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Tag: Melanesian Politics

  • Government should be ‘more patient, less reactive’ on Papua issue

    Government should be ‘more patient, less reactive’ on Papua issue

    The jakarta Post – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo delegates the formulation of Indonesia’s position on global matters without much guidance or clarity, observers say.The Jakarta Post’s Tama Salim interviewed Siswo Pramono, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Policy Analysis and Development Agency (BPPK), to review his foreign policy and strategies for the next three years. Here are excerpts from the interview:

    Question: What is the current priority of Indonesian foreign policy?

    Answer:     The closest region is our biggest priority, not just for economic reasons but also for our survival, which is highly dependent on ASEAN.

    The challenges in ASEAN are enormous: first, a fundamental change in […] the “ASEAN way,” which has taken on new […] meanings with the generational changes.

    We have the generation of [Foreign Minister] Retno [LP Marsudi] — the third generation [of the ministry’s diplomats] — but then we have a generation of people from ministries and other counterparts who have not changed all that much.

     ASEAN […] requires constant care in preserving its unity; the challenge is in the political communication.

    Secondly, while our foreign policy is formulated for the long term, we feel its direct impact when it is tangible. So […] when [ASEAN] members converge into a single market we may not be able to discern its effects on prosperity within a day, but we can sense it through the penetration of goods [into the market].

    […] In celebrating ASEAN’s 50th anniversary next year, we’ve gone through many changes, including the ASEAN Charter. There is so much transparency now […] Concrete projects include the ASEAN Economic Community […] but […] we need to better inform our people about the [risks]. […]

    What did you mean with generational differences among those shaping foreign policy?

    […] A lot of the [1945 generation] were Dutch-educated; […] even for homegrown talents, most universities were developed by the Dutch. So when we speak about the foreign policy of that time, we speak of
    de-colonization.

    […] Then the development of schools of thought from one generation to another is quite dynamic, owing [partly] to the extraordinary democracy in 1955 […]

    We had products of Dutch thinking and then American. Then we shifted more toward the Pacific […]; around 20,000 Indonesians are studying in Australia. So we have had a Western perspective within the Asian experience. But nowadays we have more people who studied in Japan, South Korea and China […]

    So how do we interpret the ASEAN Way through the eyes of our current generation? And how do others, such as Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam or the Philippines, see the ASEAN Way through their perspective? […]

    [We require] brainstorming among leaders […] including how to face the common challenge of the South China Sea debacle. […] If these parties [in ASEAN are] economically close but are culturally different, it is something we only find out from intense dialogue.

    What other regions will the Foreign Ministry prioritize apart from ASEAN?

    We see [the importance of] the Indian Ocean through our leadership [in the Indian Ocean Rim Association, IORA]. […] Indonesia is bound by […] the Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea and the East Asia region to the north, and to our west is the Indian Ocean […]

    When President Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo speaks about the Indo-Pacific region and the “maritime axis,” he refers to the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, including the South China Sea.

    So in line with the maritime axis plan […], the foundation of our foreign policy in the last two years, we have to connect the two oceans.

    Indonesia is more focused on communicating inwardly through infrastructure development — building ports, toll roads etc. But now we are being challenged by China on how to connect the maritime axis plan with their One Belt, One Road initiative. […]

    Indonesia [must also] consider the Indian Ocean […]

    Jokowi’s maritime axis plan [also comprises] the Pacific — the southwest Pacific in the context of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) and the Papua issue. Although we try to avoid internationalization of the Papua issue, many people out there make a fuss about it.

    [As] a G20 member state, […] we are now a donor country, meaning we have to funnel our resources in the Pacific.

    Compared to ASEAN, with a combined GDP of US$2.3 trillion […] and IORA with around $9 trillion; the MSG [has] a total GDP of $23 billion. So with a GDP of roughly $850 billion, we can play a bigger role [in the Pacific].

    […] the government should be more patient and be less reactive. […] We place great care in the MSG as it is a part of the South Pacific. […] Because it is a sensitive issue in eastern Indonesia and President Jokowi has just inaugurated several projects in Papua, the MSG should feel it is benefiting from Indonesia becoming one of its members. […]

    The MSG orients itself toward ASEAN. […] Indonesia is part-Melanesian, as evidenced by our 11 million Melanesian population [in eastern Indonesia]. If they join the MSG, their slice of the political pie will get bigger and the eastern region […] will become their bridge to the Asian market. There are already direct flights from PNG to Bali […]

    Papua is first and foremost Indonesia’s domestic problem […] Papua can also become a potential gateway for our friends in the Pacific to access the Asian market. […]

    So these past two years Pak Jokowi has been promoting the maritime axis plan, but now we must devise concrete strategies and translate them into foreign policy. [Our challenge is] not only to realize the connectivity […] but also to ensure it becomes the gateway to profits in the Indian Ocean, in East Asia and the South China Sea area, as well as in the Pacific. [..]

    Do we need better coordination among government bodies?

    […] it is up to each ministry to respond to the will of the President, who represents the will of the people. And how his ministers respond will heavily depend on how everything is coordinated.

