took place at the ULMWP Summit-II in Port Vila, Vanuatu [in August],” UNMWP congress chairman-elect Buchtar Tabuni said.
At the meeting, Reverend Edison Waromi was elected as prime minister and Diaz Gwijangge, S. Sos as head of the Judiciary Council.
Tabuni said that the appointment of executive, legislative and judicial leadership as well as the formation of constitutional and ad hoc bodies would be for five years — from 2023 until 2028 — as stipulated in the ULMWP constitution.
Honoured by election
Wenda, who is based in the United Kingdom and well-known across the South Pacific, stepped down as ULMWP leader and Menase Tabuni was appointed as president.
Menase Tabuni’s election was planned for ULMWP to maintain its presence and solidarity with the Papuan people on the ground.
“We must do this from within West Papua as well as campaigning in the international community,” he said at the time.
Wenda said he was honoured to have been elected as the ULMWP president at this “historic congress” in Port Numbay (Jayapura).
He said he and Reverend Waromi took their mandate from the people very seriously and together they would continue to work to free their people.
“I have always represented the people of West Papua, but true representation comes from election,” he said in a statement before the election.
“The people are demanding a choice, and we must listen.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
I welcome the outcome of the first ULMWP Congress in West Papua and am greatly honoured to have been elected by the people as President of the ULMWP Provisional Government, along with PM Edison Waromi. pic.twitter.com/EqE6H0yIub
About 5000 pro-Palestinian supporters gathered in Auckland’s Aotea Square and marched down Queen Street today calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid in the War on Gaza. A co-organiser, Ming Al-Ansan, said: “We want our voices heard. Palestinian lives matter, so if we don’t do this then the media is not going to notice us.” Palestinian human rights advocate Janfrie Wakim gave the following address to the supporters.
SPEECH:By Janfrie Wakim
Tena koutou Tena koutou Tena koutou katoa
Salaam Aleikum Ma’haba
Greetings to you all and thank you for coming here today to express your solidarity with the Palestinian people — in Gaza particularly — but Palestinians everywhere.
Free Free . . . Palestine!
I acknowledge the indigenous people of Aotearoa — Māori tangatawhenua, who 183 years ago signed the Tiriti o Waitangi with colonists from Britain. Also, Ngati Whatua of Orakei, manawhenua, on whose land we gather today and who battled the settler-colonialism at Takaparawha-Bastion Point in the 1970s.
History matters!
I stand here in solidarity with the indigenous people of Palestine who also have been dispossessed by the setter-colonialism of Zionist Jews.
An unfolding catastrophe
Today we are especially mindful of Palestinians in Gaza who are experiencing an unfolding catastrophe of epic and genocidal proportions.
We appeal to our elected leaders, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and outgoing prime minister Chris Hipkins, to demand an immediate ceasefire and stop the carnage.
“From the river . . . ” placard in Auckland’s Aotea Square. Image: David Robie/APR
Throughout the world we see the massive outpouring of support for Palestinians. Not from the leaders and politicians but from ordinary citizens — like us — especially those who have some capacity to act.
History matters. Facts matter. Human rights of all people matter.
To take a stand you must understand.
Rightly we know and are reminded of European racism which culminated in the Holocaust.
About 5000 pro-Palestinian marchers took part in today’s march down Queen Street in the heart of Auckland. Image: David Robie/APR
Sustained by lies
The bloodshed of today and the past 75 years traces back directly to the colonisation of Palestinian land and the oppression and horror caused by Israel’s military occupation.
Israel is sustained by lies: from the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to its birth in 1948 when the indigenous Palestinians were driven out — most to Gaza. (750,000 of the 1 million inhabitants of historic Palestine).
It’s a lie that Israel wants a just and equitable peace and will support a Palestinian state.
It’s a lie that Israel respects the rule of law and human rights.
Free Free . . . Palestine.
The Fiji flag flies high in the middle of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Auckland’s Aotea Square today. Image: Del Abcede/APR
We must ensure the history of the Palestinian struggle for justice is known and understood. Hold our media and leaders to account.
John Minto is the chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) and he regularly speaks out.
Western politicians and Western media are the source of the problem. If this war had been reported accurately from the outset, Palestinians would have the state of Palestine where religion, ethnicity and human rights were respected — as they were before European colonisation of Palestine early last century.
Hope is not enough. We must take action — Go to www.psna.nz and keep in touch with the local movement. Voice your alarm. Educate your friends, inform your workmates, challenge politicians — local as well as national.
Show your solidarity
Visit your MPs — insist on meeting face to face. This is especially important now that we have new MPs.
Join our monthly rallies in Takutai Square . . . show your solidarity.
That justice for Palestinians is achieved is not only a matter for the Palestinian people but also a symbol of overcoming injustice everywhere for all humanity.
As a mother and grandmother, I say: “Make Peace Not War!”
Nelson Mandela, who roundly applauded actions of the anti-apartheid movement in Aotearoa New Zealand, said: “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
Justice is the seed . . . peace is the flower. Kia Kaha Mauri Ora!
Janfrie Wakim is an Auckland campaigner for human rights in Palestine.
“Israel and the USA have blood on their hands” and New Zealand’s “silence” over the Gaza genocide came in for condemnation in today’s pro-Palestinian demonstration. Image: David Robie/APR
By Aubrey Belford, Stevan Dojcinovic, Jared Savage and Kelvin Anthony in an OCCRP investigation
The operator of a Pacific-wide network of pharmacy companies, Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji, was sentenced to four years prison in New Zealand in August for illegally importing millions of dollars worth of pseudoephedrine, a precursor chemical of methamphetamine.
Umarji, a Fijian national, had long been a target of police in his home country but had for years escaped justice thanks to what Fijian and international law enforcement say was an unwillingness by the previous authoritarian government of Voreqe Bainimarama to seriously tackle meth and cocaine trafficking.
Fiji’s new government, which was elected last December, is now investigating donations that Umarji and his family made to the previous ruling party, as well as “potential connections” to top law enforcement officials.
Until recently, Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji was — in public at least — a pillar of Fiji’s business community.
With ownership of a Pacific-wide pharmacy network, Umarji and his family were significant donors to the party that repressively ruled the country until it lost power in elections last December. He was also a major figure in sports, serving as a vice president of the Fiji Football Association and as a committee member in soccer’s global governing body, FIFA.
And he did it all as an internationally wanted drug trafficker.
Umarji’s fall finally came in August this year, after he ended a period of self-imposed exile in India and surrendered himself to authorities in New Zealand to face years-old charges. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for importing at least NZ$5-$6 million (US$2.9-3.5 million) worth of pseudoephedrine — a precursor for methamphetamine – into the country.
But behind the conviction of Umarji, 47, lies a far murkier story of impunity, a joint investigation by an Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), The Fiji Times, The New Zealand Herald and Radio New Zealand has found.
Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji (right) shakes hands with Fiji Football Association President Rajesh Patel. Image: Baljeet Singh/The Fiji Times
Umarji was able to thrive for years amid a failure by senior officials of Fiji’s previous authoritarian government to confront a rise in meth and cocaine trafficking through the Pacific Island country.
And when New Zealand authorities finally issued an international warrant for his arrest, Umarji was able to flee Fiji under suspicious circumstances.
Reporters found that Umarji and his family donated at least F$70,000 (US$31,000) to the country’s former ruling party, FijiFirst, in the years after he was first put under investigation. This included F$20,000 (US$8,700) given to the party ahead of last December’s election — roughly three years after he was first charged.
The party’s general secretary, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, was Fiji’s long-serving attorney-general and justice minister at the time.
Reporters also found that the Umarji family’s business network has continued to expand despite his legal troubles, and currently operates in three Pacific countries. The newest of these pharmacy companies, in Vanuatu, was founded just last year.
Fiji’s Minister for Immigration and Home Affairs, Pio Tikoduadua, told OCCRP an investigation has been opened into how Umarji was able to flee the country.
Ships at anchor in the harbour of Fiji’s capital, Suva. Image: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP/RNZ Pacific
He said authorities are also investigating donations Umarji and his family made to FijiFirst, and any “potential connections” he may have had to top officials in the former government, including Sayed-Khaiyum and the now-suspended Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho.
“Certainly, I am deeply concerned about the potential influence of drug traffickers in Fiji, especially over officials and law enforcement,” Tikoduadua said.
