Tag: Australia

  • Australia PM ino bringim ap West Papua heve long Indonesia President

    Radio Australia – Updated 28 February 2017, 13:21 AEDT
    Ol pipal blong West Papua itok oli wari tru long pasin em Australian Praim Minista Malcolm Turnbull ino bin toktok wantaim President Joko Widodo long ol human rights isiu long West Papua.
    Tupela lida wantaim ibin tokaut long gutpela wokporoman blong kantri blong tupela bihain long wokabaut blong Predisent Widodo long Australia long wiken.
    Mr Turnbull i tok Australia bai respektim ol internal affairs blong Indonesia olsem ol ibin tok oraet longen aninit long Lombok Treaty.
    Ronny Kareni emi wanpla West Papua Activist long Australia i tok oli wari olsem toktok blong Praim Minista Turnbull bai mean olsem Australia bai no toktok long ol wari blong ol Melanesian pipol blong West Papua.
    Ol i sutim tok long Indonesia long bagarapim na kilim dai planti handred tausan pipol blong West Papua.
    long Sande ol pipal blong West Papua na ol sapota blong ol ibin mekim protest mas long Sydney, na taste ol protes ibin gohet long Western Australia na tu long Northern Territori long sapotim ol pipal blong West Papua.
  • Protester arrested outside Indonesian Embassy held in custody overnight for fine-only offences

    A protester arrested outside the Indonesian Embassy has been fined and released from police custody after being held for almost 24 hours, under what his defence lawyer has described as unusual circumstances.

    Adrian ‘AJ’ Van Tonder, 25, was arrested on Friday morning at the rally in Canberra, where he and his fellow protesters lay in the embassy driveway covered in sheets and fake blood.

    Van Tonder, a Melbourne student, was with about 30 people protesting alleged human rights abuses by the Indonesian Government in West Papua.

    The group blocked vehicles from entering and exiting by lying across the driveway.

    This morning Van Tonder pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to obstructing the embassy, refusing to provide a name and address and failing to comply with an order to move on.

    He was fined $750 and released.

    The combined offences carry a maximum penalty of up to $3,800.

    The court heard the other protesters gave their details when asked by police to move on, but Van Tonder remained silent.

    Van Tonder’s defence said being held in custody overnight on offences that carry fine-only punishments was “not something that would normally happen” and it was not clear why it had.

    Magistrate Robert Cook told Van Tonder the right to protest peacefully should be protected.

    “You should engage in it and that’s your right,” he said.

    But he warned against ignoring police instructions.

    “Ultimately then you leave police with no choice than to remove you physically,” he said.

    Claims police trying to appease Indonesian Government

    A group of fellow protesters supported Van Tonder in court.

    Outside, they said his time in custody was unfair and stressful.

    “The last 24 hours have been horrible,” Kiah Dennersterin said.

    The protesters claim police are being pressured by Indonesia to arrest activists like themselves.

    “Police are trying to appease the Indonesian Government and show they’re being strong against West Papuan activists,” another protester Rebecca Langley said.

    “Recently there’s been a bit of tension between Indonesia and Australia regarding their military cooperation and it means eyes are on.”

    Member of the West Papuan community Ronny Kareni said the arrest would not silence their message to free West Papua.

    “It’s evident that the Australian Government is bowing down to Indonesia’s pressure,” he said.

    “[The arrest] will only create more fire and fuel more support from people in the streets.”

    The group said they travelled to Canberra from Melbourne to take part in this protest and Invasion Day protests.

    ACT Policing was contacted for comment.

  • Australian unions pledge support for West Papua

    The s has renewed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Republic of West Papua (FRWP), pledging support for the cause of West Papuan self-determination.

    The signing ceremony on 15 May was attended by members of the West Papuan community and a number of trade union leaders, including ACTU president Ged Kearney, Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari, Communication Workers Union Victorian branch secretaries Len Cooper and Joan Doyle and Maritime Union Victorian branch secretary Kevin Bracken.

