2) Strengthening Jakarta–Jayapura trust key to development in Papua
3) Walk for Freedom marches to highlight West Papua, as the Pacific Islands Forum meets
4) South Sorong: Oil palm industry continues its rapid expansion.
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A google translate of article in majalahselangkah.com. Be-aware google translate can be a bit erratic.
Original bahasa link at
http://majalahselangkah.com/content/-polisi-hadang-aksi-damai-knpb-dan-prd-timika
1) Police Prevent Protest KNPB and PRD Timika
Author: Mateus Badii | Thursday, September 3, 2015 19:46 Viewed: 246 Comments: 0
Mass action when confronted by security forces. Photo: Doc. KNPB
Timika, STEP MAGAZINE - Police officers block the action of the people of Papua are mediated by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) and the Regional People's Parliament (PRD) region of Timika, on Thursday (3/09/2015). Action mounting grief candles and worship is done in order to say to the world that Papua is being used as an 'emergency zone' by the Indonesian military.
"The peace rally we've done in the form of worship, action wax and submit two (2) corpses were shot TNI on 28 August. All we are doing as a symbol that the current area of Papua zoned emergency by the Indonesian military," said Abihud Degei, chairman of the PRD Timika region.
According to him, the shooting which occurred on August 28, 2015 against two young men in Timika in Papua is a continuation of the bloody Paniai case, Tolikara case and other similar cases in Papua. Everything prove Papua region used as a military operation. "All the series of events is done on purpose. If we keep quiet we shall die, let the voice of what really happened," said in an interview Degei majalahselangkah.com.
Meanwhile, the chairman of KNPB Timika region, Steven Itlay said democracy for the people of Papua have not been felt. Whatever you want to do Papuans prohibited security forces for various reasons that are not logical. "People want to do worship Papua banned, blocked a peaceful demonstration, expression in public is always confronted with the military, this is the reality that occurs in the land of Papua today," said Itlay
He said, this time, the people of Papua have the right of expression in public, while the liability obligations of the police as the security forces only carry out the law, but a real democracy is not really felt the Papuans. All the activities carried Papuans considered separatist activities.
"Mutual respect is important, peaceful action undertaken guaranteed legal, the authorities have a legal obligation to execute the state adheres to democratic Indonesia, the authorities even against its own law, is strange and only in Papua," he said emphatically
Brief chronology, blocking the action of KNPB and PRD in Timika
At around 7:30 pm Papua masses gathered in the office KNPB Jl. Sewer culvert, Timika, time began to prepare down the road, at about 9:00 pm
Future action spread main banner reads "Indonesia immediately stop genocide Papuans" and the portrait inscribed "the TNI / police stop violence against the Papuan people" diperlihat future action began to move. Future actions also carry two coffins wrapped in black cloth, a symbol of grief over the shooting of two youths in Timika in a tight convoy of security forces.
Deterrence occurs when the mass action of entering the highway from the culvert. Assisted by armed military police officers with a car full of barracuda and sniper as well as dozens of security forces does not give leeway to continue the action.
Negotiations were conducted at a stalemate, the police do not give way to mass action continued on the Catholic church cathedral place of worship Timika menjakdi grief along the entire denomination on 2 youth who was shot dead by TNI. Finally hundreds of Papuans action pairs of candles and worship the symbol of sorrow of the people of Papua. Pastor Daniel Bagau cover the whole range of activities with prayer, mass later return to the office action KNPB. (Mateus Badii / MS)
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http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2015/09/03/strengthening-jakarta-jayapura-trust-key-to-development-in-papua/
2) Strengthening Jakarta–Jayapura trust key to development in Papua
Author: Yulia I. Sari, ANU
In order to improve the effectiveness of development strategies in Indonesia’s Papua province, trust between the central government in Jakarta and the Papua provincial government in Jayapura needs to be strengthened. The PNPM-RESPEK initiative is a case in point. Following its establishment in 2008, PNPM-RESPEK (the Village Community Empowerment Program in Papua Province), reached almost every village in Papua — a province often recognised as one of Indonesia’s poorest regions. This program was at the heart of the central government’s effort to reduce poverty in Papua Province. For a period of time it was the only program reaching native Papuans in remote rural areas, mostly in the highlands, with very limited access to basic services. The project cost 1.28 billion rupiah (approximately US$128 million) in 2013.
