West Papuans sold out for ’30 pieces of silver’, says Natuman

By PMC Editor – July 20, 2016

Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister Joe Natuman believes other people are trying to use the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to drive their own agendas, saying it is similar to Jesus Christ who was betrayed and sold for 30 pieces of silver.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) was not admitted as full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group during the Special MSG summit in Honiara, Solomon Islands, last week.

“Our Prime Minister was the only one talking in support of full membership for West Papua in the MSG, the Solomon Islands Prime Minister couldn’t say very much because he is the chairman,” the veteran politician told Buzz FM 96’s Coffee and Controversy host Mark O’Brien.

“Prime Minister Charlot Salwai was the only one defending Melanesians and the history of Melanesian people in the recent MSG meeting in Honiara.

“The MSG, I must repeat, the MSG, which I was a pioneer in setting up, was established for the protection of the identity of the Melanesian people, the promotion of their culture and defending their rights. Right to self determination, right to land and right to their resources.

“Now it appears other people are trying to use the MSG to drive their own agendas and I am sorry but I will insist that MSG is being bought by others.

“It is just like Jesus Christ who was bought for 30 pieces of silver. This is what is happening in the MSG. I am very upset about this and we need to correct this issue.

“Because if our friends in Fiji and Papua New Guinea have a different agenda, we need to sit down and talk very seriously about what is happening within the organisation.

‘It is being bought’

“And I am sorry but I will insist that MSG is being bought by others.”

Asked what transpired at the Honiara Summit, Natuman said that according to the Prime minister’s briefing on his return there were some misunderstandings on what happened in the Officials’ Meeting and the Foreign Ministers meeting.

“What happened was that they presented to the Summit Leaders something which apparently was not discussed at the officers level so this was the problem,” he explained.

“The issue of membership was supposed to be presented to the Leaders.

“Instead, they presented the leaders with a list of criteria for membership.

“This criteria was whether or not organisations or liberation movements should be considered for full membership.

“Finally, our prime minister was the only one talking in support of West Papua membership, the Solomon Islands Prime Minister couldn’t say very much because he is the chairman.”

New Caledonia contrast

On the issue of New Caledonia, Natuman said: “People are now saying we should not be interfering with Indonesia’s sovereignty. But what about New Caledonia? France has held onto New Caledonia.

“In the 1990s, we insisted that New Caledonia was a colonial possession of France, therefore we have the right to intervene .

“And we intervened. Firstly, we asked the people of New Caledonia to form an umbrella grouping, or political parties to support their cause. So they established the FLNKS at Vanuatu’s request.

“Through that means we [have] promoted their issues to the Forum and eventually they were listed in the UN’s listing of colonial territories.

“We have to assist them to get independence, same as [with] West Papua.

“West Papua was forcibly annexed by Indonesia and brutally overthrown. They were in the process of getting their independence in the early 1960s.

“West Papua is very rich in resources, gold, copper and forests thus a lot of Western capitalists were interested in that.

‘We must interfere’

“Now they say we cannot interfere. No, we must interfere. Melanesians are being killed by Asians, we have to interfere.”

The Deputy Prime Minister was part of the panel in yesterday’s 96Buzz FM’s Coffee and Controversy show at the Lava Lounge, which also featured Glen Craig, from Pacific Advisory, and Job Dalesa, who is on the West Papua Reunification Committee.

When asked his opinion on whether MSG has “lost its way” as implied by the DPM, Dalsesa replied: ”I certainly think so, West Papua has a lot of enemies. A lot of people are fighting over this area because of its resources, and by fighting you can do a lot of things, including buying another country and I think this is what they are doing.

“The divide-and-rule tactic is a common tactic that has been used for a long time.”

Yesterday’s show revolved around foreign policy, MSG and the South China Sea dispute.

Jane Joshua is a journalist with the Vanuatu Daily Post.