    FRWP minister for foreign affairs, immigration and trade, Jacob Rumbiak, told Red Flag that the memorandum, first signed in 2000, is being renewed because there is now greater international recognition of and support for West Papua.

    The territory covers the western half of the island of New Guinea, located just north of Australia. It has been under Indonesian rule since the mid-1960s. More than 100,000 West Papuans are estimated to have been killed as a result of the occupation. The Indonesian military acts with impunity, often hand-in-glove with the operators of the Grasberg mine, the largest gold mine in the world.

    “I hope that this [renewal] will in turn mean that the ACTU will petition the ALP to change its policy”, Dr Rumbiak said. The Labor Party currently supports Special Autonomy for West Papua. That path was initiated in 2001 but led nowhere. “They should change to support the right of self-determination”, he said.

    The memorandum also pledges to “support the application by the United Liberation Movement (ULM) of West Papua for full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group”. The United Liberation Movement, of which the FRWP is a part, was formed in December last year to present a common voice of a number of different groups within the West Papuan liberation struggle.

    The Melanesian Spearhead Group consists of Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, along with the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. If the ULM were granted membership of the Spearhead Group, it would be seen as an endorsement of West Papua’s right to self-determination.

    [To find out more about the campaign for West Papuan self-determination, visit freewestpapua.org.]

    SourceL https://redflag.org.au/

  • Indonesia criticises Australia for not arresting trespassers at its Melbourne Consulate-General

    Indonesia has questioned why Australia is yet to arrest people who “trespassed” on the Indonesian Consulate-General in Melbourne and waved a West Papuan separatist flag when their faces were clearly visible in video footage of the event.

    Tensions remain inflamed between the two countries after a defence fracas earlier this month following the discovery of “offensive material” – including an assignment related to West Papuan independence – at a Perth army base.

    Within days of the furore a Caucasian man was filmed provocatively holding up the separatist West Papuan “Morning Star” flag, which is banned in Indonesia, on the roof of the Indonesian Consulate-General in Melbourne. Another person filmed the event.

    Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi described the alleged trespass on January 6 as  a “criminal act that is completely intolerable”.

    Source: http://www.smh.com.au/ 

     

  • KJRI Melbourne didatangi pemrotes pro West Papua, satu orang ditahan

    “Baru kali ini terjadi penangkapan, dan hanya pada orang West Papua, dengan borgol pula. Sebelumnya tidak pernah begini. Mereka (aparat) pasti ingin menunjukkan pada Jakarta setelah tekanan yang mereka dapat terakhir ini,” kata Kareni.
    “Baru kali ini terjadi penangkapan, dan hanya pada orang West Papua, dengan borgol pula. Sebelumnya tidak pernah begini. Mereka (aparat) pasti ingin menunjukkan pada Jakarta setelah tekanan yang mereka dapat terakhir ini,” kata Kareni.

    Jayapura, Jubi – Aksi protes atas sikap reaktif Indonesia terkait isu Papua di Australia digelar komunitas solidaritas Free West Papua di depan Konsulat Jenderal Republik Indonesia (KJRI) Queens Rd Melbourne, Australia, Rabu (11/1/2017) pukul 10 pagi tadi waktu setempat.

    Puluhan pemrotes asal Papua di Melbourne dan masyarakat yang mendukung berkumpul di depan gerbang KJRI dengan berbagai poster yang yang mengungkapkan pelanggaran HAM yang terus terjadi di Tanah Papua.

    Mereka berencana menempelkan spanduk dan poster ke depan pintu gerbang masuk KJRI namun keburu dicegah polisi.

    Menurut keterangan pers yang diterima Jubi, Rabu (11/1), Jakob Rumbiak, salah seorang pemimpin ULMWP di luar negeri, tampak hadir di tengah-tengah aksi tersebut.

