radiofree.asia

Category: Pacific Voices

  • Yamin Kogoya: Rev Yoman’s message of hope and prayers for the Papuan dream in Vanuatu

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Yamin Kogoya

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is like a big house or boat, says Reverend Dr Ambirek G. Socratez Yoman, owned by the people and the nation of West Papua.

    Upon this big boat rests prayers, hopes, longings, struggles, dreams, and ideals with a profound sense of justice, peace, and dignity.

    According to Reverend Dr Yoman, the ULMWP is a symbol of unity among the Papuan people. It is a representation of their collective desires and relentless pursuit of justice.

    Reverend Dr Socratez Yoman
    Reverend Dr Socratez Yoman . . . a Papuan public figure, leader, academic, church leader, prolific writer, and media commentator. Image: Yamin Kogoya/APR

    Therefore, West Papuans living in the Land of West Papua, including those living abroad, all pray, hope, and support ULMWP. It is the responsibility of the nation of West Papua and its people to safeguard, maintain, care for, and protect ULMWP as their common home.

    Because ULMWP provides a collective shelter for many tears, blood droplets, bones, and the suffering of West Papua.

    Reverend Dr Yoman says in his message to me that I have translated that the ULMWP carries the spirits of our ancestors, fallen heroes, and comrades. The ULMWP is the home of their spirits, and he wrote some of their names as follows:

    1. Johan Ariks
    2. Lodewijk Mandacan
    3. Barens Mandacan
    4. Ferry Awom
    5. Permenas Awom
    6. Aser Demotekay
    7. Bernandus Tanggahma
    8. Seth Jafet Rumkorem
    9. Jacob Prai
    10. Herman Womsiwor
    11. Markus Kaisiepo
    12. Eliezer Bonay
    13. Nicolaas Jouwe
    14. F. Torrey,
    15. Nicolass Tanggahma
    16. Dick Kereway
    17. Melky Solossa
    18. Samuel Asmuruf
    19. Mapia Mote
    20. James Nyaro
    21. Lambert Wakur
    22. S.B. Hindom,
    23. Louis Wajoi
    24. Tadius Yogi
    25. Martin Tabu
    26. Arnold Clemens Ap
    27. Eduard Mofu
    28. Willem Onde
    29. Moses Weror
    30. Clemens Runaweri
    31. Andy Ayamiseba
    32. John Octo Ondowame
    33. Thomas Wapay Wanggai
    34. Wim Zonggonauw
    35. Yawan Wayeni
    36. Kelly Kwalik
    37. Justin Morip
    38. Beatrix Watofa
    39. Agus Alue Alua
    40. Frans Wospakrik
    41. Theodorus Hiyo Eluay
    42. Aristotle Masoka
    43. Tom Beanal
    44. Neles Tebay
    45. Mako Tabuni
    46. Leoni Tanggahma
    47. Samuel Filep Karma
    48. Prisila Jakadewa
    49. Babarina Ikari
    50. Vonny Jakadewa
    51. Mery Yarona and Reny Jakadewa (the courageous female spirits who raised the Morning Star flag at the Governor’s Office on August 4, 1980).
    52. Also, the spirit of Josephin Gewab/Rumawak, the tailor who created the Morning Star flag.

    In honour of these fallen Papuan heroes and leaders, Reverend Yoman says:

    “It is you, the young generation, who carry forward the baton left by the names and spirits of these fighters, as well as the hundreds and thousands of others who have not been named.

    “If there is someone who fights and opposes the political platform of the ULMWP, that individual is questionable and is damaging the big house and the big boat, which contains the tears, blood, bones, and suffering of the People and Nation of Papua as well as the spirits of our ancestors and leaders.

    “The eyes and faces of the LORD, the spirits of our ancestors, and the spirits of our leaders who have passed on always guard, protect, and nurture the honest, humble, and respectful members of the ULMWP.”

    By this message, he urges the ULMWP to never forget these names and stand bravely with courage on their shoulders.

    Reverend Yoman’s letter: a brief comment
    Indigenous people view life as a system of interconnected relationships between beings, spirits, deities, humans, animals, plants, and the celestial heavens.

    Their holistic cosmology is held together by this interconnectedness — a sacred passageway to multidimensional realities. Although Indigenous cosmologies differ, most, if not all, subscribe to the tenet of interconnectedness.

    Having a strong connection to one’s ancestors’ roots is an integral part of being Indigenous.

    During times of need, rituals, and grief, ancestral and fallen heroes are mentioned and invoked. A specific ancestor’s name may be mentioned in response to a specific situation, such as grief, conflict, sacred ceremonies, or rituals.

    This helps to connect modern generations to the ancestral spirits, providing a source of strength and guidance while honouring the legacy of those who have gone before.

    Those who adhere to original cultural values understand why Reverend Dr Yoman mentioned some of these Papuans.

    In the chronicle of Papuans’ liberation story, these names are mentioned.

    There were some who suffered martyrdom, some who became traitors, who died of old age, and others who died from disease. However, they all have stories connected to West Papua’s Liberation.

    Mentioning these names is intended to invoke a specific energy within the consciousness of West Papua’s independence leaders. Inviting the new generation of fighters to take up the cause of their fallen comrades.

    It is important to encourage Papuans to see the greater picture of a nation’s liberation struggle — which spans generations. Calling on them to revive their minds, spirits, and bodies through the spirit of fallen Papuans and the spirit of Divine during times of turmoil.

    Who is Rev Dr Yoman and why did he mention these names?
    Most people are familiar with Reverend Dr Yoman. He is everywhere — on television, on the news, known in churches, involved in human rights activism, mentioned in public speeches, appears in seminars, and lectures and so on.

    He is well known, or at least heard of, by the Papuan and Indonesian communities, as well as the broader community.

    Reverend Dr Socratez Sofyan Yoman is a public figure, leader, academic, church leader, prolific writer, and media commentator. He is a descendant of the Lani people of Papua.

    He is one of the seeds of the civilisation project launched by Christian missionaries in the Highlands between the 1930s and 1960s. His life has been shaped by four significant events in his homeland — the teachings of his elders, the arrival of Christianity, Indonesian invasions, and the resistance of the Papuans.

    He rose to become an exceptionally accomplished thinker, speaker, writer, and critic of injustice, oppression, and upholds humanity’s values as taught by the Judeo-Christian worldview within these collusions of worlds.

    Growing up among Lani village elders taught him many sacred teachings of the original ways — centred around Wone’s teachings. This is one of the most important aspects of his story.

    Wone is the cornerstone of life for the Lani people. Wone is the principle of life and the foundation for analysing, interpreting, evaluating, debating, understanding, and exchanging life.

    As with many other Lani, Papuan, Melanesian, and Indigenous leaders, Wone is the reason for his birth, survival, and leadership. He has thus a deep sense of duty and responsibility to serve and fight for his people, as well as other marginalised and oppressed members of society.

    Reverend Dr Yoman stands firmly in his beliefs in the face of grief, tragedies, and death in his ancestral homeland. His commitment is unwavering, as he continually strives to stand up for and protect the rights of those who are most vulnerable and in need of a voice.

    Wone has inspired him to lead a life of purpose and integrity, making him a pillar of strength and an example to others. In a dying forest, he becomes the voice of the falling leaves.

    Among his greatest contributions to West Papua, Indonesia, and the world, will be his writings. Generations to come will remember his research and writings regarding history and the fate of his people.

    West Papua will be high on the agenda at the Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders’ Summit in Vanuatu this week.

    West Papua’s United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is also present in Vanuatu. Other factions have arrived and are on their way to witness MSG’s decision on West Papua’s fate as well as their own leaders’ summit.

    A feeling of anxiety pervades Reverend Dr Yoman as he prays — prompting him to write this letter as he recognises the many challenges ULMWP faces and warns them that they cannot afford even the slightest misstep.

    This is the time inspiring Papuans and the ULWMP leadership must remember their fallen comrades, heroes and ancestors.

    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.

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

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    RNZ asked TEPCO about the nuclear legacy in the Pacific.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Senior MSG official calls for Melanesia to remain neutral in geopolitical battle

    By Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific journalist in Port Vila

    The Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat’s Director-General, Leonard Louma, says the Pacific region continues to be the centre of geopolitical interests by global superpowers.

    The 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit is taking place in Port Vila this week– the first full in-person meeting since the covid pandemic.

    The prime ministers of Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and the president of the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) of New Caledonia are confirmed to attend the leaders’ session on Wednesday.

    Louma said the battle for influence “impels the region to take sides, but it does not protect Melanesia and the region”.

    “There are some who would like us to believe that taking sides in that geopolitical posturing is in our best interest. May I hasten to add, I tend to defer — it is not in our best interest to take sides,” Louma said.

    Vanuatu's deputy prime minister Matai Seremaiah, left, and MSG director general Leonard Louma at the opening of the 22nd MSG Leaders's Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Port Vila. 21 August 2023
    Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister Matai Seremaiah (left) and MSG Director-General Leonard Louma at the opening of the 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Port Vila yesterday. Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony

    The director-general also took aim at MSG member countries for not moving with “urgency” on issues that have been on the Leaders’ Summit agenda.

    “Certain decisions also made by leaders and the foreign ministers of past continue to languish on the shelf and there seems to be no real sign of a desire to implement.”

    Free trade
    Louma said the MSG Free Trade Agreement had “somehow been tethered to other training and commercial arrangements”.

    “Our enthusiasm to cooperate appears to have waned. We need to rejuvenate this enthusiasm and appetite for industrial cooperation that once was the hallmark of MSG,” he said.

    Vanuatu’s Foreign Minister Matai Seremaiah has urged Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to sign up to the trade agreement which has already been signed by Fiji and Solomon Islands.

    Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau told RNZ Pacific he shared the concerns of his deputy on the issue of the free trade agreement.

    “Vanuatu must adhere quickly. If you look at the theme of the meeting it’s about being relevant and being relevant means that we’ve got got to participate as a core group so that we can advance all our interests together,” he said.

    Leonard Louma said the MSG needed to make concessions where it was needed in the interests of MSG cohesion.

    “The nuclear testing issue in the Pacific could not have proceeded the way we had proceeded without MSG taking a strong position on it.”

    Melanesian Spearhead Group flags
    The Melanesian Spearhead Group flags . . . will the Morning Star flag of West Papua be added? Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony

    Declarations
    On Monday, MSG Secretariat officials said there were up to 10 issues on the agenda, including West Papua.

    In his opening statement at the Foreign Minister’s session on Monday, Seremaiah said there were two key draft declarations that would be put for the leaders’ consideration.

    The first one would be on climate action and “urging polluters not to discharge the treated water in the Pacific Ocean,” he said.

    “Until and unless the treated water is incontrovertibly proven to be safe to do so and seriously consider other options.”

    The second was a declaration on a MSG region of peace and neutrality, adding that “this declaration is aimed at advancing the implementation of the MSG security initiatives to address national security needs in the MSG region, through the Pacific way, talanoa or tok stori and binded by shared values and adherence to Melanesian vuvale, cultures and traditions”.

    West Papua
    This year’s agenda also includes the issue of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) application to become a full member of the sub-regional body.

    The movement is present at the meeting, as well as a big delegation from Indonesia, represented by its Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.

    However, neither Seremaiah nor Louma made any mention of West Papua in their opening statements.

    West Papua observers and advocates at the meeting say the MSG is like a “custom haus or nakamal” for the Melanesian people.

    They say Vanuatu has the opportunity to make this more than a “normal MSG” if it can be the country that gets the MSG Leaders’ Summit to agree to make the ULMWP a full member.

    West Papua delegation at the 22nd MSG Leaders' Summit pre-meeting in Port Vila. 21 August 2023
    The West Papua delegation as observers at the 22nd MSG Leaders’ Summit pre-meeting in Port Vila yesterday. Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony

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

  • Obituary: Meraia Taufa Vakatale – Fiji anti-nuclear activist and feminist trailblazer

    By Asenaca Uluiviti and Sadhana Sen

    Fiji recently lost Dr Meraia Taufa Vakatale, a monumental woman leader who broke many glass ceilings with her numerous firsts. As an educationalist, diplomat and politician, she profoundly impacted on the lives of tens of thousands in Fiji and the Pacific region, particularly young women in politics and anti-nuclear activists.

    Dr Vakatale was Fiji’s first woman deputy prime minister, the first woman to be elected as a cabinet minister, the first female to be appointed as a deputy high commissioner, and the first Fijian woman principal of a secondary school in Fiji.

    Dr Vakatale was also a fervent anti-nuclear activist. In 1995 she took a costly stand against her party and the then Sitiveni Rabuka government on renewed French nuclear testing on Moruroa Atoll in “French” Polynesia.

    Joining a protest march against French testing led to her losing her cabinet position in the Rabuka-led government, in which she served as a member of the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) party.

    She held the portfolio of Education, Science and Technology in two stints — from 1993 to 1995 and then, after being reinstated, from 1997 to 1999. In 1997, she was appointed Deputy Prime Minister.

    In 2000, she resigned as President of the SVT party over the 2000 coup fallout.

    She was a woman ahead of her time. Dedicated to her principles, she “paid it forward” to Pasifika generations by her fight to keep the Pacific a nuclear-free zone.

    Idealism inspired thousands
    Dr Taufa Vakatale’s spirited and unwavering determination, her activism, idealism and her principles inspired thousands of women and youth to fearlessly pursue their dreams.

    The name Taufa Vakatale was first linked to the renowned all-girls Adi Cakobau School when she became a pioneer student there in 1948, aged 10 years. She was also the first female student at the all-male Queen Victoria School.

    She completed her 6th form year at Suva Grammar School, where she became the first Fijian female to pass the NZ University Entrance. She entered the University of Auckland and in 1963 was the first Fijian woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree, privately funding her studies from her wages as a teacher in Fiji.

    Taufa Vakatale went on to further studies in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1971. On return to Fiji, she became the first Fijian woman president of the Fiji YWCA and principal of her old school, the Adi Cakobau School.

    The YWCA in Fiji was the driving force of the anti-nuclear protest movement in the early 1970s, while she was president.

    In her time as an educator, Dr Vakatale disciplined fairly, understood her students, and entrusted them with positive goals for their future, instructing them to “leave the world better than we found it”.