July 20, 2016 0

West Papuans remain upbeat on MSG bid

Radio NZ, The United Liberation Movement for West Papua accepts the decision by leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to defer its bid for full membership.

At their summit in Honiara last week, MSG leaders said the group’s secretariat needed to establish guidelines for membership and signalled that a decision should be reached on the bid by September.

The Liberation Movement’s spokesperson, Benny Wenda, said this could be seen as a delay tactic but his organisation acknowledged the technical issues highlighted by the MSG leaders and senior officials.

The issue of West Papua membership is increasingly divisive for the MSG’s five full members.

Since the Liberation Movement was last year granted observer status, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and new Caledonia’s FLNKS Kanaks movement have pushed for the West Papuans to get full membership.

However, Fiji and Papua New Guinea have resisted the push, amid strong lobbying by MSG associate member Indonesia which is opposed to the Liberation Movement.

Vanuatu’s government has expressed disappointment at the outcome of last week’s summit.

However the Liberation movement is remaining upbeat, describing the MSG’s decision as progress to improving processes within the MSG.

It said there would be further discussion at the MSG meeting scheduled for Vanuatu’s capital in September.

“We want to thank our Melanesian leaders and the chair and Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands for discussing and facilitating our application for full membership. Though disappointed, we remain optimistic to see our application further discussed in September in Port Vila, Vanuatu,” said Mr Wenda.

“We the ULMWP would not come this far if it wasn’t for the grassroots and Pacific leadership support and we call for more support as we work towards establishing a political voice for our people of West Papua.”

ULMWP Secretary General, Octovianus Mote added that West Papuans are Melanesians and our issues of human rights abuse and self-determination must be rightfully addressed in the Pacific and not on Indonesia’s terms.

Meanwhile, a Papua student leader in Yogyakarta in Indonesia said police bashed and tortured students last Friday to stop a march in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

The students’ march was while the Melanesian Spearhead Group was considering whether the Movement could become a full member of the Pacific regional body.

But a spokesman for the Papuan Student Alliance, Yely Wenda, says hundreds of police burst into a West Papuan students’ dormitory in Yogyakarta and began abusing and battering the students.

He said a number were arrested and beaten, and one student was tortured in police custody.

MSG membership guidelines had “flaws”, said PNG

Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato said it was important that the Melanesian Spearhead Group sort out its guidelines around membership.

Mr Pato said the onus was on officials within the MSG secretariat to outline consistent guidelines around membership.

“This requires a definition as to what one must meet to be a member. That’s under review at the moment. Our technical officials are still working on it. And for example, the draft that they came up with had flaws in it. There were so many inconsistencies, so all these things need to be polished up.”
The PNG Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato

The PNG Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato Photo: Koro Vaka’uta / RNZ

July 19, 2016 0

MSG membership for United Liberation Movement for West Papua postponed on legal technicality

Posted: July 15, 2016 | Author: dailyvanuatu | Filed under: The Daily Digest

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders’ meeting, currently being held in Honiara, Solomon Islands, yesterday deferred its decision to welcome the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as a full member of MSG until another meeting planned for Port Vila in September. The MSG says this decision was taken as the wording of MSG’s rules for membership needs to be clarified to give ULMWP, a liberation movement, the same membership status as MSG founding member (and fellow liberation movement), Front de libération nationale kanak et socialiste (FLNKS) of New Caledonia.

MSG associate, Indonesia, the colonial occupier of West Papua, opposes ULMWP joining the MSG, and is currently supported by only two out of the five founding members of MSG, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

The majority of the founding members of MSG – Vanuatu, FLNKS and Solomon Islands – support full membership for the West Papua liberation movement, as do the majority of the population of all MSG countries.

PNG PM Peter O’Neill, who has been a vocal supporter of Indonesia, is currently fighting for his political life as his government faces a vote of no-confidence in PNG’s parliament.