    Rumbiak menegaskan agar Indonesia menghormati prinsip fundamentalnya sendiri yaitu Pancasila dan bukan malah menyalahkan pihak-pihak lain yang dianggap menghina.

     

    Pemrotes asal Papua ditahan

    Aksi-aksi protes dan kampanye mendukung kebebasan Papua dan penegakan HAM di Papua bukan baru kali ini terjadi di depan KJRI tersebut. Namun kali ini respon aparat kepolisian lalu lintas Australia menurut informasi yang diterima redaksi agak berebihan.

    Hal itu terjadi setelah reaksi pemerintah Indonesia yang berang atas penerobosan KJRI dan pengibaran bintang Fajar Jum’at lalu. Indonesia meminta Australia menindak pengibar bendera BIntang Fajar di dalam gedung KJRI.

    Seorang laki-laki Papua berinisial L, bertelanjang dada dan bercelana armi dengan mahkota tradisional cenderawasih ditahan aparat kepolisian.

    “L ditangkap dan tangannya diikat dan dibawa ke mobil polisi, hingga saat ini  masih di kantor polisi,” demikian ujar Ronny Kareni, aktivis dan seniman pro West Papua yang memantau aksi tersebut, kepada Jubi melalui pesan singkat.

    L ditahan saat melakukan performance art dengan melumuri wajahnya dengan cat merah seakan-akan darah dengan mulut tertutup kain bercorak Bintang Fajar. Menurut Ronny, penangkapan seperti itu belum pernah terjadi sepanjang aktivitasnya melakukan berbagai kampanye mendukung West Papua di Australia.

    “Baru kali ini terjadi penangkapan, dan hanya pada orang West Papua, dengan borgol pula. Sebelumnya tidak pernah begini. Mereka (aparat) pasti ingin menunjukkan pada Jakarta setelah tekanan yang mereka dapat terakhir ini,” kata Kareni.

    L adalah salah seorang pencari suaka asal Papua yang tiba tahun 17 Januari 2007 dengan menggunakan Kano bersama 42 pencari suaka asal Papua lainnya. L sudah mendapatkan kewarganegaraan Australia

    Seorang pemrotes perempuan setempat juga dibawa aparat kepolisian menjauh dari gerbang KJRI, namun tidak ditangkap.

    Penasehat hukum para pemrotes mengatakan pihaknya mendapat informasi dari Kepolisian Victoria bahwa Australia “ada dalam tekanan” sehinggal menangkap pemrotes asal Papua tersebut karena kemarahan Indonesia terkait berbagai aktivitas gerakan pro kemerdekaan West Papua.

    Ricky Rumbiak, aktivis West Papua yang terlibat dalam aksi tersebut mengatakan Indonesia mesti belajar menghormati kedaulatan West Papua karena masyarakat asli West Papua memiliki hak atas penentuan nasib sendiri, perdamaian, dan keamanan di tanahnya sendiri.

    “Kami hadir di sini menuntut penarikan segera pasukan Indonesia dari West Papua agar dapat terjadi transisi demokrasi yang damai untuk penentuan nasib sendiri West Papua,” ujarnya. (*)

  • 350 Orang Daftar Jadi Anggota Partai Papua Merdeka Australia

    Ilustrasi: Bendera Bintang Kejora (Foto: The Guardian)
    Ilustrasi: Bendera Bintang Kejora (Foto: The Guardian)

    MELBOURNE, SATUHARAPAN.COM – Peristiwa penerobosan Konsulat Jenderal Republik Indonesia (KJRI) di Melbourne oleh pendukung Papua Merdeka pada hari Jumat (6/1) lalu telah memicu kecaman dari pemerintah Indonesia. Kementerian Luar Negeri telah mendesak Australia untuk mengusut kejadian ini dan menangkap pelakunya.