“The infiltration of these criminal elements poses a significant risk to our society and institutions.”
Umarji declined a request for an interview and did not respond to follow-up questions. His Auckland lawyer, David PH Jones, said a request from reporters contained “numerous loaded questions which contain unsubstantiated assertions, a number of which have little or nothing to do with Mr Umarji’s prosecution”.
Sayed-Khaiyum and Qiliho did not respond to written questions.
‘A hub of the Pacific’ The rise in drug trafficking through Fiji is just one part of a booming trans-Pacific trade that experts and law enforcement say has become one of the world’s most profitable.
In Australia, the most recent data shows that drug seizures have more than quadrupled over the last decade, and Australians now consume 4.7 tonnes of cocaine and 8.8 tonnes of meth a year. In much smaller New Zealand, drug users strongly prefer meth to cocaine, consuming roughly 720 kilograms a year.
Consumers in both countries pay some of the highest prices on earth for cocaine and meth, much of it exported from the Americas. Lying in the vast blue expanse between the two points are the Pacific Islands.
The Pacific meth cocaine route map. Map: Edin Pasovic/OCCRP/RNZ Pacific
“Fiji is a hub of the Pacific. You’ve got the ports, you’ve got the infrastructure, and you’ve got the ability to come in and out either by [water] craft or by airplane,” said Glyn Rowland, the New Zealand Police senior liaison officer for the Pacific.
“So that really leaves Fiji quite vulnerable to be in that transit route off to New Zealand and off to Australia.”
Fiji has long been eyed by international organised crime for its strategic location close to Australia and New Zealand’s multi-billion dollar drug markets.
In the early 2000s, for example, an international police operation took apart a “super lab” in Fiji’s capital, Suva, run by Chinese gangsters with enough precursor chemicals to produce a tonne of meth.
But after early successes, Fiji in recent years went cold on the fight against hard drugs.
The previous government of Voreqe Bainimarama, who first took power in a 2006 coup, showed little interest in tackling meth and cocaine trafficking, according to current and former law enforcement officers from Fiji and the US. Despite recent signs that trafficking was increasing, the police force under Bainimarama’s hand-picked commissioner, Qiliho, seemed to overlook the problem, the officers told OCCRP.
Bainimarama did not respond to questions.
Ernie Verina, the Oceania attaché for US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), said his agency had become worried about trafficking through Fiji.
In mid-2022, HSI assigned an agent to be based in the country. But when the agent raised the issue of meth with top officials from Bainimarama’s government, he was met with total pushback, Verina said.
“Categorically, like, ‘There is no meth’,” Verina said of the Fijian response.
“That’s what they told the agent.”
A lot of influence Despite high-level denials, Fiji’s narcotics police were very much aware of the country’s drug trafficking crisis. In fact, they had long had Umarji in their sights. But he was a difficult target.
As far back as 2017, Umarji was identified as “one of the tier one” suspected traffickers in the country, said Serupepeli Neiko, the head of the Fiji Police’s Narcotics Bureau.
Umarji’s hometown of Lautoka, Fiji. Image: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP/RNZ Pacific
While the drug trade through Fiji is also the domain of transnational organised crime groups, Umarji was suspected of having carved out a niche for himself by using his network of pharmacies, Hyperchem, to legally import pseudoephedrine and divert it onto the black market, Neiko said.
In early 2017, Umarji and one of his colleagues were charged with weapons possession after scores of rifle bullets were found on his yacht, moored in his hometown of Lautoka. But the charges were “squashed in court,” Neiko said.
“So that gave a red flag to us that a [drug trafficking] case against Umarji would have been challenging as well.”
A former senior Fijian officer, who declined to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media, put it more bluntly: “Umarji had a lot of influence with the previous government.”
Reporters found no evidence that any senior Fijian officials intervened against investigations into Umarji. But the perception that he had influence was powerful, current and former police officers said.
Indeed, since the fall of Bainimarama’s government last year, multiple senior officials have faced charges that they abused their positions, but none have been convicted.
The suspended police commissioner, Qiliho, and the former prime minister, Bainimarama, were both acquitted by a court on October 12 of charges that they had illegally interfered in a separate police investigation.
Former Attorney-General Sayed-Khaiyum is also currently facing prosecution in another unrelated abuse of office case.
Despite becoming a top-level police target, Umarji continued to expand his influence in Fiji.
Company records show that, in 2015, he and his wife, Zaheera Cassim, opened Hyperchem companies in Fiji, Solomon Islands, and a now-defunct branch in Samoa.
In May 2017, Umarji opened a new company, Bio Pharma, in New Zealand.
Ahead of elections the following year, Umarji and his relatives donated a total of at least F$50,000 to the FijiFirst party, declarations from the Fiji Elections Office show.
Umarji also made a name for himself in soccer, getting elected a vice-president of the Fiji Football Association in December 2019.
Pills and cash By 2019, it was clear that avenues for a Fijian investigation were closed. So police in New Zealand stepped in instead. Reporters were able to reconstruct what happened next via court records and interviews.
While seconded that year to Fiji’s Transnational Crime Unit, New Zealand detective Peter Reynolds heard whispers about Umarji’s alleged criminal activity from his local colleagues. On returning to New Zealand, he decided to take things into his own hands.
Digging through police files, Reynolds found a lucky break in a case from nearly two years prior.
In late 2017, an anonymous member of the public had reached out to an anti-crime hotline with a tip that a businessman, Firdos “Freddie” Dalal, had a suspicious amount of money in his home in suburban Auckland.
Acting on a warrant, police made their way inside and found NZ$726,190 in cash and 4000 boxes of Actifed, a cold and flu medicine that contains pseudoephedrine.
Umarji NZ route map. Image: Edin Pasovic, James O’Brien/OCCRP/RNZ Pacific
Known as Operation Duet, the investigation that led to Dalal’s conviction provided the information that Reynolds needed to go after Umarji. It turned out that Dalal, who owned an Auckland-based freight forwarding company, was also listed as the director of Umarji’s New Zealand company, Bio Pharma.
Reynolds soon figured out how it all worked. Using his Pacific-wide Hyperchem network, Umarji ordered Actifed pills to be delivered from abroad to his pharmacies in Fiji and Solomon Islands. The shipments were set to transit through New Zealand, where Dalal’s forwarding company was responsible for the cargo.
While the drugs sat in a restricted customs holding area, Dalal simply went inside and swapped them out for other other medicine, such as anti-fungal cream, which was then sent on to their island destinations. The purloined pseudoephedrine was sold on New Zealand’s black market.
Dalal did not respond to questions.
In just three shipments between January and October 2017, Umarji’s operation brought in an estimated 678,000 Actifed pills containing about 40.7 kilograms of pseudoephedrine, Auckland District Court would later find.
But if deciphering Umarji’s operation was straightforward, arresting him would prove anything but.
New Zealand Police filed charges against Umarji in December 2019, but Reynolds told the Auckland court that he believed they faced little chance of getting Umarji to voluntarily fly to Auckland and show up in court.
“If the summons were to be served it would likely result in Umarji fleeing [Fiji] to a country that has no extradition arrangements with New Zealand,” the detective said in an affidavit.
So New Zealand authorities decided to go through the arduous process of requesting extradition. In November 2021, a Fijian court agreed to the request, and New Zealand Police issued an Interpol red notice.
Despite all the effort, within days Fiji Police had to contact their New Zealand counterparts with an embarrassing admission: Umarji had fled the country, and was in India.
New Zealand Police’s Pacific liaison, Rowland, declined to comment on how Umarji was able to flee Fiji, but added: “The reality is, sometimes corruption isn’t about what you do. Sometimes corruption is about what you don’t do, or turn a blind eye to.”
Despite his legal troubles, Umarji remained a respectable public figure in Fiji, thanks in part to a restrictive media environment that made it difficult for reporters to look into him in detail.
In May 2021, while Umarji was still in Fiji and his extradition case was pending, he was elected to FIFA’s governance, audit and compliance committee. He kept the position even after his flight abroad later that year, and was re-elected unopposed as Fiji Football Association vice president this June. He only resigned both positions on August 7, two days before his sentencing.
FIFA and the Fiji Football Association did not respond to questions.
Umarji also made little effort to hide during his exile in India. At one stage last year, he recorded an online video testimonial for a stem cell clinic outside of Delhi where he said he was getting treatment for diabetes.
