Tag: Honiara

  • MSG chair postpones PNG leg of Melanesia tour

    The chairperson of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has postponed the PNG leg of his Melanesia tour.

    Manasseh Sogavare
    Manasseh Sogavare Photo: RNZI

     

    The tour, his second as chairperson, is to discuss the restructuring of the MSG Secretariat in Vanuatu and the revision of MSG Membership Guidelines with other MSG leaders.

    Earlier this week Mr Sogavare met with his Vanuatu counterpart, Charlot Salwai in Port Vila and also with FLNKS spokesperson Victor Tutugoro.

    Today he is to meet with the Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in Suva.

    The Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama at Government House in Auckland
    Fiji’s Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. Photo: RNZ/ALEX PERROTTET

    Following that meeting Mr Sogavare was supposed to fly to Port Moresby to meet with PNG’s prime minister Peter O’Neill.

    But this leg of the tour has now been postponed until February.

    Mr Sogavare, who flys back to Solomon Islands on Sunday, said he would not be releasing a statement on the outcome of the tour until he completes the PNG leg in February.

    The MSG secretariat in Port Vila has been plaqued by issues with funding and its overhaul was recommended by an independent review commissioned because of persistent funding problems and the review of membership guidelines has arisen over the issue of West Papuan membership to the Melanesian Spearhead group.

    Solomon Islands and Vanuatu favour West Papuan Membership while Fiji and Papua New Guinea support Indonesia’s view that it should represent West Papuan interests in the group.

    Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/

  • Magnitude 7.8 quake strikes Solomon Islands – tsunami warning eases

    Pacific countries on tsunami alert following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake off Solomon Islands. Image: USGS
    Pacific countries on tsunami alert following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake off Solomon Islands. Image: USGS

    A tsunami warning has been issued for several Pacific countries – including Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – following an earthquake with magnitude 7.8 about 68km off the coast of Kirakira in the Solomon Islands early today.

    The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake at 4.18am local time as 8.0, but later downgraded it to 7.8.

    “Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within the next three hours along some coasts of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Kosrae,” stated the warning issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

    The centre called on government agencies responsible for dealing with emergency situations to “take action to inform and instruct any coastal populations at risk in accordance with their own evaluation”.

    The epicentre of the quake was registered at a depth of 48.7km, according to USGS.

    There were no immediate reports of damage to homes in the capital, Honiara.

    Tsunami warnings with ETA just hours after the quake struck was issued by the USGS for Kirakira, Auki, Honiara and parts of the Central and Isabel Provinces, but has since passed.

    No evacuation was planned for the national referral hospital located on the coast of Honiara, sources said.

    Preliminary reports from Kirakira said that while the quake was perhaps the biggest felt in recent times, there was no damage to homes and no immediate reports of casualties.

  • Solomons urges Indonesia to allow Papua scrutiny

    RNZ – Solomon Islands has again called on Indonesia to cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Council to allow a UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to visit its Papua region.

    A march through the streets of Honiara in support of West Papua's bid to join the MSG.
    A march through the streets of Honiara in support of West Papua’s bid to join the MSG. Photo: Supplied

    The call was made by a Solomons official Barrett Salato at the Human Rights Council Meeting in Geneva.

    Mr Salato said there was a worrying trend by member states resisting human rights scrutiny by the Council.

    A march through the streets of Honiara in support of West Papua's bid for MSG membership
    A march through the streets of Honiara in support of West Papua’s bid for MSG membership Photo: Supplied

    He said some large democracies professed to uphold universal human rights values but evaded scrutiny of their domestic practices by claiming non-interference in their sovereign affairs.

    Mr Salato said Solomon Islands had consistently raised its concerns about human rights violations in West Papua and called for independent investigations of the reports.

  • Sikap NRFPB  Merespon Hasil KTT MSG Di Honiara, Kepulauan Solomon

    Sikap NRFPB Merespon Hasil KTT MSG Di Honiara, Kepulauan Solomon

    JAYAPURA – Gagalnya ULMWP (United Liberation Movement for West Papua) untuk menjadi anggota penuh pada Forum Melanesia Sparehead Group (MSG), nampaknya turut menjadi perhatian serius Forkorus Yobosembut, yang mengklaim diri sebagai Presiden Negara Federal Republik Papua Barat (NFRPB).

