Solomon Islands Seeks to Host 2017 Melanesian Youth Parliament

Monday, 31 October 2016 9:03 AM, Solomon Times

The National Parliament and the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs made their intentions known during the recent National Youth Parliament in Honiara.

Speaker of Parliament, Ajilon Jasper Nasiu, told participants that 20 youth parliamentarians will be selected from the current Youth Parliament to represent Solomon Islands in the 2017 Melanesian Youth Parliament.

“And from this Youth Parliament, a separate selection panel will select 20 youth parliamentarians, 10 boys and 10 girls to represent the Solomon Islands in next year’s Melanesian Youth Parliament.”

The Speaker of Parliament appeals to all youth parliamentarians participating in the current youth parliament to perform to their best in order to represent the country in the Melanesian Youth Parliament next year.

The objective of a Youth Parliament is to teach young people about some of the core principles of democracy, its values and how it functions. It also gives young people an opportunity to raise issues of concern, and in so doing feed into mainstream policy discussions or debates.

November 3, 2016 0

Respect for Human Rights is a UN Principle

Tuesday, 1 November 2016 9:47 AM, Solomon Times

News that the Indonesian government is upping the ante against supporters of West Papua comes as no surprise, a well-placed senior government source said.

“It is no surprise to us, and I think it is not right to say that we are interfering with the internal affairs of Indonesia, we are simply raising an issue of concern regarding our Melanesian brothers of West Papua.

“We are all members of the United Nations, and the respect for Human Rights is one of the key cornerstones of the Charter,” he says.

“That is what we are asking from the UN, to send an independent assessment team to find out the facts on the ground and to report back to the members.”

He says that it is not an unreasonable request, nor is it unprecedented, it is a process established by the UN, and one that Solomon Islands and other Pacific countries are calling on the UN to use.

He says that the membership of West Papua in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an issue for the MSG alone to decide.

“This is no different from the membership of New Caledonia’s FLNKS, no different, and in fact this is in line with the establishment of the MSG.”

He says that France may not have been supportive of the idea for the FLNKS to join the MSG, “but perhaps they recognized the importance of allowing the FLNKS to raise issues of concern in a proper forum.”

“We have historical and cultural ties to the West Papuan people, so we cannot stand idly by when allegations of human rights abuses are raised time and again.

“So we will use whichever fora we deem appropriate to raise such issues, not to interfere but to remind ourselves of our obligations to certain universal principles and values.”

The Defence Minister of Indonesia has urged the Australian government to rebuke Pacific states, in particular Solomon Islands, for raising Papua in global fora.

A Research Fellow at the Australian National University’s State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program, Stewart Firth, told Radio New Zealand that “Jakarta has misinterpreted Australia’s relationship with Pacific countries.”

“These are sovereign states. And in particular in the case of Solomon Islands, Solomon Islands has a right to do that [speak out about West Papua] as a sovereign country, and Australia’s not in a very good position to tell them differently,” Dr Firth said.

With radionz.co.nz

November 1, 2016 0

Australia must not respond to Jakarta’s request

October 31, 2016

http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/media-release-australia-must-not.html

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

Media Release 31 October 2016

Australia must not respond to Jakarta’s request

During her visit to Indonesia, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Indonesia’s Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu discussed efforts to deepen military relations at the 2+2 meeting held in Bali last Friday. It was reported by RNZI that the Indonesian Defence Minister urged Australia to pass a message to Solomon Islands that it should refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Indonesia, including the issue of West Papua.

Joe Collins of AWPA said, “this is an outrageous statement as it is duty of all nations to raise concern about human rights abuses not only in West Papua but no matter where they are committed. The Solomon Islands and the other six Pacific leaders who raised concern about the human rights abuses in West Papua (at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September) are to be congratulated for their courageous stand on the issue of West Papua. It is a pity that Australia does not follow the Pacific leaders in also condemning the ongoing human rights abuses committed by the Indonesian Military”.

West Papuan leader Benny Wenda in a statement said that on 27th October, at least 9 West Papuan people were shot and 1 was killed as the Indonesian police opened fire in Manokwari.

According to reports, West Papuan people took to the streets to protest the murder of a West Papuan youth Vigal Pauspaus (20) who was stabbed by an Indonesian migrant. In response, the Indonesian police opened fire on the crowd and killed West Papuan Independence activist Onesimus Rumayom (56). They also reportedly attacked and shot at least 8 other people including children.

Joe Collins said, “it should also be remembered that Indonesia’s Defense Minister Ryacudu said of the soldiers who killed Chief Theys Eluay (Chairperson of the Papuan Presidium Council) in November 2001, that ’I don’t know, people say they did wrong, they broke the law. What law? Okay, we are a state based on the rule of law, so they have been punished. But for me, they are heroes because the person they killed was a rebel leader.’

Not only should Australia refuse the request of the Indonesian defence minister but should be supporting the Pacific leaders in calling on Jakarta to allow a PIF facing mission to West Papua.
ends.

November 1, 2016 0

NZ MPs want action on West Papua mission

5:11 pm on 15 June 2016, Radio NZ International

New Zealand politicians want the government to press for progress on a high level fact-finding mission to Indonesia’s Papua region.

The Pacific Islands Forum leaders agreed at last year’s summit in Papua New Guinea to consult Indonesia over how to monitor and investigate human rights abuses in Papua.

New Zealand Greens MP Catherine Delahunty is pushing for an independent fact-finding mission to West Papua. Photo: RNZI

The New Zealand government indicated on several occasions that Indonesia was opposed to the idea but Greens MP, Catherine Delahunty, who leads a now 20 strong group of New Zealand parliamentarians, said this country had to do more.