Although the program ended in December 2014, it presents a useful lesson for the government of Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), which is set to implement a new village development program in Papua in the near future. The environment of mistrust between the central government in Jakarta and the provincial Papua government in Jayapura must be addressed in order to achieve real development in Papua’s poorest villages.
Unlike community-driven development programs run in other parts of the country, PNPM-RESPEK was funded by both the central and provincial governments. Specifically, funding was provided through the central government’s Program for Community Empowerment in Rural Areas and the Papua provincial government’s Strategic Village Development Plan. The Papua provincial government was responsible for channelling annual block grants of 100 million rupiah (US$10,000), while the central government provided technical assistance and facilitation.
The implementation of this flagship program has faced several challenges that may hinder the achievement of long-term goals and the sustainability of future programs. These include the timeframe, demanding administrative requirements, limited access to recipient villages and facilitation quality. The resolution of these issues was not helped by the prevailing environment of mistrust.
A lack of synchronization over the timing of central and provincial government funding provision limited the ability of the subdistrict facilitators to deliver the program. While central government funding was ready for disbursement early in the year, provincial government funds were generally not available until September, October or even November. This became an issue as the provincial government temporarily deactivated villagers’ bank accounts over the Christmas period to prevent misuse of funds. This gave only a short window of time, from September to mid-December, for the funds to be used.
The sub-district facilitators were also subjected to lengthy administrative requirements for every stage of the program. They had to facilitate at least nine implementation stages, prepare required documents for the disbursement of funding, and write project and individual progress reports for each of between four to 13 villages in each sub-district. As a result of these reporting requirements, the time that facilitators had available for actual program implementation was limited. Sub-district facilitators, as the forefront of this program, prioritised the fulfilment of their numerous administrative obligations over improving the quality of project implementation.
The program also suffered from issues of accessibility, with limited roads and transportation facilities resulting in high costs required to reach many areas in Papua. These costs were not met by transportation budgets. As a result, facilitator supervision, especially in poorly accessible areas, was minimal and sometimes even omitted altogether.
Stakeholder discussions proposed several recommendations for reform. The two most significant were to expand the program’s budgetary cycle to biannual cycles — one year for planning and one year for implementation, giving more time to facilitators to plan. And to formulate a special operational technical guide for Papua that considers geographical accessibility issues and reduces unnecessary paperwork.
But these recommendations faced critical challenges in their execution. The provincial government, especially the governor, opposed the first recommendation because while the amount of funds would remain unchanged, they would be channelled only once every two years. This would likely have political repercussions, as village elite’s unhappiness with this ‘long delay’ could potentially reduce the governor’s popularity.
The follow-up on the second recommendation has stalled as there has not been a clear agreement about who should formulate a specific Community Empowerment Operational Guide for Papua. The provincial government and facilitators feel that the current guidelines are too ‘Jakarta-centric’ and would like to formulate their own, but they feel that they have never been entrusted with that authority. On the other hand, the central government expects Jayapura to be more proactive and to take the initiative.
Unfortunately, the central government seems hesitant to pursue further dialogue or lobbying because they feel uneasy about dealing with Jayapura. At the same time, Jayapura believes that Jakarta has not been serious in following up Jayapura’s needs. These misperceptions, which are rooted in decades of unresolved conflict and deep distrust between Jakarta and Jayapura, have hampered the improvement of project implementation.
With President Jokowi’s forthcoming program to accelerate development in Papua, as well as the forthcoming implementation of Village Law No.6/2014, there will be a significant rise in the allocation of funds directly to villages, including in Papua. Most likely, this will be through the mechanism of the village community empowerment program.
But the effectiveness of these programs is highly dependent on how consistent Jokowi and central government bureaucrats are in keeping their promise of building dialogue and trust with Jayapura. To achieve this, the Jokowi government must focus on facilitating more communication and consultation with the Papua provincial government. Without a fundamental transformation of this relationship, it is likely that future development initiatives will continue to repeat the same unsuccessful pattern.
Yulia I. Sari is a PhD Candidate at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
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Author: Yulia I. Sari, ANU
In order to improve the effectiveness of development strategies in Indonesia’s Papua province, trust between the central government in Jakarta and the Papua provincial government in Jayapura needs to be strengthened. The PNPM-RESPEK initiative is a case in point. Following its establishment in 2008, PNPM-RESPEK (the Village Community Empowerment Program in Papua Province), reached almost every village in Papua — a province often recognised as one of Indonesia’s poorest regions. This program was at the heart of the central government’s effort to reduce poverty in Papua Province. For a period of time it was the only program reaching native Papuans in remote rural areas, mostly in the highlands, with very limited access to basic services. The project cost 1.28 billion rupiah (approximately US$128 million) in 2013.
