Vanuatu urged to be consistent with foreign policy

Sato Kilman - pictured during a visit to Russia in March 2015 — Sato Kilman. Photo: Vladimir Pesnya / RIA Novosti

A Vanuatu opposition MP says the government should be careful to act consistently on foreign policy.

The comment from Sato Kilman, a former prime minister, comes after another call on West Papua by Vanuatu at the United Nations.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, current prime minister Charlot Salwai called for an investigation into alleged killings and abuses of the indigenous people of Indonesia’s Papua region.

Mr Kilman said the UN was the right place in which to raise concern on Papua.

But he questions whether Vanuatu takes the same stand on similar issues in other parts of the world.

“If Vanuatu has got to be able to show that she has credibility then she must be able to deal with all the issues in a consistent manner. Being members of the United Nations, while we are dealing with these issue, we are making comments, we are raising awareness on these isues, I think it’s only fair that we should be dealing with the others equally well,” he said

Prime Minister of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai Photo: Supplied

Mr Salwai’s statement in New York last week was the second consecutive year that he raised West Papua at the General Assembly.

He accused world leaders at the UN of turning a deaf ear to more than half a century of atrocities committed by Indonesia on West Papuans.

“We also call on our counterparts throughout the world to support the legal right of West Papua to self-determination and to jointly with Indonesia put an end to all kinds of violence and find common ground to facilitate a process to make their own choice,” said Mr Salwai.

Indonesian representative at the UN General Assembly in New York, September 2017. Photo: UNGA

In response to Mr Salwai’s statement, an Indonesian government spokeswoman told the assembly Indonesia categorically denied all allegations levelled against it regarding Papua.

She accused Mr Salwai and other Melanesian leaders concerned about Papua of being misled and of supporting separatism in a sovereign nation.

“These countries were foolishly deceived by individuals with separatist agendas to exploit the issue of human rights,” said the spokeswoman.

“If human rights are at the heart of the issue, why were these concerns not raised in the appropriate forum, namely the 3rd Cycle of the Periodic Review of Indonesia at the United Nations Human Rights Council,” she said.

Sato Kilman admitted the West Papua issue was one that ran deep with ni-Vanuatu, but he cautioned against cherry-picking foreign policy issues from a Vanuatu government perspective.

“Yes, you can raise the issues, but when there are similar problems around the globe, and Vanuatu, it doesn’t matter how small we are, we are one voice at the UN. Our voice is good enough to be heard in the UN about the other issues as well.”

When he was prime minister of Vanuatu in four brief tenures during a period of political volatility in his country between 2010 and 2016, Mr Kilman adopted a controversial policy on Papua.

He departed from standard Vanuatu foreign policy by forging closer ties with Indonesia, in spite of his country’s long-running support for West papuan independence.

He also advocated this softer approach with Jakarta in his various stints as Foreign Minister, although it was unpopular with grassroots communities in Vanuatu.

Ultimately, the Malekula MP advocated keeping communication lines with Jakarta open on the Papua issue.

“I’d be very interested to know those of us who have been advocating for West Papua, or New Caledonia for that matter,” said Mr Kilman.

“How many of us have actually spoken with the Indonesian government or the French government about these issues?”

September 27, 2017 0

West Papuan liberation movement focussed on UN plans

From Dateline Pacific, 4:03 am on 18 September 2017

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation says its decolonisation aspirations are focussed on action at the United Nations.

The Coalition is one of the key groups within the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, which is pushing for internationally-facilitated negotiation with Indonesia over Papua’s political status.

Various Papuan civil society, church and customary leaders met with Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo last month about establishing dialogue over problems in Papua.

However self-determination is not expected to be on the agenda in the dialogue, in which the Liberation Movement is not involved.

The Coalition’s chairman Andy Ayamiseba says the Movement rejects direct dialogue with Jakarta because it considers Indonesia an illegal occupier in Papua.