    She was respected and honoured. Her feats helped ease the students’ own steps, to bring to life the Adi Cakobau School motto.

    Towering moral stature
    Of petite and elegant frame, in moral stature Dr Vakatale towered above many. In diplomacy she served as Fiji’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK in 1980, while single-handedly raising her daughter to become a lawyer.

    The University of St Andrews in Scotland awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters for her contribution to the cause of Pacific women, while Fiji bestowed her with the Order of Fiji in 1996.

    The extraordinary Dr Meraia Taufa Vakatale died on 24 June 2023, aged 84. She leaves behind her only daughter Alanieta Vakatale, three granddaughters, and many more following in her footsteps to leave this world a better place.

    Thirty eight years on from the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and the adoption of the Pacific nuclear-free zone treaty, the Rarotonga Treaty, and with the imminent release of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant radioactive waste into the Pacific ocean, the leadership and sacrifices of Dr Vakatale must be hailed, and her life celebrated.

    Asenaca Uluiviti is a community legal officer in Auckland. She has worked as a state solicitor in Fiji and at its diplomatic mission in the UN, and has served as chairperson of Fiji YMCA, and on the NZ board of Greenpeace. She went to the Adi Cakobau School. Sadhana Sen is regional communications adviser at the Development Policy Centre. Republished from the DevPolicy blog through a Creative Commons licence.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Anger in Hawai’i over threat of land grabs after wildfire disaster

    By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist

    Fears are rife in Hawai’i of predatory land buying after the recent wildfires have left many locals homeless and in dire financial straits.

    The wildfires incinerated the town of Lāhainā, destroying 2200 homes and businesses and leaving hundreds unaccounted for. At least 114 people are confirmed dead.

    The disaster has shed light on Hawai’i’s housing crisis which has prompted many to leave the state for the US mainland.

    According to Hawai’i’s Senate Housing Committee, an average of 14,000 Hawai’ians leave the state every year. The state also has one of the highest homeless rates in the country — in 2022, close to 6000 people experienced homelessness.

    Hawai’i — a state notorious for high mortgage rates and rent — was already in a housing crisis before the disaster occurred. In fact, it was only last month that Hawai’i’s Governor Josh Green declared a housing emergency — announcing plans to build 50,000 homes before 2025.

    Listen to feature on Pacific Waves duration 4:03

    “Homeowners have been reached out to by developers and realtors offering to buy their land…and this is disgusting and we just want to let people around the world to know that Lahaina is not for sale,” Maui community leader Tiare Lawrence told US media.

    Lawrence accused out-of-state developers of taking advantage of the disaster, by buying up multi-generational lands from residents forced into financial desperation by the wildfires.

    Honolulu, Hawaii, 2023
    Hawai’i’s numerous luxury Hotels have been blamed for pushing up property costs. Image: RNZ Pacific/Finau Fonua

    Lāhainā evacuee John Crewe told RNZ Pacific local inter-generational property owners were already struggling to keep up with costs before the wildfires destroyed their homes.

    “People feel that they will be forced to sell out because they’re desperate, and then that will mean there is no place for them to return to,” said Crewe.

    “Certain people may try to take advantage of the disaster to gain more real estate because it’s a vacation destination, people like to buy properties for vacation and that drives up the cost of everything.

    “This is something that should have been addressed long ago.”

    In response to the public concerns, Hawai’i’s Governor Josh Green announced he had organised attorneys to assist local landowners.

    “I’ve asked my attorney to watch out for predatory practices,” Green said last week.

    “We’ll also be raising incredible amount of resources to protect us financially so that none of that land falls into anyone else’s hands,” he added.

    The governor even suggested the state government would look to acquire the land in devastated parts of Maui.

    That comment caused a social media backlash from critics who accuse the administration of protecting the interests of lucrative hotels and tourism developers — blamed by many for making the Hawai’i’s property markets so expensive.

    “Some people have taken out of context a comment I made about purchasing land — that is to protect it, to protect if for local people so that it is not stolen by people on the mainland,” said Green.

    “This is not about the government getting land, this is the people’s land and the people will decide what to do with Lāhainā.”

    Hawaii Governor Josh Green poses after signing Housing Emergency Proclamation, July 19, 2023
    Hawai’i Governor Josh Green poses after signing the Housing Emergency Proclamation last month. Image: Office of Hawaii Governor Josh Green

    But many remain doubtful. In the days following the disaster, thousands of Lāhainā evacuees were forced to live in gymnasiums, churches, community shelters and their cars while Maui’s many hotels and resorts remained open to tourists.

    Governor Green did announce that he had arranged with hotels for more than 500 rooms to be made available for evacuees to use.

    Lāhainā evacuee and Native Hawai’ian Kanani Higbee told RNZ Pacific she had no choice but to leave Hawai’i for another state where the costs of living were cheaper.

    John Crewe said he prayed the community which had existed for generations in Hawaii’s historical city would remain intact.

    “People might have the tendency to leave the island and go somewhere else. We should build it so that people will come back and make Lāhainā a vibrant society and not just a tourist destination,” he said.

    According to Hawai’i’s Senate Housing Committee, one resident emigrates from Hawai’i every 36 minutes.

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

  • Open letter criticises ‘colonial’ French agency, media over Kanaky sexual violence allegations

    This open letter to En Avant Toute and journalists at France 24 and France Info marked the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples last week. It has been sent to Asia Pacific Report and Pacific Media Watch.

    Pacific Media Watch

    A controversial report by a French metropolitan not-for-profit about sexual and sexist violence in France’s overseas territories — including Kanaky New Caledonia — has had its findings reported in mainstream French media, stirring strong criticism by Kanak social justice and human rights advocates.

    The report has led to a condemnation and accusations of “colonialism and racism” in an open letter directed at the NGO, En Avant Toute(s), and two mainstream media outlets that carried news about the findings, France 24 and France Info.

    “It is really about journalism, feminism, and decolonisation of knowledge production,” says an Pacific Media Watch correspondent about the issue.

    The controversial En Avant Toutes report on Kanaky New Caledonia
    The controversial En Avant Toutes report on Kanaky New Caledonia . . . no on-the-ground research. Image: En Avant Toutes/APR screenshot

    “The problem is the organisation didn’t actually travel to New Caledonia. Instead, they conducted phone interviews with a select, small group of NGOs in New Caledonia’s Southern Province, leading to comments in the media about Kanak tradition and sexual abuse which were wrong.”

    The open letter, sent to Asia Pacific Report, says:

    We are gathering to send you this letter on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which aims to raise awareness among the public on the problems faced by Indigenous people.

    Our approach is first rooted in our need to denounce the severity of the lies that have been mediatised and to minimise the harm done, but also to educate on the struggles of Indigenous peoples and the fight against sexual and sexist oppression, specifically in a colonial context, and so that the tools and resources that are deployed in these struggles serve the people who are affected first and foremost.

    We are Indigenous, Kanak, French, women, men, people from Kanaky/New Caledonia committed to social justice in our country at a personal level, professional level, but also as volunteers, advocates and militants in associations.

    Recently, we have come across the report “Des ponts entre les territoires d’outre-mer et l’hexagone” (“Bridges between overseas territories and the hexagone”) through French hexagonal media [the hexagon is a synonym for metropolitan France].

    This report was produced by the French association named En Avant Toute(s) and it attempts to explore the contexts of the French overseas territories when it comes to sexual and sexist violence against women and LGBTQIA+ people.

    It also assesses the needs for their chat service, currently mostly operating in hexagonal France. We are alarmed by two main points: 1/ Misinformation in the media; 2/ How weak the report is as well as its colonial approach, which shows a lack of understanding of French overseas territories, and of Kanaky/New Caledonia more specifically, since that is what affects us.

    The France 24 report on the alleged Kanaky "silence" over sexual violence
    The France 24 report on the alleged Kanaky “silence” over sexual violence . . . one of the criticised articles in the open letter. Image: France 24/APR screenshot

    Misinformation in the media
    In an interview published on July 12, 2023 by France Info, Aurélie Garnier-Brun declared: “customary law [is] being superimposed on common law.

    “What will the victims turn to? Customary law or common law?… It is not the same text. Customary law is based on ancestral practices. Sometimes, victims must apologize to their perpetrator to settle conflicts within a clan.’”

    This information is shared once again in an interview published on July 29, 2023 by France 24 in which Garnier-Brun indicates that “in New Caledonia, the co-existence of common law and customary law can represent a risk factor for women in terms of their exposure to violence” and that “some Kanak tribes have traditions which demand that the victims of violence ask their perpetrators’ for forgiveness”.

    We would like to ask you the following questions: What are these allegations based on? This is a scoop that Kanak women and men are finding out about with surprise and horror from our dear islands on which you have not had the pleasure to set foot on to conduct your research.

    What do you know about our traditions, about Kanak culture, about the stakes at play in the coexistence of customary and common law? What do you even know about violence against women in Kanaky/New Caledonia to draw such dangerous conclusions, make them into statements easily shareable by French media, which don’t even seriously fact check the information, especially when we know how important and worrying the topic of violence against women is?

    Kanak custom condemns violence against women, and does not protect perpetrators, contrary to what is suggested in these interviews.

    Then, in an interview published on July 18, 2023 by Causette magazine, la Case Juridique Kanak (ACJK) is described as a “local religious community”. For your information, the ACJK is an association of volunteer lawyers who are mobilised around questions of customary law. Therefore, it is not a “local religious community” as the interview suggests.

    It is clear, and we regret it, that these declarations belong to a time we wished was in the past, but apparently persists since it is resurfacing through your narrative. It is part of a discourse that suggests that Indigenous and colonised peoples, including the Kanak people, supposedly have backward traditions, unaligned with Western civilisation, which is seen as the reference, given that it is supposedly more advanced on the question of gender equality.

    The mediatisation of this type of discourse is an insult, an example of colonial ignorance, a major contribution to misinformation and the reproduction of a backward, discriminatory, racist and colonial vision of the French overseas territories. Consequently, this misinformation makes us question:

    Firstly, the legitimacy of the En Avant Toute(s) representatives to speak about sexual and sexist violence in the overseas territories, and more specifically, in Kanaky/New Caledonia;

    Secondly, the fact that this information is shared by French media without any control or verification with knowledge holders in the country.

    The production of colonial knowledge
    En Avant Toute(s) is clear in its motivations. As is indicated in a publication made on the association’s Linkedin page, one of the objectives of the report was to analyze the situation in the overseas territories to think about the implementation of their chat service Commentonsaime.fr in our territories.

    En Avant Toute(s) did not travel to our countries but spoke to some associations through videoconferences. When it comes to Kanaky/New Caledonia, En Avant Toute(s) was in contact with two associations: Le Relais and Centre d’Information Droit des Femmes et Egalité (CIDFE), both associations based and funded by the Southern Province, one of the three provinces in the country.

    According to us, having only spoken to a small number of associations, En Avant Toute(s) is not in a position to produce an empirical, informed and critical report, which would allow a better understanding of violence perpetrated against young women and the LGBTQIA+ community in Kanaky/New Caledonia.

    For this to be the case, they should have been in conversation with many more actors and partners across the country, to have a more extensive and representative sample.

    Looking at the lack of sufficient data and the primary aim which was to analyse different overseas contexts to assess the possible implementation of the chat service, it seems that calling the document a “report” is a little ambitious, if not inappropriate.

    The approach does not come from our territories and is not led or co-produced with local populations or associations. It would be more appropriate to speak of the beginning of a market research or a feasibility survey. Here, words matter, since the publication of a report confers authority and suggests expertise.

    The World Indigenous Day . . . the website
    The World Indigenous Day . . . the website. Image: APR screenshot

    However, in our context, we do not think that En Avant Toute(s) is able to speak about sexual or sexist violence in Kanaky/New Caledonia in the media, nor to produce a report on the topic. We would like to invite the members of En Avant Toute(s) who have participated to this survey as well as the media who have participated to its legitimisation to think about the conditions that authorise individuals who have never set foot on, nor are implicated in, our territories, to publish “reports” and be interviewed by national media as experts of our contexts.

    In addition, we condemn that the launch of the so-called report took place in hexagonal [mainland] France and that many associations committed to the struggle against sexual and sexist violence in our country were not invited to participate.

    Indeed, we only learnt about this study through the media. We denounce this type of colonial practices, where resources are extracted from our territories so that organisations, companies, associations in France can benefit from them, without us being directly implicated.

    We understand that the stakes are the possible implementation of a tool which would complement what is already in place to tackle sexual and sexist violence in our territories, and that the intention is commendable. Nevertheless, without any real collaboration with the most affected and informed people, we remain sceptical of its possible results.

    We also cannot be convinced of the efficacy of such a tool when we have no information regarding the performance of the chat service in hexagonal France, nor any about the ways in which En Avant Toute(s) would adapt it to our territories.

    Faced with these alarming observations and in order to minimise the harm done to the Kanak people in the name of tribal Kanak women, whose voices are absent from the report and in the media, here are our demands:

    • A statement written by En Avant Toute(s) to be published on all their social media platforms and on their website, which would refute the declarations made in relation to a so-called Kanak tradition that would require victims of sexual violence to ask their perpetrators for forgiveness in some tribes;
    • The deletion of this misinformation in the interviews published by France Info and France 24, with an explanatory note; and
    • A right of reply in the media that published this information, France Info and France 24, in order to deny these harmful declarations and enable the women who are involved in the struggle against sexist and sexual violence in Kanaky/New Caledonia to have their voices heard nationally.

    Our primary aim remains social justice in our country, and it is only attainable if we pay attention to all the axes of oppression, including the ways in which colonialism and racism play a significant role in the oppression of women.

    Racism and colonialism also impact [on] our relations as militants, advocates, members of feminist associations, and particularly when it comes to North/South and Hexagone/Overseas territories relations.

    This requires that for all collaborative work with associations, groups and collective that are not based in our territories, there is a shared understanding of our historical and political contexts and of the power dynamics at play, an attention paid to not reproducing harmful discourses which participate in the silencing of colonised women, and the consideration of people who are involved in and from our territories as the most suitable to speak about the issues they face and struggle against.

