Papua who still living in Exile interested in going home

Indonesian Papuan citizens living in Papua New Guinea and abroad for the past 40 years can now return to rebuild their homeland in western New Guinea, Logohu Award winner and PNG journalist Franz-Albert Joku told He had just returned to Port Moresby after negotiating with Indonesian central government and Papuan provincial government officials on the special autonomy and how West Papuans in PNG and abroad could participate.

The PNG government supports the special autonomy process in the two Indonesian provinces, Papua and Papua Barat and PNG officials will be liaising with the Indonesian government and the Papua province government to register West Papuans who fled Indonesia in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s who agree to return home. Some of them follow the repatriation program on 19-22 November 2009.

"Mr Joku appealed to the West Papuans fighting for independence in the bushes and mountains to reach a compromise and work together under the new special autonomy process," Harlyne Joku reported in The National (Port Morsby). "He said under the special autonomy, West Papuans would have 85 per cent freedom to empower themselves on their own land. He said now, a positive pace had been set and the special autonomy process passed by the Indonesian government in October 2001 was beginning to work. Leaders were being elected in a democratic process."

Joku also appealed to educated West Papuans not be spectators of the autonomy process but make it work, adding there was freedom of speech, movement and elections. Although their fathers had demanded political independence, the Indonesian government had given special autonomy.

"Not like before when people were ruled under the barrel of a gun. If all goes as expected under special autonomy, between seven and nine years time, in development than PNG," he said. So don’t feel doubt back to Papua and together create development and land of peace.

Source : www.papuatoday.com
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Forgotten Bird of Paradise is a propaganda Film

Forgotten Bird of Paradise who screening in England, not documenter film about Papua, Benny Wenda and his networking in England, Dutch and Australia try to promote the film and hopefully take support like financial and popularity so that they have money and can survive living with his family in England. They have hidden mission on screening all film about Papua, one of them film Forgotten Bird of Paradise. All papuan people know, the film only provoke International Community to take action and give support to Separatist group in Papua or in abroad like Benny Wenda and his colleagues.

In this regard, we hope all stakeholders in Papua and Jakarta to take measure like tighten of secure and increasing patrolling in border area because we suspicious how the film maker like Dominic Brown (British Citizen) and Jono Van Hest (Dutch Citizen) can entrance to Papua? Its could be somebady help them to do it. Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah commented that filming in Papua "violated the principles of journalism". On the contrary, reporting events in Papua, despite official attempts to keep them from media attention, is showing journalistic integrity. As we know the filmmaker spent months with the OPM and has said publicly that he made the film to sympathize with them, it is likely the film was pulled because it was propaganda rather than a documentary.

I think this is the right decision because this is not good to interfere in Indonesia's problems. The best thing to do for those who don't agree about this is to just to send your comments/complaints to the nearest Indonesian Embassy, etc. Also, one thing that everyone must remember is that whether you like it or not, Papua is a part of Indonesia.

Source : www.papuatoday.com
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Deforestation threatens Indonesia's Papua region

Jayapura – Logging and agribusiness is threatening environmental destruction in Indonesia's Papua region, one of the world's last vast wildernesses.The governors of the two provinces in the region on the western end of New Guinea island told an international environmental conference a strategy was needed to avoid the mistakes that have decimated other Indonesian regions.

West Papua Governor Abraham Atururi said that pressure and threats to biodiversity in Papua are increasing. Papua is becoming a target for massive agro and forestry industry investment. His government had received an increasing number of requests for development and feared environmental destruction from illegal logging aimed at clearing land for plantations. In this regard, Papua should not repeat the failure to manage forests and biodiversity that has happened in Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra.

In the meantime, The governor of Papua province, which sits on the eastern end of the region, Barnabas Suebu, said preserving the tropical forest-blanketed region was key to helping absorb the gases that cause climate change. The capacity of Papua's 42 million hectares (104 million acres) of forests to process CO2 is equivalent to the carbon footprint of nearly all the population of Europe.

Indonesia, which spreads across over 17,000 islands, has been a key advocate for plans being floated ahead of global climate talks in Copenhagen in December that would see developing countries paid to conserve forests and peatlands. Deforestation, largely on Borneo and Sumatra, has seen the country become the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Source : Agence France Presse
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Papuan biodiversity conference ends with commitment to preserving nature

Niken Prathivi ,
The International Biodiversity Conference on Sustainable Development closed here Saturday, urging the central government to help Papua preserve its natural environment for sustainable development. organizing committee chief Noak Kapisa said this conference recommends the central government implement an agenda and regulations that support the establishment of conservation forests.

All parties including the government, the private sector and locals must obey the regulations. The conference also recommended Papua become a leading force in reducing harmful emissions over the next seven years by undertaking a conservation project and preserving Papua's unique ecosystem. Papua has been asked to introduce an environmental education project in educational institutions from elementary schools to universities. the recommendations would also be presented to the second UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen next month. Around 400 scientists, environmentalists, government officials and residents participated in the four-day conference.

Responding to the five recommendations, Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu said the residents of Papua and the central government must work together to encourage the international society to preserve the environment for the future.

"Let us save Papua, Indonesia and the planet."

Source : The Jakarta Post
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