News

Civic honour for Balibo murder victim

by Amanda Fisher

A “true hero” killed in the line of duty is to be recognised in Wellington as an investigation continues into his 1975 murder.

Cameraman Gary Cunningham was gunned down with four other journalists in East Timor by invading Indonesian forces, while on assignment for Australia’s Channel 7.

Though the Indonesian Army initially said the men were caught in cross-fire, it later emerged they were slain to prevent reports of the invasion reaching the world.

Mr Cunningham, who lived in Wellington until he was 21, would be pleased to live on in Mt Victoria’s Charles Plimmer Park, where a commemorative plaque, park bench and tree was to be erected, aunt Patricia McGregor said.

She wished her brother, Gary’s father, Jim – who died in 2001 – was still alive to see the memorial.

The New Zealand Government had not helped the family get answers, she said.

Click here for the full article: Dominion Post: Civic honour for Balibo murder victim

NZ must act on Balibo deaths

NZPA

The New Zealand government has been criticised for its “appalling” failure to hold Indonesia to account over the Balibo Five killings in East Timor.

New Zealander Gary Cunningham and other Australian-based newsmen Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie, Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart were shot dead at Balibo, East Timor, in October 1975.

A memorial to Cunningham was announced at a ceremony in Wellington on Friday.

The Australian Federal Police launched a war crimes investigation into the killings last year, following a 2007 coronial inquest which found Indonesian forces deliberately killed the Australian-based journalists to cover up their 1975 invasion of East Timor.

Retired Indonesian army colonel Gatot Purwanto appeared to back the coroner’s findings in December last year, becoming the first senior Indonesian figure to contradict the official explanation the newsmen were killed in crossfire.

The planned memorial in Wellington, organised by the Indonesia Human Rights Committee with support from the Media Freedom Committee and Wellington City Council, would be the first official commemoration in New Zealand.

Click here to read the full article: NZ must act on Balibo deaths

Letter to Evans/Natalegawa: Sri Lankan asylum seekers

Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia
Jl. Pejambon No.6. Jakarta Pusat, 10110
Indonesia

Chris Evans

Minister of Immigration,

Parliament House,

Canberra, ACT 2600,

Australia

14 January, 2010

Dear Ministers,

We are very disturbed by the news that some 246 asylum seekers remain moored at sea off the Indonesian coast in the region of Merak.  As you know the people involved are Tamils from Sri Lanka and there are many children in the group, all of whom have been in this unresolved situation since last October.  Indonesian authorities intercepted their vessel after they were given assistance and intelligence information from Australia.

We understand that all would like the opportunity to claim refugee status and that some 109 of the group have already been recognised by the UNHCR as genuine refugees. Only 8 of the initial group have agreed to leave the boat on an understanding that they would have access to the UNHCR but this has not been granted and all are still held in cramped detention cells.

To add insult to injury, the Indonesian authorities gave Sri Lankan navy officers permission to interview the 8 detainees.   This action shows utter disregard for the safety of these asylum seekers and the safety of their families in Sri Lanka.  Under international refugee protocols it is mandatory that asylum seekers should be protected at all times from all renewed persecution by the Government of the country they have fled. Refugee advocates consider that Indonesia has committed the most serious breach of refugee protocols and undermined its stated commitment to sign and abide by the UN Refugee Convention.

We also read reports that some Indonesian police figures have been quoted as recommending that the asylum seekers be sent back to Sri Lanka.

In these circumstances, it is entirely understandable that the large group still on the boat choose to stay where they are rather than disembark in Indonesia and face indefinite detention or deportation to Sri Lanka

The conditions on board this boat have become very dire, especially from a sanitation point of view: there is only one toilet and gastroenteritis and diarrhea afflict many. At Christmas time one young man fell ill and died from an undiagnosed illness. Named as George Jacob Samuel Christin, 29, the man was clearly very ill for several days before his death but his hospital care was delayed until it was too late to save him.

Reports say that there is no one on board the boat with any medical qualifications, that medical supplies are rudimentary and that there are only 18 life-jackets. The boat has no anchor and is vulnerable to drifting off to sea. The shelter on board the boat is limited and the tarpaulins used for rain protection are now torn and inadequate.

There can be no doubt that Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka have reason to fear persecution as most have had their lives disrupted by extreme violence and internal displacement. Human Rights groups have called for the Government of Sri Lanka to be investigated for alleged war crimes committed during the recent conflict with the Tamil Tigers and the long drawn out siege of the Tamil areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka.

International law enshrines the principle of “non-refoulement”, explicitly prohibiting the forced return of refugees to areas where their lives are potentially in danger.  There have been recent reports that the Sri Lankan navy has been conducting a surveillance operation on the coastline and arresting those attempting to flee by sea.

