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Indonesia objects to Pacific nations’ demands over Papua

Indonesia has expressed its objections to Pacific countries’ concerns over alleged human rights abuses in Papua at a recent annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu

Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, August 19, 2019

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Indonesia objects to Pacific nations’ demands over Papua

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span>Indonesia has expressed its objections to Pacific countries’ concerns over alleged human rights abuses in Papua at a recent annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu.

The summit, held in the island nation’s capital Funafuti from Tuesday to Friday, was attended Pacific nation leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

In a communiqué issued on Friday, they “strongly encouraged” Indonesia to finalize the timing of a visit by the United Nations high commissioner for human rights to investigate alleged human rights abuses and allow the commissioner to create an “evidence-based, informed report” on the situation in Papua.

They further “reaffirmed recognition of Indonesia’s sovereignty over West Papua” and demanded that the report be completed before next year’s PIF summit.

“We have raised our objections to [the decision] to bring Papua into the meeting because it is not in line with [PIF’s] mandates, which are to talk about environmental issues, promote development in Pacific countries and to overcome the impact of climate change,” Foreign Ministry acting spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said on Friday.

Indonesia was not part of the decision or process of making the communiqué, but as a dialogue partner of the forum, the country may voice its objection, Faizasyah said.

Established in 1971, the PIF is the region’s premier political and economic policy organization and comprises 18 members. Indonesia has been a dialogue partner since 2001, and concerns over violence and alleged abuses in Papua have been a regular topic in past PIF meetings.

Among PIF members, Vanuatu is the most outspoken country in calling for an investigation into alleged rights violations in Papua and in voicing its support for West Papuan independence. The island nations raised the same topic at the UN General Assembly last year and attempted to smuggle Papuan separatist figure Benny Wenda into its delegation during a meeting with the UN high commissioner for human rights in January.

Vanuatu Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu, who was part of the drafting committee for the leaders’ communiqué, reportedly described the alleged rights violations a “the festering human rights sore” of the region, according to The Guardian on Friday.

Indonesia has often argued that Vanuatu used Papua to win domestic elections and suggested that such talks would only undermine PIF’s role as a regional forum.

However, recent incidents in Papua’s Nduga regency did not put Indonesia in a good light at the forum. Tensions between Indonesian security forces and armed rebels in Nduga escalated last week following the death of a police officer.

On Wednesday, the Nduga Solidarity Civil Society Coalition released an on-the-ground verification of the deaths of 182 civilians, but the government was quick to deny the number.

Despite the communiqué, Papua was not the focus of last week’s summit as Pacific nations grappled with the threat of climate change. Small Pacific island nations lamented Australia’s lack of commitment to setting tough policies to combat climate change, especially coal mining regulations.

Unable to find a consensus after 12 hours of discussions, host nation Tuvalu said that Morrison, whose strong backing of a controversial new coal mine was a key factor in his recent election victory, was central to the dispute.

“I said to the Australian prime minister that ‘you are concerned about your economy, I am concerned about the future of my people’,” Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said as quoted by Reuters.

The Foreign Ministry’s director general for Asia-Pacific and African Affairs, Desra Percaya, who led Indonesia’s delegation at the summit, said that Indonesia was also facing the same adverse impacts of climate change, just like other nations in the Pacific.

Desra said Indonesia was committed to being more instrumental in overcoming such challenges.

In 2016, Indonesia pledged to reduce its emissions by 29 percent, or by 41 percent with international support by 2030.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry claimed that the country had managed to reduce its emissions by 8.7 percent against business-as-usual projections in 2016. Observers noted that Indonesia was “on the right track but still far from the target” due to poor enforcement and compliance.

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