    Signatories
    La Pause Décoloniale (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Union des Femmes Francophones d’Océanie (UFFO) NC (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Arnaud Chollet-Leakava, Porte-Parole du Mouvement des Océaniens Indépendantistes (MOI) (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Oriane Trolue, Chargée de la condition féminine de politique décoloniale du Mouvement des Océaniens Indépendantistes (MOI) (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Hugues Vhemavhe, Sénateur Coutumier de l’Aire Hoot Ma Whaap (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Rolande Trolue, feminist and resource person (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Fara Caillard, Marche Mondiale des Femmes (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Billy Wete, pastor (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Morgane Lepeu ép. Goromoedo (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Denis Pourawa, Kanak poet-writer (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Teva Avae, artist (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Ronny Kareni, West Papua Merdeka Support Network & Rise of the Morning Star (West Papua)
    Florenda Nirikani, Militante Éducation Populaire CEMEA Pwârâ Wâro (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Virginie Murcia, president of the Union des Groupements Parents d’Élèves UGPE (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Doriane Nonmoira, Union des Femmes Francophone d’Océanie (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Wendy Nonke, Mouvement pour un Souriant Village Mélanésien (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Patrick Tara (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Justine-Rose Boaé Kéla (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Swänn Iché (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Laurent Lhermitte, Les Insoumis du Pacifique (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Raïssa Weiri (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Marie-Rose Yakobo, student (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Yvette Danguigny, Association Natte Kanak (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Nathanaëlle Maleko (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    David Robert, Union Calédonienne (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Alexia Babin (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Pierre Chanel Nonmoira, customary leader (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Gladys Nekiriai (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Sabrina Pwéré (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Xavier Nonmoira, young Kanak revolutionary (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Adeline Babin (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Ghislaine Pwapy (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Valentin Nemia (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Célestine Beleouvoudi (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Mériba Karé (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Présence Kanak (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Jacques Guione, Association Djors (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Ludmila Jean, Association Djors (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Yvette Poma (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Marie-Madeleine Guioné, Kanak woman (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Augusta Nonmoira, Kanak woman (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Lucien Sawaza (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Monique Poma (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Jean Rock Uhila (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Vaïana Tiaore, Corail Vivant Terre des Hommes (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Laurie Anne Le Pen (France)
    Aaron Houchard Mitride (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Roger Nemia (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Atrune Palene (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Amandine Tieoue (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Iouanna Gopoea (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Sylviany M’boueri (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Valentine Wakanengo (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Simane (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Jacinthe Kaichou (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)
    Romain Purue (Kanaky/Nouvelle-Calédonie)

  • Rainbow Warrior sails Pacific seeking evidence for World Court climate case

    By Sera Sefeti in Suva

    International environmental campaign group Greenpeace’s flagship Rainbow Warrior is currently sailing across the Pacific, calling at ports and collecting evidence to present to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the World Court — during a historic hearing in The Hague next year.

    Rainbow Warrior staff and crew will be joined by Pasifika activists sailing across the blue waters of the Pacific, campaigning to take climate change to the globe’s highest court.

    Their latest six-week campaign voyage started in Cairns, Australia, on July 31 and will call on Vanuatu, Tuvalu, and Fiji. Currently, they are on a port call in Suva.

    Greenpeace Australia’s Pacific general council member Katrina Bullock told IDN: “Part of what we really wanted to do during the ship tour was to bring together climate leaders from different parts of the world to talk and share their experiences because climate impacts might look different in different parts of the world.”

    Staff and volunteers at Greenpeace’s iconic campaign vessel have been welcoming local people here, especially youth, to speak to their campaign staff about what they do and why climate justice campaigns are important to save the pristine environment in the region that is facing a multitude of problems due to climate crisis.

    “Everybody is sharing the same struggles, so we had Uncle Pabai and Uncle Paul (indigenous Torres Straits Islanders from Australia) who came with us to Vanuatu, where they joined up with some terrific activists from the Philippines who are also looking at holding their government accountable,” Bullock said.

    “If we become climate refugees, we will lose everything — our homes, community, culture, stories, and identity,” says Uncle Paul whose ancestors have lived on the land for 65,000 years.

    ‘Our country will disappear’
    “We can keep our stories and tell our stories, but we won’t be connected to country because country will disappear”.

    Pacific climate voyage on the Rainbow Warrior
    Pacific climate voyage . . . A South African crew member on the bridge of the Rainbow Warrior briefing Fiji visitors on board. Image: Kalinga Seneviratne/IDN

    That is why he is taking the government to court, “because I want to protect my community and all Australians before it’s too late.”

    The two indigenous First Nations leaders from the Guda Maluyligal in the Torres Strait are plaintiffs in the Australian Climate Case suing the Australian government for failing to protect their island homes from climate change.

    They are training other Pacific islanders on activism to hold their governments to account.

    The UN General Assembly on 29 March 2023 adopted by consensus a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the ICJ on the obligations of states in respect of climate change.

    This opinion aims to clarify the legal obligations of states in addressing climate change and its consequences, particularly regarding the rights and interests of vulnerable nations  — and people.

    It is the first time the General Assembly has requested an advisory opinion from the ICJ with unanimous state support.

    Resolution youth-driven
    The resolution was youth-driven, and it originated with a law school students’ project at the University of the South Pacific’s Vanuatu campus and ultimately led to the Vanuatu government tabling it at the UN.

    This Pacific-led resolution has been hailed as a “turning point in climate justice” and a victory for the Pacific youth who spearheaded the campaign.

    The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, entrusted with settling legal disputes between states. It entertains only two types of cases: contentious cases and requests for advisory opinions.

    “We have been collecting evidence from across the Pacific of climate impacts to take to the world’s highest court as part of the ICJ initiative,” Bullock said.

    “We have also had the opportunity to mobilise communities and bring the leaders from all parts of the world together to share their experiences and do some community training.”

    The Rainbow Warrior has a long history of daring activism and fearless campaigning and has been sailing the world’s oceans since 1978, fighting various environment destroyers and polluters.

    Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira
    Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira . . . killed by French secret agents in New Zealand’s Auckland Harbour in July 1985. Image: ©David Robie/Café Pacific Media

    In 1985, the first Rainbow Warrior ship was sunk by a terrorist bombing at New Zealand’s Auckland port by French security agents with the death of a Greenpeace photographer, Fernando Pereira, on board because the ship and its crew were fearlessly campaigning against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

    The ship’s crew also evacuated the people of Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands who were irradiated by US nuclear testing and moved them to a safer atoll.

    Modern sailing ship
    Today’s Rainbow Warrior is a sophisticated modern sailing ship with a multinational crew that includes Indians, Chileans, South Africans, Australians, Fijians, and many other nationalities.

    Last week they were sharing their stories of environmental destruction with local youth and children to take the fight further with the help of stories collected from people in the Pacific.

    According to Bullock, the shared stories were filled with trauma and loss as they went from island to island.

    “We were in Vanuatu, and some of the women shared their experiences of what it was like after a cyclone to lose lots of herbal medicine and the plants that you rely on as a community, and what that means to them and why Western pharmacies aren’t a substitute.”

    The Rainbow Warrior activists were shown the loss of land and gravesites and collected many stories they believe will make an impact. While they are berthed in Fiji, students and community members were given guided tours on the boat and informed on their work – including how they navigate the high seas.

    One such group was the students and teachers from a local primary school, Vashistmuni Primary School in Navua, who were excited and fascinated to learn about the work the Rainbow Warrior does.

    Their teacher said that while it is part of their curriculum to learn about climate change and global warming, “it was good to bring the kids out and witness firsthand what a climate warrior looks like and its importance.

    ‘Hopefully, they take action’
    “Hopefully, they go back and take action in their local communities.”

    For Ani Tuisausau, Fijian activist and core focal point of the climate justice working group in Fiji, her choice to take this up was personal.

    “I am someone who is constantly going to my dad’s island, so compared to how it was then to how it is now, it is different,” she told IDN.

    “There are some places where I used to swim. They are polluted, and then, of course, the sea level rises. I don’t want my kids growing up and missing out on the beauty of our beaches and what I experienced when I was younger.

    “For that to happen, there needs to be a change in mindsets,” argues Tuisausau, “and this is the best opportunity on board the Rainbow Warrior — they get to hear the stories of what is happening in the Pacific and compare and relate to what is happening in our backyard.”

    The Rainbow Warrior’s stories include intense stories and dignified climate migration but also the loss of culture and land. The team is confident that collecting these stories will give them a fighting chance at the ICJ.

    Bullock says that when she started with the Rainbow Warrior five years ago, she thought facts and figures were a way to change mindsets.

    “But now I realise that while facts and figures are important, stories are crucial because they touch hearts and move people to action”.

    Rainbow Warrior leaves Suva tomorrow and heads back to Australia via Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

    Sera Sefeti is a Wansolwara journalist at the University of the South Pacific. This article was produced as a part of the joint media project between the non-profit International Press Syndicate Group and Soka Gakkai International in consultation with ECOSOC on 13 August 2023. IDN is the flagship agency of IPS and the article is republished by Asia Pacific Report as part of a collaboration.

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

    By Aralai Vosayaco in Suva

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Pacific media should be supported post-covid, says PJR report

    By Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific lead digital and social media journalist

    The media sector in the Pacific should be supported with an enabling environment to report “without fear” in the face of ongoing challenges brought about since the covid-19 pandemic, according to a new study.

    The paper, titled Pacific media freedom since the pandemic, is published in the latest edition of the Pacific Journalism Review.

    As part of the research, the authors hosted an online panel discussion with senior Pacific journalists and news editors from Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji in December 2021 and held a follow-up discussion with those journalists in March 2023.

    The latest Pacific Journalism Review . . . July 2023
    The latest Pacific Journalism Review . . . July 2023.

    Researchers from the Australian National University and the University of the South Pacific said there was a need for “ongoing vigilance with regards to media freedom in the Pacific Island countries” post-pandemic.

    ANU’s Dr Amanda Watson and USP’s Dr Shailendra Singh, who are the paper’s co-authors, said covid-19 exposed the difficulties faced by media organisations and journalists in the region.

    “Covid-19 has been a stark reminder about the link between media freedom and the financial viability of media organisations”, they said, adding “especially in the Pacific, where the advertising markets are relatively small and profit margins correspondingly limited”.

    They said media companies “faced challenges during the height of the pandemic due to revenue downturns”.

    ‘Strives for impartial reporting’
    However, the industry “continues to strive to conduct impartial reporting, for the benefit of citizens and the societies in which they live,” they said.

    “Media professionals and businesses face various challenges and thus it is important to support their work and ensure that they are able to operate without fear of violence or any other forms of reprisal,” the researchers concluded.

    A media study from 2021 found that Pacific journalists were among the youngest, most inexperienced and least qualified in the world.

    Dr Singh has told RNZ Pacific in the past that capacity building of local journalists must become a priority for mainstream media to improve its standards and Pacific governments must also play a key role in investing in the industry’s development.

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Disinformation and climate crisis, governance, training feature in PJR

    Pacific Journalism Review

    Research on climate crisis as the new target for disinformation peddlers, governance and the media, China’s growing communication influence, and journalism training strategies feature strongly in the latest Pacific Journalism Review.

    Byron C. Clark, author of the recent controversial book Fear: New Zealand’s Hostile Underworld of Extremists, and Canterbury University postgraduate researcher Emanuel Stokes, have produced a case study about climate crisis as the new pandemic disinformation arena with the warning that “climate change or public health emergencies can be seized upon by alternative media and conspiracist influencers” to “elicit outrage and protest”.

    The authors argue that journalists need a “high degree of journalistic ethics and professionalism to avoid amplifying hateful, dehumanising narratives”.

    The latest Pacific Journalism Review . . . July 2023
    The latest Pacific Journalism Review . . . July 2023.

    PJR editor Dr Philip Cass adds an article unpacking the role of Pacific churches, both positive and negative, in public information activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Several articles deal with media freedom in the Pacific in the wake of the pandemic, including a four-country examination by some of the region’s leading journalists and facilitated by Dr Amanda Watson of Australian National University and associate professor Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific.

    They conclude that the pandemic “has been a stark reminder about the link between media freedom and the financial viability of media of organisations, especially in the Pacific”.

    Dr Ann Auman, a specialist in crosscultural and global media ethics from the University of Hawai’i, analyses challenges facing the region through a workshop at the newly established Pacific Media Institute in Majuro, Marshall Islands.

    Repeal of draconian Fiji law
    The ousting of the Voreqe Bainimarama establishment that had been in power in Fiji in both military and “democratic” forms since the 2006 coup opened the door to greater media freedom and the repeal of the draconian Fiji Media Law. Two articles examine the implications of this change for the region.

    An Indonesian researcher, Justito Adiprasetio of Universitas Padjadjaran, dissects the impact of Jakarta’s 2021 “terrorist” branding of the Free West Papua movement on six national online news media groups.

    In Aotearoa New Zealand, media analyst Dr Gavin Ellis discusses “denying oxygen” to those who create propaganda for terrorists in the light of his recent research with Dr Denis Muller of Melbourne University and how Australia might benefit from New Zealand media initiatives, while RNZ executive editor Jeremy Rees reflects on a historical media industry view of training, drawing from Commonwealth Press Union reviews of the period 1979-2002.

    Protesters calling for the release of the refugees illegally detained in Brisbane - © 2023 Kasun Ubayasiri
    Protesters calling for the release of the refugees illegally detained in Brisbane . . . a photo from Kasun Ubayasiri’s photoessay project “Refugee Migration”. Image: © 2023 Kasun Ubayasiri

    Across the Tasman, Griffith University communication and journalism programme director Dr Kasun Ubayasiri presents a powerful human rights Photoessay documenting how the Meanjin (Brisbane) local community rallied around to secure the release of 120 medevaced refugee men locked up in an urban motel.

    Monash University associate professor Johan Lidberg led a team partnering in International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) studies about “the world according to China”, the global media influence strategies of a superpower.

    The Frontline section features founding editor Dr David Robie’s case study about the Pacific Media Centre which was originally published by Japan’s Okinawan Journal of Island Studies.

    A strong Obituary section featuring two personalities involved in investigating the 1975 Balibo Five journalist assassination by Indonesian special forces in East Timor and a founder of the Pacific Media Centre plus nine Reviews round off the edition.

    Pacific Journalism Review, founded at the University of Papua New Guinea, is now in its 29th year and is New Zealand’s oldest journalism research publication and the highest ranked communication journal in the country.

