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US ambassador visits Papua provinces
Robert O
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Robert O. Blake, Jr. AFP
US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O. Blake, Jr. highlighted growing cooperation between the US government and its counterparts in Indonesia, including local administrations and civil society organizations in Papua, during his trip to Papua and West Papua provinces on June 8-13.
'The US recognizes the territorial integrity of Indonesia within its present borders, including Papua. We also support a meaningful dialogue to resolve long-standing issues,' he said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Ambassador Blake said his six-day visit was part of his continuing travel across Indonesia to engage with local leaders, businesses, civil society and students to advance cooperation and partnership with the US.
'I discussed with senior government, religious, tribal, police and military personnel the importance of respecting everyone's rights to freely and peacefully express themselves. We also discussed benefits that would come from increasing access for international journalists to visit Papua,' the ambassador said.
During the trip, he traveled to the provinces of Papua and West Papua to meet with government officials, civil society leaders and alumni of Indonesia-US exchange programs. He also visited US government-supported programs for HIV-AIDS control, marine biodiversity protection and healthcare service improvement.
Blake attended an agreement signing ceremony between Jayapura Regent Mathius Awoitauw and representatives from a community health center (Puskesmas) in Dosay on June 10. The agreement outlined action to be taken to improve services at the Puskesmas in Dosay.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing support to the clinic in the form of training to strengthen public health services, with a special focus on maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
'The US is proud to support programs to improve the lives of Papuans. Through USAID, we partner with national and local governments, community leaders, the private sector, religious and community leaders on health, education, good governance, forest conservation and climate change programs. In 2013, the US invested US$10 million in development programs in Papua and West Papua,' said Blake.
He also met with the Papua governor and the province's military commander and police chief on the sidelines of the trip.
'I welcomed an improved performance on human rights in Papua by security forces and emphasized the need for sustained progress on this vital issue,' Blake continued.
Papua is the home of PT Freeport Indonesia, a unit of US-based mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., which is demanding the government extend its contract work to 2041 to enable it to build a smelter. The 2009 Mining Law and a 2010 government regulation stipulated that a proposal for the extension of a mining license could only be fielded two years before it expired or, in the case of Freeport, in 2019.
Separately, another shooting incident occurred in Jayapura on Saturday, highlighting the fragile security situation in the province, which was recently affected by a shooting in the Skouw-Wutung border area that led to the ongoing closure of the border with Papua New Guinea.
The most recent incident occurred as T. Sinaga and his wife and child were traveling from Abepura district, Jayapura, to their home in Arso district, Keerom regency, which is around 40 kilometers (km) away, at around 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday.
Sinaga, who is a teacher in Arso Swakarsa, was at the Kilometer 9 signpost, located around 17 km from Abepura, when his family's vehicle was shot at. A bullet hit the right-hand side of the rear of the car.
'We were just at Kilometer 9 of the Abepura-Arso road when we suddenly heard gunshots. I kept driving fast. Following the sound of the shots, I felt that our car had been hit by stones,' Sinaga told the Post. He said his car seemed to have been shot from the right side of the road.
Sinaga said the road between Abepura and Arso was very quiet that night. 'Usually, every 500 meters or so will you pass another vehicle, but on that night, we only saw another vehicle after driving for around 5 km,' he said, adding that he reported the incident at the Koya police precinct.
Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Alfred Papare said the police were still investigating the incident and had questioned Sinaga and his family.
'Currently, the deputy chief of Jayapura city police is leading a team to carry out an investigation at the incident site,' he told the Post.