His family’s second round of donations to FijiFirst, F$20,000 ahead of last December’s elections, were similarly made while Umarji was on the run.
But the drug trafficker eventually tired of exile.
In early 2022, he first contacted his high-powered Auckland lawyer, Jones, to arrange his surrender to New Zealand Police. He pleaded guilty to the Auckland court earlier this year and was allowed to return to Fiji to sort his affairs before handing himself in for sentencing.
Hyperchem’s warehouse and office in Lautoka. Image Aubrey Belford/OCCRP/RNZ Pacific
New focus With Umarji now in prison, Fijian authorities say they are continuing to investigate his operations.
Umarji’s pharmaceutical business continues to run with his wife, Cassim, at its head. Cassim has for years been a significant public face for the businesses, including publicising its charitable work. She declined to respond to reporters’ questions.
OCCRP visited Umarji’s companies in Lautoka in late June, during the period in which he was allowed by the New Zealand court to briefly return to Fiji. Reporters found a bustling network of businesses, including a well-staffed warehouse and office on the edge of town for Hyperchem.
Reporters contacted Umarji by phone from the warehouse’s reception area, but he declined to come out for an interview and referred reporters to his lawyer.
Homeland Security Investigations’ Verina said the new government of Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has since removed roadblocks to investigating these sort of trafficking operations.
“We have started to see enforcement operations and arrests and holding individuals accountable for the methamphetamine smuggling,” Verina said.
An Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigation. Additional reporting by Lydia Lewis (RNZ) and George Block (New Zealand Herald). This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The referendum on the indigenous Voice in Australia last Saturday was an historic event. Australians were asked to vote on whether to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia in the Constitution through an indigenous Voice.
The Voice was proposed as an independent, representative body for First Nations peoples to advise the Australian Parliament and government, giving them a voice on issues that affect them.
Here are some key points:
The proposal was to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution by creating a body to advise Parliament, known as the “Voice”.
The “Voice” would be an independent advisory body. Members would be chosen by First Nations communities around Australia to represent them.
The “Voice” would provide advice to governments on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, such as health, education, and housing, in the hope that such advice will lead to better outcomes.
Under the Constitution, the federal government already has the power to make laws for Indigenous people. The “Voice” would be a way for them to be consulted on those laws. However, the government would be under no obligation to act on the advice.
Indigenous people have called for the “Voice” to be included in the Constitution so that it can’t be removed by the government of the day, which has been the fate of every previous indigenous advisory body. It is also the way indigenous people have said they want to be recognised in the constitution as the First Nations with a 65,000-year connection to the continent — not simply through symbolic words.
It was necessary for a majority of voters to vote “yes” nationally, as well as a majority of voters in at least four out of six states, for the referendum to pass.
Unfortunately, it was rejected by the majority with more than 60 percent with the vote still being counted. In all six states and the Northern Territory, a “No” vote was projected.
The Voice vote nationally – “no” ahead with 60 percent with counting still ongoing. Source: The Guardian
According to the ABC, a majority of voters in all six states and the Northern Territory voted against the proposal.
New South Wales 81.2 percent counted, 1.81 million voted yes (40.5 percent) and 2.67M million voted no (59.5 percent).
Victoria 78.5 percent counted, 1.56 million voted yes (45.0 percent), and 1.91 million voted no (55.0 percent).
Tasmania 82.7 percent counted, 134,809 voted yes (40.5 percent), and 198,152 voted no (59.5 percent).
South Australia 79.1 percent counted, 355,682 voted yes (35.4 percent), 648,769 voted no (64.6 percent).
Queensland 74.3 percent counted, 835,159 voted yes (31.2 percent), 1.84 million voted no (68.8 percent).
Western Australia 75.3 percent counted, 495,448 voted yes (36.4 percent), and 866,902 voted no (63.6 percent).
Northern Territory 63.4 percent counted, 37,969 voted yes (39.5 percent), and 58,193 voted no (60.5 percent).
ACT 82.8 percent counted, 158,097 voted yes (60.8 percent), and 102,002 voted no (39.2 percent).
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the next steps after the failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum are yet to be decided and called the expectation of having a plan just days after the vote “not respectful”.
In addition to being viewed as divisive along racial lines, concerns about how the Voice to Parliament would work (whether indigenous Australians would be given greater power) and uncertainties about how the new body would result in meaningful change for indigenous Australians contributed to the rejection.
Australia has held 44 referendums since its founding in 1901. However, the referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in 2023 was the first of its kind to focus specifically on Indigenous Australians.
As part of a broader push to establish constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, the Voice proposal was seen as a significant step towards reconciliation and was the result of decades of indigenous advocacy and work.
A key turning point came in 2017 when 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates from across the country met at Uluru for the First Nations’ National Constitutional Convention. The proposal, known as the Voice, sought to recognise Indigenous people in Australia’s constitution and establish a First Nations body to advise the government on issues affecting their communities.
However, the Voice proposal was not unanimously accepted. In the course of the campaign, intense conflict and discussion ensued between supporters and opponents, resulting in what supporters viewed as a tragic outcome, while the victorious opponents celebrated their victory.
The support of Oceania’s indigenous leaders Pacific Islanders expressed their views before the referendum on the Voice to Parliament.
Henry Puna, Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, said that Australia’s credibility would be boosted on the world stage if the yes vote won the Indigenous voice referendum. He stated that it would be “wonderful” if Australia were to vote yes, because he believed it would elevate Australia’s position, and perhaps even its credibility, internationally.
The former Foreign Minister of Vanuatu (nd current Climate Change Minister), Ralph Regevanu, warned Australia’s reputation would plummet among its allies in the Pacific if the Voice to Parliament was defeated.
These views indicate the potential impact of the voice referendum on Australia’s relationship with Pacific Island nations, which it often refers to as “its own backyard”.
The “No” camp claimed the Voice was an “elite” idea, that “real” Indigenous people didn’t want it, because Peter Dutton had spoken to “shoppers”. Even with the results, they still insist communities did not want one – taking away what little voice they gothttps://t.co/kWt0hjDHEC
Division, defeat and impact A tragic aspect of the Voice proposal is the fact that not only were Australian settlers divided about it, but even worse, indigenous leaders themselves, who were in a position to bring together a fragmented and tormented nation, were at odds with each other — including full-on verbal wars in media.
While their opinions on the proposal were divided, some had practical and realistic ideas to address the problems faced by indigenous communities in remote towns. Others proposed a treaty between settlers and original indigenous people.
There are also those who advocate for a strong political recognition within the nation’s constitutional framework.
Despite these divisions among indigenous leaders, the referendum on Voice represents a significant milestone in the ongoing indigenous resistance that spans over 200 years.
It is a resistance that began on January 26, 1788, when the invasion began (Pemulwuy’s War), and continued through various milestones such as the 1937 Petition for citizenship, land rights, and representation, the 1938 Day of Mourning, the 1963 Yirrkala bark petitions, the 1965 Freedom Rides, and the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972.
It further extended to 1990-2005 with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), the 1991 Song Treaty by Yothu Yindi, Eddie Mabo overturning terra nullius in 1992, Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology, and the Uluru Statement from the Heart until the recent defeat of the Voice Referendum in 2023.
A dangerous settlers’ myth and its consequences The modern nation of Australia (aged 235 years) has been shaped by one of European myths: “Terra Nullius”, the Latin term for “nobody’s land”. This myth was used to describe the legal position at the time of British colonisation.
Accordingly, the land had been deemed as terra nullius, which implies that it had belonged to no one before the British Crown declared sovereignty over it.
Eddy Mabo: A Melanesian Hero An indigenous Melanesian, Eddy Mabo, overturned this myth in 1992, known as “the Mabo Case,” which recognised the land rights of the Meriam people and other indigenous peoples.
The Mabo Case resulted in significant changes in Australian law in several areas. One of the most notable changes was the overturning of the long-standing legal fiction of “terra nullius,” which posited that Australia was unpopulated (no man’s land) at the time of British colonisation.
In this decision, the High Court of Australia recognized the legal rights of Indigenous Australians to make claims to lands in Australia. It marked a historic moment, as it was the first time that the law acknowledged the traditional rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In addition, the Mabo Case contributed directly to the establishment of the Native Title Act in 1993.
Even though these changes are significant, debates persist regarding the state of indigenous Australians under colonial settlement.