    It is published by the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) Incorporated educational nonprofit.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Wenda accuses Jakarta of crackdown in response to Papuan MSG rallies

    Asia Pacific Report

    Indonesia has stepped up its campaign of repression against West Papuans peacefully rallying for full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), says a Papuan advocacy leader.

    Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), said a “massive military and police presence” greeted Papuans who had taken to the streets across West Papua calling for full membership.

    In Sorong, seven people were arrested — not while raising the banned Morning Star flags of independence and shouting Merdeka (“freedom”), but for holding homemade placards supporting full membership, according to Wenda.

    In Jayapura and Wamena, protesters were chased by security forces, beaten and dragged away into police cars, Wenda said in a statement.

    During a protest in Dogiyai, 20-year-old Yosia Keiya was alleged to have been summarily executed by Indonesian police on July 13 while he was peacefully sitting on the roadside.

    “Eyewitnesses reported seeing two police cars arrive in the vicinity and shoot Keiya without provocation,” Wenda said in the statement.

    “This crackdown follows the mass arrest of KNPB (West Papua National Committee) activists handing out leaflets supporting full MSG membership on July 12.

    ‘Ocean of violence’
    “But Keiya and those arrested are only the latest victims of Indonesia’s murderous occupation — single drops in an ocean of violence West Papuans have suffered since we rose up against colonial rule in 2019.”

    Both Indonesia and the ULMWP are members of the MSG – the former as an associate and the ULMWP as an observer.

    The full members are Fiji, FLNKS (New Caledonia’s Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

    “Melanesian leaders must ask themselves: is this how one group member treats another? Is this how a friend to Melanesia treats Melanesians?” asked Wenda.

    “The fact that they brought an Indonesian flag to the Melanesian Arts Festival in Port Vila, only shortly after their soldiers shot Keiya dead, is an insult.

    “They’re dancing on top of our graves.”

    Wenda said West Papua was entitled to campaign for full membership by virtue of Melanesian ethnicity, culture, and linguistic traditions.

    “In all these respects, West Papua is undeniably Melanesian — not Indonesian,” he said.

    “While Indonesia won its independence in 1945, we celebrated our own independence on December 1, 1961. Our separateness was even acknowledged by Indonesia’s first Vice-President Mohammed Hatta, who argued for West Papuan self-determination on this basis.

    “More than anything, this crackdown shows how much West Papua needs full membership of the MSG.

    “Right now, we are defenseless in the face of such brutal violations; only as a full member will we be able to represent ourselves and expose Indonesia’s crimes.

    “West Papuans are telling the world they want full membership. By coming out onto the streets with their faces painted in the colours of all the Melanesian flags, they are saying, ‘ We want to return home to our Melanesian brothers and sisters, we want to be safe.’ It is time for Melanesian leaders to listen.”

    The MACFEST 2023 — the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival — ends in Port Vila today.

    The MSG meeting to decide on full membership is due to be held soon although the dates have not yet been officially set.


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

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Papua Film Festival back to Jayapura – focus on cultural stories, engagement

    Jubi News

    Jayapura will once again host the sixth edition of the Papua Film Festival (FFP VI), scheduled to take place next month from August 7-9, 2023.

    The festival’s central theme, “Dari Kampung Kitong Cerita” (From Our Village, We Tell Our Stories), was determined by the Papuan Voices committee.

    During a press conference at the Papuan Voices secretariat in Waena, Jayapura City, festival chair Iren Fatagur revealed that the event would focus on various smaller themes, including food, social change, history and identity, local wisdom, women and children, and the negative impact of land grabbing.

    The festival will encompass two main components: film screenings and workshops. The workshops will explore different approaches used by filmmakers, particularly in the form of documentary films.

    Participants will gain insights into the documentary cycle, covering aspects such as expedition design and film duration.

    Harun Rumbarar, head of Papuan Voices, explained that the initial plan was to hold the sixth Papua Film Festival in Wamena following the Papuan Voices 2022 Congress in Biak.

    However, due to circumstances and prevailing conditions in Wamena, the decision was made to relocate the festival back to Jayapura.

    Shedding light on issues
    This year’s festival aims to shed light on simpler yet significant issues, focusing on cultural situations and social matters, highlighting stories from various villages.

    Unlike previous editions, FFP VI will not feature a competition but will instead showcase a selection of documentary films produced by Papuan Voices. The films will be screened and followed by discussions to gather responses and insights from the audience, assessing each film’s potential and strengths.

    “This year it’s more about telling the content and essence of the stories directly. Papuan Voices seeks to engage and empower local filmmakers, fostering storytelling capacities within the community,” Rumambar said.

    FFP VI expects to attract many attendees, offering a platform for cultural exchange, celebration, and capacity building among film enthusiasts and creators alike.

    Republished with permission.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Samoa’s Brown Girl Woke initiative fights culture of silence on violence

    By Leitu Fereti in Suva

    The Brown Girl Woke initiative hopes to continue empowering Samoan youth in fighting against the culture of silence over violence.

    Founder Maluseu Doris Tulifau says it is essential to support young people in finding their voice and speaking out on these issues.

    Tulifau, 29, launched the non-profit feminist organisation in the US in 2014, and used the platform to share her own experience as a survivor of violence. She worked in community development and human rights in California before moving to Samoa.

    “I’m a survivor of sexual abuse and when I started to tell my story in America, I was already an activist promoting Pacific Islanders in higher education,” Tulifau said.

    Brown Girl Woke founder Maluseu Tulifau
    Brown Girl Woke founder Maluseu Tulifau (left) delivers supplies to families in Samoa. Image: Wansolwara

    In 2018, she began the second chapter of Brown Girl Woke initiative in Samoa where she uncovered the culture of silence and factors that fueled this.

    “There are many reasons a lot of us don’t reach that pedigree because of social issues, economic background and our environment around taboo issues and not speaking  out.

    “I wanted to empower young women and men on these taboo issues in the community, especially on domestic violence and sexual abuse,” Tulifau said.

    Suffering in silence
    The organisation’s humble beginnings motivated her to create an environment of refuge for girls who were suffering in silence.

    “I started Brown Girl Woke as a club university for girls to be a part of a support group, with the understanding that they would find solutions, understand patriarchy and why women don’t speak up,” she explained.

    Today, Brown Girl Woke is working with primary and secondary schools to educate and create awareness on a range of social issue.

    “We now run after school programmes that teach literary, safety kids, climate change, stem and more. We teach about human rights and as a feminist organisation, we also teach about systems that protect gender inequality,” said Tulifau.

    “We now have two Brown Girl Woke clubs — at the National University of Samoa and The University of the South Pacific.”

    The performing arts has also become a safe space for Brown Girl Woke to raise awareness and provide a voice for young people.

    ‘Shame or blame’
    “We would conduct workshops using songs, dance, spoken word poetry and skits. This is the way to tell their story and feel safe and supported, and unmasking themselves without feeling shame or blame,” she said.

    Aside from supporting those affected by violence, Tulifau and her group of activists at BGW have also been helping with a range of issues such as sexual health, youth development, mental health, as well as awareness on the representation of women in Parliament.

    The teams have also helped children in intensive care, funding scholarships for undergraduate students and providing monthly groceries for families in need in the  country.

    Tulifau acknowledged the many donations and contributions to their cause over the years.

    Leitu Fereti of Samoa is a final-year journalism student at USP’s Laucala campus. She is also a reporter for Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s flagship student journalist training newspaper and online publication. Asia Pacific Report and Wansolwara collaborate.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Wenda slams ‘grave abuses’ against Papuan activists at MSG demos

    RNZ Pacific

    A West Papua pro-independence leader says Indonesia is ramping up its repression of peaceful activists while people mobilise in favour of the province gaining full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

    Benny Wenda said 10 activists were arrested earlier this week while handing out leaflets advertising a peaceful rally to support his United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) gaining full membership of the sub-regional group.

    Wenda added that the next day rallies in Jayapura and Sentani were forcefully disbanded and 21 people arrested.

    He said at the rallies activists were demanding that their birthright as a Melanesian nation be fulfilled.

    Wenda said West Papua was entitled to full membership of the MSG by “our ethnic, cultural, and linguistic ties to the rest of Melanesia”.

    “If Melanesian leaders needed further proof of the necessity of ULMWP full membership, then Indonesia has provided it,” he said.

    “Only as full members will we be able to expose grave abuses such as these arrests on the international stage, and to defend our identity as a Melanesian people.

    ‘Why the quietness?’
    “Indonesia claims that they are entitled to membership of the MSG because they represent other Melanesian populations. If that is the case, then why are these populations staying quiet?

    “Indonesia cannot claim to represent West Papuans in the MSG, because we already have representation through the ULMWP.”

    Wenda is demanding on behalf of the ULMWP and the West Papuan people “that no further arrests are made of Papuans rallying peacefully for full membership”.

    He said Indonesia had nothing to fear from West Papuans returning to “our Melanesian family”.

    “At the same time, they must understand that West Papuans are speaking with one voice in demanding full membership. All groups, ages, genders and tribes are totally united and focused on achieving our mission. We will not be deterred.”

    The MSG is due to meet in Port Vila, Vanuatu, this month, although the dates have not yet been announced.

    Last week, the Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Papua New Guinea (PNG) with trade, border arrangements and education foremost on the agenda.

    However, as reported by RNZ Pacific, one topic that was not discussed was West Papua despite the countries sharing a 760km border.

    An estimated 10,000 West Papuan refugees live in PNG, escaping a bloody conflict between armed separatists and the Indonesian army.

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

  • Nuclear-free campaigners warn against AUKUS raising Pacific tensions

    Asia Pacific Report

    Advocates and defenders of a nuclear-free Pacific have condemned the AUKUS military pact and warned New Zealand that the agreement would make the world “more dangerous” and should not join.

    Participants at a Nuclear-Free and Independent Pacific (NFIP) movement teachers’ wānanga launched a petition against the pact with one of the “elders” among the activists, Hilda Halkyard-Harawira (Te Moana Nui a Kiwa), symbolically adding the first signature.

    Speaking about the petition declaration in a ceremony on the steps of the Auckland Museum marking the 10 July 1985 bombing of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior, Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua explained that the AUKUS agreement was a military pact between Australia-UK-US that was centred on Canberra’s acquisition of nuclear propelled submarines.

    “The pact also includes sharing weapons and other military technologies,” Reverend Strickson-Pua said, reading from the declaration.

    “The New Zealand government is considering joining part of this pact. This petition opposes AUKUS and calls for a foreign policy centred on an independent, demilitarised and nuclear-free Pacific.”

    Reverend Strickson-Pua asked why this was important.

    “AUKUS is an aggressive military pact. Security in New Zealand and the Pacific can only be ensured by centring sustainable development, Indigenous rights, and environmental protection.

    ‘Deepen geopolitical tensions’
    “AUKUS makes the world more dangerous. New Zealand participation in AUKUS would deepen geopolitical tensions in the Pacific, and threaten Pacific nations’ long held policy of ‘friends to all and enemies to none’.

    “AUKUS impedes climate action. Climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of all peoples of the Pacific.

    “The threat of climate change requires international diplomacy and cooperation, not militarism.

    “AUKUS threatens our nuclear free legacy. Aotearoa New Zealand has a proud history of anti-nuclearism and solidarity with the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement.”

    Reverend Strickson-Pua also stressed that AUKUS was not based on public consultation.

    “It accelerates climate injustice, violates our treaties and regional commitments, and erodes regional decolonisation efforts.”

    The petition urges the New Zealand government to reject any role in the AUKUS military pact and condemns the use of nuclear weapons and non-peaceful nuclear technologies in the Pacific.

    Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Movement (NFIP) campaigners Hone Harawira, Hilda Halkyard-Harawira and Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua
    Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Movement (NFIP) campaigners Hone Harawira, Hilda Halkyard-Harawira and Reverend Mua Strickson-Pua on the steps of Auckland Museum today. Image: David Robie/APR

    ‘French Letter’
    After the reading of the declaration, participants sang the popular Herbs anti-nuclear song “French Letter.”

    This petition is led by Te Kuaka.

    The petition launch and Rainbow Warrior reflection followed the teachers’ wānanga which featured many veteran activists of the NFIP and New Zealand nuclear-free movements such as Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, Hone Harawira, Reverend George Armstrong and others discussing past actions and strategies for the future.

    “Today we heard from movement elders and educators about the ongoing relevance of the history of the NFIP movement for Aotearoa,” said Marco de Jong, a Pacific historian working for WERO (Working to End Racial Oppression) who is the wānanga co-convener.

    “Our nuclear-free legacy is an important part of national identity, but it is important to make sure we approach it critically so we are not teaching mythology to our learners.

    “Today we heard about regional and Māori dimensions that might add diverse historical perspectives, tomorrow we will work on translating them into resources for a range of different learning environments.”

    "Independence in the Pacific" posters at the teachers' wānanga at the Auckland Museum
    “Independence in the Pacific” posters at the teachers’ wānanga at the Auckland Museum today. Image: David Robie/APR

  • How Washington teamed up with PNG to pip Canberra for ‘control’ of region

    COMMENTARY: A special correspondent in Port Moresby

    As an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Papua New Guinea government, I have to write anonymously to secure my safety.

    I am writing to reveal interference by the United States in PNG’s internal affairs which is undermining the bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG.

    As China’s influence rises in the Pacific Islands, PNG Prime Minister James Marape is worried that the China-Solomon Islands Security Agreement will lead to the Solomon Islands surpassing PNG’s dominant position in Melanesia.

    So the Marape government decided to negotiate separately with the US and Australia on two separate agreements they wished to conclude last May.

    The US rapidly resolved negotiations and the PNG-US Defence Cooperation Agreement was officially signed before Australia had even concluded its draft Bilateral Security Treaty.

    Marape has defended the US-PNG agreement several times in Parliament, while raising some constitutional concerns on an Australia-PNG treaty during his meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

    PNG has chosen the US to be the first defence partner, although Australia is PNG’s closest neighbour and long-time partner.

    Advance draft of treaty
    To its advantage, the US had acquired an advance draft of the Bilateral Security Treaty and knew Australia intended to be PNG’s first security partner.

    The US discovered that PNG would not cooperate with other countries in the Pacific Islands security area without Australia’s approval.

