In West Papua, thousands upon thousands of displaced people lack basic life-giving services

People from Nduga, Puncak, Intan Jaya, Maybrat, Pegunungan Bintang, and Yahukimo are suffering while the armed conflict between the West Papua National Liberation Army and Indonesian security forces in these areas is ongoing.

Many internally displaced people have little choice but to live in remote shelters in the forest, where they lack access to food, sanitation, medical treatment, and education. Local human rights defenders and churches, managing to access some of these shelters, have documented extremely poor living conditions.

In Maybrat, for example, people are reluctant to return to their villages as military deployments and security force raids continue. According to data received from church informants, the total number of internally displaced persons from Maybrat has reached 1,836 persons, some of whom testified that the local government distributed rice and other food supplies. However, the funds used for the aid were deducted from the funds the village administration receives regularly.

Internally displaced persons in Pegunungan Bintang had to deal with extreme weather conditions in the central highlands. Almost all from the Kiwirok District continue to live in forest shelters, although an estimated 200 people—many of them women and children—crossed the border to Papua New Guinea, where they live in a refugee camp in the town of Tumorbil. The displaced people’s food and supplies come from small gardens and hunting in the forest. Their informal camps are often located in remote areas in the forest which can only be accessed through small mountain trails.

Church workers visiting such camps documented many health issues, as well as the danger of Indonesian military attacks and snipers.

Human Rights Monitor is an EU-based international group promoting human rights through documentation and advocacy. The group works in collaboration with the World Council of Churches on situations of conflict and human rights violations in West Papua.

https://www.oikoumene.org/news/in-west-papua-thousands-upon-thousands-of-displaced-people-lack-basic-life-giving-services

#westpapua #humanrights #genocida

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚: 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐮𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥

May 30, 2023 in Statement

I am very sad to announce the death of Tom Beanal, a West Papuan freedom fighter, Head of the Papua Presidium Council, and leader of the Amungme Tribal Council. On behalf of the ULMWP and the West Papuan people, I send my sympathies and condolences to Tom’s family, friends, along with everyone he inspired to join the struggle. 

Tom was a member of the Amungme tribe. Along with the Kamoro people, the Amungme have been the primary victims of the Grasberg Mine, the world’s largest gold and second largest copper mine, opened and operated by the US mining company Freeport McMoran. Amungme and Kamoro people are the indigenous landowners – tribes who have tended and protected their forest for thousands of years. But they have been forced to watch as their lands have been destroyed, physically and spiritually, by an alliance of big corporations and the Indonesian government. 

As a leader of his tribe, Tom fought steadfastly against the illegal Indonesian occupation. After the state-sponsored assassination of Papua Council leader Theys Eluay, Tom – who was Eluays’ deputy – was targeted as Indonesia’s next victim. This was part of the Indonesian attempt to destroy the Papuan Spring, a great peaceful uprising from 1999-2000. I was a young man at this time and was inspired by his spirit. Together, we mobilised for the Papuan People’s Congress in June 2000, which rejected Indonesian colonialism and called for true self-determination for West Papua. Because of Eluays’ assassination and my imprisonment, along with brutal Indonesian repression of other leaders, the Papuan spring did not achieve its goal of liberation.  

Though Tom himself was poisoned by the colonial regime, suffering paralysis as a result, his desire for freedom did not change. Later, on behalf of the Amungme people, Tom filed a US lawsuit against Freeport for their destruction of the Papuan environment and complicity in the cultural genocide of West Papua. 

Tom Beanal did all he could for his people, and I join with all West Papuans in mourning his sad passing. But while he may be physically gone his spirit continues to bless our freedom struggle. I want to assure all West Papuans, and especially the Amungme and Kamoro people, that we will continue to fight for his dream of liberation.  

Benny Wenda

President

ULMWP Provisional Government

https://www.ulmwp.org/president-wenda-west-papua-mourns-the-loss-of-freedom-fighter-tom-beanal

Indonesia - Democracy Back On Slippery Slope

Read.Here:https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2023/05/22/25-years-of-reforms-indonesias-democracy-back-on-slippery-slope.html

Twenty-five years since the start of the Reform era, which had carried the hopes for democracy and stronger civil rights, the nation finds itself in a familiar position, with renewed efforts to bring back what observers fear to be the hallmarks of the autocratic New Order regime.

The potential return of the military in civilian life and no commitment to resolve past abuses, paint a grim picture of democratic backsliding.

Read. Here:https://asianews.network/after-25-years-of-reform-indonesias-democracy-back-on-slippery-slope/

The US led the free world to rally behind Indonesia in 1960s.  After the fall of Soeharto in 1999, there was much optimism.

