Indonesia, Nauru open diplomatic relations

Indonesia has established diplomatic relations with Nauru, a country in the Pacific region, to expand bilateral cooperation in several sectors, including climate change, disaster management and south-to-south cooperation.

“The diplomatic ties were officially established with the signing of a joint communique by the Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Desra Percaya, and the Nauruan Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Marlene Moses, at the Permanent Mission of Indonesia Republic (PTRI) to the United Nations in New York on Friday (21/12),” the PTRI said in a statement issued here during the weekend.

Ambassador Moses expressed appreciation for the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Pacific countries.

“The people of Pacific countries remember and appreciate the way Indonesia led the climate change discussion at the UN. The discussion resulted in an agreement that was in the interests of Pacific countries, particularly in view of global warming that is threatening their existence,” Marlene Moses said.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Desra noted that both countries had “interacted and collaborated on several issues at the UN and other international forums”.

“With the officially opening of the relations, both countries have wider opportunities to strengthen and deepen cooperation in various sectors,” he pointed out.

Desra said the establishment of diplomatic relations with Nauru is part of Indonesia`s efforts to enhance cooperation with countries in the Pacific region in order to speed up progress and increase prosperity in the region.

“Indonesia has been cooperating with neighbouring countries in the Pacific region in the area of capacity building. We will continue to explore cooperation opportunities in other sectors as well,” he stated.

With the establishment of ties with Nauru, Indonesia has established diplomatic relations with 182 of the 193 UN member states.

In 2010, the Indonesia Parliament had approved the establishment of diplomatic relations with 21 UN member states.

This year, Indonesia set up diplomatic ties with Botswana, Tuvalu, Haiti and Nauru.

Source: ANTARA News

UK diplomat visits Papua to counteract false information spread by certain groups in London

The British Embassy to Indonesia has described the situation in Papua as very peaceful and conducive. It is quite different from the information being disseminated by certain groups to the British government in London, she said .

The Special Staff of the British Embassy’s political section, Mrs. Millie McDevit made these comments during a visit to the chief of police in Jayapura, Police Inspector-General Tito Karnavian on 13 December.

Mrs McDevit said that she had made a special visit to the chief of police in order to get confirmation directly from him about information being spread by certain groups who allege that the situation in Papua is far from peaceful.

She went on to say that such information was being spread every time Papuans suffered discrimination by the Indonesian government, especially by the TNI – the army – and Polri, the police force.

She said that after visiting a number of places especially in Jayapura, she could see that things were very different indeed from what is being conveyed to the British government.

“It is nothing like what I expected to find when I first set foot in Papua,” she said. “When people visit Northern Ireland, you can be questioned anywhere, but in Papua you can go out late at night without being disturbed in any way.”

She said that security and development are proceeding very well in Papua and she expressed support for what the police in Papua are doing to combat corruption because combating corruption is the best way to improve people’s welfare.

The police chief Tito Karnavian said that they had provided plenty of information to the Special Staff of the British Embassy’s political section in order to counter all the disinformation being spread about the situation in Papua.

“She decided to come to Papua to check the information,” he said.

Karnavian also said that they had asked the British government to provide the police in Papua with special equipment to check people’s DNA.

At present, the police have to identify people involved in violence and shootings by checking the evidence outside Papua.

“If we have the equipment to check people’s DNA, this will help to enhance the supremacy of law here in Papua,” he said.

Source: Bintang Papua

Suspects in setting police station on fire arrested in Papua

Police have arrested five suspects following a riot when mobs attacked and set on fire a police station in Wamena, Papua, yesterday (17/12).

“They were being investigated,” police`s chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said here on Monday.

The incident took place all of a sudden following the death of Hubert Mabel, who had been in the police`s list of wanted men, shot by police on Sunday morning.

The mob protested the shooting of Mabel, who was a suspect in the recent bombing of the Jayawijaya district legislative assembly office and police station in Wamena.

Boy said police were forced to shoot Mabel as he rejected arrest and tried to grab the weapon of a police officer.

The situation in Wamena is now under control, Boy said.

Mabel was known to be the chairman of the West Papua National Committee.

Papua has remained a hot spot with separatists have not given up fighting for independence of the easternmost region of Indonesia.

Source: ANTARA News

Papua to enjoy broadband next year

Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua will connect to high-speed Internet. The Communications and Information Ministry said that broadband would make headway into the province in 2013.

Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that as many as 27 provinces across Indonesia now had access to broadband Internet via the Palapa Ring.

The Palapa Ring is a project aimed at linking Sumatra, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua to eight existing network connections, or backhauls, via approximately 35,380 kilometers of undersea and 2
1,870 kilometers of underground fiber-optic cables.

Fiber optics, unlike copper cables, enable fast data transmission, a prerequisite for broadband Internet. The ministry and a consortium of telecommunication companies kicked off the project, worth US$700 million, in 2009 and targets its completion by 2014.