    Peristiwa tersebut membawa pertanyaan seberapa besar sesungguhnya dukungan terhadap aspirasi dan gerakan untuk penentuan nasib sendiri bagi Papua di Negeri Kanguru itu. Selain itu muncul pertanyaan bagaimana dukungan tersebut diberikan dan apakah hanya berasal dari warga diaspora Papua yang bermukim di sana atau juga menyebar kepada masyarakat warga Australia sendiri.

    Salah satu yang patut diamati adalah sebuah organisasi yang menamakan diri The Free West Papua Party of Australia (FWPP) atau Partai Papua Merdeka Australia. Partai ini sudah berdiri sejak September tahun 2015 dengan ketua pertama partai ini adalah Paul Madden.

    Namun, terhitung mulai akhir Desember 2016, terjadi pergantian kepemimpinan. Paul Madden mengundurkan diri oleh karena alasan pribadi, digantikan oleh Anthony Craig, salah seorang anggota pertama partai tersebut.

    Menurut situs resmi partai ini, saat ini anggota terdaftar FWPP baru 350 orang. Diperlukan sedikitnya 550 anggota untuk bisa  terdaftar secara resmi sebagai partai. Biaya pendaftaran untuk menjadi anggota AUS $ 1.

    Sebelum ini Anthony Craig dikenal sebagai juru bicara luar negeri FWPP. Ia sering mengunjungi Papua dan menyuarakan apa yang ia anggap sebagai aspirasi rakyat Papua.

    Anthony Craig (Foto: FWPP)

    Pekan lalu, Craig mengirim surat kepada sejumlah orang, termasuk Perdana Menteri Australia, Menteri Pertahanan dan Kedutaan Besar negara-negara asing. Isinya mengatakan bahwa latihan militer bersama Australia dan Indonesia adalah kejahatan perang, menurut hukum Australia dan internasional, didasarkan pada apa yang terjadi di Papua dan Timor Leste.

    Craig mengklaim hanya FWPP yang menyuarakan hal ini di Australia. Partai-partai lainnya, bahkan Partai Hijau sekali pun, menurut dia, tidak membicarakan hal ini. “Itu sebabnya partai ini berdiri,” kata dia.

    Di situs resmi FWPP, dikatakan tujuan utama FWPP adalah membangkitkan dukungan Australia terhadap pembebasan dan kemerdekaan Papua. Mereka membuka keanggotaan terhadap siapa saja yang setuju pada manifesto partai. Ditekankan pula bahwa partai ini bukan partai agama.

    Markus Haluk, salah seorang anggota Tim Kerja United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), kelompok yang memperjuangkan hak menentukan nasib sendiri Papua, mengatakan peristiwa yang belum lama ini terjadi di KJRI Melbourne adalah cerminan dukungan rakyat Australia dan dunia inernasional terhadap aspirasi menentukan nasib sendiri Papua.

    “Apa yang terjadi di KJRI Australia adalah tindakan spontanitas warga Australia yang prihatin dengan situasi HAM di Papua,” kata dia, hari ini (10/1) lewat pesan seluler.

    “Pemerintah tidak perlu reaktif dan menyalahkan pemerintah Australia,” tambah dia.

    Hal sebaliknya dikatakan oleh Juru Bicara Kedutaan Besar Indonesia di Australia, Sade Bimantara. Ia mengatakan kelompok-kelompok pendukung aspirasi Papua merdeka di Australia saat ini tengah frustrasi karena tidak mendapat dukungan. Kelompok ini pula yang melakukan penerobosan ke KJRI di Melbourne.

    “Kelompok ini sedang frustasi, karena mereka tidak mendapat dukungan baik dari pemerintah dan pihak oposisi Australia, dukungan publik pun sedikit hanya di dunia maya,” kata Sade kepada Australia Plus.