    For instance, in negotiations on the South China Sea, [apart from] the Foreign Ministry there is the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister and the Navy — even the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry is involved […] because development on the Natuna islands will be decisive in maintaining sovereignty in the area.

    [But] […] it remains the domain of the foreign minister to convey the substance to ASEAN or China. Interdepartmental coordination is crucial because Indonesia [has] many gaps — whether between east and west or among competing interests. But it is the purpose of good governance to ensure that everything [put out as a policy] is discussed together.

  • Leave West Papua Issue Alon: Faisi

    theislandsun.com – THE Leader of Free West Papua Movement in Solomon Islands has called on political parties to leave West Papua issue alone.

    Speaking to this paper, Mr Samson Faisi said it is disappointing to see a National Leader use West Papua as a reason to topple Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

    He pointed out that there are many important reasons the political parties put to represent their point but not West Papua.

    Mr Faisi said Political Parties should find arguments on failed party policies the current government fail to deliver as their base of argument.

    He strongly condemn Sir Nathaniel Waena’s statement in the paper yesterday to support the call for the Prime Minister to step down.

    “Leave West Papua out of the political issue, West Papua issue deals with human safety and freedom as a human being we should think again.

    “It is disappointing to see national leaders acting childish,” Mr Faisi said.

    He said he is also an active member of a Political Party and that such statement not only shame but also cause embracement on the country.

    Mr Faisi said the West Papua issues is dealing with safety and freedom of humanity and that leaders should see the real issue rather than talking nonsense.

    He said seven countries in the Pacific are behind the fight to free West Papua and it is a shame for Solomon Islands to pick on West Papua as scapegoat in the current Political uphill.

    Meanwhile Mr Faisi salutes Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare for his support toward West Papua.

  • Vanuatu Deputy PM: Melanesians Being Killed By Asians

    Vanuatu Deputy PM: Melanesians Being Killed By Asians

    Pasifik.News – By Adam Boland – July 20, 2016

    Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister has hit out at Indonesia saying Melanesians must speak up for the people of West Papua.

    Joe Natuman believes the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is being swayed by outside interests after it deferred making a decision on awarding full membership to the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

    “West Papua was forcibly annexed by Indonesia and brutally overthrown. They were in the process of getting their independence in the early 1960s,” he told Vanuatu’s Buzz FM 96. “Now they say we cannot interfere, no, we must interfere. Melanesians are being killed by Asians, we have to interfere.”

    He says the MSG is failing to meet its charter.

    “The MSG, I must repeat, the MSG, which I was a pioneer in setting up was established for the protection of the identity of the Melanesian people, the promotion of their culture and to defend their rights,” he said. “Now it appears other people are trying to use the MSG to drive their own agendas and I am sorry but I will insist that MSG is being bought by others.”

    Vanuatu has been a strong supporter of the ULMWP getting full membership but Papua New Guinea and Fiji say it would undermine Indonesia’s sovereignty. Jakarta has confirmed it has been lobbying Melanesian countries intensely.

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

  • West Papua wants to interact more with MSG countries

    SolomonStarNews.com, Published: 13 July 2016

    West Papua says it wants more interaction with members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia.

    The intention was relayed yesterday to the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare in Honiara by the visiting General Secretary of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua, Octovinius Mote.

    Mr Mote told Prime Minister Sogavare that West Papua would like to see more contacts in sports, especially in soccer with their Melanesian brothers in PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and New Caledonia.

    He said West Papua would be interested in joining the Melanesian Cup soccer competition.

    Mr Mote said as a start, West Papua would also like to send young West Papuans to study at the Solomon Islands National University in Honiara and in educational institutions in Vanuatu.

    He added at a later date, students from West Papua could also be sent to study in PNG and Fiji.

    Mr Mote is leading a three-member delegation of the ULMOWP to observe the Pacific Islands Development Forum Summit which begins in Honiara tomorrow (July 12).

    By George Atkin,
    OPMC Press Secretariat

  • MSG gets West Papua and Indonesia to talk

    SolomonStarnews.com, Published: 18 June 2016

    A SENIOR delegation of Indonesian officials and delegates of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua met Thursday in a move instigated by the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

    The two sides had been at loggerhead over West Papua’s struggle to have a separate state.

    MSG Foreign Ministers meeting chairman and Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs minister, George Milner Tozaka said it was important to get both sides to sit at the same table and talk.

    He said the objective of MSG is to look at the developmental interests of Melanesian countries and this included West Papua.

    “We are constructively trying to engage both Indonesia and West Papua to talk and say what they want to say to each other in the meeting, but the main thing is to get them to sit at the same table and talk,”

    Mr Tozaka said.

    He said one of the major issues was the membership of MSG and the inclusion of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as observers, while Indonesia was accorded associate membership.

    “The last meeting we had in Honiara we had been to work on the criteria for the membership of Indonesia and West Papua so that they can participate in the MSG.”

    Mr Tozaka said Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) had a look through this issue and concluded that there was still a lot more work to be done.

    “SOM have asked for more time for them to look into this issue.”