“The establishing of broadband connections has been carried out across the provincial capital cities located on Java island,” he said on Tuesday (11/12).

He added that major cities and industrial hubs including Jakarta and its surrounding areas, as well as Bandung and Semarang, were already connected to broadband Internet.

However, five cities still have to wait until next year for broadband connections. “The cities include Jayapura, the capital of Papua, Manokwari [West Papua capital], and Ternate [in North Maluku], in addition to Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi and Ambon [Maluku capital],” he said.

He added that broadband penetration across the 27 provinces was “still low, lower than 12 percent”. “Ideally, the penetration rate should be at 100 percent,” he said.

He added that the government aimed to connect all major cities and industrial hubs in Indonesia with broadband connections by 2015.

“Our target is to even connect homes with fiber optic cables,” he said.

Under the national broadband plan, the government plans to transform Indonesia into a knowledge-based society by 2015 by improving Internet access. By 2020, the government expects the country to have gone digital through the application of e-government initiatives.

However, besides the still low Internet penetration rates, e-government schemes have lagged. Several regions have pushed back the disbursement dates for electronic identification, or e-KTP.

Tifatul said the contribution of information technology, which includes the Internet, toward the gross domestic production (GDP) has risen in the last decade.

A study by the World Bank shows that a 10 percent rise in broadband penetration would increase GDP by 1.38 percent.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Noken museum to be built in Papua

The Indonesian government is planning to build a museum dedicated to Papua`s woven bag, Noken, in Jayapura, the capital of Papua, in 2013, said a local official.

The education and culture ministry has been planning to build a museum since November 2011. The construction will start next year in Jayapura, said Apolos Marisan, the head of the Papua and West Papua cultural heritage preservation office, on Thursday (06/12).

The museum will be built either in the cultural park or near the Negeri Papua Museum at Expo-Waena.

The education and culture ministry held a group discussion on Wednesday, to increase the public`s awareness of Noken.

During the discussion, it was mentioned that Papua has 257 tribes and local languages, and it is estimated that there are about 257 types of Noken.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has recognised Noken as an intangible cultural heritage item of Indonesia`s eastern provinces of Papua and West Papua.

“At 10.30am (Paris time), UNESCO recognised Noken as an intangible cultural heritage item of the people living in Papua. The Indonesian delegates, including those from Papua, who were present at the meeting, are proud of Papua,” said Wiendu Nuryanti, Deputy Minister of Education and Culture, on Tuesday (December 4).

“We are keen on working with several parties to promote Noken. There is a possibility that we may request Indonesian fashion designers to include Noken in their collection of fashion accessories,” she stated.

Source: ANTARA News

Eco-region management center in Papua

Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya is scheduled to inaugurate the Eco-region Management Center (PPE) in Biak regency, Papua province, on Tuesday (11/12).

“I appreciate the establishment of an Eco-region Management Center in Papua,” Biak Numfor Regent Yusuf Melianus Maryen said here on Tuesday.

He said the main objective of establishing the centre was to ensure the conservation of the region’s biodiversity.

The centre in Papua will be the sixth PPE in Indonesia, with the five others being located in Riau, Balikpapan, Makassar, Yogyakarta, and Denpasar.

“Previously, Papua was covered by the Eco-region Management Center in Makassar,” Yusuf stated.

He urged the Papuan community to “actively cooperate in preserving the natural environment”.

Henri Bastamana of the Environment Ministry said the management centre was aimed at discovering the unique natural characteristics of the region.

“Papua has a unique biodiversity, with its coral reefs, seagrass beds, mountains, savannahs, glaciers and herbal medicines,” he noted.

“The management centre will help map Papua’s natural wealth,” Henry continued.

“The main thing is how we can manage the environment by applying the center’s concepts,” he said.

Henry stated that the establishment of the centre would not only help preserve the environment but also benefit the economy.

“The concepts used to develop areas in Java cannot be directly implemented in Papua,” he pointed out.

Source: ANTARA News

President concerned over continuing human rights violations

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed concern here on Monday over human rights violations that happened in horizontal or communal conflicts in the country caused by excessive euphoria in the implementation of freedom of expression.

“Human rights violations by state apparatus have dropped but they still happened during horizontal conflicts. That was because of a euphoria factor. People have exercised their rights in a wrong way,” he said at the commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day at the palace.

He said freedom of expression was not without limits because there are also other rights which also must be respected.

“I hope the quality of the implementation of human rights in the country would be better and protection of human rights in our country could be stepped up,” he said.

To improve understanding about human rights the head of state said people must be encouraged to actively contribute to the development of human rights besides conducting continued education and familiarization efforts.

Minister of justice and human rights Amir Syamsuddin meanwhile said that although human rights violations still occurred their implementation in the country had been very good and people could sense it.

“I think if we are honest the Indonesian people have never enjoyed their human rights so well like now,” he said.