Indigenous Affairs reporter Isabella Higgins says the No victory in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum could change the way Indigenous Australians will want to interact with the rest of the country going forward. pic.twitter.com/g5CxBaU0Op
Indigenous leaders need to see a big picture The recent referendum on the Voice sparked heated debates on a topic that has long been a source of contention: the age-old battle of “my country versus your country, my mob versus your mob, I know best versus you know nothing.”
While it’s important to celebrate and protect cultural diversity and the unique perspectives it brings, it’s equally important to recognise that British settlers didn’t just apply the myth of terra nullius to a select few groups or regions — they applied it to all areas inhabited by indigenous peoples, treating them as a single, homogenous entity.
This means that any solution to indigenous issues must be rooted in a collective, unified voice, rather than a patchwork of fragmented groups.
Indigenous leaders need to prioritise the creation of a unified front among themselves and mobilise their people before seeking support from Australians. Currently, they are engaging in competition, outdoing each other, and fighting over the same issue on mainstream media platforms, indigenous-run media platforms, and social media.
This approach is reminiscent of the “divide, conquer, and rule” strategy that the British effectively employed worldwide to expand and maintain their dominion. This strategy has historically caused harm to indigenous nations worldwide, and it is now harming indigenous people because their leaders are fighting among themselves.
It is important to note that this does not imply a rejection of every distinct indigenous language group, clan, or tribe. However, it is crucial to recognise that indigenous peoples throughout Oceania were viewed through a particular European lens, which scholars refer to as “Eurocentrism”.
This “lens” is a double-edged sword, providing semantic definition and dissection power while also compartmentalising based on a hierarchy of values. Melanesians and indigenous Australians were placed at the bottom of this hierarchy and deemed to be of no historical or cultural significance.
This realisation is of utmost importance for the collective attainment of redemption, unity and reconciliation.
The larger Australian indigenous’ cause From Vasco Núñez de Balboa’s momentous crossing of the Isthmus of Panama to Ferdinand Magellan’s pioneering Spanish expedition across the Pacific Ocean in 1521, and Abel Janszoon Tasman’s remarkable exploration of Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, to James Cook’s renowned voyages in the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1779, the indigenous peoples of Oceania have endured immense suffering and torment as a consequence of the European scramble for these territories.
The indigenous peoples of Oceania were forever scarred by the merciless onslaught of European maritime marauders. When the race for supremacy over these unspoiled regions unfolded, their lives were shattered, and their communities torn asunder.
The web of life in Australia and Oceania was severely disrupted, devalued, rejected, and subjected to brutality and torment as a result of the waves of colonisation that forcefully impacted their shores.
The colonisers imposed various racial prejudices, civilising agendas, legal myths, and the Discovery doctrine, all of which were conceived within the collective conceptual mindset of Europeans and applied to the indigenous people.
These actions have had a lasting and fatalistic impact on the collective indigenous population in Australia and Oceania, resulting in dehumanisation, enslavement, genocide, and persistent marginalisation of their humanity, leading to unwarranted guilt for their mere existence.
The European collective perception of Oceania, exemplified by the notion of terra nullius, has resulted in numerous transgressions of indigenous laws, customs, and cosmologies, affecting every aspect of life within the entire landscape. These violations have led to the loss of land, destruction of language, erasure of memories, and imposition of British customs.
Furthermore, indigenous peoples were forcibly relocated to concentration camps, missions, and reserves.
The Declaration received support from a total of 144 countries, with only four countries (which have historically displaced indigenous populations through settler occupation) voting against it — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
However, all four countries subsequently reversed their positions and endorsed the Declaration. It should be noted that while the Declaration does not possess legal binding force, it does serve as a reflection of the commitments and responsibilities that states have under international law and human rights standards.
The challenges and concerns confronting indigenous communities are undeniably more severe and deplorable than the current “yes or no” referendum. It is imperative for the entire nation, including indigenous leaders, to acknowledge the profound extent of the Indigenous human tragedy that extends beyond the divisive binary.
Old and new imperial vultures Similar to the European vultures that once encircled Oceania centuries ago, partitioned its territories, subjugated its people, conducted bomb experiments, and eradicated its population in Tasmania, the present-day vultures from the Eastern and Western regions exhibit comparable behaviours.
It is imperative for indigenous leaders hailing from Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia to unite and demand that the colonial governments be held responsible for the multitude of crimes they have perpetrated.
Message to divided indigenous leaders Simply assigning blame to already fragmented, tormented, and highly marginalised Indigenous communities, and endeavouring to empower them solely through a range of government handouts and community-based development programs, will not be adequate.
Because the trust between indigenous peoples and settlers has been shattered over centuries of abuse, deeply impacting the core of Indigenous self-image, dignity, and respect.
My personal experience in remote indigenous communities I am a Papuan who came to Australia over 20 years ago to study in the remote NSW town of Bourke. I lived, studied, and worked at a small Christian College called Cornerstone Community.
During my time there, I was adopted by the McKellar clan of the Wangkumara Tribe in Bourke and worked closely with indigenous communities in Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett, Cobar, Wilcannia, and Dubbo.
Unfortunately, my experiences in these places left me traumatised.
These communities have become so broken. I found myself succumbing to depression as a result of the distressing experiences I witnessed. It dawned upon me being “blackfella” — Papuan indigenous descent — was and still consistently subjected to similar mistreatment regardless of location.
This realisation instilled within me a sense of guilt for my own identity, as I was constantly made feel guilty of who I was. Tragically, a significant number of the young indigenous whom I endeavoured to aid and guide through diverse community and youth initiatives have either been incarcerated or committed suicide.
West Papua, my home country, is currently experiencing a genocide due to the Indonesian settler occupation, which is supported by the Australian government. This is similar to what indigenous Australians have endured under the colonial system of settlers.
Indigenous Australians in every region, town, and city face a complex and diverse set of issues, which are unique, tragic, and devastating. These issues are a result of how the settler colony interacted with them upon their arrival in the country.
Nevertheless, the indigenous people were not subjected to centuries of abuse and mistreatment solely based on their tribal affiliations. Rather, they were targeted by the settler government as a collective, disregarding the diversity among indigenous groups.
This included the indigenous people from Oceania, who have endured dehumanisation and racism as a result of colonisation.
It is imperative to acknowledge that the resolution of these predicaments cannot be attained by a solitary leader representing a particular group. The indigenous leaders need a unified vision and strategy to combat these issues.
All indigenous individuals across the globe, including Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, and West Papua, are afflicted by the same affliction. The only distinguishing factor is the degree of harm inflicted by the virus, along with the circumstances surrounding its occurrence.
A paradigm shift Imagine a world where indigenous peoples in Australia and Oceania reclaim their original languages and redefine the ideas, myths, and behaviours displayed on their land with their own concepts of law, morality, and cosmology. In this world, I am confident that every legal product, civilisational idea, and colonial moral code applied to these peoples would be deemed illegal.
It is time to empower indigenous voices and perspectives and challenge the oppressive systems that have silenced them for far too long.
Commence the process of renaming each island, city, town, mountain, lake, river, valley, animal, tree, rock, country, and region with their authentic local languages and names, thereby reinstating their original significance and worth.
However, in order to accomplish this, it is imperative that indigenous communities are granted the necessary authority, as it is ultimately their power that will reinforce such transformation. This power does not solely rely on weapons or monetary resources, but rather on the determination to preserve their way of life, restore their self-image, and demand the recognition of their dignity and respect.
Last Saturday’s No Vote tragedy wasn’t just about the majority of Australians rejecting it. It was a heartbreaking moment where indigenous leaders, who should have been united, found themselves fiercely divided.
Accusations were flying left and right, targeting each other’s backgrounds, positions, and portfolios. This bitter divide ended up gambling away any chance of redemption and reconciliation that had reached such a high national level.
It was a devastating blow to the hopes and aspirations for a better world for one of the most disadvantaged originals continues human on this ancient timeless continent — Australia.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Pacific leaders fear they will have little or no voice in the new National-led government in Aotearoa New Zealand with the real possibility of not a single Pacific person making it into the new coalition.
Labour had 11 Pacific members of Parliament, then 10 when then Communications Minister Kris Faafoi left. Included was Carmel Sepuloni who became Deputy Prime Minister when Chris Hipkins became leader.
National currently has one possible Pacific MP, Angee Nicholas, but she may lose the Te Atatū seat on special votes, leading with only a margin of 30 over Labour’s Phil Twyford.