    So the US then made adjustments to the Defence Cooperation Agreement, revising or deleting articles that concerned PNG in order to settle the agreement ahead of its treaty with Australia.

    It was planned that the negotiation between Australia and PNG would be finished in April, but the US intervened and asked PNG to pause the talks with Australia and work on its own Defence Cooperation Agreement first.

    The US made commitments during the negotiation with PNG to step up its security support and assistance and cover shortfalls in assistance that Australia had not fulfilled.

    Marape and his cabinet had arrived at the belief that Australia was not fully committed to assisting PNG develop its defence force.

    There was apparently an internal report revealing that Australia’s intent was not to enhance and elevate some areas of security cooperation but to ensure PNG continued to rely on Australia for all its security needs.

    Australia’s process paused
    In its negotiation, considering that Australia was trying to prevent US dominance in the Pacific Islands region, the US asked PNG not to share the Defence Cooperation Agreement with Australia.

    As a result, Australia’s negotiation process with PNG was paused.

    The PNG government, frustrated by empty promises, considered the PNG Defence Force would never be developed in cooperation with Australia, so decided instead to work with a more powerful partner.

    PNG knows that its own geopolitical position is becoming of increasing importance, but believes Australia has never respected its position. So PNG decided to use this opportunity to reduce its dependence on Australia.

    It also seems the US has supported the Marape government in stifling opposition in PNG to assure the Defence Cooperation Agreement can be implemented smoothly.

    For example, Morobe Governor Luther Wenge was initially opposed to the agreement but joined Marape’s Pangu Party and supported it after Marape gave K50 million to his electorate development fund.

    Wenge later publicly criticised Australia, saying it did not want PNG to develop its own defence force.

    Long mutual history
    Australia is PNG’s long-term partner and closest neighbour and we have a long mutual history in economic, political and security cooperation.

    My colleagues and I believe that Marape should not betray Australia because it has been tempted by the US, which seems to have intervened to dilute or even ruin our bilateral relationship.

    Even though Marape explained to Australia that the Defence Cooperation Agreement would not affect the bilateral relationship, there is no doubt that the relationship with the US will have priority.

    So Marape has tightened his control over the mainstream media, social media posts have been deleted for no reason and voices opposing the Defence Cooperation Agreement cannot be heard.

    We hope some influential media and Australian friends will help us to protect PNG’s national interest and our bilateral relationship with Australia.

    This correspondent’s anonymous article was first published by Keith Jackson’s PNG Attitude website and is republished here with permission.

  • Congressmen angry that Bikini islanders’ nuclear trust fund may have been ‘squandered’

    By Giff Johnson, Editor, Marshall Islands Journal and RNZ Pacific correspondent

    Following widespread media coverage of the collapse of what was a more than US$70 million trust fund for Bikini islanders displaced by American nuclear weapons testing, the United States Congress has demanded answers from the Interior Department about the status of the trust fund.

    Four leading members of the US Congress put the Interior Department on notice last Friday that Congress is focused on accountability of Interior’s decision to discontinue oversight of the Bikini Resettlement Trust Fund.

    In their three-page letter, the chairmen and the ranking members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources — which both have oversight on US funding to the Marshall Islands — wrote to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland with questions about what has happened to the Bikinians’ trust fund.

    It was initially capitalised by the US Congress in 1982 and again in 1988 for a total investment of just under US$110m.

    Protests in Majuro
    The Congressional letter is the first official US action on the Bikini Resettlement Trust Fund and follows several demonstrations in Majuro over the past six weeks by members of the Bikini community angered by the current lack of money to support their community.

    The letter notes that on November 16, 2017, Interior accepted Kili/Bikini/Ejit Mayor Anderson Jibas and the local council’s request for a “rescript” or change in the system of oversight of the Resettlement Trust Fund.

    As of September 30, 2016, the fund had $71 million in it, the last audit available of the fund.

    “Since then (2017), local officials have purportedly depleted the fund,” the four Senate and House leaders wrote to Haaland.

    “Indeed, media reports suggest that the fund may have been squandered in ways that not only lack transparency and accountability, but also lack fidelity to the fund’s original intent.

    “If true, that is a major breach of public trust not only for the people of Bikini Atoll, for whom the fund was established, but also for the American taxpayers whose dollars established and endowed the fund.”

    They refer to multiple media reports about the demise of the Resettlement Trust Fund, including in the Marshall Islands Journal, The New York Times, Marianas Variety and Honolulu Civil Beat.

    No audits since 2016
    The Resettlement Trust Fund was audited annually since inception in the 1980s. But there have been no audits released since 2016 during the tenure of current Mayor Jibas.

    The lack of funds in the Resettlement Trust Fund only became evident in January when the local government was unable to pay workers and provide other benefits routinely provided for the displaced islanders.

    Since January, no salaries or quarterly nuclear compensation payments have been made, leaving Bikinians largely destitute and now facing dozens of collection lawsuits from local banks due to delinquent loan payments.

    Bikini women load their belongings onto a waiting US Navy vessel in March 1946
    Bikini women load their belongings onto a waiting US Navy vessel in March 1946 as they prepare to depart to Rongerik, an uninhabited atoll where they spent two years. Image: US Navy Archives

    ‘Fund is in jeopardy’
    The letter from Energy Chairman Senator Joe Manchin and ranking member Senator John Barrasso, and Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman and ranking member Raul Grijalva says American lawmakers “have a duty to oversee the management of taxpayer dollars appropriated for the resettlement and rehabilitation of Bikini Atoll”.

    The letter also repeatedly makes the point that the money in the trust fund was only to rehabilitate and resettle Bikini Atoll, with projects on Kili or Ejit islands limited to only $2 million per year, subject to the Interior Secretary’s prior approval.

    “Regrettably, the continued viability of the fund to serve its express purpose now appears to be in jeopardy,” the US elected leaders said.

    The US leaders are demanding that Haaland explain why the Interior Department walked away from its long-standing oversight role with the trust fund in late 2017.

    Specifically they want to know if the Office of the Solicitor approved the decision by then-Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech to accept the KBE Local Government’s rescript “as a valid amendment to the 1988 amended resettlement trust fund agreement.’

    They also suggest Interior’s 2017 decision has ramifications for US legal liability.

    Key questions
    “Does the department believe that the 2017 rescript supersedes the 1988 amended resettlement trust fund agreement in its entirety?” they ask.

    “If so, does the department disclaim that Congress’s 1988 appropriation to the fund fully satisfied the obligation of the United States to provide funds to assist in the resettlement and rehabilitation of Bikini Atoll by the people of Bikini Atoll?

    “And does that waive any rights or reopen any potential legal liabilities for nuclear claims that were previously settled?”

    They also want to know if KBE Local Government provided a copy of its annual budget, as promised, since 2017.

    The letter winds up wanting to know what Interior is “doing to ensure that trust funds related to the Marshall Islands are managed transparently and accountably moving forward?”

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

    The "Baker" underwater nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll in 1946.
    The Baker underwater nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Dozens of World War II vessels were used as targets for this weapons test, and now lie on the atoll’s lagoon floor. Image: US Navy Archives

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

    By Peter Boyle in Sydney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • ‘We chose death over being raped’ – PNG kidnap survivor speaks out

    By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist, and Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent

    A woman who was part of a group kidnapped in Papua New Guinea in February has spoken out after the kidnapping and reported rape of 17 schoolgirls in the same area of Southern Highlands earlier this month.

    Cathy Alex, the New Zealand-born Australian academic Bryce Barker and two female researchers, were taken in the Mt Bosavi region and held for ransom.

    They were all released when the Papua New Guinea government paid a ransom of US$28,000 to the kidnappers to secure their release.

    Alex, who heads the Advancing Women’s Leaders’ Network, said that what the 17 abducted girls had gone through prompted her to speak out, after the country, she believed, had done nothing.

    A local said family members of the girls negotiated with the captors and were eventually able to secure their release.

    The villagers reportedly paid an undisclosed amount of cash and a few pigs as the ransom.

    Alex said she and the other women in her group had feared they would be raped when they were kidnapped.

    PNG Prime Minister James Marape shared a photo on Facebook of two of the hostages, including professor Bryce Barker, after their release.
    Professor Bryce Barker and an unnamed woman after being released by kidnappers in February. Image: PM James Marape/FB

    ‘My life preserved’
    “My life was preserved even though there was a time where the three of us were pushed to go into the jungle so they could do this to us.

    “We chose death over being raped. Maybe the men will not understand, but for a woman or a girl rape is far worse than death.”

    Alex said they had had received a commitment that they would not be touched, so the revelations about what happened to the teenage girls was horrifying.

    She said her experience gave her some insight into the age and temperament of the kidnappers.

    “Young boys, 16 and up, a few others. No Tok Pisin, no English. It’s a generation that’s been out there that has had no opportunities. What is happening in Bosavi is a glimpse, a dark glimpse of where our country is heading to.”

    The teenage girls from the most recent kidnapping are now safe and being cared for but they cannot return to their village because it is too dangerous.

    Need for focus
    Cathy Alex said there was a need for a focus on providing services to the rural areas as soon as possible.

    She said people were resilient and could change, as long as the right leadership was provided.

    Bosavi is one of the remotest areas in PNG, with no roads and few services

    It suffered significant damage during earthquake in 2018.

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

  • Decolonising the news: 4 fundamental questions media can ask when covering stories about Māori

    ANALYSIS: By Angela Moewaka Barnes, Massey University; Belinda Borell, Massey University, and Tim McCreanor, Massey University

    There is little evidence to suggest Aotearoa New Zealand’s mainstream news media critically evaluate their own reporting on issues about or affecting Māori and te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi).

    This is concerning, given the negative framing of so much coverage, past and present.

    The one exception to this general ambivalence has been the groundbreaking apology in 2020 by digital and print news organisation Stuff for a long history of monocultural and Eurocentric bias.

    Informed by our research on how news about Māori and te Tiriti is often constructed, Stuff looked back at its legacy mastheads and found stories that ranged from “blinkered to racist”. It pledged to change and improve to reflect a commitment to Māori audiences and the principles of te Tiriti.

    To date, no other media organisation has attempted to evaluate its reporting in this way — or, in fact, acknowledge this might be necessary.

    But media funding agency New Zealand on Air now offers a Tiriti Framework For News Media, also based on our research, to guide organisations applying to its Public Interest Journalism Fund.

    It is hoped the framework will help media organisations develop strategies that promote more accountable and equitable practices in their day-to-day reporting and commentary.

    Colonial and settler narratives
    The initiative is important because news is not some objective truth waiting to be reported. It is constructed through the lenses of news teams — and particularly senior journalists and editors — who are predominantly Pākehā.

    The types of stories that are told, and the way people and subjects are represented, involve deliberate choices. This frequently means few Māori stories are told. And when Māori are represented, they can be framed in limiting and negative ways.

    Historically, this is common to news and media representations of Indigenous peoples everywhere. There is undoubtedly bias at work some of the time.

    But as we have argued previously, these “negative ‘stories’ and representations of Indigenous peoples are strategic; tactical necessities rather than aberrations”.

    In other words, they “play important roles in the ongoing colonial project, enhancing the legitimisation and naturalisation of the institutions, practices, and priorities of the colonising state”.

    Early European colonists in the South Pacific founded newspapers and published material to serve their interests, institutionalising their preferred social order and norms. For example, an early handbook from the New Zealand Company in 1839 — “Information Relative to New Zealand, Compiled for the use of Colonists” — included some of the first representations of Māori as savage and lawless.

    Settler newspapers recycled these themes from 1840 onwards. Variations of the same message persist to the present day. Recent research shows that in countries colonised by Britain, news consistently represents Indigenous peoples as violent, primitive and untrustworthy.

    Fundamental questions
    Contemporary coverage of Māori activism still routinely misinforms and fails to capture nuance. Reporting of the 2020 Ihumātao occupation, for example, frequently reduced internal tensions to a clash between young and old.

    Similarly in Australia, the debate over the proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament has seen the spread of disinformation attempting to equate the policy with apartheid.

    On the other hand, there is evidence that both journalists and their audiences want to see change. This is where the new media framework can make a difference.

    It provides detailed examples of more equitable news practices, and prompts news organisations to ask themselves several fundamental questions:

    • Commitment to te Tiriti: how do you enact responsibilities under He Whakaputanga and te Tiriti?
    • Societal accountabilities: how do you transform use of harmful, racist themes and narratives around Māori?
    • News media practices: who benefits from the kinds of stories you choose to tell?
    • Māori-controlled media: how do you represent diversity in Māori stories and in your own staffing?

    Challenge and opportunity
    We’ve seen some positive responses to the framework, as well as accusations that the Tiriti requirements of New Zealand on Air’s Public Interest Journalism Fund amount to “propaganda” that muzzles mainstream media.

    Either way, media organisations are now operating in an environment where profit models require innovation, with increasing competition from social media and changes in audience behaviours.

    While this is challenging, it also offers an opportunity to transform journalism and improve newsroom practices. The Stuff and New Zealand on Air initiatives show how it’s possible to tackle harmful representations of Māori in mainstream news media.

    Our framework could also be adapted to other sectors and settings where systemic bias and disadvantage are felt. For now, though, it is up to media organisations, funders and policymakers to decide how they will respond.

    The authors acknowledge Dr Jenny Rankine and Dr Ray Nairn who were authors on Te Tiriti Framework For News Media and contributed to this article.The Conversation

    Angela Moewaka Barnes, senior researcher, Massey University; Belinda Borell, Kairangahau, Massey University, and Tim McCreanor, Professor of Race Relations, Health and Wellbeing, Massey University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

  • Papua governor Lukas Enembe’s legal drama and tragedy in Jakarta

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Yamin Kogoya

    Last Monday, suspended Papua Governor Lukas Enembe was indicted on gratification, bribery and corruption charges in Indonesia’s central Corruption Criminal Court in Jakarta.

    Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors accused and charged Governor Enembe of accepting bribes totalling Rp 45.8 billion (US$3 million) and gratuities worth Rp 1 billion (US$65,000).

    Tomorrow the ailing former high official will know the judges’ rulings and responses to his requests.

    Prosecutors argued that these funds came from private infrastructure development companies in West Papua.