The success of Jokowi as the first non - military candidate who put away military icon Prawobo convincingly in the presidential race to become two - term president of Indonesia did not translate the options on the table to build democracy.

 Away, from Oligarchy.

Indonesia.

It is heading back into the past. Stormy. The West, free world, had expectations, now unfinished assignment.

Oligarchy. Military.The uncertainty of tomorrow.

Archipelagic state of Republic of Indonesia? Or, 'balkanization' of the Indonesian archipelago. The time capsule. A worse - case scenario is likely based on data available. Perhaps.There are rumblings of discontent.

Read. Here:https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/indonesia/stories/balkan060498.htm

US - PNG Defence Cooperation Agreement or Pact.

The Pertinent Points:

(1)The ripples of APEC PNG 2018 continue five years on.

(2)PNG national interest is blurry, then and today, defies definition. Perhaps.

Read. Here:https://www.facebook.com/100002080838086/posts/1965277673551575/?app=fbl

And, national interest? We need a definition.

Definition 1. Australian National University, Dr Bal Kama. 

https://www.facebook.com/100000204633280/posts/7068486046501480/?app=fbl

Definition 2. PNG Foreign Service Insider. 

https://www.facebook.com/100084066186791/posts/215493431262862/?app=fbl

Definition 3. US State Department. Democratic Proposition for PNG. 

https://www.facebook.com/100064041580158/posts/659922329485814/?app=fbl

Definition 4. APEC PNG 2018. The Distinct Economic Model. 

https://www.facebook.com/100002080838086/posts/1955889504490392/?app=fbl

Aboriginal group to be compensated for historic mining damages

MELBOURNE: Western Australia state has agreed to compensate an Aboriginal group for historic acts including issuing mining leases on their traditional lands, setting a precedent that is set to allow Indigenous groups a greater say in future developments.

The state has been strengthening its laws to protect Indigenous cultural heritage since iron ore mining operations by Rio Tinto three years ago destroyed historic rock shelters that showed human habitation dating back 46,000 years.

The Western Australian government said it had reached a “historic settlement” with the Tjiwarl people of the state’s northern Goldfield’s region for three native title compensation claims and had finalised an agreement for land use in future.

The state will pay the Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation A$25.5 million (K58.8 million) for acts such as approving roads and issuing leases that damaged or destroyed the group’s legal rights over their traditional lands.

The new agreement sets out a greater say for the Tjiwarl on future developments by miners and others on issues including water management and mining or petroleum leases, and removes the need for future compensation claims. It also returns some land parcels to Tjiwarl and expands the group’s conservation area.

Bellevue Gold and lithium developer Liontown Resources Ltd, which operate on Tjiwarl lands were involved in the compensation litigation.

BHP Group, which declined to comment, struck a land use agreement in 2018 for its nickel operations and was not part of the settlement

MSG SECRETARIAT REITERATES SUPPORT FOR FLNKS AT C-24

PORT VILA, VANUATU (25 May 2023): The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat has reiterated its support for the call by the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) on the Administering power to return to the spirit of the Noumea Accord, in the negotiations post-Referendums, which has resulted in the peaceful co-existence of all stakeholders in New Caledonia.

Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Leonard Louma, made the call while delivering his remarks at the Pacific Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism in Bali, Indonesia on 24 May 2023.

With the theme “Innovative steps to ensure the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Non-Self-Governing Territories”, the seminar was held under the auspices of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (C-24).

DG Louma said that the FLNKS, a member of the MSG family, consists of and represents the indigenous and colonised people of New Caledonia – a Non-Self-Governing Territory within the meaning of the UN Charter and Resolution 1514 (XV) and entitled to the ultimate objectives of the decolonisation process – that of independence.

“We are here to support the FLNKS and Kanaks call for New Caledonia to be released from the shackles of colonialism.”

 

“For us at the MSG, that were in the vanguard of action to have New Caledonia re-inscribed on the Committee of 24 list in 1986, we value the recognition by the UN family of New Caledonia’s continuing status as a Non-Self-Governing Territory and by that virtue affording its colonised people’s an entitlement to aspire for independence,” he stated.

DG Louma said that as a party and signatory to the Noumea Accord, FLNKS continues to engage, in good faith, with the Administering Power to achieve its aspirations of full sovereignty. He emphasised that the spirit and intent that went into the framing of the Noumea Accord embodies the “irreversibility” of the process towards full sovereignty. 

