Papua development program aims to lure the young back to farming

As with many areas in Indonesia and around the world, people in Papua move from rural areas to the city. However, having lived close to their land for thousands of years their competitive streak in setting up small businesses lags behind that of migrants who have for generations had the skills to run businesses, according to Rio Pangemanan, Oxfam program manager on the Papua Enterprise Development Program.

In no corner of the town of Wamena will one see a shop that is owned or run by indigenous Papuans. Indigenous women with their noken (traditional Papuan woven bags) hanging from their heads to their backs sell sweet potatoes or vegetables on a cloth in the street markets. Young strong-limbed Papuan men push rickshaws, some even in bare feet. Others wander around the markets, intoxicated from glue-sniffing.

The UK based international development organization Oxfam is the international NGO that is allowed to operate in the province. Working with local partners, Oxfam has been supporting local farmers in five regencies in Papua in developing their farms and markets.

Oxfam supports the farmers according to the local needs and potential. For example, in Yapen Island, Oxfam has supported the Wamanuam Be Kitabono Yawa (WMY) Cooperative in cultivating vanilla beans. In Jayawijaya regency, the NGO has supported the Independent Business Foundation (Yapum) in cultivating and distributing sweet potatoes. Meanwhile in Paniai and Nabire Oxfam has supported their local partners in helping coffee farmers and in Jayapura, cacao farmers.

Oxfam’s contract ends next year, but Rio hopes that the NGO will get an extension for its programs. Rio said of the vanilla program in Serui that vanilla vines needed three years to produce beans, so new farmers would only have their first harvest in 2014. Rio said that by the end of 2014, he hoped the cooperative would be able to run independently.

Meanwhile in Wamena, Rio estimates that it will take two years for their partners to be independent in terms of management. He said that if the local government could take part in transportation and distribution of the produce, Oxfam’s partners, such as Yapum, would be able to operate independently once their management capacity had been strengthened.

In his office in Serui, Apolos Mora, the head of WMY cooperative said that for years vanilla trees grew in the wild in forests in Yapen. The Dutch brought the seeds when they opened coffee and chocolate farms on the island in the 1950s. “Before they [the Dutch] could teach the local people to cultivate vanilla, there was the transfer of power to Indonesia,” Apolos said.

One day in 2008, Apolos was reading about vanilla in the bookstore and an “Aha!” moment hit him as he realized that these plants were the ones that grew wild in the forest. When Madagascar, the largest vanilla pod producer in the world, had poor harvests, the price of vanilla pods skyrocketed to Rp 3 million (US$309) per kilogram, Apolos said. Apolos then decided to cultivate vanilla vines and trained the farmers joining his cooperative to plant vanilla too. He sells the pods to Manado, where they are exported to Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Recently, the price for dried vanilla pods was Rp 115,000 per kilogram.

PEDP manager, Rio Pangemanan, said that Oxfam supported programs according to the characteristics of the area. The island and coastal areas are more developed than the mountain areas due to ease of access to other islands in Indonesia. The mountain areas meanwhile are more isolated. This results in a different variety of crops that can be profitable to produce. While farmers in Serui can sell their crops in Manado, in Wamena farmers can only sell locally.

In Jayawijaya, Oxfam supports farmers revitalizing their sweet potato farms. Partnering with Yapum, they have developed 20 sweet potato collecting points in Jayawijaya that will distribute the crops to the markets in Wamena. Rio said that these collecting points had become a place for farmer’s advocacy and education to motivate the community to return to their farms instead of leaving for the city.

Local NGOs such as Yapum and WMY cooperative say that it is not always easy advocating for farmers to cultivate vanilla beans or sweet potatoes. Farmers’ programs in Papua are often project-based, in which farmers are given money to open rice paddies or fishponds. Once the funds dry up, the projects become neglected.

Eli Tabuni, the secretary of one of the sweet potato collecting points was one of the farmers who questioned the program. “This [sweet potato farming] is our culture, why are you making a project out of this?” he asked Yapum and Oxfam during their visit there. He said that many of the programs were only temporary and were not really helpful.

Kiloner Wenda, Oxfam Sweet Potato project officer in Jayawijaya, answered Eli in the Lani language with another question. “Where are the young people now who will work on the farms?” he said. “If we don’t start now, then our culture will slowly disappear,” he said.

Rio said that the projects aimed to support indigenous Papuan farmers in developing their business sense and opening their access to markets. In Wamena, women carrying their sweet potatoes from their villages to the market have to pay for transportation to the market for their heavy bags.