O’Neill has also come under attack from former Prime Minister of PNG, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, for opposing West Papuan independence in defiance of the overwhelming support of PNG’s people for the decolonisation of the other half of the island of New Guinea, where he says “our ancestors roamed freely over our shared land and sea for centuries prior to colonial and Christian interventions”.

Here’s the full text of the MSG’s statement on the decision:

Leaders agreed to defer the consideration of the application for full membership by ULMWP until membership criteria and guidelines are further developed by the Sub-Committee on Legal and Institutional Issues (SCLII), considering fundamental principles, political aspirations, and principles of international law and to be completed end of September 2016.

Leaders did not reach consensus and directed the SCLII to undertake further review on:

(i) the revised application Procedures, Criteria, and Participatory Rights and Obligations of an Observer and an Associate Member to the MSG.

(ii) the new membership guidelines for full membership to the MSG.

Leaders agreed to meet in Port Vila, Vanuatu before the end of September 2016.

July 19, 2016 0

Local WP activists: We will not back down

SolomonStarNews.com, Published: 18 July 2016

LOCAL West Papua activists in the country said they will not back down in their move to see West Papua included in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

The group made the stand after the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) deferred the United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s (ULMWP) application for full membership in their recent meeting in Honiara, last week.

They said, they shared similar thoughts raised by the spokesperson of the ULMWP Benny Wenda, that this could be seen as a delayed tactic.

“We will not back down.

“We will continue to fight for our Melanesian brothers and sisters until they are members of the MSG,” the group told the Solomon Star, after the outcome of the MSG’s decision last week.

Last week, the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Special Leaders Summit agreed to defer the consideration of the application for full membership by the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP).

It was reported that the delay was agreed to until membership criteria and guidelines are further developed by the Sub-Committee on Legal and Institutional Issues (SCLII), considering fundamental principles, political aspirations, and principles of international law and to be completed end of September 2016.

Leaders did not reach consensus and directed the SCLII to undertake further review on:

(i) the revised application Procedures, Criteria, and Participatory Rights and Obligations of an Observer and an Associate Member to the MSG.

(ii) the new membership guidelines for full membership to the MSG.

However, the membership application will now be considered at a special MSG meeting to be held in Vanuatu in September.

A peaceful rally staged in Honiara last week also attracted up to 3,000 people.

By RONALD TOITO’ONA

July 18, 2016 0

Vanuatu says West Papua Let down By MSG

PinaNews – 10:24 pm GMT+12, 14/07/2016, Vanuatu

Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai says the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has failed the people of West Papua.

The MSG last night deferred a decision on awarding full membership to the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) until a new meeting can be held in September.

The delay is meant to allow the MSG Secretariat to further develop its membership criteria.

“Vanuatu gravely regrets the deferral of the admission of ULMWP on the matter of criteria, a clear sign that officials and the secretariat fell short in carrying out their duties consistent with the fundamental founding principles of this eminent organisation for Melanesians,” said Prime Minister Salwai.

Vanuatu led the push to have the ULMWP’s status upgraded, despite stiff opposition from Indonesia which said such a move would undermine its national sovereignty.

“Vanuatu has always believed that other Melanesians are ready to be admitted into the MSG family,” says Salwai. “Vanuatu is adamant that being Melanesians, they should not be subject to any form of criteria.”

The Prime Minister has offered to host Melanesian leaders in September to ensure the issue is finally tackled.

SOURCE: PASIFK NEWS/PACNEWS

July 17, 2016 0

Indonesia Moves To Isolate West Papua From MSG

Pacifik.news – By Adam Boland – July 16, 2016

Indonesia is confident the West Papua independence movement will never be granted full membership to the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Melanesian leaders debated the issue on Thursday in Honiara but delayed making a decision until September so that more clarity could be provided about membership criteria.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai says he “gravely regretted” the deferral and has vowed to keep fighting for the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP).

But Indonesia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Desra Percaya believes the MSG will never give full membership to a “separatist movement”.