    Forkorus Yoboisembut malah mempertanyakan bahwa kapan ULMWP dibentuk, mengapa dibentuk, dan dimana selama ini menggelar rapat-rapat di luar negeri dan dalam negeri, serta ULMWP bekerja dengan siapa, dirinya tahu dengan benar.

    Kehadiran ULMWP tersebut juga disebabkan oleh dirinya, dimana ada dua stafnya yang memilih memisahkan diri dari NFRPB dan berjuang sendiri. Ibarat seperti ada dua anak yang kawin lari dan melahirkan, salah satunya melahirkan/mendirikan ULMWP.

    “Kelompok ULMWP ini dulunya berada dalam perjuangan bersama NFRPB, tapi memilih memisahkan diri, dan menyampaikan kepada saya bahwa saya jangan menyesal, karena mereka mau bentuk sesuatu yang lain,” ungkapnya kepada Bintang Papua, usai doa syukur di Pendopo Masyarakat Adat Tabi di Kampung Sabronsari, Selasa, (19/7).

    Dijelaskan, pada 19 Desember 2014, dirinya mengutus Edison Waromi, Markus Haluk dan Yakob Rumbiak ke pertemuan MSG untuk membacakan kriteria NFRPB menjadi anggota MSG di Port Moresby ketika itu, tapi hasilnya untuk Papua Barat akan membentuk suatu organisasi payung yang inklusif dengan Indonesia. Nah kesempatan yang digunakan oleh mereka yang dulunya bergabung dengan NFRB tersebut untuk membentuk ULMWP.

    Disamping itu, dirinya menyampaikan agar ULMWP ini jangan dibentuk dulu, dan pihaknya melihat kriterianya dulu untuk membentuk ULMWP karena organisasi perjuangan kemerdekaan Papua sudah banyak, sehingga sebaiknya diserahkan saja nama-nama organisasi-organisasi tersebut kepada MSG untuk melihat mana organisasi yang memenuhi kriteria dan layak menjadi organisasi payung dalam memperjuangkan kemerdekaan Papua di luar negeri. Tetapi sarannya itu ditolak mentah-mentah oleh mereka yang membentuk ULMWP, yang dulunya dirinya menampung mereka di Sentani. Termasuk dirinya juga membentuk Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB), tapi di tengah jalan, KNPB memilih untuk memisahkan diri dengan NFRPB.

    Lanjutnya, sebelumnya ada utusan empat orang dari ULMWP datang bertemu dengan dirinya meminta restu untuk ke pertemuan forum MSG di Honiara, dan dirinya menyampaikan kepada mereka bahwa silakan jalan dan menghadang NFRPB di MSG, karena membantu Indonesia.

    “Edison Waromi, Markus Haluk dan Yakob Rumbiak sekembali mereka dari Port Moresby, saya sampaikan kepada mereka bahwa untuk sementara putus hubungan kerja dengan Saya. Khusus Markus Haluk, saya pecat karena saya angkat dia dengan SK. Saya putuskan kerja dengan mereka karena mereka inkonsistensi dengan yang sudah saya tetapkan, khususnya inkonsisten terhadap deklarasi,” tandasnya.

    Atas dasar itu, maka NFRPB tidak ada di dalam ULMWP, dan ULMWP sendiri dalam perjuangan hanya mengatasnamakan rakyat Papua saja, karena mereka tidak konsisten terhadap deklarasi, Itu harusnya ULMWP malu, karena tidak konsisten terhadap deklarasi, masih saja bawa nama NFRPB dan rakyat Papua.

    Sehingga kemarin di MSG menunda keanggotaan ULMWP, karena MSG sendiri tidak mencapai konsensus bersama para anggota MSG. Berikutnya MSG akan mengadakan pertemuan khusus pada September 2016 untuk menyusun kriteria dan pedoman siapa yang berhak menjadi forum Full Member Only State, siapa yang berhak menjadi Asiciaty Member State, dan siapa yang berhak menjadi Observe Status.