“We will be writing a collective letter to Murray McCully as Minister of Foreign Affairs calling on him to make a comment on this lack of progress,” she said.

“Because it was already agreed. It is clear from the past year that there continue to large numbers of human rights abuses and there is a need for a fact finding mission. So we are going to push our government because they signed up to this, they should be standing up for it.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of West Papuans have today been demonstrating again in Jayapura, Papua’s provincial capital, calling for freedom from Indonesian rule.

Reports from Papuan media sources indicate Indonesian police arrested dozens of activists since the weekend for organising the demonstration.

One one day alone in early May, around 2000 Papuans were arrested for participation in another large demo.

June 15, 2016 1

RI Sayangkan Isu Papua Barat Dibahas di Forum Negara Pasifik

metrotvnews.com, Fajar Nugraha • 11 September 2015 15:59 WIB

Metrotvnews.com, Port Moresby: Forum Negara Pasifik di Port Moresby, Papua Nugini menegaskan kembali kedaulatan NKRI, termasuk Provinsi Papua. Namun, Indonesia menyayangkan isu Papua dibahas dalam forum ini.

Wakil Menteri Luar Negeri RI A.M Fachir, menghadiri KTT ke-46 Forum Negara Pasifik atau Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) di Port Moresby, Papua Nugini. Forum ini berlangsung 7 – 11 September 2015. Pertemuan yang membahas isu-isu Perikanan, Perubahan Iklim, Kanker Serviks, Teknologi Informasi dan pelanggaran HAM di Papua Barat, menyepakati komunike bersama sebagai hasil dari KTT tersebut.

“Indonesia sebagai Negara kepulauan memiliki berbagai tantangan yang sama dengan Negara Negara pulau di Pasifik. Indonesia berkomitmen untuk mendukung negara-negara Pasifik dalam menghadapi berbagai tantangan pembangunan,” ujar Wamenlu dalam pernyataannya di forum tersebut, dalam keterangan tertulis Kementerian Luar Negeri yang diterima Metrotvnews.com, Jumat (11/9/2015).

“Indonesia siap, dan dengan semangat, mendukung negara-negara PIF dalam upaya pembangunannya,” tegas Wamenlu Fachir.

Salah satu isu yang mendapat perhatian tinggi dalam pertemuan ini terkait dengan tantangan perubahan iklim yang dihadapi negara-negara Pasifik. Mantan Dubes RI untuk Arab Saudi itu pun menyampaikan bahwa Indonesia memiliki komitmen yang tinggi untuk mengatasi perubahan iklim.

“Indonesia juga akan bantu dorong kepentingan negara kepulauan di Pasifik dalam upaya mendapatkan hasil yang ambisius dan equitable pada pertemuan Perubahan Iklim UNFCCC di Paris akhir tahun ini. Kita akan bekerja dengan negara Pasifik untuk mendapatkan hasil di Paris guna mengatasi tantangan yang dihadapi negara-negara Pasifik terkait perubahan Iklim,”

sebut Wamenlu.

Terkait dengan masuknya isu pelanggaran HAM di Papua Barat dalam agenda PIF, Indonesia menyayangkan hal ini, mengingat isu tersebut masuk atas desakan berbagai NGO dan bukan merupakan usulan Pemerintah Negara-negara PIF. Indonesia menyampaikan bahwa usulan tersebut tidak sejalan dengan tujuan utama pembentukan PIF, yaitu untuk mendorong kerja sama ekonomi dan pembangunan di kawasan.

Dari hasil pembahasan isu Papua, para Kepala Negara PIF kembali menyatakan dukungannya kepada kedaulatan dan integritas NKRI, termasuk terhadap semua Provinsi Papua. Selain itu, juga diusulkan agar ketua PIF melakukan konsultasi dengan Pemerintah Indonesia termasuk dengan mengirimkan misi pencari fakta PIF ke Papua Barat terkait adanya tuduhan pelanggaran HAM.

Menanggapi pembahasan isu Papua, Wamenlu RI dalam pernyataannya menyampaikan penolakan terhadap “Tuduhan pelanggaran HAM di Papua yang tidak berdasar dan merefleksikan pemahaman yang salah terhadap fakta sesungguhnya di lapangan,” tegas Wamenlu.

Wamenlu RI juga menolak intervensi asing termasuk usulan adanya misi pencari fakta PIF ke provinsi Papua Barat terkait tuduhan pelanggaran HAM.

“Sebagai negara demokratis, Indonesia sangat menjunjung tinggi supremasi hukum dan penghormatan terhadap HAM. Indonesia memiliki mekanisme HAM nasional yang berfungsi dengan baik yang belum tentu dimiliki oleh sebagian Negara PIF,”

tegas Wamenlu RI.

Selain itu, Wamenlu RI juga menekankan bahwa pembangunan selama ini di Papua jauh lebih maju dari sebagian negara kepulauan di Pasifik. Wamenlu Fachir menyayangkan bahwa dalam pembahasan tidak disoroti kemajuan yang telah dicapai di Papua dan jumlah dana pembangunan yang dialokasikan ke Papua untuk pembangunan sosial dan ekonomi.

PIF adalah organisasi regional di kawasan Pasifik yang bertujuan untuk mencapai pertumbuhan dan pembangunan berkelanjutan. PIF Memiliki 16 negara anggota dan 17 Mitra Wicara. Indonesia merupakan salah satu mitra wicara bersama Amerika Serikat (AS), Tiongkok, Kuba, Filipina, Italia, Spanyol, India, Inggris, Jepang, Kanada, Korea Selatan (Korsel), Malaysia, Perancis, Thailand, Turki, dan Uni Eropa.
(FJR)

September 11, 2015 0