“The active participation and intensive lobbying by the Indonesian delegation, which also included representatives from five provinces, Maluku, North Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, Papua and West Papua, has convinced MSG leaders not to accept the ULMWP’s membership application,” he says.

That “intensive lobbying” from Jakarta means Papua New Guinea and Fiji are likely to maintain their opposition to the ULMWP’s bid. Both countries say they respect the sovereignty of Indonesia.

Economic incentive

Mr Percaya says the Melanesian region stands to benefit economically from closer ties to Indonesia.

“The combined GDP of Southeast Asian countries is US$2.6 trillion with a population of approximately 622 million people,” he says. “Almost a quarter billion of this population live in Indonesia, including the 11-million strong Melanesian population.”

The ULMWP says it remains committed to securing full membership of the MSG and doesn’t believe the deferral means Indonesia has got its way.

July 16, 2016 0

Sogavare : Saat Ini Isu Papua Adalah Isu Pasifik

Honiara, Jubi – Manasye Sogavare, Perdana Menteri Kepulauan Solomon yang juga Ketua Melanesia Spearhead Groups saat ini menjadi Ketua Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF). Di hari pertama ia menjabat sebagai Ketua PIDF, Sogavare mengundang para pemimpin negara-negara Pasifik yang hadir dalam pertemuan PIDF di Kepulauan Solomon untuk membahas masa depan Bangsa dan Rakyat Papua.

“Masalah Papua saat ini sudah menjadi masalah bukan hanya Melanesia, tapi juga Pasifik, terutama negara-negara di Mikronesia dan Polinesia. Pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia di Papua yang terus terjadi hingga saat ini menjadi kepedulian kami di Pasifik,”

kata Sogavare kepada Jubi, Jumat (17/7/2015) dalam satu wawancara khusus usai melakukan pertemuan dengan para pemimpin Mikronesia dan Polinesia serta kelompok masyarakat Sipil Pasifik di King Solomon Hotel, Honiara. Pertemuan ini dihadiri juga oleh pemimpin United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

Sogavare mengakui, ia telah berkirim surat kepada Presiden Indonesia, Joko Widodo untuk membahas masalah Papua namun permintaan dalam surat tersebut ditolak. Surat tersebut dikirim olehnya dalam kapasitasnya sebagai Ketua Melanesia Spearhead Groups.
“Saya mengirimkan surat untuk dua hal. Pertama adalah untuk membahas masalah Papua dalam kapasitas saya sebagai ketua MSG, sebab Indonesia adalah anggota assosiasi dan Papua adalah pengamat dalam MSG. Kedua adalah meminta agar Indonesia sebagai anggota assosiasi mulai membuka diri untuk membahas masalah Papua di forum MSG. Namun kedua permintaan tersebut tidak mendapatkan respon positif dari Indonesia,” ujar Sogavare.

Sikap pemerintah Indonesia ini menurutnya, menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia tidak memiliki niat positif untuk menyelesaikan masalah hak asasi manusia di Papua. Meskipun pemerintah Indonesia, melalui Menteri Kordinator Politik, Hukum dan Keamanan telah mengundang beberapa Duta Besar negara-negara Pasifik, termasuk Kepulauan Solomon datang ke Papua dan menyaksikan upaya penyelesaian masalah Hak Asasi Manusia yang sedang dilakukan oleh pemerintah, MSG menurut Sogavare adalah forum yang tepat untuk membahas masalah tersebut. Karena baik Indonesia maupun rakyat Papua yang diwakili oleh ULMWP ada dalam forum tersebut.

“Saya mengapresiasi upaya yang dilakukan pemerintah Indonesia. Namun keputusan kami menerima Indonesia dan ULMWP dalam MSG adalah agar keduanya bisa mulai membahas masalah ini. Itu adalah mandat yang saya pegang sebagai ketua MSG,”

ujar Sogavare.

Sogavare juga mengaku terus menerus menerima laporan tentang pelanggaran-pelanggaran HAM yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah Indonesia kepada rakyat Papua.