    Jadi kemungkinan kecil kalau sampai fundamental kriterianya itu Full Member Only State, maka ULMWP tidak menjadi anggota MSG, sebab kriterianya sangat ketat. Kalau MSG meniru kriteria seperti yang organisasi VIP punya, maka kemungkinan kecil ULMWP bisa menjadi anggota MSG. Itu berita yang benar, karena dirinya memperoleh informasi resmi dari rekan-rekannya di Australia dan Belanda.

    “Jadi istilah kasarnya, ULMWP ditolak secara halus oleh MSG, sehingga kita tidak usah menipu rakyat, kita kasih tau saja kepada rakyat secara lurus saja supaya rakyat tidak menunggu sesuatu yang tidak benar atau tidak pasti. Masa kita mau membohongi rakyat kita, dan jangan Papua tipu Papua sebab di MSG dalam pengambilan keputusan tidak mengenal system votting, tetapi sistem suara bulat, dengan demikian jika satu anggota MSG tidak setuju, maka semua tidak setuju. Salomom Island pernah usulkan ULMWP boleh bergabung tapi tidak boleh bicara politik, hanya bicara ekonomi dan budaya, tetapi itupun tidak disetujui,” jelasnya.

    Sementara itu, masyarakat Papua selama ini sangat menghormati tatanan adat yang ada di Tanah Papua karena hal tersebut adalah dasar dari sikap saling menghargai. Namun demikian, saat ini terdapat kelompok yang masih seumuran jagung kemudian mendeklarasikan diri dengan nama ULMWP atau Kelompok Persatuan Pembebasan Papua Barat dan mengklaim sebagai representasi masyarakat asli Papua. Melalui kampanye propaganda agar masyarakat mendukung perjuangan luar negeri yang dilakukan di MSG, mereka mengabaikan tatanan adat yang berlaku selama ini di Papua dan masyarakat juga sepertinya menjadi terjebak oleh konspirasi dalam kelompok tersebut. Jadi tidak ada tempat bagi ULMWP dalam masa depan MSG.

    Demikian ditegaskan oleh Dubes Desra, Direktur Jenderal Asia Pasifik dan Afrika Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia, dalam press releasenya ke Kantor Redaksi Bintang Papua, Selasa, (19/7).

    ULMWP pada dasarnya bukan merupakan perjuangan murni dari dalam Papua tetapi lebih banyak untuk mengakomodir kepentingan pihak luar negeri yang dibawa oleh orang Papua dimana notabenenya telah menetap secara permanen di luar negeri. ULMWP yang juga mencatut nama NRFPB sebagai kelompok pendukungnya, telah menyebarkan kebohongan kepada seluruh masyarakat Papua karena sampai saat ini, NRFPB dengan tegas menyatakan tidak berada dalam ULMWP. NFRPB sendiri pada dasarnya berprinsip bahwa pengajuan aplikasi ke MSG harus dalam bentuk negara sehingga NFRPB yang seharusnya menjadi pemimpin dalam aplikasi yang akan diajukan, bukan ULMWP.

    MSG adalah organisasi kerja sama sub-kawasan Melanesia yang bertujuan mempromosikan dan memperkuat hubungan perdagangan antar anggota, pertukaran budaya Melanesia, serta kerja sama teknik untuk mencapai pertumbuhan ekonomi, pembangunan berkelanjutan, pemerintahan yang baik, dan keamanan. Dari definisi tersebut, sudah sangat jelas bahwa langkah yang dilakukan oleh ULMWP selama ini adalah kekeliruan besar karena seharusnya permasalahan Papua, juga harus diselesaikan di Papua, bukan dengan membawanya ke luar negeri yang justru mengundang campur tangan negara lain dan tentunya menyimpan seribu kepentingan yang akan membuat rakyat Papua tidak lebih menjadi penonton di atas tanahnya sendiri.(Nls/don)

  • 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

  • PM Sogavare Calls on PIDF Leaders for Ocean-Friendly Decisions

    By PM Press – July 15, 2016

    The PIDF Chair, Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands.
    The PIDF Chair, Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands.

    The new Chair of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands has called on all delegates at the 4th PIDF Leaders’ Summit to make maximum use of the meeting to make decisions that will save the ocean for the good of their countries.

    He made the call at the summit opening ceremony at the Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara this morning.