But even though the race is tight, she said on social media she had been stopped and congratulated by community members.
“It is going to be close but I hope to bring it home now,” Angee said in a post to social media.
Angee Nicholas says she has been getting positive responses from people in her community . . . “This beautiful family stopped me today to say congratulations. Thank you.” Image: RNZ Pacific/Angee Nicholas/Facebook
National list MP Agnes Loheni has not made the cut as things currently stand.
Pacific political commentator Thomas Wynne said it meant that the number of Pacific people in government might very well go to one or even zero.
Who is it?
“Here’s my question to National, who is it exactly that you’re going to have as the minister for Pacific people? Because if Angee doesn’t get in and neither does Agnes, then who?” Wynne asked.
“Because you don’t have any Pacific people in there.
“Chris Luxon has said he has a party of diversity, well I’m sorry but that’s just not the case.”
At the moment Dr Shane Reti is the Pacific people’s spokesperson for National.
On the campaign trail Dr Reti said “attending to the cost of living” was one of the most impactful things that could be done for Pacific people.
Thomas Wynne is part of the Marumaru Atua voyagers. Here he helps guide the vaka into Avarua Harbour in Rarotonga. Image: RNZ Pacific/Daniela Maoate-Cox
Pacific community advocate Melissa Lama said she did not know how National planned to make decisions on Pacific issues.
“To me that’s really scary to have one person represent a massive group of New Zealand society who are visible which is our Pacific people, I just can’t get over that.”
Disheartened over results
Lama said she felt disheartened after the results.
“If we look at some of the campaigning slogans and narratives that particularly on the right side, National and Act, have had throughout this election it doesn’t necessarily give me hope for what’s to come for my future and my children’s future,” she said on Sunday.
“I’m definitely gutted. I feel a bit low mood today.”
Dunedin community leader Melissa Lama . . . “I’m definitely gutted. I feel a bit low mood today.” Image: RNZ Pacific/Fire Fire/The Outliers
On Saturday, at a Pacific election watch party in Ilam, Christchurch, most attendees opted to socialise outside instead of watching the results.
Views on what’s to come for Pasifika are mixed. There’s some excitement for change but also nerves.
A common thread was concern that the Ministry for Pacific Peoples would be scrapped.
However, just last week the now incoming Prime Minister told RNZ Pacific he would not bow to ACT.
“Our position very strongly is I’ve been supportive of the Pacific Peoples Ministry. I haven’t been supportive of the management of it. When you have a $40,000 farewell I think that’s insane,” Luxon said.
Keeping an optimistic outlook Deputy Mayor of Waitaki Hana Halalele who is also the general manager of Oamaru Pacific Island Community Group said she was disappointed about the results but was trying to be optimistic.
Hana Halalele . . . disappointed but trying to be optimistic. Image: RNZ Pacific/Waitaki District Council
Despite the drop in Pacific representation in Parliament, Wynne wants to focus on the positives and asks frustrated Pacific community members to hold National and ACT to account on what they have promised.
“I feel it’s time for us to not think about what we’re losing because that day is done — that was yesterday and really we need to start looking at the opportunity of what this new government affords us, because shouting from the sidelines is not going to help,” he said.
Wynne said Act’s vision was for less government and more community involvement could be beneficial.
He also said Act had promised a return of charter schools, which could be good for Pasifika.
Tongan community leader Pakilau Manase Lua, who is leading the charge on fighting for justice for ongoing Dawn Raids said National and Act had been clear on overstayers.
“They don’t support any pathway to residency for people who are overstaying or who may have been stuck here during the lockdowns and had no other option but to try and find a way to settle.”
Pakilau said while there was concern for overstayers, he was still holding out hope the new government would surprise him.
Community leader Pakilau Manase Lua at a Tongan Council of Churches and Aotearoa Tonga Response Group church service . . . leading the charge on fighting for justice over ongoing Dawn Raids. Image: RNZ Pacific/Lydia Lewis
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
The Indonesia Art Movement has collaborated with the Monj Hen Wani Community and environmental advocates in Papua to organise the “Arumbay Tonotwiyat” — the Women’s Forest People’s Party.
The event took place beneath the lush canopy of Enggros village’s mangrove forest Abepura District, Jayapura City last weekend.
Arumbay Tonotwiyat was a multifaceted celebration that blended art, culture and environmental conservation.
This gathering was a tribute to nature and the preservation of cultural heritage.
It was also a commitment to fostering harmony between humanity and the natural world.
Rumah Bakau Jayapura, Kampung Dongeng Jayapura, Forum Indonesia Muda Jayapura, Sangga Uniyap, and representatives from Cenderawasih University and ISBI Tanah Papua, and Papua Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) supported the event.
The “forest party” engaged a wide range of participants, including children, teenagers, and adults.
Beach clean-up
The event started with a beach clean-up initiative at Cibery Beach, organised by Petronela.
This cleanup effort was a “demonstration of environmental love”, said the organisers.
It acknowledged the persistent issue of marine debris washing ashore during the rainy season.
Children who participated in the Arumbay Tonotwiyat cultural and environmental event in Jayapura. Image: Jubi News
Following the cleanup, participants were treated to a tour of Youtefa Bay, where they witnessed a performance by children from Tobati-Enggros village.
This performance depicted the story of a mangrove forest tainted by garbage and waste originating from Nafri Village, Hamadi Beach, and the Acai River.
Subsequently, the participants were guided to the Women’s Forest in Enggros, an area accessible only to women.
Here, women sought food sources to meet their household needs while also sharing their domestic concerns.
Women’s Forest ‘off-limits’
The Women’s Forest is off-limits to men and any breach of this custom incurs penalties, typically in the form of jewelry or other items.
Mama Ani — “Mother Ani” — explained that men were not permitted to enter the forest while women were foraging for food, as women in the forest swam naked.
Within the mangrove forest, women typically gathered clams, crabs, shrimps, and fish as sources of sustenance.
However, men can enter the forest in the absence of women, usually in search of dried mangrove wood for firewood.
Orgenes Meraudje, the former head of Enggros Village and a prominent community leader, said women also visited the Women’s Forest to share their domestic experiences.
However, these stories remained within the forest, not to be brought back home.
For the women of Enggros-Tobati beach, the forest holds sacred significance, and they foraged unclothed for their household necessities.
Protecting Women’s Forest
Yehuda Hamokwarong, a lecturer at Cenderawasih University who attended the event, stressed the importance of protecting the Women’s Forest.
“The forest served as an educational hub, imparting knowledge and survival skills to Enggros-Tobati women, encompassing practical skills, ethics, and morals,” she said.
“The Women’s Forest represented not only the lungs of the world but also a profound emblem of feminine identity.”
In addition to the Women’s Forest, there is a designated area called “para-para”, a sort of hall exclusive for men, and women were prohibited from entering.
Any woman entering this area would face customary fines.
An award-winning website with an archive of thousands of Pacific news reports, videos, images and research abstracts regarded as a pioneering initiative for a university based media programme has “disappeared” from its cyberspace location.
The PMC Online website . . . disappeared. Image: Screenshot/PMW
Pacific Media Centre Online, founded in 2007, was the website of the research and publication centre established at Auckland University of Technology as a component of the Creative Industries Research Institute.
It was a platform for student journalists and independent media contributors from other media schools and institutions across the Oceania region such as the University of the South Pacific as well as at AUT.
One of it PMC Online’s components, Pacific Media Watch, was awarded the faculty “Critic and Conscience of Society” award in 2014 and contributing student journalists won 11 prizes in the annual Ossie journalism awards of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA).
The new default page for http://pmc.aut.ac.nz Image: Screenshot PMW
When the PMC effectively closed in early 2021, the website continued as an archive at AUT for more than two and a half years under the URL pmc.aut.ac.nz — a total life of 16 years plus.
However, suddenly the website vanished earlier this month with pmc.aut.ac.nz defaulting to the university’s Journalism Department with no explanation from campus authorities.
Founding director of the Pacific Media Centre and retired professor of Pacific journalism Dr David Robie called it a disappointing reflection on the decline of independent journalism and lack of respect for history at media schools, saying: “Yet another example of cancel culture.”
Jemima Garrett, co-convenor of the Australia Asia Pacific Media Initiative (AAPMI), described it as an “appalling waste and disrespectful”.
