Mission & Justice

Cliffird Faiparik; 14/7/08

Inodnesian soldiers have defied diplomatic and military protocols and continue to violate international border agreements with Papua New Guinea. Government Ministers Belden Namah (Forest) and his Housing and acting Internal Security colleague, Andrew Kumbakor, were told by villagers and PNG Defence Force personnel at Wutung in Vanimo, Sandaun province, that there had been numerous border incursions allegedly made by the Indonesians at the end of May, June and this month, with the latest being last Saturday and yesterday evening. In one such incident, army personnel said the Indonesians defaced a cement PNG border monument at Wutung by spray-painting it with their 408 battalion symbol. Angry PNG police and soldiers could not retaliate as there were no specific rules of engagement in place. Instead, all they could do was face the Indonesians and order them to leave PNG soil. The ministers and Sandaun Governor Simon Solo were in Vanimo yesterday to get a first-hand briefing from provincial government officials, police and PNG Defence Force personnel on the ground on these alleged illegal crossings.

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Harlyne Joku; 10/7/08

West Papuans camping at the Apex oval in Port Moresby were evicted at midday yesterday for the fifth time in the last nine months to Rainbow Village, Gerehu, to the premises of PNG Trust Inc, a non-governmental organisation. Human rights activist Tony Fofoe, who witnessed the event, said officers from the National Capital District Commission and Governor Powes Parkop’s office executed the eviction.“They said Mr Parkop had ordered the eviction and showed a letter to prove this,” Mr Fofoe said. He said a contingent of security guards and police told the group that they were illegally residing on an NCD public park and had to move out. Seven trucks were used to move the 150-odd refugees and their belongings to Rainbow. Late yesterday afternoon, the group was erecting makeshift tents and attempting to settle in.

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Mark Forbes; 17/6/08

Rising tension in Papua between hardline Islamic groups and Christian communities threatens to erupt into violent conflict, an International Crisis Group study warns. The group’s senior adviser, Sidney Jones, said the situation could deteriorate. Several incidents last year came close to violence. “The potential for communal conflict is high in Papua because both sides consider themselves aggrieved,” she said. Christian pentecostals and charismatics are gaining ground at the same time as hardline Islamic groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir. “Relations between Muslims and Christians are strained in Papua and likely to worsen because of demographics, aggressive proselytising by hardline elements on both sides, political use of religious history and outside developments that harden perceptions of the other as enemy,” the report states.

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Hamish McDonald; 12/6/08

Senior Indonesian political leaders are looking to Kevin Rudd to restore the warmth in bilateral relations felt under the previous Labor prime ministers Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating, but they expect Canberra to keep repeating the mantra that Papua is an intrinsic part of the Indonesian Republic. In meetings with Australian media editors two weeks ago, there was no sign of any quid pro quo to open up Papua to outside monitors of the development and human rights situation. The still-restive territory was transferred to Indonesia by the reluctant Dutch in 1963, 13 years after they quit their former East Indies realm.

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2/6/08

More than K10 million in vital border development projects have been delayed as two Government departments try to work out who should be responsible for the multi-million border funding. These projects in Sandaun and Western provinces and the Bougainville Autonomous region included upgrading of the Wutung border post (Sandaun) to similar level as the Indonesian post to allow for the official opening of the road link with Indonesia, already 18 months behind schedule. These projects were earmarked for funding this year through the Border Development Programme administered by the Provincial and Local Government Affairs Department since 1979. However, Treasury and Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch says he is now responsible for border development and has not released the funds that Provincial and Local Government Affairs is seeking.

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Step Vaessen; 29/5/08

The torture scars on the body of 23-year-old Julius Meage are stark reminders of a grim past.
While much of Indonesia has moved on to become a vibrant democracy, the province of Papua in the far east of the archipelago has been left behind. Suharto, Indonesia’s former strongman president, stepped down 10 years ago, but the legacy of his often harsh rule continues to be felt here. In June last year, Meage, a resident of the small town of Wamena in the highlands of Papua, was locked up in the house of a local military officer after being accused of stealing the equivalent of $30. “They pulled out my nails and started to burn my body with a candle. My genitals and tongue were severely burned,” he says. These claims have never been officially investigated, but are nevertheless fuelling many Papuan’s desire for independence.

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Elias Nanau; 21/5/08

PNG Government officials working at the Wutung border post in Vanimo, Sandaun province, have resorted to using facilities provided by the Indonesians because they do not have the resources to do their jobs effectively. Lack of resources like telephone and facsimile services, photocopy and electricity supply was a daily occurrence at this PNG/Indonesia border post. Government officials have also complained of manpower shortage to properly screen people and goods entering and leaving the country. NAQIA officer specialising in plant and animal disease Benedict Ambasi was forced to speak out on this, saying that the Wutung border post is as important as Jacksons International Airport, and the Government must not ignore it.

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12/4/08

Police are cracking down on illegal immigrants in the West Sepik Province. The operation has the backing of the Foreign Affairs, Labor and Industrial Relations and Trade and Industry departments. The major operation, which started on Wednesday, was aimed at flushing out all foreigners who are living and working illegally in the border province. “We are getting too many illegal aliens here. Some are coming through to live and work here, others are passing through to move on into Australia and countries in the Pacific,” provincial police commander, Senior Inspector Sakawar Kasieng said from Vanimo yesterday.

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