Indonesia has announced that it is ready to open its cross-border road with Papua New Guinea, saying it is proof of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Home Minister Mardiyanto visited a border post at Skow Wutung in Jayapura, Papua province, to check on immigration services.""There has been much progress, including in the trial services. Here we can check how long it takes for a traveler to process his or her documents and baggage. We will speed it up to provide a better service,"" he said.
Mardiyanto said that the opening of the road would be of great benefit to residents with relatives in the neighboring country and promote bilateral interests, particularly through the exchange of commodities, thus boosting the economies of both countries. Papuan Governor Barnabas Suebu said that with the opening of the border crossing the number of people from PNG coming to shop in Jayapura would increase because the city's prices were cheaper, while Indonesian traders from Jayapura would find it easier to sell their products in Vanimo, a PNG provincial capital close to the border. ""There are benefits to be had by both sides. They get cheaper prices and we will be able to sell our commodities,"" Suebu said. The border post is also expected to reduce the number of illegal crossings. "With the opening of the legal post, local people are expected to use it,"" he said. The post is scheduled to be officially opened next month by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare.
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Senin, 17 November 2008
Lemhannas calls for focus on preventing separatism
The National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) has recommended the government curb separatist Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonomovements in the country by focusing on preventive measures and finding the root causes of the problem.State officials participating in a training held by the think tank delivered the recommendation to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a forum at the State Palace on Monday through their presentation on "political resilience to support the country's unity".
"To deal with separatism, the government needs to examine the core of the problem by enforcing the law and eradicating unfairness," participant Abidin Syah Siregar told the forum.
"Preventive measures should be prioritized, including the implementation of education on nationality concept for citizens," he said.
Citizens should also be given more opportunity to get involved in the formulation of policies on political issues, he added, saying it would have a positive impact on society and would thus help prevent disintegration.
The participants also stressed regional autonomy should be seen as a delegation of responsibilities, rather than a delegation of power.
They said that before granting a province autonomy, the government should have a clear and measured blueprint ready.
In response to the recommendations, Yudhoyono said the government had always prioritized soft power, rather than hard power, in handling secessionist movements.
"But if the movement is already underway, law enforcement is necessary," he told the participants.
He agreed the government should find the root causes of the movements first before taking action against separatists.
"We have had many examples of such movements. Mostly the root causes are the feelings of injustice, being left behind by other provinces and not receiving a sufficient budget from the government for development in their areas," the President said.
He cited separatism in Papua, saying the government had issued a policy to grant the province special autonomy and allocate it a budget higher than those of other provinces.
"We have provided Papua with the greatest per-capita budget for development in the province, so they have no reason to cite the lack of funds as an excuse for disobedience," Yudhoyono said.
He added the government had always upheld the pursuit of prosperity and justice for the people of Papua.
Source : The Jakarta Post
"To deal with separatism, the government needs to examine the core of the problem by enforcing the law and eradicating unfairness," participant Abidin Syah Siregar told the forum.
"Preventive measures should be prioritized, including the implementation of education on nationality concept for citizens," he said.
Citizens should also be given more opportunity to get involved in the formulation of policies on political issues, he added, saying it would have a positive impact on society and would thus help prevent disintegration.
The participants also stressed regional autonomy should be seen as a delegation of responsibilities, rather than a delegation of power.
They said that before granting a province autonomy, the government should have a clear and measured blueprint ready.
In response to the recommendations, Yudhoyono said the government had always prioritized soft power, rather than hard power, in handling secessionist movements.
"But if the movement is already underway, law enforcement is necessary," he told the participants.
He agreed the government should find the root causes of the movements first before taking action against separatists.
"We have had many examples of such movements. Mostly the root causes are the feelings of injustice, being left behind by other provinces and not receiving a sufficient budget from the government for development in their areas," the President said.
He cited separatism in Papua, saying the government had issued a policy to grant the province special autonomy and allocate it a budget higher than those of other provinces.
"We have provided Papua with the greatest per-capita budget for development in the province, so they have no reason to cite the lack of funds as an excuse for disobedience," Yudhoyono said.
He added the government had always upheld the pursuit of prosperity and justice for the people of Papua.
Source : The Jakarta Post
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Minggu, 16 November 2008
International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) : Uncover Vanuatu Link
One of overseas leading figures who attended International Parliamentary for West Papua (IPWP) in London was Moana Carcasses Kalosil. Who is he ? He served as foreign minister (bertugas sebagai menteri luar negeri) under Prime Minister Edward Natapei (PM Edward) from 2003 to 2004. Following parliamentary elections, he became minister of finance on July 28, 2004 under Prime Minister Serge Vohor. He kept the post of finance minister when Ham Lini became prime minister later in 2004. But, on November 14, 2005 he was sacked by Ham Lini for unclear reasons, which he led into the oposition. (Diberhentikan dari jabatannya)
From his CV we know that he does’t have any job (pengangguran) in the government except as the deputy leader of the oposition (wakil kepala oposisi). It means that he, a member of the Vanuatu Green Party, doesn’t represent Vanuatu government (tidak mewakili pemerintah Vanuatu). As a young Papuan student Yohanes said, “What he did in London was the same with two UK parliament members were doing that is “to get popularity”
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