    They would then submit their report to the Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting, before it was taken up to the Leaders Summit in Honiara on July 14.

    The MSG is made up of three levels, the highest of which was the Leaders Summit, then the Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting and the Senior Officials Meeting.

    The application for membership from West Papua and Indonesia in the Melanesian Spearhead Group has been referred to the legal committee.

    Fiji’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Ratu Inoke Kubuabola said Fiji would raise its voice with Indonesia over the matter.

    Ratu Inoke said Fiji had a good relationship with Indonesia.

    “We respect the integrity and sovereignty of Indonesia under international laws.”

    Meanwhile, Ratu Inoke said Fiji still maintained its position that its participation in the Pacific Islands Forum would still remain at ministerial level.

    “Our Prime Minister (Voreqe Bainimarama) still feels very strongly on that position.”

    Fiji wants Australia and New Zealand to withdraw as members of PIF.

  • MSG rejects West Papua membership bid

    4:48 pm on 29 June 2015, RadioNZNews

    The Melanesian Spearhead Group has knocked back West Papua’s bid to become a full member of the group, while elevating Indonesia’s status.

    Listen (duration 4′ :48″) Download: Ogg  |  MP3

    Tags: West Papua
    Transcript

    The Melanesian Spearhead Group has knocked back West Papua’s bid to become a full member of the group, while elevating Indonesia’s status.

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua hoped to follow in the footsteps of New Caledonia’s FLNKS in obtaining full MSG membership, without being a sovereign government.

    This would have been Papua’s first recognition in an international fora since the region was incorporated into Indonesia.

    Koroi Hawkins has more.

    “Let us not forget the dreams and wishes of our people to be part of a Melanesian family. The desire of our people for an inclusive MSG. An MSG that is able to stand for what is right in the world, where such values are now struggling to survive.”

    It was a passionate speech by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare at the opening of the MSG Leaders Summit in Honiara on Wednesday.

    One that brought tears to the eyes of the members of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua delegation present and sparked hope in West Papuan Leaders such as Benny Wenda.

    “I think his speech is the really amazing ever and I think now its time for the Melanesian leaders to show the world that they can handle this problem because this is the longest struggle, 50 years is enough that’s why it is time for Melanesian leaders to look at this issue and bring West Papua into Melanesia.”

    And bring them in they did. But not in the way Benny Wenda or anyone else for that matter had envisioned.

    The MSG rejected the ULM bid for membership and instead granted them observer status, with an interesting twist, while elevating Indonesia’s own observer status to that of associate member.

    A Solomon Islands academic Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka, who is an associate professor at the University of Hawaii’s school of Pacific Island Studies, says the latter decision is the most disappointing for Melanesians.

    “Not so much for the fact that West Papua has been admitted only as an observer member but for the fact the Indonesia has been made a member of the MSG. I think thats the big dissappointment. On the other hand the fact that West Papua has been accorded an observer status is a good thing its a step in the right direction.”

    But a spokesperson from the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra Sade Bimantara says its associate membership is a positive step for Melanesia.

    “We believe that we can contribute to the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Add value to that and also to increase connectivity between people in the Asia Pacific with those Melanesian descendants in Indonesia.

    For the ULM however there is only gratitude for what Benny Wenda describes simply as recognition.

    “You know 53 years we, our voice never recognised and in the regional and international fora so this is why this is the first step for West Papua to become an observer in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.”

    But the observer status comes with conditions that say the ULMWP is representing West Papuans outside of West Papua. A clause Dr Kabutaulaka says ignores the representative status already held by the ULM.

    “To imply that it only represents people outside West Papua is in a way say that, you know, it is not really a legitimate representation of West Papuans and therefore when it comes to serious discussions it could be disregarded.”

    And this was raised by Indonesia delegation in Honiara right off the bat according to Papua based journalist, Victor Mambor who was in Honiara for the summit.

    Reading from an Indonesian statement released in response to the United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s speech in acceptance of its observer status, Victor Mambor said Indonesia rejected the ULM’s allegations of human rights abuses in West Papua as well as the ULM’s claim that it represented the people of West Papua.

    “Listening to the statement of the observer calling itself ULMWP, I wonder if their participation in the MSG will contribute to its noble causes and principles. We categorically reject all these unfounded and false allegations made against the government of Indonesia.”

    But Benny Wenda says to him the clause is irrelevant given the make up of the ULM and the extent to which the group has gone to make sure it was representative of the people of West Papua.

    “They chose us as a leader of speaking out on behalf of people of West Papua. And this is representing people inside and outside which some of them live in exile, so we are representing people of West Papua.”

    The full extent of the decisions made by MSG Leaders in Honiara this week are yet to play out in the region but a contrast can be taken in comparing the reactions of the two parties concerned.

    First Indonesia.

    “Indonesia is populated by about 253 million people. So this is a potential large market access for citizens of MSG. So if we can work together you know to increase our economic ties and development I think we can enhance the prosperity of our peoples.”

    And secondly West Papua.

    “We United Liberation Movement to pursue another further push to full membership. That is what we will fight for next step.

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