September 20, 2017 0

Call for ACP-EU Resolution on West Papua

Mantan Perdana Menteri Vanuatu, Barak Sope (Foto: Ist)

Vanuaty Daily Post, By Jonas Cullwick Jul 28, 2017

Last week’s 14th Pacific Regional ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Port Vila issued a five-point position of the issue of West Papuan independence.

It says Parliamentarians of the ACP-EU Parliaments can voice their concern and they can support Papuan rights, including the right to self-determination by rallying to the call from the 8 Pacific Island Countries for justice and respect for the right to self-determination.

They can get regional and global intergovernmental bodies such the African Union, CARICOM and other regional and sub-regional multilateral bodies to pass resolutions and restrict commercial and other relations with Indonesia.

As member states of the United Nations ACP–EU countries can insist on an internationally supervised referendum on independence (or at least the re-listing of West Papua as a non-self-governing territory).

Support with one voice the proposed resolutions in the upcoming Joint ACP-EU parliament meeting in month of October and also the resolution on West Papua to be adopted at ACP Council of Ministers meeting in November 2017; And call on ACP-EU Parliamentarians to urge their respective governments to address the issue of West Papua at the multilateral level and assist Indonesia to resolve this 54 year crisis.

Jonas Cullwick, a former General Manager of VBTC is now a Senior Journalist with the Daily Post. Contact: jonas@dailypost.vu. Cell # 678 5460922

July 29, 2017 0

Calls for resignation of Fiji’s UN Ambassador

RadioNZ – Fiji’s opposition SODELPA party has called for the resignation of the Fijian ambassador to the United Nations, Nazhat Shameem, after she described the past protections of the rights of indigenous Fijians as institutionalised racism.

Ambassador Shameem’s comments were part of an address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on the 1st of March.

In her comments she said, “Racism was institutionalised in Fiji to such an extent that it instilled a ‘privileged caste’.”

“Rights of the majority in a democracy whether indigenous or not must not be used to suppress the rights of the minority and vulnerable communities,” she also said.

The SODELPA vice president, MP Ro Kiniviliame Kiliraki says Ambassador Shameem’s comments were misguided and smacked of prejudice.

He said they amounted to a deliberate misunderstanding of the grievances of the indigenous community in Fiji and were contrary to international law on the rights of indigenous peoples.

“She should retract that statement. In fact we are calling for her resignation. It is out of line as far as Fiji is concerned. It is an insult to the indigenous people. And at that level, she shouldn’t be there.”

March 10, 2017 1

UN makes call on Tahiti’s self-determination

RNZ – 7:24 am on 12 December 2016

The United Nations has adopted a resolution asking France to put in place a self-determination process for French Polynesia.

The resolution said the people of French Polynesia should freely choose its political status, noting that over 30 years France carried out nuclear weapons tests which have had an impact on health and the environment.

It called on France to intensify the dialogue despite French Polynesia’s government in October calling for the territory to be removed from the United Nations decolonisation list.

France has refused to organise a referendum in Tahiti despite being asked by the territorial assembly three years ago.

France pulled the so-called French Establishments in Oceania off the UN decolonisation list in 1947 – 67 years after it annexed the erstwhile Kingdom of Tahiti.

However, in 2013 the UN General Assembly returned French Polynesia to the list.

The move angered Paris which labelled it as glaring interference by the UN and it has shunned co-operation with the UN on the matter.

France does however recognise the UN in the decolonisation process of its other Pacific territory, New Caledonia, which is due for a referendum on independence within two years.

December 14, 2016 0

West Papuan Liberation Movement lobbies at the UN

RadioNZ – United Liberation Movement for West Papua leaders have been in New York this week, lobbying at the United Nations about their self-determination struggle in Indonesia.

United Nations, New York. — United Liberation Movement for West Papua leaders have been lobbying at the United Nations in New York. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

The Liberation Movement’s secretary-general Octo Mote and spokesman Benny Wenda said they have been meeting with officials from several UN departments and various embassies.