Yapum encourages them to sell the potatoes for Rp 5,000 per kilogram, and they only need to drop their crops at the collecting points. This way, the women did not have to travel far to the markets and could save on transportation, Rio said.

In Serui, the program has managed to attract young farmers, but in Wamena, whether the program will succeed in bringing the young back to the farms is yet to be seen. For the kids that like to play in the farm, their dreams are to be pilots and teachers, they say. But they will always love eating sweet potatoes.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Britain and Indonesia ink deals on trade, defence, education

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron shakes hands with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a string of agreements on trade, defence and education on Thursday, the British government said.

“They had constructive discussions on a number of subjects, with the focus on the UK-Indonesian trade and investment relationship,” said a spokeswoman for Cameron’s Downing Street office.

On the second day of Yudhoyono’s state visit to Britain, aimed at boosting ties with the emerging Asian power, the two leaders and Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also chaired talks in London on global efforts to fight poverty.

The Downing Street spokeswoman said Cameron and Yudhoyono had sealed a defence deal which would boost cooperation in “research and development, investment and production”.

They also announced a £7.5 billion ($12.1 billion, 9.3 billion-euro) deal for BP to develop liquid natural gas in Indonesia, and signed an agreement strengthening links between the two countries’ universities.

Cameron’s spokeswoman added that while he had praised Yudhoyono for “his leading role in Indonesia’s transition from autocracy to a vibrant democracy”, the pair had discussed the protection of human rights in regions such as Papua.

The two leaders and Johnson Sirleaf had earlier chaired a panel of politicians from 26 countries charged with developing an anti-poverty strategy after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015.

The eight goals, established in 2000, set targets on improving education, health and women’s rights, ending hunger, and protecting the environment.

Cameron said he believed world leaders now had a real opportunity to eradicate poverty.

“That is something politicians have been talking about for a while — but for the first time I believe this generation really has the opportunity to do it,” he said after the meeting.

“We think the Millennium Development Goals have made great progress. There’s more progress to be made between now and 2015, but we’re clear the next stage should be aiming to eradicate absolute poverty in our world completely.”

The panel is meeting for three days in London, the second of four rounds of talks before it reports back to UN Secretary General in May next year.

On Friday, the final day of Yudhoyono’s state visit, he will address officials at the Foreign Office and meet with Indonesian business figures.

Queen Elizabeth II hosted a glittering banquet in honour of Yudhoyono and his wife Ani on Wednesday night, after formally welcoming them with a guard of honour and a ride in her ceremonial carriage.

Source: AFP

Indonesia’s President welcomed by British queen

Quen Elizabeth II: “I am confident that if we work together on our shared aspiration to build a prosperous world based on fundamental freedoms, the partnership between the United Kingdom and Indonesia will continue to flourish.”

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday for a state visit aimed at boosting ties with the emerging Asian power, with the help of some traditional pomp and pageantry.

The queen hosted a lavish banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of Yudhoyono and his wife Ani, after formally welcoming them for the three-day visit with a guard of honour and a ride in her ceremonial carriage.

In a speech to the 177 dinner guests in the palace ballroom, the 86-year-old British monarch praised the strong relationship between the two countries and spoke of their “common values”.

“I am confident that if we work together on our shared aspiration to build a prosperous world based on fundamental freedoms, the partnership between the United Kingdom and Indonesia will continue to flourish,” she said.

She described Indonesia as having undergone a “remarkable transformation” since Yudhoyono came to power in 2004.

“It is now a thriving democracy and one of the world’s fastest growing economies,” said the queen, who visited Indonesia in 1974 with her husband Prince Philip.

“Your visit marks a further step in strengthening our relationship.”In his own speech, delivered in Indonesian, Yudhoyono said the two countries “have many things in common, including in efforts to strengthen democracy”.

“I wish to reaffirm my country’s readiness to establish close cooperation with the United Kingdom,” he told the assembled guests, who included British Prime Minister David Cameron, other ministers and members of the royal family.

The guests were served Scottish halibut followed by a main course of chicken with baby artichokes and fondant potatoes, and a desert of iced green apple with a mulberry parfait made with fruit from the palace garden.

The queen wore a gold dress with a diamond necklace passed down to her from Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother.

She had earlier welcomed the Yudhoyonos with a military ceremony on Horse Guards Parade, the large parade ground in central London, where the visiting leader inspected the troops in their scarlet uniforms and bearskin hats.