    Ia menambahkan, menyampaikan aspirasi atau bentuk kekecewaan terhadap sebuah pemerintahan bukan menjadi hal yang dilarang, terutama di Australia yang memberikan kebebasan berekspresi bagi warganya. Tetapi KBRI mengaku terus berupaya untuk menjelaskan masalah Papua Barat, seperti program sosialiasi dan informasi baik di tingkat pemerintah, parlemen, LSM, diskusi soal Papua dan Indonesia timur, budaya dan festival, yang tahun lalu di Canberra, menurut Sade telah dihadiri 4.000 hingga 5.000 orang.

    Sementara itu informasi keberadaan kantor FWPP tidak terungkap di situs resminya. Yang dicantumkan hanya berupa alamat email dan nomor telepon yang dapat dihubungi.

    Editor : Eben E. Siadari

  • Call out for action over Indonesia

    Anthony Craig is a man who is passionate about many issues local, national and international.

    His advocacy on behalf of the people of West Papua, the Indonesian section of the island of New Guinea has led him be announced as new leader of The Free West Papua Party of Australia.

    On taking the role Mr Craig reaffirmed the party’s commitment to raise awareness of the human rights violations occurring just 200 kilometres north of Australia.

    Mr Craig sent a letter out last week to a group of recipients that included the Prime Minister, the head of the Australian defence forces and a foreign embassy.

    In the letter Mr Craig wrote strongly suggesting that the Australian Government’s training of the Indonesian military and police is a war crime under international and Australian Law based on what has happened in West Papua and East Timor.

    “What the Indonesian military and police are doing is slow motion genocide,” Mr Craig said.

    Australia and Indonesia’s military training exercises were in the spotlight last week for a different reason with military ties between the two countries strained after the Indonesian military Chief took offence at curriculum taught at a Perth army base.

    Mr Craig went to West Papua in 2015 and spoke with people living under the Indonesian rule including church leaders who told of the slaughter of local population.

    “The evidence is there,” Mr Craig said but the media is not getting it out for the public to see nor are the Australia’s politicians doing anything about it.

    “None of the major parties, including the Greens, are talking about it.”

    This is why The Free West Papua Party of Australia was established Mr Craig said.

    Paul Madden, the outgoing leader of the aspiring political party said Mr Craig had performed an excellent job as the Party’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson and he now looked forward to supporting Mr Craig as the new party leader.

    “Anthony Craig has been a leading advocate for West Papuan human rights and freedom for many years.

    “He was one of the first members of the Free West Papua Party of Australia and has been a passionate loyal supporter since the beginning.

    “Anthony was the natural choice to take over the leadership of the Party.”

    The Free West Papua Party of Australia has some 350 members.

    It needs at least 550 members to register as a political party and increase its pressure on the Australia Government, Mr Craig said.

    For more information go to freewestpapuaperthaustralia.blogspot.com.au.

    Source: http://www.lithgowmercury.com.au/

  • Indonesian minister says Melbourne protester’s actions ‘intolerable’

    Retno Marsudi
    Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi says she has been in touch with Julie Bishop to ensure the case of the trespassing protester in Melbourne is being investigated. Photograph: Darren Whiteside/Reuters

    The Guardian – Indonesia’s foreign minister has urged Australian authorities to act against a trespassing protester who climbed on to the roof of the consulate-general in Melbourne and displayed a West Papuan flag.

    A video of Friday’s protest shows a man scaling a wall to enter the consulate and climb on the roof to show the flag before climbing down again.

    In a statement on Saturday, Indonesia’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, said Australian authorities must complete investigations and legally process the “crime perpetrator”, describing the intrusion as “absolutely intolerable”.

    “Australia has the obligation and responsibility to immediately process this lawfully and to ensure the security of all Indonesian missions in Australia,” she said.

    The minister said she had been in touch with the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, on Saturday to ensure the incident was being investigated and legal process followed.

    Victoria police said in a statement they were assisting the Australian federal police following the incident.

    Last week, Indonesia temporarily suspended military ties with Australia in a spat over teaching materials at a Perth army base that included reference to the independence movement in West Papua, a sensitive topic for the Indonesian military.