He noted that the circumstances and manner in which the Third Referendum in New Caledonia was conducted in December 2021 during the height of Covid 19 challenges, and despite calls to defer the referendum by the FLNKS, leaves much to be desired. 

This he said, has inevitably called to question the credibility of the process and the legitimacy of the results when 56.13% of the registered voters did not participate in the referendum. 

“We remain ready to assist FLNKS in its efforts to seek legal validation of its position on the Third Referendum and the questionable validity of its results,” he added.    

DG Louma emphasised that, MSG is of the view that in the absence of a decision by the General Assembly that New Caledonia, a Non-Self-Governing Territory, has attained a full measure of self-government in terms of Chapter XI of the UN Charter, the Administering Power has the obligation to faithfully discharge its responsibilities to prepare New Caledonia for independence within the spirit and meaning of the UN Resolution 1514 (XV).    

MSG countries he said, are committed to do whatever they can to help New Caledonia through the FLNKS vehicle attain its aspirations of sovereignty through peaceful means.

“Let us all utilise the opportunity provided by the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism to re-examine our efforts and inject more vigour in our commitment to end colonialism. In some cases we may require to correct course in our strategies and efforts,” he noted. 

DG Louma proudly acknowledged Fiji and Papua New Guinea, for their unremitting involvement in the work of the Committee of 24, with regards to specific contribution by MSG to advance the decolonisation agenda concerning the remaining territories on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories (New Caledonia), 

“We at the MSG recognise our responsibility to assist with the efforts to prepare the Kanaks and New Caledonia towards the genuine exercise of their right to self-determination and eventual accession to independence status,” DG Louma said.

New Caledonia continues to enjoy invitations from the MSG to participate in our sporting and cultural events, as part of the MSG’s recalibrated strategy and plans, namely their participation at the MSG’s flagship cultural event, the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival (MACFEST), and the MSG Prime Minister’s Cup Football Tournament.  

Another is the inclusion of FLNKS Representatives on MSG countries’ Delegations to International Meetings as part of the diplomatic efforts to solicit support for New Caledonia’s independence, among others.

In an effort to build transformative pathways to advance the Fourth International Decade for Ending Colonialism, DG Louma proposed a number of ideas including the proposal that New Caledonia be allowed to enter into Trade Agreements with neighbouring Pacific Countries. 

DG Louma concluded that there is an important nexus between the attainment of SDG in Non-Self-Governing Territories and their aspirations of self-determination and independence.

“Actions aimed at attainment of these SDG targets will ensure that when Territories and Peoples to which Resolution 1514 (XV) applies eventually attain full self-determination and independence, they will be better placed to take on responsibilities of governance, better assured of maintaining sustainable economic prosperity, better able to sustain equitable and decent living standards and able to take their seats amongst the family of nations as viable independent states,” he said. 

For DG Louma's full speech please click below:

https://msgsec.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-May-24-MSG-REMARKS-BY-DG-C24-Meeting-Bali-Indonesia.pdf

Caption: Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Leonard Louma delivering his remarks at the Pacific Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism in Bali, Indonesia on 24 May 2023.

Joint statement of the US-Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Dialogue, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

May 22, 2023

We—the Pacific Islands Forum, represented at this meeting by the governments of Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, and the United States of America—meet on the occasion of the U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Dialogue in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on May 22, 2023.

At the first ever U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit in Washington, D.C. in September 2022, we announced the Declaration on U.S.-Pacific Partnership. Today, we reaffirm our shared vision for a resilient Pacific region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion, and prosperity.

We are committed to bolstering Pacific regionalism, with a strong and united Pacific Islands Forum at its center. We will continue to work together to tackle shared challenges such as the climate crisis, to advance inclusive economic growth and social equity for the people of the Pacific and to jointly advocate on shared priorities.

We reaffirm our commitment to comprehensively address the legacies of conflict and the promotion of nuclear nonproliferation, and we acknowledge the nuclear legacy of the Cold War. We remain committed to addressing the Republic of the Marshall Islands’ ongoing environmental, public health concerns, and other welfare concerns.

We support the vision of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and recognise its centrality in the strengthening partnership between the United States and the Pacific Islands Forum. This meeting builds on three decades of close cooperation between the United States and the Pacific Islands Forum and we look forward to the Second U.S. – Pacific Islands Forum Summit in 2023.

Finally, and most importantly, we commend and acknowledge the warm hospitality of the Government and people of Papua New Guinea for hosting this Dialogue. 

[ENDS] 

https://www.forumsec.org/2023/05/23/release-joint-statement-of-the-us-pacific-islands-forum-leaders-dialogue-in-png-may-22-2023/