Although the program ended in December 2014, it presents a useful lesson for the government of Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), which is set to implement a new village development program in Papua in the near future. The environment of mistrust between the central government in Jakarta and the provincial Papua government in Jayapura must be addressed in order to achieve real development in Papua’s poorest villages.
Unlike community-driven development programs run in other parts of the country, PNPM-RESPEK was funded by both the central and provincial governments. Specifically, funding was provided through the central government’s Program for Community Empowerment in Rural Areas and the Papua provincial government’s Strategic Village Development Plan. The Papua provincial government was responsible for channelling annual block grants of 100 million rupiah (US$10,000), while the central government provided technical assistance and facilitation.
The implementation of this flagship program has faced several challenges that may hinder the achievement of long-term goals and the sustainability of future programs. These include the timeframe, demanding administrative requirements, limited access to recipient villages and facilitation quality. The resolution of these issues was not helped by the prevailing environment of mistrust.
A lack of synchronization over the timing of central and provincial government funding provision limited the ability of the subdistrict facilitators to deliver the program. While central government funding was ready for disbursement early in the year, provincial government funds were generally not available until September, October or even November. This became an issue as the provincial government temporarily deactivated villagers’ bank accounts over the Christmas period to prevent misuse of funds. This gave only a short window of time, from September to mid-December, for the funds to be used.
The sub-district facilitators were also subjected to lengthy administrative requirements for every stage of the program. They had to facilitate at least nine implementation stages, prepare required documents for the disbursement of funding, and write project and individual progress reports for each of between four to 13 villages in each sub-district. As a result of these reporting requirements, the time that facilitators had available for actual program implementation was limited. Sub-district facilitators, as the forefront of this program, prioritised the fulfilment of their numerous administrative obligations over improving the quality of project implementation.
The program also suffered from issues of accessibility, with limited roads and transportation facilities resulting in high costs required to reach many areas in Papua. These costs were not met by transportation budgets. As a result, facilitator supervision, especially in poorly accessible areas, was minimal and sometimes even omitted altogether.
Stakeholder discussions proposed several recommendations for reform. The two most significant were to expand the program’s budgetary cycle to biannual cycles — one year for planning and one year for implementation, giving more time to facilitators to plan. And to formulate a special operational technical guide for Papua that considers geographical accessibility issues and reduces unnecessary paperwork.
But these recommendations faced critical challenges in their execution. The provincial government, especially the governor, opposed the first recommendation because while the amount of funds would remain unchanged, they would be channelled only once every two years. This would likely have political repercussions, as village elite’s unhappiness with this ‘long delay’ could potentially reduce the governor’s popularity.
The follow-up on the second recommendation has stalled as there has not been a clear agreement about who should formulate a specific Community Empowerment Operational Guide for Papua. The provincial government and facilitators feel that the current guidelines are too ‘Jakarta-centric’ and would like to formulate their own, but they feel that they have never been entrusted with that authority. On the other hand, the central government expects Jayapura to be more proactive and to take the initiative.
Unfortunately, the central government seems hesitant to pursue further dialogue or lobbying because they feel uneasy about dealing with Jayapura. At the same time, Jayapura believes that Jakarta has not been serious in following up Jayapura’s needs. These misperceptions, which are rooted in decades of unresolved conflict and deep distrust between Jakarta and Jayapura, have hampered the improvement of project implementation.
With President Jokowi’s forthcoming program to accelerate development in Papua, as well as the forthcoming implementation of Village Law No.6/2014, there will be a significant rise in the allocation of funds directly to villages, including in Papua. Most likely, this will be through the mechanism of the village community empowerment program.
But the effectiveness of these programs is highly dependent on how consistent Jokowi and central government bureaucrats are in keeping their promise of building dialogue and trust with Jayapura. To achieve this, the Jokowi government must focus on facilitating more communication and consultation with the Papua provincial government. Without a fundamental transformation of this relationship, it is likely that future development initiatives will continue to repeat the same unsuccessful pattern.