The Google directory for the Pacific Media Centre – all files have now disappeared. Image: Screenshot/PMW
Investigative journalist and Gold Walkley winner Peter Cronau, who is co-publisher of Declassified Australia, wrote: “That’s disgraceful censorship of Pacific stories — disturbing it’s been done by AUT, who should be devoted to openness and free speech. What avenues exist for appeal?”
Another investigative journalist and former journalism professor Wendy Bacon said: “This is very bad and very glad that you archived all this valuable work. Unfortunately the same thing happened to an enormous amount of valuable files of Australian Centre for Independent Journalism at UTS [University of Technology Sydney].”
The Pacific affairs adviser of the Pacific Islands Forum, Lisa Leilani Williams-Lahari, said: “Sad!”
Pacific Media Centre student contributors filed more than 50 reports for the Australian journalism school collaborative platform The Junction and they can be read here.
Members of Indonesia’s Nduga District Police and the Damai Cartenz Police Task Force have raided a residential house and the local head office of the Papuan Tabernacle Church (Kingmi Papua) in the town of Kenyam, Nduga Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province, reports Human Rights Monitor.
Before raiding the Kingmi Papua office on September 17, the police officers arbitrarily arrested Melince Wandikbo, Indinwiridnak Arabo, and Gira Gwijangge in their home in Kenyam.
They were tortured and forced to reveal the names of people who had attended a recent burial of several members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).
After one of the suspects mentioned the name of Reverend Urbanus Kogeya, the police officers searched the Kingmi Papua Office in Kenyam.
They arrested three other Papuans without showing a warrant. Police officers reportedly beat them during arrest and subsequent detention at the Nduga District police headquarters.
Everybody detained were later released due to lack of evidence.
Local Kingmi Papua church leaders and congregation members slept inside the Kingmi head office that night because they were preparing for a church event.
Around 11:30 pm, the police officers forcefully entered the office, breaking the entrance door.
Excessive force
According to the church leaders, the officers used excessive force against the suspects and the office facilities during the raid. Nine people suffered injuries as a result of police violence during the raid at the Kingmi Papua office — including an 85-year-old man and four women.
The local head office of the Papuan Tabernacle Church (Kingmi Papua) in the town of Kenyam . . . raided by police who have been accused of torture and excessive force. Image: Kingmi Papua/Human Rights Monitor
As Reverend Nataniel Tabuni asked the officers why they had come at night and broken the entrance door, a police officer approached him and punched him three times in the face.
According to Reverend Tabuni, one of the police officers ssaid: “You are the Church of Satan, the Church of Terrorists! You are supporting Egianus Kogeya [TPNPB Commander in Nduga] under the pretext of praying.”
The acts of torture were witnessed by the head of Nduga Parliament (DPRD), Ikabus Gwijangge.
He reached the Kingmi Papua Office around 11:45 pm after hearing people shouting for help.
As Gwijangge saw the police officers beating and kicking suspects, he protested the use of excessive force and called on the officers to follow procedure.
‘I’ll come after you’
A Damai Cartenz officer reportedly pointed his finger at Gwijangge and threatened him, saying: “Stupid parliamentarian. I’ll come after you! Wherever you go, I will find out where you are. I’ll chase you!”
Another police officer pushed Gwijangge outside the building to prevent him from witnessing the police operation. After that, the police officers searched all the office rooms and broke another office door.
The Nduga police chief (Kapolres), Commissioner Vinsensius Jimmy, has apologised to the local church leaders for the misconduct of his men.
The victims demanded that the perpetrators be processed according to the law.
Congregation members in Kenyam carried out a spontaneous peaceful protest against the police raid and violence against four Kingmi Papua pastors.
The Human Rights Monitor (HRM) is an independent, international non-profit project promoting human rights through documentation and evidence-based advocacy. HRM is based in the European Union and active since 2022.
Former Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe has presented his case for the defence, denying the corruption and bribery charges against him, with the end of the controversial and lengthy trial at the Tipikor Court of Jakarta Central District Court this week. The verdict is due on October 9.
During the hearing, Enembe and his legal team argued there was no evidence to support the allegations made by the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) prosecutor.
The two-term Papuan governor and his legal team firmly stated that the KPK prosecutors had no evidence in the indictment against him.
In a statement presented by his lawyer, Petrus Bala Pattyona, Enembe strongly denied the allegations of receiving bribes and gratuities from businessmen Rijatono Lakka and Piton Enumbi.
Enembe emphasised that the accusations made against him were “baseless and lacked substantial evidence”.
Enembe maintains innocence
He stated that his case was straightforward, as he was being accused of accepting a staggering amount of 1 billion rupiahs (NZ$100,000) from Rijatono Lakka, along with a hotel valued at 25.9 billion rupiahs (NZ$2,815,000) and a number of physical developments and money amounting to Rp 10,413,929,500.00 or 10.4 billion rupiahs (NZ$1,131,000) from Piton Enumbi, lawyer Pattyona said during the reading, reports Kompas.com.
Enembe maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings and asserted that he had never received any form of illicit payments or favours from either businessman.
The simplicity of Lukas’ case, as stated by his lawyer, Petrus Bala Pattyona, lay in the clarity of the accusations made against his client.
Enembe and his legal team emphasised that none of the testimony of the 17 witnesses called during the trial could provide evidence of their involvement in bribery or gratuities in connection with Lukas Enembe, reports National.okenews.com.
“During the trial, it was proven very clearly that no witness could explain that I received bribes or gratuities from Rijatono Lakka and Piton Enumbi,” Enembe said through his lawyer Pattyona during the hearing, reports Kompas.com.
“I ask that the jury of pure hearts and minds, who have tried my case, may decide on the basis of the truth that I am innocent and therefore acquit me of all charges,” Enembe said.
In addition to asking for his release, Enembe also asked the judge to unfreeze the accounts of his wife and son that were frozen by the authorities when this legal saga began last year.
He claimed his wife (Yulce Wenda) and son (Astract Bona Timoramo Enembe) needed access to their funds to cover daily expenses.
Ex-Governor Enembe also discussed gold confiscated by the KPK, calling on judges to allow its return.
Enembe asked that no party criminalise him anymore. He insisted he had never laundered money or owned a private jet, as KPK had claimed.
Enembe’s lawyer also requested that his client’s honour be restored to prevent further false accusations from emerging.
KPK prosecutor’s demands However, the public prosecutors of the KPK considered Lukas Enembe legally and conclusively guilty of corruption in the form of accepting bribes and gratuities when he served as Governor of Papua from 2013 to 2023.
The prosecutors alleged that there was evidence that Lukas Enembe had violated Article 12 letter A and Article 12B of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Criminal Acts and Article 55 paragraph. (1) of I of the Criminal Code jo Article 65, clause (1), of the Criminal Code, reports Beritasatu.com.
In addition to corporal crime, the two-term governor of Papua was fined Rp 1 billion. He was also ordered to pay Rp 47,833,485,350 or 47.9 billion rupiah (NZD$5,199,000) in cash, accusing him of accepting bribes totalling Rp 45.8 billion and gratitude worth 1 billion, reports Kompas.com.
A verdict date is set The Jakarta Criminal Corruption Court panel of judges is scheduled to read the verdict in the case against Enembe on 9 October 2023.
“We have scheduled Monday, October 9, 2023, for the reading of the verdict against the defendant Lukas Enembe,” said presiding judge Rianto Adam Pontoh yesterday at the Central Jakarta District Court after undergoing a hearing of the readings, reports CNN.com.
The date marks an important milestone in the trial as it will bring clarity to the charges against Enembe. The outcome of the judgement will have a profound impact on Enembe’s future and the public perception of his integrity and leadership, and most importantly, his deteriorating health.
Former Governor’s health Previously, the KPK prosecutor had requested a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison.
Enembe’s senior lawyer, Professor OC Kaligis, argued that imprisonment of Enembe for more than a decade would be tantamount to the death penalty due to the worsening of his illness, calling it “brutal demands” of the KPK prosecutors.
“The defendant’s health condition when examined by doctors at Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD) showed an increasingly severe illness status. So we, legal counsel, after paying attention to the KPK Public Prosecutor’s concern for the defendant’s illness, from the level of investigation to investigation, concluded that the KPK Public Prosecutor ignored the defendant’s human rights for maximum treatment.
“With such demands, the KPK Public Prosecutor expects the death of Lukas Enembe in prison,” said Professor Kaligis, reports mambruks.com.
