Search here...
Home Blog Page 47

‘Two-way highway’ – PNG-US defence pact signed in spite of protests

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and PNG Prime Minister James Marape sign the US-PNG Defence Cooperation pact in Port Moresby
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and PNG Defence Minister Win Bakri Daki sign the US-PNG Defence Cooperation pact in Port Moresby last night after a day of countrywide student protests criticising the lack of transparency. Image: Samuel Rillstone/RNZ Pacific

By Lydia Lewis and Scott Waide in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says the increased United States security involvement in Papua New Guinea is driven primarily by the need to build up the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and not US-China geopolitics.

Last night, despite calls for more public consultation, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Defence, Win Bakri Daki, penned the Bilateral Defence Cooperation and Shiprider agreements at APEC House in Port Moresby.

Prime Minister Marape said the milestone agreements were “important for the continued partnership of Papua New Guinea and the United states.”

“It’s mutually beneficial, it secures our national interests,” he said.

James Marape
PNG Prime Minister James Marape . . . maintains that the controversial defence agreement is constitutional in spite of public criticism and a nationwide day of protests by university students. Image: Samuel Rillstone/RNZ Pacific

He said the penning of the new defence pact elevated prior security arrangements with the US under the 1989 Status of Forces Agreement.

Despite public criticism, Marape maintains the agreements are constitutional and will benefit PNG.

The Shiprider agreement will act as a vital mechanism to tackle illegal fishing and drug trafficking alongside the US, which is a big issue that PNG faces in its waters, Marape said.

“I have a lot of illegal shipping engagements in the waters of Papua New Guinea, unregulated, unmonitored transactions take place, including drug trafficking,” he said

“This new Shiprider agreement now gives Papua New Guinea’s shipping authority, the Defence Force and Navy ‘full knowledge’ of what is happening in waters, something PNG has not had since 1975 [at independence],” Marape said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget at the U.S. Capitol on April 26, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken . . . “Papua New Guinea is playing a critical role in shaping our future.” Image: RNZ Pacific/Getty/AFP

Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed those sentiments and stressed that the US was committing to the growing of all aspects of the relationship.

“Papua New Guinea is playing a critical role in shaping our future,” Blinken told the media.

He said the defence pact was drafted by both nations as “equal and sovereign partners”.

It was set to enhance PNG’s Defence Force capabilities, making it easy for both forces to train together.

He too stressed the US would be transparent.

For all their reassurances, both leaders steered clear of any mention of US troop deployments in PNG despite Marape having alluded to it in the lead up to the signing.

Reactions to the security pact
Although celebrated by the governments of the US and PNG as milestone security agreements the lead up to the signings was marked by a day of university student protests across the country calling for greater transparency from the PNG government around the defence pact.

The students’ president at the University of Technology in Lae, Kenzie Walipi, had called for the government to explain exactly what was in the deal ahead of the signing.

“If such an agreement is going to affect us in any way, we have to be made aware,” Walipi said.

Just before the pen hit the paper last night, Marape again sought to reassure the public.

“This signing in no way, state or form terminates us from relating to other defence cooperations we have or other defence relationships or bilateral relationships that we have,” Marape said.

He added “this is a two-way highway”.

Students from the University of Goroka stage an early morning protest against the signing of a PNG-US Bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement. 22 May 2023
Students from the University of Goroka stage an early morning protest yesterday against the signing of the PNG-US Bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement. Image: RNZ Pacific

Students at the University of Papua New Guinea ended a forum late last night and blocked off the main entrance to the campus as Prime Minister Marape and State Secretary Blinken signed the Defence Cooperation agreement.

They are maintaining a call for transparency and for a proper debate on the decision.

Hours before the signing, they presented a petition to the Planning Minister, Renbo Paita, who received their demands on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Students at the University of Technology in Lae met late into the night. Students posted live videos on Facebook of the forum as the signing happened in Port Moresby.

The potential impact of the agreements signed in Port Moresby overnight on Papua New Guinea and the Pacific will become more apparent once the full texts are made available online as promised by both the United States and Papua New Guinea.

Lydia Lewis is a RNZ Pacific journalist and Scott Waide is RNZ Pacific’s PNG correspondent. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The Voice isn’t apartheid or a veto over Parliament – this misinformation is undermining democratic debate

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
The proposed Voice for Australia is the opposite of apartheid . . . it will ensure First Nations peoples have their views heard by Parliament
The proposed Voice for Australia is the opposite of apartheid . . . it will ensure First Nations peoples have their views heard by Parliament. Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

ANALYSIS: By Dominic O’Sullivan

Many different arguments for and against the Voice to Parliament have been heard in the lead-up to this year’s referendum in Australia. This has included some media and politicians drawing comparisons between the Voice and South Africa’s apartheid regime.

Cory Bernardi, a Sky News commentator, argued, for instance, that by implementing the Voice, “we’re effectively announcing an apartheid-type state, where some citizens have more legal rights or more rights in general than others”.

As legal scholar Bede Harris has pointed out, it’s quite clear Bernardi doesn’t understand apartheid. He said,

How the Voice could be described as creating such a system is unfathomable.

Comparisons to apartheid
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation implemented by the South African government to control and restrict the lives of the non-white populations, and to stop them from voting.