Yulia I. Sari is a PhD Candidate at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
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3) Walk for Freedom marches to highlight West Papua, as the Pacific Islands Forum meets
Updated
Supporters of the Free West Papua campaign have planned a series of marches to coincide with the Pacific Islands Forum in Port Moresby next week.
What they're calling Walk for Freedom marches will take place on Wednesday afternoon in Port Moresby, Madang, Popondetta and Mount Hagen.
Fred Mambrasar, coordinator of the Free West Papua Campaign, says they have support from at least one high-profile West Papua campaigner.
Updated
Supporters of the Free West Papua campaign have planned a series of marches to coincide with the Pacific Islands Forum in Port Moresby next week.
What they're calling Walk for Freedom marches will take place on Wednesday afternoon in Port Moresby, Madang, Popondetta and Mount Hagen.
Fred Mambrasar, coordinator of the Free West Papua Campaign, says they have support from at least one high-profile West Papua campaigner.
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https://awasmifee.potager.org/?p=1313
4) South Sorong: Oil palm industry continues its rapid expansion.
In mid-2013, there was no oil palm planted in South Sorong Regency. The logging industry had made an impact on the forest in the area, but the area was still covered by forest, much of it classified by the Indonesian Government as primary forest.
By early 2014, two subsidiaries of the Austindo Nusantara Jaya Group had started clearing this forest, and by the end of the year PT Varia Mitra Andalan (a subsidiary of Eagle High Plantations Tbk.) was also logging for an oil palm plantation.
Aside from the environmental destruction, this new industry has brought conflict with the local community. On August 25th, two men were convicted after having been arrested on a demonstration protesting against Austindo Nusantara Jaya back in May. Odie Aitago was sentenced to 7 months in prison, and Obet Korie to five months.
But more companies are getting ready to join them. Last week local government officials met to discuss the Frames of Reference for the Environmental Impact Assessments (KA-ANDAL) of two more companies PT Persada Utama Agromulia (PAU) and PT Anugrah Sakti Internusa (ASI) which are planning to clear another 25,000 and 37,000 hectares respectively to plant with oil palm. Both companies are believed to be subsidiaries of the Indonusa Agromulia Group. The KA-ANDAL is the first stage of the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Here is a translation of the report of the event taken from the South Sorong Regency website:
Two Oil Palm Companies Ready to Invest.
TEMINABUAN- It seems that land in South Sorong is just right for oil palm plantations. This has been shown by two oil palm companies which are ready to invest in the regency, in addition to the plantations which are already underway.The two companies are PT Persada Utama Agromulia (PAU) and PT Anugerah Sakti Internusa (ASI), which plan to operate in different areas. PT PUA’s concession is in Wayer and Kais Darat Districts, with PT ASI in Teminabuan and Konda districts. In relation to the two companies’ preparations to invest, their Frames of Reference for the Environmental Impact Assessment (KA-ANDAL) were discussed and evaluated as an initial step by the Environment Impact Assessment Evaluation Commission’s technical team. PT PUA’s KA-ANDAL was discussed on Wednesday 19th August and PT ASI’s on Thursday 20th August in the Women’s Building. The meeting of the technical team was chaired by the head of the local cleanliness and environment agency Dr Yusuf Sipayung who is also head of the Evaluation Commission, with Chris Untajana acting as moderator.The technical team is comprised of local government bodies with competence evaluating KA ANDAL documents, such as the environment agency, forestry agency, agriculture agency, Production Forest Management Unit (KPH) and the Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BKSDA). Two members of the Regional Environmental Management Agency for West Papua province also joined the technical team, as did three expert members from an academic background, two from the University of Papua in Manokwari and one from Universitas Victory in Sorong. The company initiating the project and the consultant which prepared the KA ANDAL documents were given the chance to make presentations, and then the technical team and expert members questioned the company. The company gave a detailed explanation of its environmental impact assessment, including technical and socio-cultural aspects. The two oil palm companies will use a plasma system to engage local people. The companies will also build factories to process the palm oil.The technical team passed on their suggestions for improving the KA ANDAL to the company and the consultants. In principle the technical team agreed that the two companies should proceed to the next stage, with the proviso that the company makes the changes which the technical team and expert members suggested, according to the time available.
Previously, two more subsidiaries of the Internusa Agromulia Group were also trying to process the permits they need for oil palm plantations in South Sorong: PT Internusa Jaya Sejahtera (40,000 hectares) and PT Dinamika Agro Lestari (35,000 hectares). No updates have been received on the status of those two companies.
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