    As the Governor of Papua Province, Enembe, along with his subordinates Mikael Kambuaya and Gerius One Yoman, are accused of giving the bribe in order to obtain the companies used by Piton Enumbi and Rijatono Lakka for the 2013-2022 procurement project within the Papua Provincial government.

    Enembe was charged under Article 12a and Article 12b of Law 31 of 1999 regarding the Eradication of Corrupt Criminal Acts, Kompas.com reports.

    A barefooted Governor Enembe sat in the middle of the courtroom beside his lawyer Petrus Balapationa, looking directly at the panel of judges. Both of his defence attorneys and KPK prosecutors were seated on opposite sides of the courtroom.

    ‘Empty speeches, trickery’
    During the 2.5 hour hearing, the governor shouted angrily at the KPK’s prosecutors, asking, “Woi (hey) — lying, where did I receive (Rp 45 billion)?” . . . “Not right, not right, empty speeches, you’re lying, empty speeches, trickery and lying, where did I get it?,” Lukas Enembe said during his indictment reading, reports Kompas.com.

    The governor’s lawyer Petrus Balap read out statements of objections written by Enembe in response to the allegations and charges.

    “I am being vilified, dehumanised, impoverished and made destitute,” said the governor in his statement to the judges and prosecutors, raising 32 objections to the indictment. He said:

    “To all my Papuan people. I, the Governor, whom you have elected twice, I am the traditional chief, I have been vilified, dehumanised, demonised, mistreated and, I have been [made] destitute and impoverished.

    “I, Lukas Enembe, never stole state money, never took bribes, yet the KPK provides false information and manipulates public opinion as if I were the most notorious criminal.

    The suspended Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, enters Jakarta's Corruption Criminal Court on 19 June 2023
    The suspended Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, enters Jakarta’s Corruption Criminal Court last Monday . . . He shouted out, “I am being vilified, dehumanised, [made] impoverished and destitute”. Image: Kompas.com

    “I have been accused of being a gambler. Even if this were true, it is a general criminal offence, KPK does not have the authority to investigate gambling issues. Even the alleged bribe of one billion dollars in my indictment grew into a bribe of tens of billions of rupiah, resulting in the confiscation of all my savings.

    “Not only was my money confiscated, but also the money of my wife and children. Even though I have emphasised in my BAP (minutes of the legal examination) that the one billion rupiah is my personal money and does not constitute bribes or gratuities.

    “On my oath as a witness against defendant Rijatono Lakkadi in court on May 16, 2023, I explained the same statement.

    “Once again, I dare to declare that the one billion rupiah is not the result of a bribe that Rijatono Lakka gave me at my request. I have never given Rijatono Lakka facilities, Rijatono Lakka’s wealth has come from his own work.

    ‘Cruel treatment’
    “I have never interfered in the tender process of the procurement of goods and services, nor do I know the participants of the Electronic Tender since I created the E-Tender process to prevent the participation of KKN (Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism) in the tender process.

    “Not only was I the target of the pensoliman (cruelty and inhumane treatment), but my wife and son were also called as witnesses for me, despite their refusal to cooperate which is protected by the constitution.”

    The governor continued to protest against the KPK’s arrest of Dr Stefanus Roy Rening, one of his lawyers who had defended Enembe against the allegations and the attempt to arrest him September last year.

    “It was also difficult for me to comprehend that my lawyer, Dr Stefanus Roy Rening, was made a suspect, obstructing the examination, despite the fact that he did not accompany the witnesses and stated that because of the statements made by Dr Stefanus Roy Rening who had defended me in public, which could affect the testimony of witnesses. He (Dr Roy) did not accompany the witnesses of my case.

    “Is it possible for Dr Stefanus Roy Rening to influence witnesses when they are not accompanied by a lawyer and at the end of every witness BAP [statement] a sentence is included stating that the witness’ testimony is free from influence, and it is the witness’ own testimony without any influence from others?”

    The governor concluded his statement of objections by stating:

    “What I have explained and [with] the facts stated above, I have the right in this court to be treated fairly, not to be slandered, vilified, or impoverished, as I have been accused of gambling to the tens of hundreds of millions in Singapore, despite the fact that no one has ever given a statement about gambling, or that I was involved in the purchase of KKB weapons (arms for West Papuan freedom fighters) by a pilot arrested in the Philippines.”

    Lawyers’ objection letter
    An objection letter by the governor’s legal team was released last Thursday stating:

    Lukas Enembe’s senior lawyer, OC Kaligis, expressed his objection to KPK officials’ attitude during the trial at the Jakarta District Court, Thursday (22 June 2023). Lukas Enembe’s legal counsel have only been able to consult with him for two hours a week since he has been detained.

    Is it possible that legal counsel will only be given two hours of visitation time per week? Kaligis stated that the two-hour period was insufficient for discussing all the witnesses in the case file (184 witnesses) and the 1024 minutes of seizure according to Article 129 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

    According to Kaligis, his defence counsel had the right to provide legal assistance, as per Article 56 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in order to determine whether there were any witnesses who directly gave bribes or gratuities to Lukas Enembe.

    “The [details] in this case need to be explained carefully to Lukas Enembe, with adequate time. Two hours of consultation each week is definitely not enough,” said Kaligis.

    Kaligis stated that on June 19, 2023, following the indictment, when legal counsel sought to meet with Lukas Enembe, the time given was very short, and a KPK official who claimed to be the Public Prosecutor closely monitored the meeting.

    “Even though the legal counsel had requested that the seating be changed in the same area, the Public Prosecutor arrogantly still forbids, despite the fact that the panel of judges before the court had stated that we can meet Lukas Enembe after the hearing. Particularly now that the power of detention lies with the panel of judges and not with the KPK anymore,” said Kaligis.

    Detention visits
    His legal team requested that the panel of judges allow him to visit Lukas Enembe at the KPK detention centre every day before his trial.

    “The legal counsel team filed an application with the panel of judges, as the extension of detention is now within the jurisdiction of the court and is no longer under the authority of the KPK. The KPK prohibited us from meeting Lukas Enembe in court, everything was done based on the KPK’s power and arrogance.

    “Doesn’t that violate Article 56 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, granting a right to legal counsel to consult the law?” Kaligis said.

    Governor Enembe’s ordeal has been characterised by numerous twists and turns as the KPK, doctors, the governor himself, and the defence legal team strive to find a resolution to these problems.

    The situation is made worse by the fact that in Indonesia the lines between law enforcement agencies, KPK officials, medical doctors, and judges are blurred in a country notoriously known for corruption and impunity from top officials to local mayors.

    Dealing with cases like Lukas Enembe is even worse — coming from Indonesia’s most contested territory — West Papua.

    Legal system questioned
    Indeed, this case undermines the whole foundation of the Indonesian legal system.

    Judging whether Papua’s governor is guilty or not within Indonesia’s legal system — which regards Papuans as being “illegal” in managing Papuan affairs — is always going to be perceived with suspicion from the Papuan side. This is because the fundamental issue (West Papua’s sovereignty) underlying the West Papua-Indonesia conflict has never been resolved.

    What has broken down between Papuans and Indonesia’s government for the past 60 years is trust.

    Unfortunately, Governor Lukas and every Papuan considered to be breaking Indonesian laws, must face the Indonesian legal system. This in itself is so ironic and demoralising for Papuans, as every moral, ethical and legal framework Jakarta employs is viewed as fraught by Papuans within the West Papua sovereignty disputes in Indonesia.

    Jakarta’s criminalisation of Papuans is like criminalising innocents and accusing them of breaking the law through the perpetrator’s legal system.

    This is due to the fact that the Indonesian government has a long history of targeting Papuans for their political views and beliefs. This has led to an environment of fear and intimidation, where Papuans are often accused of crimes they did not commit and are treated harshly by the Indonesian legal system.

    For more than 500 years, most indigenous people around the globe have been criminalised and exterminated since a series of Papal bulls (decrees) signed by European Catholic popes and Christian kings during the early period of European colonisation in the 1400s and 1500s.

    Legal myths
    They were legal myths for conquests, civilising mission — the myth of discovery, the myth of empty lands, and the myth of Terra Nullius.

    It has been used to justify the exploitation of indigenous peoples, to strip them of their rights, and to deny them access to land and resources.

    By criminalising the indigenous population, colonial authorities have maintained an unequal power dynamic and control over them. These colonial myths have had devastating consequences for the original inhabitants.

    Today, Jakarta still propagates this myth in West Papua. Colonial myths have been made truer than truth, more real than reality, and unfortunately, indigenous leaders, such as Governor Lukas Enembe, have been swayed by them by their legal jargon, codes, numbers, symbols, grammar, and semantic power.

    Currently there are three high profile Papuan leaders locked up in KPK’s prison cells — Papua Governor Lukas Enembe; the Regent of Mimika Regency, Eltinus Omaleng; and the Regent of Mamberamo Tengah Regency, Ricky Ham Pagawak. All are accused of corruption.

    The status of the two regents remains unclear.

    As for Governor Lukas Enembe, he requested that the judges take his deteriorating health seriously and that he receive medical assistance from specialists in Singapore, and not from KPK’s appointed general practitioners.

    This is partially due to the breakdown of trust.

    Further, the Governor has also requested that the block on the bank account of his son (a student based in Melbourne) be lifted in order for him to be able to continue his studies.

    The judges are due to deliver their verdict tomorrow regarding the outcome of his requests and all charges against him.

    Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic/activist who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

  • Nuclear experts offer to ‘take a sip’ of Japan’s treated reactor wastewater

    By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

    Independent nuclear experts have offered to drink water and eat fish from the Pacific Ocean after Japan dumps its nuclear waste water into the Pacific.

    Japan is planning to ditch over one million tonnes of ALPS-treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean over 30 to 40 years starting from sometime this year.

    ALPS is an Advanced Liquid Processing System.

    New Zealand and Australian experts told media at an online panel discussion hosted by NZ’s Science Media Centre that Japan had good intentions.

    The experts said they believed that as long as the wastewater was tested before it was released the operation would be safe.

    Two even went as far as saying they would “take a sip” of the treated wastewater.

    “I would drink the water. I mean, it’s like going down to the beach and swallowing a mouthful of water when you’re swimming,” said University of Auckland physics senior lecturer Dr David Krofcheck.

    “It’s saltwater. I prefer the desalinated before I drink it,” he added. Dr Krofcheck specialises in nuclear physics and natural radiation from the environment.

    “Would I eat the fish? Yes, I would,” Adelaide University’s School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences associate professor Tony Hooker added.

    ‘The least bad option’
    The contaminated water has been used to cool the melted reactor of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

    More than 1000 tanks are now full and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is running out of storage space.

    Japan has said it will treat the water to ensure it is harmless. It will also dilute the water and then release it into the Pacific Ocean.

    Dr Krofcheck said that option was the “best one”.

    “That’s probably the least bad option. Not that that’s a bad option. Because the dose, or the amount of tritium being diluted is so small. But I think the least bad option is releasing,” he said.

    Ocean circulation modeller and researcher in Taiwan, Professor Chau-Ron Wu, told media he predicted the water from Fukushima would take 2-3 years to reach North America, one year to get to Taiwan and sweep across much of the Pacific.

    No release date has been set, but associate professor Tony Hooker said that what was known is, “The water is going to be released in [northern hemisphere] summer 2023.”

    “I think the release is imminent. And I guess that will be a decision for the Japanese government. Ultimately, they can make that decision. They don’t need to rely on the International Atomic Energy Agency or any other agency.”

    Associate professor Hooker said that as long as it was only tritium and carbon 14 that’s released, and in small quantities, he is confident it would be safe.

    Dr Krofcheck agrees: “I’m very comfortable with releasing it, as long as we can guarantee the Royal Science Society can guarantee that the nasty strontium, caesium, iodine, cobalt 60 can be removed”.

    They will be removed by an ALPS.

    “So, most of the ALPS processes are using a zeolite clay and which is very absorbent. Once the water has gone through that the radionuclides are bound to a solid, you can dry that out and store it as radioactive waste,” Hooker explained.

    no caption
    Nuclear power station staff . . . they have the means and resources but there is still a lot of uncertainty across the Pacific about the water release project. Image: RNZ Pacific/AFP/IAEA

    ‘I really thought they reconsider it’
    There is still a lot of uncertainty across the Pacific about the release project.

    Japan is in talks with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and has been providing data to their independent expert panel to analyse, which Hooker is a part of.

    He acknowledged those who want to end nuclear waste dumping, which he says already happens around the world.

    “Whilst there’s no issues from a radiation safety perspective about putting this radiation into the sea, should there be some level of discussion or intensive research about how we can minimise disposing into the sea in the future?”

    ‘Retraumatising’ for Tahitian
    A Mā’ohi anti-nuclear activist in Tahiti, Hinamoeura Cross, found the news of Japan pushing forward with its plans despite backlash retraumatising.

    “I’m really shocked by what the Japanese are going to do. We know that they have planned that for many years, but I really thought that they will reconsider that,” Cross said.

    For her, all nuclear issues are personal. Japan’s plans are of interest in particular as they impact on her ocean, the Pacific.

    “I remember my great grandmother and my grandmother that were sick. Then my mum and my auntie, they had the thyroid cancer,” Cross said.

    When Cross was aged about 10, her sister got sick and at 23-years-old she was diagnosed with leukaemia.

    All of the women she loves and looked up to were “poisoned” by French nuclear testing in the Pacific, she said.

    Now that she is a mother of two, her voice has become staunchly against nuclear colonialism. She wants better healthcare for survivors of French nuclear testing.

    “I’m anxious about the health care of my children; are they going to be sick or not? We really need this healthcare in Tahiti because of the 193 nuclear bomb (tests that France detonated in the Pacific),” Cross said.

    Pacific reacts to Japan’s plans
    Pacific leaders have been voicing their views on the upcoming release, which Japan says it needs to do in an effort to make progress on decommissioning the power plant.

    Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is the latest leader to issue his support after being assured of the project’s safety by Japan.

    Safety is a sentiment echoed by TEPCO, the owners of the plant.

    “The release into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear (plant) would be the most realistic approach,” TEPCO Chief Officer for ALPS treated water management Junichi Matsumoto told RNZ Pacific in January 2023.