“Sebelum pertemuan para pemimpin MSG dilakukan, saya menerima laporan ada 300 lebih rakyat Papua yang ditangkap karena melakukan demonstrasi memberikan dukungan kepada ULMWP. Hari ini saya juga mendapatkan laporan bahwa beberapa mahasiswa Papua di satu kota di Jawa mengalami tindakan represif bukan saja oleh aparat keamanan tapi juga oleh warga masyarakat di kota itu. Bagaimana hal ini bisa terjadi di negara demokrasi seperti Indonesia?”

ungkap Sogavare.

Fakta-fakta ini menurut Ketua PIDF ini, membuat beberapa pemimpin Pasifik menaruh perhatian khusus. Para pemimpin Pasifik, lanjutnya telah sepakat untuk membawa isu Papua ini dalam pertemuan regional Pasifik.

“Para pemimpin Pasifik bertemua hari ini atas undangan saya. Kami membahas masalah bangsa dan rakyat Papua, terutama pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia yang terus menerus terjadi. Ini harus dihentikan dan menjadi tanggungjawab siapapun yang menjadi warga dunia. Bangsa dan rakyat Pasifik menyadari hal ini. Di beberapa negara Pasifik isu Papua sudah menjadi perhatian generasi muda. Maka pemerintah dan masyarakat sipil harus mulai menjalankan tanggungjawabnya,”

jelas Sogavare. (*)

July 16, 2016 0

“We’re in”: ULMWP spokesman Benny Wenda says MSG membership likely

ABC.net – Updated 15 Jul 2016, 9:22am

Melanesian leaders, meeting in Honiara, have deferred a decision on whether West Papua can gain full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group until a special meeting in Vanuatu in September

The postponement came despite a strong push by Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, which is chairing the MSG at the moment and sponsored the West Papuan application.

Word from the MSG meeting was that negotiations were very delicate, with Fiji and PNG threatening to pull out unless the decision was put off.

However, spokesman for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, Benny Wenda, says he’s confident West Papua will be given full membership because the leaders of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia are behind the move.
Richard Ewart

Source: Pacific Beat | Duration: 4min 34sec

July 15, 2016 0

MSG Tolak ULMWP, Luhut: Ini Salah Satu Kemenangan Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Menteri Koordinator Politik, Hukum, dan Keamanan Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan mengapresiasi penolakan terhadap United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) menjadi anggota penuh forum Melanesia Spearheaded Group (MSG).

Menurut Luhut, Indonesia berhasil meyakinkan MSG untuk tak menerima organisasi separatis Papua Barat itu sebagai anggota. “Posisi Indonesia di MSG sangat baik. Itu hasil kerja keras tim yang dilakukan secara holistik,” ujar Luhut di kantornya, Kamis, 14 Juli 2016.

Luhut mengatakan Indonesia akan mengajukan diri sebagai anggota penuh MSG, yang merupakan organisasi kerja sama sub-kawasan Melanesia. Indonesia belum terikat penuh dengan MSG dan baru menjadi associate member sejak 2015. Sebelumnya, Indonesia hanya terlibat sebagai observer.

“Ini salah satu kemenangan Indonesia. Indonesia akan mengajukan diri sebagai anggota penuh, segera setelah tim dari Kementerian Luar Negeri kembali ke Tanah Air,” tutur Luhut.

Tim Kementerian Luar Negeri, yang dipimpin Direktur Jenderal Asia-Pasifik dan Afrika Desra Percaya, baru saja menghadiri Konferensi Tingkat Tinggi (KTT) khusus MSG di Honiara, Kepulauan Solomon. Dalam pertemuan tersebut, ULMWP ditolak oleh MSG.