    “Our two-day deliberation on this theme is watched by the peoples and governments that we represent in the region so I therefore urge all of you to make maximum use of the opportunity that we now have to save our ocean for the good of our peoples and thegovernments and countries that we represent.”

    The PIDF Chair and Solomon Islands Prime Minister said it is an honour for Solomon Islands to host the summit for the first time and be the first nation to host the annual two-day event apart from Fiji- the home of PIDF.

    “It is indeed an honour to host the event in Solomon Islands and Iam glad to say that it is not the first time that we hold a regional high-level meeting of this nature but this one is special to us.

    “I say it is special because it is the first time for the PIDF Leaders’ Summit to move out of its home base (Fiji).”

    Turning to the theme of the event, the PIDF Chair said this year’s summit focuses on the theme of ‘Stewardship for Healthy Oceans and Healthy Nations.’

    “This theme recognises the fact that the health, wealth, history, culture and identity of the peoples’ of the Pacific Islands are vast and diverse.

    “This theme underpins the role oceans play to the biological diversity of our people. It reinforces the fact that the geographical vastness of our oceans is immeasurable.

    “We cannot deny the fact that we are the oceans people. We live by the ocean and we are big ocean states.

    “Furthermore, we can easily co-relate the aspirations of the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals to the health and welfare of the ocean that we share amongst us.

    “Oceans cover approximately 70.8 percent or 361 million square kilometers of the earth’s surface with a volume of about 1,370 million cubic kilometres. The oceans contain 97 percent of our planets available water. In our Pacific region, we can say that careful management of our ocean is key to our sustainable future,” he added.

    He further added that the theme of Stewardship for Healthy Oceans and Healthy Nations is also meant to stimulate the intellectual thinking capacities of leaders present at the summit. “Let us have this intellectual stimulation to save the health of our ocean and safeguard the identity of our nations.

    “That said, On behalf of every Solomon Islander, I applaud your stewardship for healthy ocean and healthy nations.

    The PIDF Chair and Solomon Islands Prime Minister said the summit is made even more significant by the presence of PIDF’s Charter Members, Foundational Members and Technical Partners as well as regional and international organisations.

    “In this regard, amongst others, I would like to acknowledge the presence of representatives of the state of Kuwait, People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Timor Leste, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Pakistan, United States of America, Pitcairn Islands and the (French) Territory of Wallis and Futuna.”

    The PIDF Chair and Solomon Islands Prime Minister also acknowledged the participation of Solomon Islands nongovernment organisations, civil society groups, Solomon Games’ Participating teams, youth groups and students from schools around Honiara in the opening ceremony.

    “The diversity at this stadium is the very nature that makes the PIDF different from other organisations. This is the unique system of the PIDF that we now cherish and shall preserve in the long run.

    “On top of this uniqueness, the PIDF also favours gender, social mix and plural thinking as the basis of a new equality in the format of a tripod.”

     

  • SI, Vanuatu, FLNKS, ULMWP Maintain Support on West Papua

    By PM Press – July 15, 2016

    msg chair and west papua
    MSG Chair, Prime Minister Sogavare greeted by leaders of the ULMWP for his staunch support on the issue of West Papua at the 20th MSG Leaders’ Summit in Honiara.

    MSG Chair, Prime Minister Sogavare greeted by leaders of the ULMWP for his staunch support on the issue of West Papua at the 20th MSG Leaders’ Summit in Honiara.

    Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kanak National Socialist Liberation Front (FLNKS) and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) remain resolute in their support of the aspirations for the Self-Determination of the People of West Papua and the full membership of ULMWP to the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

    The above MSG members are committed to advocating for West Papua and strongly adhere to the principles that are at the core of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, which is the ‘Political aspirations of self- determination of our Melanesian people.’

    There is recognition that such a commitment will require bold and ethical leadership and a clear understanding of our Melanesian values.

    The above members of MSG continue to condemn human rights abuses of the indigenous people of West Papua and will register our concerns at the United Nations Human Rights Council and other regional and international forums.

    In so doing, they will support the Pacific Islands Forum’s Framework for Pacific Regionalism, in particular concerns expressed by the Pacific Islands leaders about reports of violence in West Papua and call on all parties to protect and uphold the human rights of all residents in West Papua.

    Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the FLNKS invite other Pacific Island Countries to do this by peaceful means and to raise the issue of human rights abuses in West Papua at the UN General Assembly in September 2016, the UN Human Rights Council meetings in Geneva in September 2016 and again in March 2017.

     

  • 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

  • New PIDF Chair Dubs 4th PIDF Leaders Summit a Success

    The PIDF Chair, Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands.
    The PIDF Chair, Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands.

    The Honiara-hosted 4th Pacific Islands Forum Development Forum Leaders’ Summit concluded yesterday and the new Chair of the organisation, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare described the two-day dialogue as ‘very successful.’

    Addressing the Press at the conclusion of the summit late yesterday, Prime Minister Sogavare who has assumed the PIDF Chairmanship for a two-year period said, “ It was a very successful summit. Everything went very well as planned with a number of very important resolutions reached.”

    He said the summit started off with pre-summit discussions on various topics of interest to PIDF Member States and concluded with the handing over of the chairmanship from Prime Minister Hon Bainimarama of Fiji to him as well as discussions on the report of the PIDF Secretary-General Mr Martel Francois.

    The pre-summit discussions covered the Paris Agreement, which emanated from the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in Paris (COP21), roadmap to COP22 in Marrakesh, Morocco, Harnessing and Guaranteeing Ocean Wealth, Enhancing Collaboration in Achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and Opportunities for Accessing Climate Change Adaptation Financing.

    The PIDF chairmanship handover to the Solomon Islands Prime Minister from his Fiji counterpart- the first time for another PIDF Member State apart from Fiji to take on this role- will see the incumbent serve for a two-year term.

    The report by the PIDF Secretary-General covered PIDF’s Budget and Work Programme for 2017, Regional Development Trust Fund, Roadmap for Climate Change, Proposal for a Pacific Climate Treaty, Resolution for the Observance of the Pacific Year of Ocean 2017, PIDF Blue Economy Conference in 2017, PIDF role in UN Conference on Oceans and Seas, PIDF Contribution to the Climate Induced Migration Summit and the IMO- European Union Project on Capacity Building for Climate Change Mitigation in the Maritime Shipping Sector.

    “As you know the Pacific Islands Development forum is made up of small developing island states and is a very inclusive organisation and therefore the summit was very much focused on getting our collective voice on global issues affecting us.

    “ We acknowledge that because of our smallness, we can only make an influence on decisions on global issues that affect us if we have a collective stand and I think we have improved on that. The outcome of the Paris Agreement for example- the number of positions that were put forward by our small island developing states leading on from the climate change heavily focused Suva Declaration (this declaration emanated from the third PIDF Leaders’ Summit held in Suva, Fiji in 2015).

    “A number of issues that were raised by leaders at that forum are reflected in the Paris Agreement. What is left now is the implementation of that agreement which we leaders see as a huge challenge but once again there is that collective approach because of our smallness.

    “The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for example, while we appreciate that the prime responsibility to ensure these goals are achieved rests with member countries to streamline our various targets and goals to develop economical strategies, the need for a collective voice on decisions on very important issues affecting us underpins the importance of the PIDF.”

    The resolutions reached at the 4th summit will be developed into a declaration called the Honiara Declaration, which will be released in due course.

    The Secretary-General Mr Francois in turn thanked the Solomon Islands Government for hosting the summit, adding that it was quite special as it was the first to be held outside of Fiji since the inception of PIDF in 2013 and enforcement of the PIDF Charter during the third Leaders’ Summit in Suva, Fiji, 10-months ago.

    He said the decision to start hosting the annual summit outside of Fiji shows the spirit of inclusivity the PIDF wants to instil in its members.

    “We owe the gratitude for Solomon Islands to take on that challenging role. Prime Minister Sogavare has taken upon himself quite a challenge because we are talking about two years of chairmanship, which means two Leaders’ Summits, four Members of the Representative Council Meetings and hopefully the 2017 Blue Economy Summit,”

    Mr Francois added.

    The PIDF Secretary-General said the PIDF Leaders at this year’s summit focused not only on the PIDF organisational structure but also discussions reflecting on the oceans and the key issues that will happen in 2016 and 2017.

    He said the summit also focused on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the roadmap of the PIDF to the upcoming UN Climate Change Summit (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco.