  • Indonesia suspends military cooperation with Australia

    Indonesia has suspended all military cooperation with Australia, reportedly over offensive materials displayed at an Australian military base where its troops were training.

    The offensive “laminated material” shown at a base was insulting towards Indonesia’s five founding principles – Pancasila – Indonesian newspaper Kompas has reported. The Kompas report says a cable dated 29 December, sent by Indonesian military commander General Gatot Nurmantyo, instructed that all military cooperation, including training with the Australian defence force, be suspended.

    The Indonesian military spokesman, Major General Wuryanto has confirmed the split, but would not specifically confirm the reason, saying cooperation between the Australian and Indonesian militaries had been suspended for “technical reasons”, effective immediately. “All forms of cooperation have been suspended,” he said.

    But Wuryanto suggested the suspension would not be long term, saying cooperation could resume once the “technical matters” were resolved.

    “There are technical matters that need to be discussed,” Wuryanto said, including the offensive training material seen at an Australian military base. It was “highly likely” cooperation would resume once those issues were resolved, he said.

    Guardian Australian understands an instructor from Indonesia’s special forces group Kopassus felt insulted by material on display at a training base.

    It’s believed the Kopassus officer was initially offended by propaganda material about West Papua, a province of Indonesia in which a long-running campaign for independence, and allegations of systemic human rights abuses by the military, are of extreme sensitivity. Senior former military leaders were also insulted as murderers and criminals.

    Subsequently, the officer also reportedly saw a laminated piece of paper that ridiculed Indonesia’s founding ideology “pancasila” – which translates as “five principles” – as “panca-gila”. Gila, in Bahasa Indonesia, means crazy.

    Kopassus has trained for several years with Australia’s Special Air Service troops at the SAS base at Campbell barracks, Perth. No time limit has been put on the suspension, and it is unclear whether future planned joint training exercises between the two countries will be affected.

    Australia’s defence minister, Marise Payne, said the Australian military hoped to restore full cooperation with the Indonesian armed forces as soon as possible.

    She confirmed that late last year an Indonesian officer had raised concerns “about some teaching materials and remarks at an army language training facility in Australia”.

    “The Australian Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, wrote to his Indonesian counterpart, General Gatot Nurmantyo, giving an undertaking that this matter would be addressed seriously and we would inquire into issues raised.

    “The Australian Army has looked into the serious concerns that were raised and the investigation into the incident is being finalised.”

    Payne said while some elements of joint training had been suspended, other areas of military cooperation had continued.

    “Australia is committed to building a strong defence relationship with Indonesia, including through cooperation in training. We will work with Indonesia to restore full cooperation as soon as possible.”

    Indonesia and Australia’s military relationship has improved in recent years, after an at-times troubled history.

    The Lombok treaty commits both countries to cooperation in the fields of defence, combating transnational crime, counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing. Australia has sold military hardware to Indonesia and defence and foreign ministers meet regularly.

    But relations were shaken in 2013 – and military co-operation suspended – when it was revealed the Australian Signals Directorate attempted to monitor the phone calls of then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and senior officials.

    News agencies contributed to this report (The Guardian)

  • Indonesia backs down in military rift with Australia over ‘insult’

    Indonesia has appeared to back down from a decision to suspend all military cooperation with Australia in a row over teaching materials, with a senior minister saying only language training had been put on hold.

    The Indonesian military – apparently without consulting the civilian government – had on Wednesday moved to suspend all military cooperation after a special forces commander was offended by material he saw at a Perth military base which insulted Indonesia’s founding ideology and promoted independence for the Indonesian province West Papua.

    But following the military’s announcement, leaders of both Australia and Indonesia publicly insisted ties were strong before Indonesian security minister Wiranto announced on Thursday he was giving a “clarification”.

    The military “has temporarily suspended cooperation in language training,” Wiranto said, adding it was due to “a small incident that has offended our dignity as a nation”.