The queen and Prince Philip then accompanied them in a horsedrawn state carriage procession along the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where the visiting couple are staying during their trip.

Yudhoyono will hold talks with Cameron on Thursday and attend a meeting of the high-level United Nations panel that is drawing up a strategy on how to build on the Millennium Development Goals.

Yudhoyono, who is the world’s only head of state to have served as a UN peacekeeper, will also give a speech at the Royal College of Defence Studies.
The 15th-century Guildhall, in London’s financial district, will host a second banquet on Thursday night.

Several trade announcements are expected during the three-day trip, with Britain keen to gain access to Indonesia’s fast-growing economy and 240 million consumers.

The state visit is part of Britain’s drive to boost its diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia regarded by British officials as the most influential player in the region.

As the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, it is also seen as a strategic ally in the Islamic world.

Britain usually hosts two state visits each year, but Yudhoyono is the only foreign head of state to receive the formal hospitality in 2012 following months of diamond jubilee celebrations marking the queen’s 60th year on the throne.

The last state visit was by Turkish President Abdullah Gul in November last year.

Source: AFP

Queen rolls out the royal red carpet as diamond jubilee celebrations continue with state visit from President of Indonesia

The Queen continued her busy year of engagements to mark her Diamond Jubilee today with a state visit from the President of Indonesia.

The Duke of Edinburgh and the Prime Minister David Cameron joined the Queen to greet Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, 59, and first lady Ani Bambang Yudhoyono at Horse Guards Parade for the start of their three-day trip to the UK.

The Queen wore a tweed cream coat dress embellished with black feathers and a matching hat and wrapped up against the cold with white gloves. She carried a black handbag which complemented her black court shoes and accessorised with pearl earrings and necklace.

Source: Mail online

Britain Promises to Protect Yudhoyono From ‘Citizen’s Arrest’

The British government has promised to guarantee the safety of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on his planned visit to the United Kingdom in October, following the announcement of a reward offer for anyone able to arrest him during the visit.

“We’ve got an assurance from the police in Great Britain that they won’t let such a thing happen, and that [the president’s security] will be fully guaranteed by the British authorities,” presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said on Wednesday in Jakarta.

Julian was speaking in response to an announcement made by the UK-based West Papua pro-independence group Free West Papua Campaign, which offered a 50,000 British pound ($81,000) reward to anyone who places Yudhoyono under “citizen’s arrest” during his visit to Britain, scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.

The group accuses Yudhoyono of human rights offenses in his handling of the restive Papua provinces.

Julian said the reward offer had caused “discomfort,” as Yudhoyono planned his visit at the invitation of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

“The British government and especially the British queen have invited the president [to come] because he is known to be a figure who has played a significant role in advancing democracy in Indonesia,” Julian said.

“To be honest, this is uncomfortable for us. … The reward offer to arrest the president is considered an insult to a state symbol, especially because it is made by a group of people who probably have certain political interests,” he added.

Julian said, however, that the Indonesian government had yet to decide whether it would take any action against the group in response to the reward offer.

Source: The Jakarta Globe

UK’s trade delegation visits RI

A delegation comprising UK companies visit Indonesia this week to explore business opportunities, particularly in developing partnerships with state firms and private companies in the country’s power and energy sector.

The delegation, led by Ali Sherwani, business development head at UK Export Finance, the UK government’s export credit agency, will stay in Indonesia from Tuesday to Friday in a bid to strengthen the bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries.

“UK companies recognize the size and strength of the Indonesian economy and are very keen to develop long-term, productive and collaborative partnerships with their Indonesian counterparts,” Ali said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

UK is currently one of the leading investors in Indonesia. A number of UK-based world-class companies have been investing their money in the Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

One of the companies is the oil and gas giant firm BP. Plc., who owns a a massive gas project located in the Bintuni Bay area in Papua, where total proven gas reserves amount to some 14.4 trillion cubic feet.

Source: The Jakarta Post

UK Ministry of Defence to hold media operations training for the Indonesian military

The UK Ministry of Defence and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst hold Media Operations training for officers of the Indonesian Armed Forces on 23-27 July 2012.

The aim is to improve their ability to work with the modern media in a variety of operational environments.