They have been talking about their hopes for a new internationally-supervised self-determination vote for the indigenous people of Indonesia’s Papua region.

Mr Wenda said the lobbying gives them an opportunity to correct misinformation spread internationally about Papua by Jakarta and people within the UN system appreciate the discussions.

“We’re also updating the current situation (on the ground in Papua) and this is like… that West Papua has been neglected for the last fifty years, so they’re surprised that this has been going on. So there’s a number of diplomats we met in New York.”

Mr Wenda said that taking the matter to the UN is part of the new phase of their struggle.

He said the combined issues of human rights abuses in West Papua, and Papuans’ self-determination struggle, are considered an issue for the whole Pacific islands region, and that Pacific countries are increasingly supportive.

Jakarta said Papua’s incorporation into Indonesia is final and that human rights abuses in the region are being addressed.

It also said it is devoting significant resources into creating better conditions for economic development at grassroots levels in West Papuan communities.

However, despite Jakarta’s sensitivity to it, there have been various diplomatic gains made this year in advancing West Papua as an issue for the UN to address.

This includes the call by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua for an independence referendum in Papua, and the rise of the Pacific Coalition for West Papua.

It is still unclear if the melanesian Spearhead Group will accept the Liberation Movement’s bid to be a full member in the group – a decision could be made before Christmas, according to the MSG secretariat.

However Mr Wenda said Papuans were greatly encouraged by the unprecedented call by seven Pacific states at the UN General Assembly in September for the world community to take action about alleged historical and current injustices in Papua.

December 9, 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

Countdown on for Indonesia’s response

By Len Garae Oct 21, 2016 0, DailyPost.vu

The Chairman of Vanuatu Free West Papua Association, Pastor Allan Nafuki says all civil society organisations in country are united with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pacific Islands Association

of Non-Government Organisation (PIANGO), Emele Duituturaga, to support the request made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to Indonesia, to formally respond to allegations of racial violence and discrimination against Papuans by November 14.

It is a sign that the attitude of the UN to West Papua’s case is beginning to change.

The PIANGO CEO expressed these sentiments following UN CERD chair, Anastasia Crickley’s notification to Indonesia’s UN Permanent Representative, Triyono Wibowo that the committee’s recent session had considered allegations of killings and violence of indigenous Papuans in West Papua.

“I write to inform you that in the course of its 90th session, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered, under its early warning and urgent action procedure, allegations of excessive use of force, arrests, killings and torture of persons belonging to the Papuan indigenous people in West Papua, Indonesia, and allegations of discrimination against this people, that have been brought to its attention by a non-government organization”, Miss Crickley stated in the October 3rd dated correspondence.

“Reportedly, between April 2013 and December 2014, security forces killed 22 persons during demonstrations and a number of persons have also been killed or injured since January 2016. It is alleged that in May 2014, more than 470 persons belonging to the Papuan indigenous people were arrested in cities of West Papua during demonstrations against extraction and plantation activities”.

The letter continues, “… Such arrests have reportedly increased since the beginning of 2016 amounting to 4000 between April and June 2016 and have included human rights activists and journalists. Such acts have reportedly never been investigated and those responsible have gone unpunished.

“The submission claims that repression of persons belonging to the Papuan indigenous people is the result of a misinterpretation and lack of a correct implementation of the Special Autonomy Law by local and national authorities of Indonesia. The submission also claims that actions by security forces constitute violations of the rights of freedom of assembly and association”.

Duituturaga said the committee’s requests for information indicates how seriously it is treating the allegations made by civil societies to the UN about the treatment of indigenous West Papuans by the Indonesian government.

“CERD has given Indonesia until Novembers 14 to provide information on its response to the allegations, the status of implementations of the Special Autonomy Law in West Papua, measures taken to ensure the effective protection of indigenous people in West Papua from arbitrary arrests and detentions as well as deprivation of life”, she said.