    But he said Indonesia was not “completely stopping all cooperation”, contradicting the earlier military statement. Indonesian and Australian forces cooperate on a range of issues from border protection to counter-terrorism.

    “The suspension is temporary and will be resumed after Australia clearly takes measures to resolve the matter,” he added.

    Australia’s defence minister, Marise Payne, had earlier insisted the broader relationship remained healthy and that she expected to be able to resume full cooperation with Indonesia’s TNI.

    “The Australian army has looked into the serious concerns that were raised and the investigation into the incident is being finalised,” she said earlier in the day.

    “Australia is committed to building a strong defence relationship with Indonesia, including through cooperation in training. We will work with Indonesia to restore full cooperation as soon as possible.”

    She said on ABC radio the rift had not threatened Indonesia’s cooperation with Australia’s policy of turning back asylum seeker boats.

    Payne conceded her first attempt to contact Indonesia’s defence minister about the suspension of military ties was not made until this week, despite knowing about the dispute in November.

    Indonesia’s defence minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, also earlier played down the suspension saying the broader relationship with Australia was “fine” and that Indonesia “should not overreact”.

    The suspension was a military, not a political, decision, he said, and the officer who initially raised the concerns had been reprimanded.

    “It was all the doings of some lieutenants,” he said. “They have been reprimanded and punished. Don’t let actions of some low-ranking ­officers affect relations of two countries. That’s not good.”

    A spokesman for the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, said: “This was not a decision of the president.”

    Ryacudu was quoted as using the Indonesian word “curut” to describe the officers, the literal translation for which is shrew or mouse, but which is used to disparage a subordinate as insignificant.

    Indonesia’s special forces group, Kopassus, trains with the Australia’s Special Air Service troops at the SAS base at Campbell barracks in Perth, and Guardian Australia understands an instructor from Kopassus felt insulted by material on display at the training base in November.

    It is believed the Kopassus officer was initially offended by propaganda material about West Papua, a province of Indonesia in which a long-running campaign for independence, and allegations of systemic human rights abuses by the military, are of extreme sensitivity. Senior former military leaders were also insulted as murderers and criminals.

    The officer also reportedly saw a laminated piece of paper that ridiculed Indonesia’s founding ideology “pancasila” – which translates as “five principles” – as “panca-gila”. Gila, in Bahasa Indonesia, means crazy.

    But broader issues within the Australia-Indonesia relationship have been brought into the open by the spat, with Australia also been forced to deny it has tried to recruit Indonesian military personnel as spies, despite claims by Indonesia’s military chief, general Gatot Nurmantyo. .

     

    In a speech in November and revealed by the ABC this week, Nurmantyo claimed Australia had sought to recruit Indonesia’s best and brightest as sources.

    “Every time there is a training program – like recently – the best five or 10 students would be sent to Australia,” he said, according to a translation of his

     

    “That happened before I was chief so I let that happen. Once I became chief commander of the national forces, it did not happen again … They will certainly be recruited, they will certainly be recruited.”

    Again, the contentious issue of West Papuan independence was raised as a major concern.

    Payne denied Australia has tried to influence or recruit Indonesian officers for intelligence activities or spying: “That is not the case and it is something which we would not countenance, of course.”

    She told ABC radio she had communicated with Ryacudu on number of matters in December and the issue was not raised by him.

    The Australian government is understood to have been surprised by the timing of the announcement of the military suspension, as it believed the issue was being managed and its investigation coming to a conclusion.

    Indonesia and Australia’s military relationship has improved in recent years, after an at-times troubled history.

    The Lombok treaty commits both countries to cooperating in defence, combating transnational crime, counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing. Australia has sold military hardware to Indonesia and defence and foreign ministers meet regularly.

    But relations were shaken in 2013 – and military cooperation suspended – when it was revealed the Australian Signals Directorate attempted to monitor the phone calls of the then president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and senior officials.

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