Deputy Ambassador Rebecca Razavi said:

“The media has the power to transform people’s opinion and to influence how history is reported. It is an essential component of a flourishing democracy. I am pleased that the UK is continuing to work closely with the Indonesian Armed Forces to help develop skills in the area of Media Operations and working in a positive way with the media to improve accurate and effecting reporting and information flow.”

Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman, Rear Admiral Iskandar Sitompul said:

“TNI recognises that human resources are a very important asset for the advancement of our organization. In line with that, and due to the development of the media environment which now requires us to quickly respond to every incident, the skill of TNI Information (Public Affairs) personnel should be constantly upgraded. This training has become one of the efforts to improve the ability of the TNI Information personnel in communicating and transforming the performance of TNI in an ever changing strategic environment. On behalf of TNI Chief, Admiral Agus Suhartono, I convey my appreciation and respect to the UK Ministry of Defence and the British Embassy in Jakarta for organising this training.”

Source: British Embassy in Jakarta

Interpol seeks Benny Wenda

An Indonesia’s Papuan criminal who escaped from jail and has been granted asylum in the UK, named on an Interpol wanted list.

Benny Wenda, 37, is wanted by Indonesia on arson and murder charges.

“Benny Wenda is a wanted person by our police. That’s why police requested help in delivering him back to Indonesia for crimes he’s allegedly committed,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene.

“He’s been involved in certain acts of violence and attacks. He will go through a fair trial process, and if he’s innocent, he’ll be let free.”

Wenda escaped from a Papuan jail in 2002 while on trial for arson and murder after allegedly inciting a deadly attack on a police station in 2000, in which six officers and civillians died.

He run away to Papua New Guinea (PNG), then using fake PNG passport fled to the UK.

A red notice acts as an alert to Interpol’s 190 member countries that an individual is wanted by another country.

Anyone subject to it can be arrested and is liable to be extradited.

In Wenda’s case, Interpol said the red notice was issued by Papua Regional Police CID for “crimes involving the use of weapons/explosives”.(*wpnn)

OPM tried to disrupt the celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day

Free Papua Organzation (OPM) conducted series of gunshots in Papua during the celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day. The shootings occurred in several areas, ranging from Paniai to Puncak Jaya, on Wednesday, August 17.

As hoisting flag ceremony was carried out at Paniai Regency Office, Maddi District, a series of gunfires were heard causing people who attended the event to get their nerves.

Paniai Regent, Naftali Yogi said the OPM members were willing to disrupt day. “They had planned to disrupt the Independence Day as a few days earlier there was information that there would be an interruption during the flag flying ceremony,” said the regent.

He went on to say that the OPM was trying to spoil the Independence Day celebration by entering the city and fired a series of shots. “This has to do with the schedule on last August 2 in London, UK, where lawyers held a congress on West Papua,” said Naftali.

The Independence Day celebration in Papua also saw a a number of Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag flying ceremonies in as many places as Tanah Hitam Abepura, Jayapura city and Pikhe Mount, Wamena, Jayawijaya.

Gunfires also took place in Moenamani, Dogiyai Regency, causing dozens of trucks carrying basic food and passengers heading to Paniai to be caught in idle lines in Dogiyai. Bram Mauri, Commander of the Moenamani Police in Dogiyai District, said trucks and cars had been put on hold in front of Moenamani police station since Tuesday night due to the unlikely security conditions.

“Exchange of fire took place around the street of district border between the Dogiyai and Paniai, precisely in Madi District, Paniai. It went on from 1 a.m. local time until morning. As a result, dozens of vehicles transporting food were held back,” he said.

One of the group members was shot dead by the security officers. Meanwhile a local motorbike taxi driver was also hit by an arrow in his arm.

Bram Mauri said, the group was helmed by John Yogi, son of the OPM Commander of Paniai region, Tadius Yogi.

Papua Peace Network coordinator Father Neles Tebay said currently Paniai residents in Maddi District were in fear and many fled to the mountains. Some stores were shut down as rumor saying that Tadius Yogi-led National Liberation Army of Free Papua would raise arms against the Indonesian Military (TNI) was in circulation.

The exchange of fire between Indonesian Military and National Police personnel and Free Papua Movement guerillas in Paniai, lasted from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. local time. Consequently, in addition to one killed OPM member and a wounded motorbike taxi driver, two policemen were also injured.

Morning Star flag flying also took place in Wamena. Papua Police spokesman Chief Comm. Wachyono acknowledged this. “There was indeed Morning Star flag flying in Wamena,” he said.