    Damage at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011.
    Damage at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011 . . . a release into the sea . . . the most realistic” option. Image: TEPCO/RNZ News

    The dumping operation is expected to take between 30 and 40 years as it needs to be treated by the ALPS system and then diluted by sea water to meet regulatory standards.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is reviewing the processes.

    The IAEA’s latest report has found TEPCO has managed to demonstrate it can measure the radionuclides in the treated water stored on site accurately and precisely.

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

    Hinamoeura Cross with a member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in Vienna
    A member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) with Hinamoeura Cross in Vienna, Austria. Image: Hinamoeura Cross/RNZ News

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PNG academic says Port Moresby politicians naïve over US defence deals

    By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist

    A Papua New Guinean academic says the new security deals with the United States will militarise his country and anyone who thinks otherwise is naïve.

    In May, PNG’s Defence Minister Win Barki Daki and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed the Defence Cooperation Agreement and the Shiprider Agreement.

    Last week they were presented to PNG MPs for ratification and made public.

    The defence cooperation agreement talks of reaffirming a strong defence relationship based on a shared commitment to peace and stability and common approaches to addressing regional defence and security issues.

    Money that Marape ‘wouldn’t turn down’
    University of PNG political scientist Michael Kabuni said there was certainly a need for PNG to improve security at the border to stop, for instance, the country being used as a transit point for drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

    “Papua New Guinea hasn’t had an ability or capacity to manage its borders. So we really don’t know what goes on on the fringes of PNG’s marine borders.”

    But Kabuni, who is completing his doctorate at the Australian National University, said whenever the US signs these sorts of deals with developing countries, the result is inevitably a heavy militarisation.

    “I think the politicians, especially PNG politicians, are either too naïve, or the benefits are too much for them to ignore. So the deal between Papua New Guinea and the United States comes with more than US$400 million support. This is money that [Prime Minister] James Marape wouldn’t turn down,” he said.

    The remote northern island of Manus, most recently the site of Australia’s controversial refugee detention camp, is set to assume far greater prominence in the region with the US eyeing both the naval base and the airport.


    Kabuni said Manus was an important base during World War II and remains key strategic real estate for both China and the United States.

    “So there is talk that, apart from the US and Australia building a naval base on Manus, China is building a commercial one. But when China gets involved in building wharves, though it appears to be a wharf for commercial ships to park, it’s built with the equipment to hold military naval ships,” he said.

    Six military locations
    Papua New Guineans now know the US is set to have military facilities at six locations around the country.

    These are Nadzab Airport in Lae, the seaport in Lae, the Lombrum Naval Base and Momote Airport on Manus Island, as well as Port Moresby’s seaport and Jackson’s International Airport.

    According to the text of the treaty the American military forces and their contractors will have the ability to largely operate in a cocoon, with little interaction with the rest of PNG, not paying taxes on anything they bring in, including personal items.

    Prime Minister James Marape has said the Americans will not be setting up military bases, but this document gives them the option to do this.

    Marape said more specific information on the arrangements would come later.

    Antony Blinken said the defence pact was drafted by both nations as ‘equal and sovereign partners’ and stressed that the US will be transparent.

    Critics of the deal have accused the government of undermining PNG’s sovereignty but Marape told Parliament that “we have allowed our military to be eroded in the last 48 years, [but] sovereignty is defined by the robustness and strength of your military”.

    The Shiprider Agreement has been touted as a solution to PNG’s problems of patrolling its huge exclusive economic zone of nearly 3 million sq km.

    Another feature of the agreements is that US resources could be directed toward overcoming the violence that has plagued PNG elections for many years, with possibly the worst occurrence in last year’s national poll.

    But Michael Kabuni said the solution to these issues will not be through strengthening police or the military but by such things as improving funding and support for organisations like the Electoral Commission to allow for accurate rolls to be completed well ahead of voting.

    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.

  • USP signs ‘milestone Pacific MOUs’ for enterprising journalism initiatives

    By Viliame Tawanakoro in Suva

    The University of the South Pacific’s regional journalism programme has penned three milestone Memorandums of Understanding that will usher in greater collaboration with media industry partners over student upskilling and training, joint workshops and seminars, and publication of the award-winning training newspaper Wansolwara.

    Papua New Guinea’s National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) have formalised three-year MOU partnerships with the region’s longest running journalism programme at Laucala campus.

    They were signed by NBC managing director Kora Nou and PINA managing editor Makereta Komai respectively.

    The signing ceremony was witnessed by PNG’s Minister for Communication and Information Technology Timothy Masiu — a former journalist — and USP’s deputy vice-chancellor (regional campuses and global engagement) Dr Giulio Paunga.

    “It is indeed history because we have never had such an MOU between this prestigious university and our National Broadcasting Corporation, which is a flagship of PNG,” said  Masiu.

    “The intention of this MOU is basically threefold — student training, staff exchanges and joint workshops, seminars, research activities. We are really looking forward to this; very interesting times ahead for NBC and your university.”

    To further strengthen the MOU, Masiu announced a F$10,000 funding support for the journalism programme through the PINA office. NBC’s managing director is also current chair of PINA.

    Masiu as a journalist
    Masiu also shared his excitement and delight at being part of the signing ceremony and reminisced about his time as a broadcaster for NBC, and later a journalist for The National daily newspaper in Port Moresby.

    Dr Paunga said the university was also currently working closely with the PNG government and the progress of this collaboration demonstrated great things to come between the two countries, its people and future students.

    USP Journalism programme coordinator Associate Professor Shailendra Singh said the programme was doing some good work in journalism in Fiji and the region. He commended Komai and Nou for their cooperation and vision over the MOU.

    “The MOU we have signed is going to take the training and development of our journalists to another level,” he said.

    “We have been training journalists for a long time. Under this MOU, we will be able to decide our own agenda when it comes to training and research, instead of everything being designed from someplace else and us merely implementing it.

    “We know PNG will be sending students to study at USP. Talks are underway and if that happens then there will be greater collaboration and interaction between students coming from PNG.”

    Dr Singh said USP had 12-member countries and PNG was set to become the 13th member if talks went according to plan.

    Fiji Times partnership

    The latest 32-page Wansolwara
    The latest 32-page Wansolwara . . . published as a Fiji Times insert thanks the new MOU.

    Earlier, on May 3 — World Press Freedom Day — USP Journalism signed the first MOU with Fiji Times Limited. The partnership includes, among other supportive initiatives, the publication of Wansolwara, twice a year.

    The first Wansolwara edition for 2023 was published in The Sunday Times last week and featured 32 pages of news, sports and special reports written and produced by USP journalism students across Fiji and the region.

    Dr Singh said the partnership with Fiji Times Ltd was also a boost for the programme.

    “This is a historic moment, not just for us but also for our students, as this will give them the exposure they need to contribute and improve the standard of journalism in our region,” he said.

    “Fiji Times Ltd has been supportive of the USP Journalism Programme for many years, and this partnership will strengthen their commitment to promote a free and fair environment for journalists.”

    Fiji Times Pte Ltd general manager Christine Lyons said the company would cover the printing of Wansolwara twice in the academic year. This amounted to one publication per semester.

    “It will be circulated as an insert in The Fiji Times as part of its corporate social responsibility,” she said.

    Fiji Times Ltd was represented by editor-in-chief Fred Wesley at the May MOU signing.

    Viliame Tawanakoro is a final-year student journalist at USP’s Laucala Campus. He is also the 2023 student editor for Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s student training newspaper and online publication.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘A win for all Kanak people’ says first indigenous Harvard graduate

    By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist

    New Caledonian Joe Xulue has made history by becoming the first person of Kanak heritage to graduate from Harvard University in the United States.

    During his graduation in Boston on June 6, he proudly wore the Kanak flag as he received a diploma in law — and photos of the moment have since gone viral, celebrated by fellow Kanaks across social media.

    Xulue said his accomplishment is collective because it sets an example to fellow Kanaks.

    “It’s a win for all Kanak people,” said Xulue.

    “I see it as a service — a way of giving back to my community — even by just going to Harvard . . . it can mean a lot to a young Kanak kid who is unsure of the dreams and aspirations that they have about themselves,

    “When I was up there holding the flag, despite alot of the things that my people have gone through because of colonisation, it felt so proud to showcase how much we can achieve.

    “Getting to Harvard wasn’t easy, I’ve had to go through more rejection than acceptance to get to where I am today.”

    Joe Xulue poses with his wife Yasmin at Harvard University
    Joe Xulue with his wife Yasmin at Harvard University . . . “It’s pretty clear that colonisation has dis-enfranchised so many of our people.” Image: Joe Xulue/RNZ Pacific

    An avid New Caledonia pro-independence supporter, Xulue said his and other Kanak successes contributes to the indigenous movement for self-determination.

    “It’s pretty clear that colonisation has dis-enfranchised so many of our people,” said Xulue.

    “Young Kanaks like me are trying to change the narrative — to effectively reverse years and years of colonial rule, and policy guidelines and directions that have left us in a poor state.”

    The French territory has seen recent political turbulence, with pro-independence supporters disputing a referendum in 2021 that rejected independence from France.

    Political dissatisfaction is widespread among the Kanak people who inherit a history marred by war and oppression. The majority of native Kanaks, who make up over 41 percent of New Caledonia’s population, support independence.

    Xulue is one of them, and he said getting a Harvard degree is one way of improving the socio-political condition of Kanaks.

    “This idea of a neocolonial territory to exist in a world where we are supposed to be allowing countries to have independence is disconcerting,” he said.

    “I find it so strange that a country like France will talk about equality and freedom for all, but won’t guarantee it to a nation like New Caledonia where they can clearly see the effects of colonisation on an indigenous group.

    “On one hand, the French government talks about freedom and rights, but they don’t guarantee them to people who inherently deserve those rights.”

    Outside Harvard University in Boston on the day that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received an honorary doctorate.
    Outside Harvard University in Boston on graduation day when former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received an honorary doctorate. Image: Harvard Gazette/Kris Snibbe/RNZ Pacific

    Harvard is a vehicle for change
    Before going to Harvard, Xulue completed a law degree at Auckland University — a hub for Pasifika academics.

    He applied to Harvard after being encouraged to do so by others including Samoan Harvard graduate Dylan Asafo.

    A key focus of his study was creating cultural spaces to improve justice systems.

    “My application was based on the idea of using indigenous ideas and practices, to shape the more traditional legal structures that we have in New Zealand,” said Xulue.

    “That was the basis for why I wanted to study and I knew it would give a platform to the Kanak struggle for independence.

    “We see alot of the ways that different tikanga practices are in the New Zealand justice systems . . . we see how changing the settings like allowing for the kaumatua to get involved or allowing for the marae for youth justice processes can occur . . . simple ways we can use indigenous knowledge within the current colonial hegemony.”

    “I look at the law as a tool to effect positive change for our people . . . I think that’s what Harvard saw and why they accepted me into their university.”

    The French president Emmanuel Macron (centre) and overseas minister Annick Girardin (right) meet with Kanak leaders at the customary senate in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia.
    French President Emmanuel Macron (centre) and overseas minister Annick Girardin (right) meet Kanak leaders at the customary Senate in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia. Image: Twitter/@EmmanuelMacron/RNZ Pacific

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Pasifika people using kava and talanoa to boost mental health

    By Alualumoana Luaitalo, Te Rito journalism cadet

    ​A new business initiative in Aotearoa New Zealand aims to open up conversations about the benefits of kava on mental health.

    Tongan entrepreneur ‘Anau Mesui-Henry and her photographer husband Todd Henry own Four Shells Kava Lounge in Auckland, creating a space for the community to use the Pacific Island drink to maintain its value and cultural identity.

    They have started talanoa on kava and mental health in Auckland, Wellington and Gisborne.

    Public Interest Journalism Fund
    PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM FUND

    The couple say the KAVAX sessions bring in people from all walks of life, and they get to enjoy some authentic kava for the night.

    Mesui-Henry says because it is talanoa, it is open for everyone to come together and speak.

    “Not all people will open up and share, but it’s a safe space where they can come through, indulge in some kava and explore solutions on how we can heal using our Pasifika culture,” she says.

    “It’s the mana in knowing your natural tāonga, a tool to help us as people to heal and the silent battles that we face.”

    Pasifika tools to connect
    Mesui-Henry says although organisations like the Mental Health Foundation are doing great work with the resources they have, a “white approach” will not work alone.

    She says Pasifika people have the tools to connect through kava, and improve mental health.

    Mesui-Henry says some of the misconceptions around kava they have to work on dispelling are that it is bad for you, it’s “muddy water”, or once it numbs you, you are drunk.

    “We are a community grassroots kind of place, and knowing our cultural keystone, kava has a place in society.”

    Kava is part of significant cultural practices in different Pacific Islands, is known internationally for its relaxing properties, and is used as a herbal remedy.

    The website of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation NZ advises that if a large amount of kava is consumed the following effects may be experienced: drowsiness, nausea, loss of muscle control, mild fever and pupil dilation and red eyes.

    It is legal to drink kava in New Zealand.

    A Pacific Media Network News article under the Public Interest Journalism Fund. Republished with permission.

  • Pacific journos urged not to let geopolitics ‘skew their narratives’

    RNZ Pacific

    The editor of the Marshall Islands Journal, Giff Johnson, is urging Pacific journalists not to be swayed by geopolitical narratives and to stay true to reporting stories that affect people in their daily lives.

    Held last Friday in Majuro, Johnson, who is also the co-founder of the Pacific Media Institute, hosted Pacific journalists and media trainers for a workshop and summit on democracy.

    Increased competition between the United States and China in the Pacific has dominated headlines and political discourse over the past few years but Johnson said that while it is important to stay on top of such developments they were far removed from the day-to-day realities of island living.

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

  • UN told France has ‘robbed’ Kanaks of New Caledonian independence

    By David Robie

    New Caledonia’s Kanak national liberation movement has told the UN Decolonisation Committee that France has “robbed” the indigenous people of their independence and has appealed for help.

    Magalie Tingal-Lémé, the permanent representative of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) at the UN, told a session of the Committee of 24 (C24) — as the special decolonisation body is known — that the French authorities had failed to honour the 1998 Noumea Accord self-determination aspirations, especially by pressing ahead with the third independence referendum in December 2021 in defiance of Kanak opposition.

    More than half the eligible voting population boycotted the third ballot after the previous two referendums in 2018 and 2020 recorded narrowing defeats for independence.