    “You know we were all excited that the Paris Agreement was signed though it has not been fully ratified yet. But there is a lot of excitement about what could be done but there are also a lot of difficulties in ensuring that we are not trying to rewrite the Paris Agreement.

    “COP22 is not about refining the Paris Agreement. It’s rather about putting in place modalities for its implementation and the Pacific still has a very key role to play in ensuring that we continue the leadership role that we took in Paris, France and that is evident by the work that leaders did in the shaping of the Suva Declaration.”

  • ULMWP : West Papua Bergerak Maju dari Advokasi Menuju Sebuah Negara

    Sekjen ULMWP Octovianus Mote
    Sekjen ULMWP Octovianus Mote, Juru Bicara ULMWP (Benny Wenda) dan anggota ULMWP Rex Rumakiek saat upacara penerimaan delegasi ULMWP oleh Koalisi Masyarakat Sipil Pasifik untuk West Papua – Jubi/Victor Mambor

    Honiara, Jubi – Perjuangan bangsa Papua Barat saat ini mulai bergerak maju dari tahap advokasi menuju tahap membangun negara. Pernyataan ini disampaikan oleh Sekretaris Jenderal United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) di Honiara kepada sejumlah wartawan.

    “Saat ini kami harus bergerak maju membangun sebuah negara. Ini untuk mendapatkan dukungan internasional dalam penentuan nasib sendiri,” kata Octovianus Mote, Sekjen ULMWP, Rabu (13/7/2016).

    Bangsa Papua, sebagai bangsa yang besar dan memiliki tanah yang besar harus mempersiapkan diri untuk membantu rakyat Melanesia dan Pasifik yang hidup di pulau-pulau kecil yang mungkin saja akan menghadapi masalah dengan dampak perubahan iklim.

    “Bangsa Papua harus mengambil peran dalam pembangunan ekonomi, pembangunan kapasitas pekerja medis, dokter hingga upaya menghadapi dampak perubahan iklim,” ujar Mote.

    Menurutnya, saat ini bangsa dan rakyat Papua memiliki kapasitas untuk membantu bangsa dan rakyat Pasifik dan Melanesia.

    Terpisah, Juru Bicara ULMWP, Benny Wenda berharap ULMWP mendapatkan status anggota penuh di Melanesia Spearhead Groups (MSG).

    “Kami optimis. Saat ini dukungan dari bangsa-bangsa Melanesia dan Pasifik sangat kuat. Ini memberikan harapan besar bagi kami untuk menjadi sebuah negara bebas,” kata Wenda.

    Ia menambahkan, perjuangan saat ini bukan untuk dirinya atau para pejuang Papua Merdeka, namun untuk masa depan bangsa dan rakyat Papua.

    “Perjuangan ini, perjuangan bangsa dan rakyat Papua agar bisa bebas dari penindasan Indonesia,” kata Wenda.

    Perdana Menteri Kepulauan Solomon, Manaseh Sogavare, kepada wartawan usai pertemuan Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) menggambarkan perjuangan bangsa dan rakyat Papua sebagai perjuangan yang menarik perhatian bangsa-bangsa Melanesia dan Pasifik.

    “Kesadaran bangsa Papua Barat sebagai bagian dari Melanesia dan Pasifik serta kesadaran untuk membantu bangsa-bangsa Pasifik yang menghadapi ancaman perubahan iklim adalah langkah positif karena menunjukkan kepada Indonesia bahwa Bangsa Papua sangat serius dalam memandang dirinya dan siap dalam mengelola kekeyaan sumberdaya alamnya,”

    jelas Sogavare.

    Sogavare menambahkan, MSG Summit akan membahas aplikasi ULMWP untuk menjadi anggota penuh MSG agar bangsa Papua Barat bisa menyelesaikan masalah dengan Indonesia, terutama pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia yang terjadi terus menerus di Papua.

    “Kepedulian masyarakat internasional terhadap pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia di Papua juga ditunjukkan oleh Australia, Selandia Baru, Papua New Guinea, Fiji dan Vanuatu baik pemerintah maupun masyarakat sipilnya. Saat ini masalah Papua mendapatkan momentumnya,”

    kata Sogavare. (*)

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