Indonesia has also been requested to report on measures taken to ensure that indigenous people from West Papua effectively enjoy their rights to freedom of assembly and association including persons with dissenting opinions, measures taken to investigate allegations of excessive use of force by security forces including killings and steps taken to improve access to education of Papuan children in West Papua in particular those living in very remove areas of the UN CERD.

“Indonesia is not only the third largest democracy in the world, they are an emerging economic powerhouse but their inability to apply democratic principles in West Papua threatens their credibility with the international community.

“The ball is in their court now and Pacific civil societies are eagerly awaiting November 14 alongside UN CERD to read their response,” Duituturaga said

October 23, 2016 0

Anticipation Builds as Pacific CSOs Await Indoneia Response to UN

Press Release

Date: 14 October 2016

Suva – The request made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to Indonesia to formally respond to allegations of racial violence and discrimination against Papuans by November is a sign that the attitude of the UN to West Papua’s case is beginning to change.

Pacific Islands Association of NGOs executive director, Emele Duituturaga expressed these sentiments following UN CERD chair, Anastasia Crickley’s notification to Indonesia’s UN Permanent Representative, Triyono Wibowo that the committee’s recent session had considered allegations of killings and violence of indigenous Papuans in West Papua.

“I write to inform you that in the course of its 90th session, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered, under its early warning and urgent action procedure, allegations of excessive use of force, arrests, killings and torture of persons belonging to the Papuan indigenous people in West Papua, Indonesia, and allegations of discrimination against this people, that have been brought to its attention by a non-governmental organization,” Ms Crickley stated in the October 3rd dated correspondence.

“Reportedly, between April 2013 and December 2014, security forces killed 22 persons during demonstrations and a number of persons have also been killed or injured since January 2016. It is alleged that, in May 2014, more than 470 persons belonging to the Papuan indigenous people were arrested in cities of West Papua during demonstrations against extraction and plantation activities.”

The letter stated, “… Such arrests have reportedly increased since the beginning of 2016 amounting to 4000 between April and June 2016 and have included human rights activists and journalists. Such acts have reportedly never been investigated and those responsible have gone unpunished.”

Duituturaga said the committee’s specific requests for information indicates how seriously it is treating the allegations made by civil societies to the UN about the treatment of indigenous West Papuans by the Indonesian government.

“CERD has given Indonesia until 14 November to provide information on its response to the allegations, the status of implementation of the Special Autonomy Law in West Papua, measures taken to ensure the effective protection of indigenous people in West Papua from arbitrary arrests and detentions as well as deprivation of life,” she said.

“The ball is in their court now and Pacific civil societies are eagerly awaiting November 14 alongside UN CERD to read their response,” Duituturaga said.
ENDS

October 14, 2016 0

UN Committee have requested Indonesia to formally respond to allegations of racial violence

Jayapura, Jubi – The request made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to Indonesia to formally respond to allegations of racial violence and discrimination against Papuans by November is a sign that the attitude of the UN to West Papua’s case is beginning to change.

“I write to inform you that in the course of its 90th session, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered, under its early warning and urgent action procedure, allegations of excessive use of force, arrests, killings and torture of persons belonging to the Papuan indigenous people in West Papua, Indonesia, and allegations of discrimination against this people, that have been brought to its attention by a non-governmental organization,” Ms Crickley stated in the October 3rd dated correspondence.

“Reportedly, between April 2013 and December 2014, security forces killed 22 persons during demonstrations and a number of persons have also been killed or injured since January 2016. It is alleged that, in May 2014, more than 470 persons belonging to the Papuan indigenous people were arrested in cities of West Papua during demonstrations against extraction and plantation activities.”

“The ball is in their court now and Pacific civil societies are eagerly awaiting November 14 alongside UN CERD to read their response,” Duituturaga said. (*)

October 13, 2016 0