Activists say Papua food estate ‘not the answer’
by Arti Ekawati & Fidelis E. Satriastanti
Jakarta Globe – March 04, 2010

Activists warned on Thursday not to put too much hope in the Merauke food estate, saying it would do little to provide food security or eliminate starvation in Indonesia.

“It will eventually decrease our dependence on [importing] food crops, but it does not automatically reduce famine in our own country. It does not work that way,” said Witoro, the head of a food-crop working group from the Prosperity Village Alliance, which comprises 18 nongovernmental organizations focused on implementing sustainable living in villages across the country.

Indonesian Govt Gives Green Thumb-Up To Plant Papua 'Food Estate'
The Jakarta Globe, January 18, 2010
by Arti Ekawati & Muhamad Al Azhari

The government is moving forward with the country’s first integrated food production zone in Merauke, Papua, a minister told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday. “Drafting of the [food estate] regulation has been finished and it is ready to be signed by the president,” Agriculture Minister Suswono said.

The food estates, as they are known, are designed to stimulate large-scale investment in the agriculture sector and beef up food security. The developers will be prevented from exporting any of their produce until the nation’s food needs have been met. If the pilot project, which aims to attract domestic and international investors with a series of tax breaks, is successful, the government hopes to establish similar zones elsewhere in eastern Indonesia. The completion of the food estate regulation was one of the objectives of the government’s program for its first 100 days.

P R E S S R E L E A S E
Nov. 9, 2009

Eni F. H. Faleomavaega
Chairman
The Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment

CHAIRMEN FALEOMAVAEGA AND PAYNE CALL ON
INDONESIAN PRESIDENT TO ESTABLISH DIALOGUE WITH
WEST PAPUA LEADERS

The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment,

West Papua Report September 2009

Source: West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT)

This is the 64th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm. Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com.

West Papua Report August 2009

Source: West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT)

This is the 63rd in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm. Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com.

Impunity at the Freeport Gold & Copper Mine: Will Indonesian Security Forces Get Away with It Again?

West Papua Advocacy Team Statement
Source: WPAT

Contact: Edmund McWilliams, West Papua Advocacy Team, +1.575.648.2078 (English)
Eben Kirksey, Ph.D., University of California, +1.831.600.5937 (English or Bahasa Indonesia)

July 23, 2009 - Amidst an ongoing shooting spree at the Freeport McMoRan mining concession in Timika, West Papua, four people have died, including an Australian Freeport employee. Six separate ambushes have taken place since shootings began on July 11.

A race to find scapegoats appears underway. Indonesian authorities have arrested as many as 20 individuals. Trusted sources informed the West Papua Advocacy Team that these detainees have been interrogated without the presence of their lawyers and at least one, an elderly man, was beaten by security personnel. Even after these recent detentions, a convoy of 12 Freeport busses again came under attack by gunmen on Wednesday, 22 July.

 
From www.etan.org/news

SBY Implicated in Cover Up of Ambush Murder of U.S. Citizens

1 July, 2009 - Previously secret U.S. State Department documents implicate the President of Indonesia in a probable cover-up in an ambush in West Papua. The documents show Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is running for reelection on July 8, maneuvering behind the scenes to manage the investigation into the August 2002 murder of three teachers—one Indonesian and two U.S. citizens.

West Papuans recently announced a foundational consensus on their legal defence and right to declare national sovereignty, thereby asserting their fundamental human rights and ancestral ownership of land. (The consensus has global significance in that West Papua remains on a scale similar to the Amazon in terms of what is being lost - diversity of local species and tribal societies, and the amount of oxygen produced by the "lungs of Asia".)

AUSTRALIA WEST PAPUA ASSOCIATION (VIC)
Thursday 9 April 2009 For immediate release

The Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) Victoria is calling on the
Australian Government to make an urgent diplomatic representation to
its Indonesian counterpart over escalating violence in the lead up to
the general elections taking place today.

Members of Melbourne’s West Papuan community and supporters will hand
out flyers and speak with members of the public at Flinders Street
Station this afternoon before travelling to the Indonesian Consulate

Human Rights Report 8 April 2009: Human Rights in West Papua deteriorates with shootings, arrests and orchestrated violence reported in Nabire

The human rights situation in West Papua continues to deteriorate before Indonesia’ General Election tomorrow. Local people have been shot and critically injured in a operation reportedly organised by Indonesian security forces against West Papuan demonstrators in Nabire on the 6 April 2009.