    The pro-independence Kanak groups wanted the referendum delayed due to the devastating impact that the covid-19 pandemic had had on the indigenous population.

    Tingal-Lémé told the UN session that speaking as an indigenous Kanak woman, she represented the FLNKS and “every time we speak before your institution, we carry the voice of the colonised people”.

    “When we speak of colonisation, we are necessarily speaking of the people who have suffered the damage, the stigma and the consequences,” she said in her passionate speech.

    “On September 24, my country will have been under colonial rule for 170 years.”

    Accords brought peace
    Tingal-Lémé said two political accords with France had brought peace to New Caledonia after the turbulent 1980s, “the second of which — the Nouméa Accord — [was taking] the country on the way for full emancipation”.

    “And it is in a spirit of dialogue and consensus that the indépendentistes have kept their word, despite, and in the name, of spilled blood.”

    In 2018, the first of three scheduled votes on sovereignty, 56.4 percent rejected independence with an 81 percent turnout of the 174,995 voters eligible to vote.

    Two years later, independence was again rejected, but this time with an increased support to almost 47 percent. Turnout also slightly grew to 85.69 percent.

    However, in December 2021 the turnout dropped by about half with most Kanaks boycotting the referendum due to the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, this time the “yes” vote dropped to a mere 3.5 percent.

    “Since December 12, 2021, when France maintained the third and final referendum — even though we had requested its postponement due to the human trauma of covid-19 — we have never ceased to contest its holding and its results,” Tingal-Lémé said.

    Nearly 57 percent of voters had not turned out on the day due to the covid boycott.

    ‘We’ll never accept this outcome’
    “We believe that through this illegitimate referendum, the French state has robbed us of our independence. We will never accept this outcome!

    “And so, unable to contest the results under French internal law, we are turning to the international community for an impartial institution to indicate how to resume a process that complies with international rules on decolonisation.

    “Through the Nouméa Accord, France has committed itself and the populations concerned to an original decolonisation process, which should lead to the full emancipation of Kanaky.

    “Today, the FLNKS believes that the administering power has not fulfilled its obligations.”

    Tingal-Lémé said the “latest evidence” of this failure was a New Caledonian decolonisation audit, whose report had just been made public.

    She said this audit report had been requested by the FLNKS for the past five years so that it would be available — along with the assessment of the Nouméa Accord — before the three referendums to “enlighten voters”.

    “The pro-independence movement found itself alone in raising public awareness of the positive stakes of self-determination, and had to campaign against a state that sided with the anti-independence groups.”


    Magalie Tingal-Lémé’s speech to the UN Decolonisation Committee. Video: MTL

    Entrusted to a ‘market’ firm
    Also, the French government had “entrusted” this work to a firm specialising in market analysis strategies, she said.

    “This shows how much consideration the administering power has given to this exercise and to its international obligations regarding the decolonisation.

    “Frankly, who can believe in the objectivity of an audit commissioned by a government to which the leader of New Caledonia’s non-independence movement belongs?” Tingal-Lémé asked.

    “It is already clear that, once again, France does not wish to achieve a decolonisation in the Pacific.

    “This is why the FLNKS is petitioning the C24 to support our initiative to the United Nations, with the aim of getting an advisory opinion to the International Court of Justice.

    “The objectives of this initiative is to request the ICJ to rule on our [indigenous] rights, those of the colonised people of New Caledonia, which we believe were violated on December 12, 2021.”

    Advisory opinion
    The FLNKS wanted the ICJ to make an advisory opinion on the way France “has conducted the decolonisation process, in particular by holding a referendum without the participation of the Kanak people.”

    Tingal-Lémé pleaded: “We sincerely hope that you will heed our call.”

    According to New Caledonia’s 2019 census, the indigenous Kanaks comprise a 41 percent share of the 271,000 multiethnic population. Europeans make up 24 percent, Wallisians and Futunans 8 percent, and a mix of Indonesians, ni-Vanuatu, Tahitians and Vietnamese are among the rest.

    Earlier today, RNZ Pacific reported that a New Caledonian politician had claimed at the UN that the territory was “no longer a colony” and should be withdrawn from the UN decolonisation list.

    The anti-independence member of the Territorial Congress and Vice-President of the Southern Province, Gil Brial, said he was a descendant of French people deported to New Caledonia 160 years ago, who had been “blended with others, including the indigenous Kanaks”.

    He said the only colonisation left today was the “colonisation of the minds of young people by a few separatist leaders who mixed racism, hatred and threats”, reports RNZ Pacific.

    Dr David Robie is editor of Asia Pacific Report.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • New NZ theatre production highlights Fiji Girmityas’ struggles

    By Blessen Tom, RNZ journalist

    A new production called Coolie: The Story of the Girmityas is shedding light on the lesser-known history of the Indian indentured labourers.

    Poet and music producer Nadia Freeman’s latest work gives life to the hidden voice of her Indo-Fijian ancestors through electronic music and theatre.

    “I just felt like I was losing more of my ancestry and my ethnicity, and I wanted to look more into it to understand,” Freeman says.

    Nadia Freeman created Coolie: The Story of the Girmityas. Photo: Supplied
    Nadia Freeman . . . “I just felt like I was losing more of my ancestry and my ethnicity.” Image: RNZ

    The show opened on Thursday at the Kia Mau contemporary Māori, Pasifika and indigenous arts festival.

    “Coolie”, which is used in the production’s title, was a derogatory term used by British colonial supervisors when addressing the workers in Fiji.

    “I want people who are outside that community to know what happened, to know more about,” she said.

    Who were the Girmityas?
    The Indian workers were called the Girmityas, which in Hindi means “agreement”. The agreement was initially for five years, but it was extendable.

    On finishing five years abroad, they were permitted to return to India at their own expense or serve 10 more years and return at the expense of the British colonial government.

    Some workers returned home, but many could not afford the return journey and were stuck in Fiji.

    M.N. Naidu (sitting second from the left) with his family Photo: Courtesy of Nik Naidu
    M.N. Naidu (sitting second from the left) with his family . . . “We are still quite an angry community … angry because we haven’t healed.” Image: Nik Naidu/RNZ

    “We are still quite an angry community … angry because we haven’t healed,” says businessman and community advocate Nik Naidu.

    His grandfather, M.N. Naidu, was an indentured labourer who was on a ship to Fiji in the early 1900s.

    Like many Indians who were sent to Fiji, Naidu’s grandfather was also looking for a better life.

    “They were living in dire poverty and were looking for money to support their families, so that’s how my grandfather got on the ship,” Naidu says.

    Challenging life
    Life in Fiji was challenging.

    The journey took months, and many did not even make it to Fiji. That was not the end of their struggles.

    “There was hardship and there were difficulties,” Naidu says.

    “In the beginning, it was the harshness of plantation life, poor living conditions, you know, resettlement, displacement, realisation of not being able to return, inability to participate in their religion properly, and, you know, the caste system that existed, the difficulties and, of course, lack of women.”

    Finding a companion was a challenge for many young Girmits. The disproportionate sex ratio meant there were only 40 women for every 100 men.

    Journalist Sri Krishnamurthi has also heard many stories about the Girmityas from his grandparents.

    Sri Krishnamurthi Photo: Supplied
    Journalist Sri Krishnamurthi . . . “It was basically slavery in all but name.” Image: RNZ

    Working sugar canefields
    “My grandmother, Bonamma, came from India with my grandfather and came to work in the sugar canefields under the indentured system,” Krishnamurthi says.

    “They lived in ‘lines’ — a row of one-room houses. They worked the cane fields from 6am to 6pm largely without a break. It was basically slavery in all but name.”

    Krishnamurthi remembers the story about his grandfather, who was sent back to India, “because he thumped a coolumbar sahib” (a white man on horseback who made sure the work was done) who was whipping the workers.

    Naidu says: “I wasn’t fortunate enough to meet my grandfather. I was 2 years old when he passed away and he went back to India and passed away in India.”

    His family is now running the organisations that his father started, including schools.

    “The colonial administration at the time did not want to educate the Fijian Indians,” he says.

    “They wanted them to stay in servitude, as small farmers who were always dependent on the sugar cane plantations and uneducated.”

    Addressing new challenges
    A few weeks ago, the community celebrated the 144th Girmit Remembrance Day in New Zealand.

    “We remembered our forefathers, who had contributed towards this development of the Fiji Indian community,” says Krish Naidu, president of the Fiji Girmit Foundation.

    “It is a day where we honour and remember their struggles and sacrifices, but we also celebrate their resilience.

    “It’s important our young people in particular actually understand who we are, where we come from.”

    In 2023, a new challenge emerged for the Indo-Fijian community in New Zealand. The government’s decision to classify them as Asians rather than Pacific Islanders is stirring criticism within the community.

    “Because we, as people with Indian biological traits, are not considered by the Ministry of Pacific,” Naidu says.

    Naidu thinks that the government’s move is “unfair”.

    “We get emails and messages from students because they miss out on specific scholarships,” he says.

    However, he was delighted for the newly announced Girmit Day, a national holiday in Fiji.

    “We were the actual architects of it because we’ve been pushing for the holiday since 2015 in Fiji,” he says.

    “We are absolutely overjoyed.”

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Fifteen Pasifika people on NZ King’s Birthday Honours List

    RNZ Pacific

    Paediatrician Dr Teuila Percival heads the list of Pacific recipients in the New Zealand King’s Birthday Honours List for 2023.

    Dr Percival is one of at least 15 Pasifika people in New Zealand who are on the list. She is to be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health and the Pacific community.

    For the past three decades she has been a strong advocate for Pacific children’s health in New Zealand and the Pacific.

    Dr Teuila Percival.
    Dr Teuila Percival . . . “It’s important for Pacific people to be recognised in the work they do.” Image: Pasifika Medical Association/RNZ

    Dr Percival said she felt honoured to get the award after getting over the initial surprise.

    “I think it’s important for Pacific people to be recognised in the work they do, so it’s really nice in that respect,” she said.

    “It’s just a great job, I love working with kids. I think children are the most important thing.”

    Dr Percival was a founding member of South Seas Healthcare, a community health service for Pacific people in Auckland since 1999.

    She has also been deployed to Pacific nations after natural disasters like to Samoa in 2009 after the tsunami and to Vanuatu in 2015 following cyclone Pam.

    Education
    Sacred Heart school counsellor Nua Silipa is to be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to Pacific education.

    Silipa said her experience struggling in the education system after immigrating from Samoa in 1962 had motivated her to help Pacific people in the classroom.

    “When I look back now I think my journey was so hard as a minority in Christchurch,” Silipa said.

    “It was a struggle because we weren’t in the classroom, the resources at that time were Janet and John . . .  so as a learner I really struggled.”

    She said the “whole experience of underachievement” motivated her to help “people who are different in the system”.

    “It’s not a one size fits all in education.”

    Nua Silipa said she felt humbled to be a recipient on the King’s Birthday Honours List.

    She said the award also honoured the people who had been involved in improving education for Pasifika.

    “I know there’s so, so many other people who are doing work quietly every day, helping our communities and I’m really in awe of them.

    “There are many unsung heroes out in our community doing work for our people.”

    Technology
    Mary Aue is to be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to education, technology and Pacific and Māori communities.

    Mary Aue is to be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to education, technology and Pacific and Māori communities
    Coconut Wireless creator Mary Aue . . . “There was no communication back then, so I created an e-newsletter.” Image: RNZ Pacific

    Mary Aue is to be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to education, technology and Pacific and Māori communities Photo: Supplied

    In 1999, she launched Coconut Wireless as an e-newsletter for Pasifika reaching 10,000 subscribers. It relaunched in 2014 as a social media platform and now has over 300,000 Facebook followers.

    “There was a disconnect between community and government agencies and there was a disconnect between our communities,” she said.

    “There was no communication back then, so I created an e-newsletter.”

    The name Coconut Wireless was based on the island concept as a fast way of communicating through word of mouth.

    Aue has also been an advocate for more Pacific and Māori learners in science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM).

    Aue said she was originally going to decline the award as there were a lot of people in the community who do not get recognised behind the scenes.

    “I have to thank my family, my friends and the amazing community that we’re all part of.”

    Sport
    Teremoana Maua-Hodges said she “just about choked” on her cup of tea when she found out she had received the Queen’s Service Medal.

    Maua-Hodges has been given the award for her contribution to sport and culture.

    She said the award was the work of many people — including her parents — who travelled to New Zealand from the Cook Islands when she was a child.

    “I’m very humbled by the award, but it’s not just me,” Maua-Hodges said.

    “I stand on the shoulders of different heroes and heroines of our people in the community.

    “It’s not my award, it’s our award.”

    Maua-Hodges said the most important thing she had done was connect Cook Islanders.

    “Uniting Cook Islanders who have come over from different islands in the Cook Islands and then to come here and be united here within their diversity makes me very proud.

    “They’ve taken on the whole culture of Aotearoa but still as Cook Islanders . . .  to show their voice, to show their flag, in the land of milk and honey.”

    The Queen’s Service Medal will be renamed the King’s Service Medal once the necessary processes are done, and the updated Royal Warrant is approved by King Charles.

    Pasifika recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2022:

    Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Dr Teuila Mary Percival — for services to health and the Pacific community.

    Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Nua Semuā Silipa — for services to Pacific education.

    Honorary Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Meleane Pau’uvale — for services to the Tongan community and education.

    Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:

    Mary Puatuki Aue — for services to education, technology and Pacific and Māori communities.

    Dr Ofanaite Ana Dewes — for services to health and the Pacific community.

    Fa’atili Iosua Esera — for services to Pacific education.

    Dr Siale Alokihakau Foliaki — for services to mental health and the Pacific community.

    Keni Upokotea Moeroa — for services to the Cook Islands community.

    Talalelei Senetenari Taufale — for services to Pacific health.

    Dr Semisi Pouvalu Taumoepeau — for services to education and tourism.

    Honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Fa’amoana Ioane Luafutu — for services to arts and the Pacific community.

    Queen’s Service Medal:

    Joseph Davis — for services to the Fijian community.

    Reverend Alofa Ta’ase Lale — for services to the community.

    Teremoana Maua-Hodges — for services to sport and culture.

    Putiani Upoko — for services to the Pacific community.

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.