Source: ANTARA News

Indonesia monitors foreign links to West Papua rebels

INDONESIAN security services have suspicions but no firm proof that individual foreigners had linked with Papuan armed separatist groups.

“There are some suspicious that several foreign nationals personally maybe have links with those groups,” Lieutenant Colonel Jansen Simanjuntak told The Australian.

Lt-Colonel Jansen, spokesman for the Cenderawasih Military Command which oversees Indonesia’s two Papua provinces, was responding to the arrest and charging of an Australian man this week suspected of trying to join the separatist fight.

Prosecutors told Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday (05/12) that 45-year-old Gerard Michael Little was about to travel to West Papua to engage in “violent conflict against the Indonesian government” when he was arrested.

Little allegedly identified himself on a Facebook page as “Colonel G. Micheal Little, commanding officer OPM”, the Free Papua Movement.

The case is likely to prove long-held suspicions in TNI and BIN, the national security agency, that foreigners including NGOs and even missionaries, are fomenting unrest in the Papua provinces.

“Foreign individuals help to link separatist groups with foreign parties which can give moral support or material support,” said Lt-Colonel Jansen.

OPM has an armed wing engaged in sporadic clashes with Indonesian forces, usually the police.

Most recently, an OPM group in Lanny Jaya district, Papua, claimed responsibility for a November 27 attack on a police post that killed three officers.

Source: The Australian

Govt to raise budget allocations for Papua

The government will raise the amount of general allocation funds for mountainous districts in Indonesia`s eastern-most province of Papua next year, a presidential aide said.

“The government will always make an effort to lower the high cost of living in Papua`s hinterland by building new roads, strengthening an integrated transportation system, introducing an incentive system and applying a proper budget design,” Velix Wanggai, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s special aide for regional development and autonomy, said here on Wednesday (05/12).

Velix Wanggai said budget allocations for educational, health, and economic sectors and basic infrastructure in the districts will also be raised.

Under the 2013 state budget, special autonomy funds for Papua and West Papua have been set at Rp4.3 trillion and Rp1.8 trillion respectively, he said.

“The government will also raise extra funds for development of infrastructure facilities in Papua and West Papua by Rp1 trillion each. The President wants the budget allocations to be used for activities badly needed by the local people,” he said.

He noted that in the past five years both provinces have made significant progress as reflected by rising human development index, improving life expectancy rate, and declining unemployment rate.

Papua`s and West Papua`s poverty rate also declined to 31.11 percent and 28.20 percent respectively from 36 percent previously, he said.

“Although at national level the two provinces have the highest poverty rate, they have made significant progress during the past five years,” he said.

Velix said in the next two years President Yudhoyono will strengthen the foundation of the Papua provincial government by consolidating special autonomy for the province.

“Special autonomy is a win-win solution agreed upon by the people of Papua and the government. Elsewhere in the world special autonomy is a solution to any conflict,” he said.

Source: ANTARA News

Foreigners involvement in Papua Conflict

An Australian received military training in the Ukraine and was travelling to West Papua to engage in “violent conflict” against the Indonesian government as a mercenary when intercepted by Australian authorities as he was about to board a flight to Papua New Guinea, a court has heard.

Gerard Michael Little, 45, who trained at the International Bodyguard Association in Ukraine, was refused bail in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday (05/12) after being charged with committing preparatory acts or performing drills for incursion into foreign states.

Little was seized in a multi-agency sting led by the Australian Federal Police at the Brisbane International Airport on Tuesday night as he tried to board a flight to Papua New Guinea, from where he intended to “island-hop” to West Papua, the court heard.

Commonwealth prosecutor Justin Williams said Little made admissions to police about his intentions and told them he had undertaken training in Ukraine in August.

He said the strength of the crown case was “overwhelming” and opposed bail on the grounds Little was a flight risk.

Magistrate Jacqui Payne refused Little’s bail application, saying there was an unacceptable risk he would flee.

Little allegedly told police in 2003 that he did not recognise the sovereignty of Australia or its laws.

The case was adjourned until January 18 for mention.

Australia fully recognises Indonesia’s sovereignty over its Papua and West Papua provinces. Australia’s support for Indonesia’s control was explicitly set out in the 2006 Lombok Treaty.

Asked about the position earlier this year, Foreign Minister Bob Carr said: “It would be a reckless Australian indeed who wanted to associate himself with a small separatist group which threatens the territorial integrity of Indonesia.”

In Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, Senator Carr told reporters it was a matter for the courts and declined to comment.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia’s West Papua province, police arrested an Ukrainian citizen during a rally dedicated to the 51st anniversary of the separatist movement of Free Papua Organization (OPM) on December 2nd.

Artem Shapirenko, 36, who entered Indonesia on a tourist visa that expired four months ago, joined the rally and yelled “Papua Merdeka” as police caught him.(*wpnn)