Menteri Luar Negeri Retno Marsudi mengatakan keputusan MSG menguatkan posisi Indonesia dalam diplomasi. Menurut dia, sudah banyak hal yang dilakukan Indonesia untuk memakmurkan Papua Barat. “Papua adalah milik Indonesia dan akan menjadi bagian dari kita selamanya,” ujar Retno di depan kantor Luhut, Kamis, 14 Juli 2016.

Kementerian Luar Negeri sempat mengeluarkan pernyataan tertulis terkait dengan penolakan ULMWP.
“Tidak ada tempat bagi ULMWP dalam masa depan MSG,” tutur Desra dalam rilis yang dikeluarkan Kemenlu.

Dia menyebut delegasi Indonesia didukung partisipasi dan lobi intensif dari perwakilan lima provinsi di Indonesia yang bercorak budaya Melanesia, yakni dari Maluku Utara, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, dan Papua Barat. Mereka berhasil meyakinkan para pemimpin MSG untuk tidak menerima aplikasi keanggotaan ULMWP.

YOHANES PASKALIS

July 15, 2016 0

Kelompok Gerakan Separatis Papua Ditolak Jadi Anggota MSG

TEMPO.CO, Honiara – Harapan United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) untuk menjadi anggota penuh Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) pupus. Permintaan gerakan separatis Papua itu ditolak dalam KTT Khusus MSG di Honiara, Kepulauan Solomon, Kamis, 14 Juli 2016.

Padahal, sebelumnya, ULMWP yakin akan diterima sebagai anggota penuh, sebuah pengakuan terhadap eksistensi dan dukungan bagi kemerdekaan Papua.

“Tidak ada tempat bagi ULMWP dalam masa depan MSG,” kata Desra Percaya, Direktur Jenderal Asia-Pasifik dan Afrika, Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia, yang hadir dalam KTT sebagai Ketua Delegasi RI.

Dalam rilis yang disampaikan Kementerian Luar Negeri RI disebutkan, partisipasi aktif dan lobi intensif delegasi Indonesia berhasil meyakinkan para pemimpin MSG untuk tidak menerima aplikasi keanggotaan ULMWP. Delegasi yang hadir antara lain perwakilan lima provinsi bercorak budaya Melanesia Indonesia, yakni Maluku Utara, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, dan Papua Barat.

KTT juga sepakat membahas pedoman keanggotaan yang akan diselesaikan pada September 2016 di Port Vila, Vanuatu. Salah satu kesepakatannya berupa pedoman keanggotaan yang dibuat dengan menghormati prinsip-prinsip hukum internasional, yang mengatur hubungan antarnegara, utamanya penghormatan terhadap kedaulatan dan non-intervensi terhadap urusan negara lain, sebagaimana tertuang dalam Persetujuan Pembentukan MSG.

Dalam konferensi tersebut, Desra menekankan komitmen Indonesia mendorong dan menjadikan MSG organisasi yang progresif melalui kerja sama pembangunan yang nyata serta dialog konstruktif guna mencapai tujuan bersama.

Desra juga mengundang semua anggota MSG berpartisipasi dalam Bali Democracy Forum pada 8-9 Desember 2016.

Saat KTT, dilantik Direktur Jenderal Sekretariat MSG yang baru, Duta Besar Amena Yauvoli asal Fiji. Selain itu, dibahas upaya penyelesaian masalah finansial yang dihadapi MSG.

MSG adalah organisasi kerja sama subkawasan Melanesia yang bertujuan mempromosikan dan memperkuat hubungan perdagangan antaranggota, pertukaran budaya Melanesia, serta kerja sama teknik untuk mencapai pertumbuhan ekonomi, pembangunan berkelanjutan, pemerintahan yang baik, dan peningkatan keamanan.

Indonesia menjadi associate member MSG pada KTT ke-20 MSG di Honiara, Kepulauan Solomon, 2015, setelah sebelumnya aktif terlibat sebagai observer. Saat ini Indonesia mempertimbangkan secara positif menjadi anggota penuh.

NATALIA SANTI

July 15, 2016 0