We urge that these asylum seekers should have immediate access to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and that Australia and Indonesia should work together putting the needs of the asylum seekers before political considerations.

In the case of the asylum seekers who were previously held on board the ‘Oceanic Viking’ in Indonesian waters, international co-operation did prevail and we understand that this group will shortly be resettled in Australia and other western countries, including New Zealand.  We believe that the Merak group merit the same opportunity begin a life free from the threat of persecution.

Few asylum seekers manage to reach New Zealand because of its geographic isolation, but we will continue to lobby our Government to urge that New Zealand share in the regional responsibility for assisting Tamil asylum seekers, especially this group who are being held in a tortuous limbo.  New Zealand already has a large and well-settled Tamil community and could easily accommodate a significant number from this group.

Yours sincerely,

Maire Leadbeater

For the Indonesia Human Rights Committee

Copy to

Hon Murray McCully,

Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Parliament Buildings,

Wellington

Leading Advocate for West Papua self-determination dies

Viktor Kaisiepo at the United Nations in New York for a meeting of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Photo: Human Rights Film Festival 2009

Pacific Scoop:
Obituary – By Dirk Vlasblom in Amsterdam

Papuan human rights campaigner Viktor Kaisiepo has died at the age of 61 in Amersfoort, the Dutch town where he resided in exile from the land he loved.

He was an internationally renowned fighter for the right to self-determination of the people of West Papua, where he was born. Kaisiepo had been seriously ill for some time, his wife said.

In May 2000, Kaisiepo set foot on his native soil for the first time in 38 years.

In Indonesia, the political tide had turned, and then President Wahid gave Western New Guinea its old name back: Papua.

The indigenous people held a conference on the political future of the region and Viktor, then aged 51, could not afford to be absent.

Before flying from Jakarta to the provincial capital of Jayapura, he made a stopover on the island of Biak, off the coast of Papua. That is where the Kaisiepos come from and he could not ignore his ancestors’ request by failing to first tread on the land where their bones rested.

Click here for the full article: Pacific Scoop: Victor Kaisiepo Obituary

Abdurrahman Wahid obituary

As president of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001, the partially blind cleric, known as “Gus Dur”, staunchly defended human rights, ethnic minorities and Indonesia’s secular tradition. At his funeral, the current Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, praised him as the “father of multiculturalism and pluralism” who “raised awareness and institutionalised our respect for the diversity of ideas and identity, of religions, ethnicity and primordial ties”. Few countries have enjoyed a more cultured man at the helm of state – a journalist, scholar and enlightened cleric, he took great delight in jazz and classical music and had a special passion for Beethoven. His wit was almost equal to his erudition. Upon losing the presidency in 2001, he quipped: “You don’t realise that losing the presidency for me is nothing. I regret more the fact that I lost 27 recordings of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.”

Click here for the full article: The Guardian: Abdurrahman Wahid Obituary

Special screening of Balibo in Auckland

Photos from recent “Don’t Buy Kwila” demo

“Don’t Buy Kwila” demonstration in Auckland 30 Jan 2010

Indonesia Human Rights Committee (Auckland) and Rainforest Action had their first action for the decade against the sale of rainforest kwila, outside Devon Lifestyle, 308 Ti Rakau Drive. Devon Lifestyle are possibly the worst offenders in NZ in regards to manufacture and supply of kwila products.

Protect the Rainforest and the people of West Papua . Protect the climate. Save kwila from extinction.

Indonesia’s money-making military

Indonesia may have left the Suharto era behind but traces of the authoritarian regime still remain.

Even after 10 years of democratic reforms, the military still permeates all levels of society, from politics to business.

In 2004, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia’s president, decreed that all military-run businesses should end within five years.

That deadline has now passed.

Efforts have been made to reduce the number of companies linked to the armed forces. But separating the military from their money is proving difficult. On this episode of 101 East we ask: What is the future for Indonesia’s military forces?

Watch this programme: Al Jazeera: Indonesia’s money-making military

Australian Film ‘Balibo’ Banned by Indonesian Censors

The local premiere of the acclaimed Australian film, “Balibo,” which recounts the murder of five journalists allegedly at the hands of Indonesian soldiers during the 1975 invasion of East Timor, was stopped on Tuesday after the censorship board banned the movie.

The Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club had planned to show the film for the first time in Indonesia to a private audience at the Blitz Megaplex in the Grand Indonesia Mall.

But a few minutes after the 7 p.m. screening time had passed, JFCC President Jason Tedjasukmana emerged from the screening room to tell a crowd of about 100 journalists and other invited guests, “We have some bad news. The LSF [Film Censorship Agency] officially banned it today.”

To read the full article, click here:  Jakarta Globe: Balibo Banned