Lukas Enembe’s life Former Governor Lukas Enembe was born on 27 July 1967 in Mamit village, Kembu Tolikara, Papua’s highlands. He graduated from Sam Ratulangi University, Manado, in 1995, majoring in socio-political science.
After returning to West Papua, he began his public service career in the civil service of Merauke district.
Enembe studied at Christian Cornerstone College in Australia from 1998 to 2001. In 2001, he returned to West Papua and ran for the regency election, becoming the deputy regent of Puncak Jaya.
In 2007, he was elected as the regent of Puncak Jaya.
Enembe served as the Governor of Papua from 2013 to 2018 and was re-elected for a second term from 2018 to 2023.
His tenure focused on infrastructure development and cultural unity in West Papua, leading to landmark constructions such as a world-class stadium and a massive bridge.
He also introduced a scholarship scheme, empowering hundreds of Papuan students to pursue education both locally and abroad — such as in New Zealand which he visited in 2019.
Enembe’s achievement as the first Highlander from West Papua to become governor is a groundbreaking milestone that challenged long-held cultural taboos.
His success serves as an inspiration and symbolises the potential for change and unity in the region.
His ability to break cultural barriers has significantly impacted the development of West Papua and the collective mindset of its people, turning what was once regarded as impossible into possibilities through his courage and bravery.
The fact that he is still holding on despite serious health complications that he has endured for a long time under Indonesian state pressure is widely regarded as a “miracle”.
One could argue that West Papua’s predicament as a whole is mirrored in Enembe’s story of struggle, perseverance, pain, suffering, and a will to live despite all odds.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Flashback: Papua Provincial Governor Lukas Enembe (rear centre in purple batik shirt) with some of the West Papuan students in Aotearoa New Zealand during his visit to the country in 2019. Image: APR
An Australian advocacy group supporting West Papuan self-determination has appealed to Foreign Minister Penny Wong to press Indonesia to halt all military operations in the region following new allegations of Indonesian atrocities reported in The Guardian newspaper.
In a letter to the senator yesterday, the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) protested against the report of torture and killing of civilians in West Papua.
Quoting Raga Kogeya, a West Papuan human rights activist, the report said:
“Wity had been interrogated and detained along with three other boys and two young men under suspicion of being part of the troubled region’s rebel army.
“They were taken by special forces soldiers who rampaged through the West Papuan village of Kuyawage, burning down houses and a church and terrorising locals.
“Transported by helicopter to the regional military headquarters 100km away, the group were beaten and burnt so badly by their captors that they no longer looked human.
“Kogeya says Wity died a painful death in custody. The other five were only released after human rights advocates tipped off the local media.
“‘The kids had all been tortured and they’d been tied up and then burned,’ says Kogeya, who saw the surviving boys’ injuries first-hand on the day of their release.”
The AWPA letter by spokesperson Joe Collins said: “Numerous reports have documented the ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua, the burning of villages during military operations and the targeting of civilians including children.”
The most recent cited report was by Human Rights Monitor titled “Destroy them first… discuss human rights later” (August 2023), “brings to attention the shocking abuses that are ongoing in West Papua and should be of concern to the Australian government”.
“This report provides detailed information on a series of security force raids in the Kiwirok District, Pegunungan Bintang Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province (until 2022 Papua Province) between 13 September and late October 2021.
“Indonesian security forces repeatedly attacked eight indigenous villages in the Kiwirok District, using helicopters and spy drones. The helicopters reportedly dropped mortar grenades on civilian homes and church buildings while firing indiscriminately at civilians.
“Ground forces set public buildings as well as residential houses on fire and killed the villagers’ livestock.”
The AWPA said Indonesian security force operations had also created thousands of internal refugees who have fled to the forests to escape the Indonesian military.
“It has been estimated that there are up to 60,000 IDPs in the highlands living in remote shelters in the forest and they lacking access to food, sanitation, medical treatment, and education,” the letter stated.
In light of the ongoing human rights abuses in the territory, the AWPA called on Senator Wong to:
urge Jakarta to immediately halt all military operations in West Papua;
urge Jakarta to supply aid and health care to the West Papuan internal refugees by human rights and health care organisations trusted by the local people; and to
rethink Australia cooperation with the Indonesian military until the Indonesian military is of a standard acceptable to the Australian people who care about human rights.
A New Zealand advocacy group has also called for an immediate government response to the allegations of torture of children in West Papua.
“The New Zealand government must speak out urgently and strongly against this child torture and the state killing of children by Indonesian forces in West Papua this week,” said the West Papua Action Aotearoa network spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Pacific youth and first time voters in Aotearoa New Zealand feel forgotten and ill equipped ahead of the election.
Pasifika are the fastest growing youth population in New Zealand and their main concerns are the cost of living and beating the dire statistics stacked against them.
Although Pasifika have been long established in areas like Timaru and Christchurch, their voices have not always been heard.
“I don’t feel part of the conversation . . . just sitting in the background,” Timaru Boys High Year 13 student Kaluseti Moimoi said.
Moimoi grew up in Oamaru and the upcoming election marks his first time voting. He has enrolled to vote but does not quite know where to start.
“Not really sure who I am going to vote for. Not really sure about the parties or what they are doing. I don’t think there is much education around that.”
Year 13 student at Timaru Boys High Kaluseti Moimoi . . . “Not really sure about the parties or what they are doing.” Image: RNZ Pacific/Eleisha Foon
More than half of New Zealand’s Pacific population is under 25 years old.
Wanting to feel empowered
The growing group wants to feel empowered to speak up on issues like climate change and creating a better future for their families.
But a lack of civic information has left people in the dark, with less than one month to go until they are expected to make cast their vote.
Rangiora New Life School head girl Avinis Siasau Ma’u also has concerns.
“I don’t get any information about this at school. The only information is on the news or from friends. This is the society we are going to live in so it’s key to know what kind of party is going to lead our country,” Ma’u said.
Although she was still learning the names and values of each party, she plans to vote for a party that prioritised Pacific language weeks and addressed the cost of living.
“Back then $20 could get you a lot, but now $20 can only get you three things,” she said.
She said almost everyone she knew had complained about the cost of food.
Periods of family stress
“Every family will go through periods of time where it’s just stress and paying off debt and asking will we have enough for groceries.”
Head girl of Rangiora New Life School Avinis Siasau Ma’u . . . “”Every family will go through periods of time where it’s just stress and paying off debt and asking will we have enough for groceries.” Image: RNZ Pacific/Eleisha Foon
Kaluseti Moimoi’s family was also feeling the pressure and he hopes a “good education” and gaining a degree at the University of Canterbury to become an accountant would change that.
“That is my main goal; to work for the good of my family. That’s what my mum taught me. I’ve got five siblings at home. My parents work really hard.”
Timaru Tongan Society general manager Sina Latu said her community was often left out of the conversation.
The Electoral Commission told RNZ Pacific it was working alongside Pacific leaders and churches, yet Latu said she had not heard a word from them.
“They haven’t approached our Tongan Society or our churches, I think it really shows how we are not heard because we are down south.
Pasifika aren’t just in South Auckland, “they need to reach out everywhere, not just in the big cities. It’s not good enough,” she said.
Encouraging young ones
“We ourselves are trying to encourage young ones to enroll to vote but if we didn’t do that then the majority of them wouldn’t vote.”
Tonga Society South Canterbury . . . “They haven’t approached our Tongan Society or our churches, I think it really shows how we are not heard because we are down south.” Images: RNZ Pacific/Eleisha Foon
Penieli Latu moved to New Zealand from Tonga in 2000 and has never voted until now.
“I turned 50 this year, I am happy to have finally enrolled to vote. I can’t wait to do two ticks.”
Latu wants the next government to make sure the Ministry for Pacific Peoples stays.
For him their language weeks foster a deep sense of Pacific pride and belonging — especially for Pasifika in the South Island.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
In a major electoral upset, Kanak independence politician Robert Xowie has won one of Kanaky New Caledonia’s two seats in the French Senate in Paris.
His second-round electoral victory over Loyalist leader Sonia Backès came on September 24, the 170th anniversary of France’s annexation of its Pacific dependency.
Xowie is the Mayor of Lifou and a former provincial president in the outlying Loyalty Islands.
He will take his seat in Paris alongside Georges Naturel, the Mayor of Dumbea and a dissident member of Rassemblement-Les Républicains, who ran against the endorsed candidate of the conservative anti-independence party.