Source: VIVANews

RI favorite investment destinations for British companies

The Jakarta Post’s Hendarsyah Tarmizi and four other Indonesian journalists were invited by the British Embassy in Jakarta recently in February to London to get firsthand information on the UK government’s investment and trade policy.

The British government recently issued a White Paper on Trade and Investment, an ambitious strategy to nurture international trade and investment through a number of actions, which, among others, include providing financial support for local firms to export and invest overseas.

Included in the strategy is a range of actions to promote market access and investment in emerging markets, particularly in Asia, which is now leading the global recovery. Its rapidly growing economies make the region a particularly rewarding destination for exports, as well as for investment.

With a large population and high economic growth, Asia is expected to become the main engine of the world’s economy in the next decade.

The International Monetary Fund estimates Asia’s economy would grow 50 percent in the next five years. A New NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland study showed 65 percent of UK businesses believed Asia represented a new market opportunity.

The enthusiasm of local businesspeople about the growth potential in Asia was apparent a business seminar in London. The “Doing Business in Asia — Meet the Experts” gathering attracted more than 200 business executives from a wide range of business activities in the country.

Similar events in Edinburgh, Newmarket and Northern Island to support the White Paper programs were also well-attended by local businesspeople.

Asia’s growth potential is not only centered in China and India as many people believe. Several other countries in the region such as Indonesia and Vietnam also offer the same opportunities for global investors.

British Minister of State for Trade and Investment Lord Green acknowledged China and India were among the most promising countries to do business in thanks to their large populations, growing middle class and big domestic markets.

But in addition to these two giants, Indonesia and Vietnam also offered the same business opportunities, he said. “In fact, the two countries are among popular export and investment destinations for UK companies,” the former chairman of the HSBC Group told Indonesian journalists at his office recently.

Indonesia, in particular, is one of the favorite investment destinations not only for UK companies but also for other global investors. Indonesia has been identified as one of the top markets for global investors, according to a recent survey published by UK Trade and Investment.

In the survey conducted on more than 520 global executives, Indonesia was selected as the number two investment destination behind Vietnam beyond the BRICs for 2010 thanks partly to the country’s relatively stable political condition, rich natural resources and large domestic market.

The Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said the UK was the second-largest foreign investor in the country last year after Singapore.

As one of the larger emerging markets, Indonesia has become an important investment destination. The country offers investment opportunities not only for the development of the country’s rich national resources, but also for its infrastructure.

The Indonesian government, for example, plans to develop at least 100 large infrastructure projects worth more than US$47.3 billion between 2010 and 2014. The projects, including the development of roads, ports, seaports, railways, power plants, water supply and sanitation facilities, will be offered under a public–private partnership (PPP) program. Sixteen of the PPP projects worth $32.37 billion will be offered to the private sector this year.

Green said British companies now operating in Indonesia were mostly engaged in financial services, oil and gas exploration and production activities. The London-based HSBC, one of the first foreign banks to operate in the country provides sharia banking services to enable it to optimally tap into the business potential in the largest Muslim-majority country.

Energy giant BP, which is headquartered in London, is also one of Indonesia’s largest foreign investors. The company, which is now developing a liquefied natural gas plant in Papua, has invested $5 billion to date.

Green said that in addition to financial services and energy, the UK had much more expertise to offer ranging from advanced engineering, creative industries and transportation to environment and satellite technology to help Indonesia achieve its economic growth targets.

British expertise in engineering and transportation could, for example, help Indonesia improve its infrastructure problems, while sharia banking services could also help promote the use of Islamic bonds in raising funds needed for infrastructure development, he said.

Like Green, Lord Powell, the cochair of the British government’s Asia Task Force, also sees the prospect of investing in Indonesia.

“It doesn’t take a genius to understand the business opportunity in Indonesia,” he said. “Its growing middle class and high economic growth tell us all about its bright prospects.”

Powell, who led a British trade delegation to Indonesia last year, said that with its large domestic market and relatively stable political conditions combined with its rich natural resources, Indonesia certainly offered wide opportunities to foreign investors to do business.

The Indonesian government has amended a number of laws related to investment activities, legal uncertainty remains the main concern of foreign investors planning to invest in Indonesia.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to build a better legal system. He mentioned this in early January to mark the start of stock trading at the Indonesian Stock Exchange after the year-end break.

Indonesia certainly should make a legal breakthrough in order to be able to further promote foreign investment, if it wants to maintain its growth momentum.

Source: The Jakarta Post