The two new senators will replace the incumbents Pierre Frogier, the Senator from Rassemblement-Les Républicains first elected in 2011, and Gérard Poadja of the Calédonie Ensemble party, who won his seat at the last poll in 2017.
Unlike the popular vote for deputies in the French National Assembly, Senators are elected by 578 New Caledonian MPs, provincial assembly members and local government delegates.
The unexpected victory of two new senators is a major success for the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS), with the independence movement gaining a seat in the French Senate for the first time, while dealing a stinging blow to the Loyalist bloc.
Naturel elected in first round
In the first round of voting on Sunday, Naturel won his seat with a majority of 351 votes against Robert Xowie (259), Sonia Backès (225), Pierre Frogier (180), Gérard Poadja (48), Macate Wenehoua (6) and Manuel Millar (2).
In the second-round run-off, incumbents Frogier and Poadja and Manuel Millar withdrew their candidacies. Xowie faced off against Loyalist leader Sonia Backès, who already serves as President of New Caledonia’s Southern Province and as a minister for citizenship in the Borne government in Paris.
Given the FLNKS could only count on about 250 of the 578 possible voters, Xowie’s second-round score of 307 suggests that many anti-independence politicians and mayors backed him over Backès, who only won 246 votes in the run-off (the third candidate Wenehoua gained just 2 votes).
Local news media had suggested Backès would use her profile to win the seat, then hand it to her alternate Gil Brial while keeping her ministerial post — an arrogance that raises questions about her political judgement.
The election result is a major blow to Backès, who stood as a representative of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party and was publicly endorsed by France’s Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin.
His support for Backès angered the FLNKS, who condemned the minister’s statement as a breach of the supposed impartiality that the French State often proclaims. This outcome reflects poorly on the Overseas Minister, who is due to travel again to Noumea in late October, hoping to advance negotiations over a new draft political statute for New Caledonia.
As a member of the independence party Union Calédonienne, Xowie will now be supported by his alternate Valentine Eurisouke of the Party of Kanak Liberation (Palika).
Crucial time in Paris
He takes up the Senate post alongside Georges Naturel at a crucial time in Paris, as President Macron plans revisions of the French Constitution in early 2024, to change the electoral rolls in New Caledonia before scheduled Congressional and Assembly elections next May.
As supporters and opponents of independence debate new structures to replace New Caledonia’s 1998 Noumea Accord, Xowie stressed the importance of his new post in Paris:
“It is important that when we are going to talk about constitutional revision, the debate takes place involving us. We have a chance to be able to present the views of the FLNKS directly in the plenary sessions.”
Nic Maclellanis a correspondent for the Suva-based Islands Business news magazine. Republished with the author’s permission.
The New Zealand government has given its full blessing to Cook Islands and Niue establishing diplomatic relations with the United States.
At the US-Pacific summit on Monday (Washington time), President Joe Biden said he recognised the two island nations as sovereign and independent states, an announcement which the US Embassy in Aotearoa has labelled as “historic”.
Both countries are self-governing in ‘free association’ with New Zealand.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins acknowledged that and responded to questions around what the US’s move means for both countries’ relationship with Aotearoa.
“That’s the way that the American system works,” Hipkins said.
“So in order to recognise those specific countries, the wording that they use is they recognise their sovereignty but actually they also recognise, through diplomatic channels, the unique constitutional relationship that those countries have with New Zealand as well.”
The establishment of diplomatic relations does not change the constitutional relationship Aotearoa New Zealand has with either the Cook Islands or Niue, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said.
“Aotearoa New Zealand welcomes the establishment of diplomatic relations between US, Cook Islands and Niue,” the MFAT spokesperson said.
Diplomatic relations
“The Cook Islands has diplomatic relations with 61 countries, and Niue has diplomatic relations with 21 countries.
US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in a joint statement signing ceremony with Niue Premier Dalton Tagelagi at the Department of State. Image: Screenshot/US Department of State/RNZ Pacific
“[The NZ government] expects that the establishment of diplomatic relations[with the US] will better enable close engagement.”
In his speech, Biden said building a better world started with stronger partnerships.
“And that’s why the United States is formally establishing relations with the Cook Island’s . . . and Niue,” Biden said.
Pacific Islands Forum chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has hailed the move as a milestone that marks an “era of change”.
He said Niue and the Cook Islands were “celebrating”.
“These milestones celebrate era’s of change and demonstrate that with unshakable resolve and leadership, remarkable achievements are possible,” Brown said.
Brown thanked the US President for his elevated level of engagement with the Pacific over the last year.
Development funding
Massey University’s defence and security analyst Dr Anna Powles said formalising diplomatic ties was “very much about ensuring that Cook Islands and Niue are able to receive development assistance funding”.
“There’s obviously also a strategic benefit from the United States perspective to have diplomatic presence, or at least diplomatic reach, into both of those countries.”
On top of the diplomatic ties talk, Biden also announced climate assistance at the summit.
He told Pacific leaders more than US$20 million is being injected into climate assistance.
Suluafi said not all nations were being ambitious enough when it came to climate ambition.
“What are the commitments that they will make to financing those most vulnerable to climate change, including those in their, their very ocean, their neighbours in the Pacific,” Suluafi said.
“[Countries] really need to talk about how they will phase out fossil fuels.”
But President Biden wanted to be clear that the Pacific’s stance on the climate crisis was the US’s position too.
‘I hear you’ – Biden on climate crisis
“I want you to know I hear you, the people in the United States and around the world hear you,” Biden said.
“We hear your warnings of a rising sea that they pose an existential threat to your nations. We hear your calls for reassurance that you never, never, never will lose your statehood, or membership of the UN as a result of the climate crisis.”
The President also announced the doubling of US-Pacific exchange student spots.
He committed to a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region.
Biden also plans on investing US$5 million into co-funding a fisheries and ocean science vessel.
It is expected to be used to manage the region’s tuna resources and for ocean science research.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The University of Auckland is to bestow a posthumous honorary doctorate on the late Tongan academic, author and sociologist Professor ‘Epeli Hau’ofa.
Hau’ofa was described at the time of his death by The Sydney Morning Herald as an “inspirational writer, satirist and scholar . . . . truly a man of the Pacific, one of the region’s leading writers who promoted a positive vision of Oceanian culture and history”.
Tongan academic Dr Melanaite Taumoefolau said the university would honour Professor Hau’ofa at a graduation ceremony at the Fale Pasifika on Saturday, October 14.
The ceremony will be held from 10am to midday followed by lunch.
Dr Taumoefolau said there would be a small kava circle with Dr Malakai Koloamatangi and Professor ‘Okusi Māhina and a few others.
It is expected there will be about 100-150 guests, mostly Tongan academics and family from the community.
The ceremony will begin with a prayer, followed by speakers who are expected to include Tongan poet and academic Konai Thaman and Sione Tu’itahi.
This will be followed by foaki e mata’itohí, then entertainment from the TAUA Tongan students Association. Sione Tu’itahi will be MC.
‘Extraordinary vision’
Hauʻofa was born in Papua New Guinea to Tongan missionary parents. He went to school in PNG, Tonga and Fiji and then attended the University of New England and the Australian National University (ANU) in Australia and McGill University in Canada.
He graduated from the ANU with a PhD in social anthropology.
He taught at the University of Papua New Guinea and was a research fellow at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. From 1978 to 1981 he was keeper of the palace records in his role as Deputy Private Secretary to King Tupou IV.
While in Tonga, he and his wife Barbara edited the literary magazine Faikava. He became the first director of USP’s Rural Development Centre, based in Tonga, in 1981.
He taught sociology at USP in Suva, eventually becoming head of the Department of Sociology.
In 1997, Hauʻofa founded the university’s Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture. Through the centre he was mentor to a new generation of artists, sculptors, dancers and musicians at the USP in Suva.
Hau’ofa was a noted writer. His books included Mekeo: Inequality and Ambivalence in a Village Society, based on his PhD thesis, a novel, Kisses in the Nederends and probably his best known work, Tales of the Tikongs, a lively satire of contemporary South Pacific life, featuring multinational experts, religious fanatics, con men, villagers and corrupt politicians.
Hauʻofa died in Suva on 11 January 2009. At the time of his death, an academic colleague said: “His vision and person were extraordinary.”