During apartheid, non-white people could not freely visit the same beaches, live in the same neighbourhoods, attend the same schools or queue in the same lines as white people. My wife recalls her white parents being questioned by police after visiting the home of a Black colleague.

The proposed Voice will ensure First Nations peoples have their views heard by Parliament.

It won’t have the power to stop people swimming at the same beaches or living, studying or shopping together. It won’t stop interracial marriages as the apartheid regime did. It doesn’t give anybody extra political rights.

It simply provides First Nations people, who have previously had no say in developing the country’s system of government, with an opportunity to participate in a way that many say is meaningful and respectful.

Apartheid and the Voice are polar opposites. The Voice is a path towards democratic participation, while apartheid eliminated any opportunity for this.

Evoking emotional responses, like Bernardi attempted to do, can inspire people to quickly align with a political cause that moderation and reason might not encourage. This means opinions may be formed from limited understanding and misinformation.

Misinformation doesn’t stop at apartheid comparisons
The Institute of Public Affairs, a conservative lobby group, has published a “research” paper claiming the Voice would be like New Zealand’s Waitangi Tribunal and be able to veto decisions of the Parliament.

The truth is the tribunal is not a “Maori Voice to Parliament”. It can’t veto Parliament.

The Waitangi Tribunal is a permanent commission of inquiry. It is chaired by a judge and has Māori and non-Māori membership. Its job is to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The tribunal’s task is an independent search for truth. When it upholds a claim, its recommended remedies become the subject of political negotiation between government and claimants.

The Voice in Australia would make representations to Parliament. This is also not a veto. A veto is to stop Parliament making a law.

We need to raise the quality of debate
Unlike the apartheid and Waitangi arguments, many objections to the Voice are grounded in fact.

Making representations to Parliament and the government is a standard and necessary democratic practice. There are already many ways of doing this, but in the judgment of the First Nations’ people who developed the Voice proposal, a constitutionally enshrined Voice would be a better way of making these representations.

Many people disagree with this judgment. The National Party argues a Voice won’t actually improve people’s lives.

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe says she speaks for a Black Sovereignty movement when she advocates for a treaty to come first. The argument is that without a treaty, the system of government isn’t morally legitimate.

Other people support the Voice in principle but think it will have too much power; others think it won’t have enough.

Thinking about honest differences of opinion helps us to understand and critique a proposal for what it is, rather than what it is not. Our vote then stands a better chance of reflecting what we really think.

Lies can mask people’s real reasons for holding a particular point of view. When people’s true reasons can’t be scrutinised and tested, it prevents an honest exchange of ideas.

Collective wisdom can’t emerge, and the final decision doesn’t demonstrate each voter’s full reflection on other perspectives.

Altering the Constitution is very serious, and deliberately difficult to do. Whatever the referendum’s outcome, confidence in our collective judgment is more likely when truth and reason inform our debate.

In my recently published book, Indigeneity, Culture and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, I argue the Voice could contribute to a more just and democratic system of government through ensuring decision-making is informed by what First Nations’ people want and why.

Informed, also, by deep knowledge of what works and why.

People may agree or disagree. But one thing is clear: deliberate misinformation doesn’t make a counter argument. It diminishes democracy.The Conversation

Dr Dominic O’Sullivan,  adjunct professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and professor of political science, Charles Sturt University.  This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Stan Grant stands up to racist abuse. Our research shows many diverse journalists have copped it too

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
Stan Grant was one the few diverse journalists employed in the Australian media industry. Yet his story of relentless racial abuse is one shared by other journalists who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and racially marginalised, LGBTQIA+ and/or living with disability. Image: The Conversation twitter feed
Stan Grant was one the few diverse journalists employed in the Australian media industry. Yet his story of relentless racial abuse is one shared by other journalists who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and racially marginalised, LGBTQIA+ and/or living with disability. Image: The Conversation twitter feed/ABC

ANALYSIS: By Bronwyn Carlson, Faith Valencia-Forrester, Madi Day and Susan Forde

Stan Grant, a well-known Aboriginal journalist and soon-to-be former host of Q+A, has made a stand against racist abuse, saying he is “stepping away” from the media industry. Grant said he has paid a heavy price for being a journalist and has been a media target for racism.

As authors of a recent Media Diversity Australia report investigating online abuse and safety of diverse journalists, we’re not surprised.

Grant was one the few diverse journalists employed in the Australian media industry. Yet his story of relentless racial abuse is one shared by other journalists who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and racially marginalised, LGBTQIA+ and/or living with disability.

Grant said:

I want no part of it. I want to find a place of grace far from the stench of the media. I want to go where I am not reminded of the social media sewer.

Racism across the media
The latest round of racially motivated abuse came after Grant hosted the ABC’s coverage of the coronation of King Charles.

Grant said:

Since the King’s coronation, I have seen people in the media lie and distort my words. They have tried to depict me as hate filled. They have accused me of maligning Australia.

When Elizabeth II died, many Indigenous journalists and newsreaders were targeted for not sharing the same grief many non-Indigenous people expressed. Narelda Jacobs was one of many Aboriginal journalists who received abuse across social media and was also targeted by mainstream media.

Grant called the ABC’s lack of support an “institutional failure”, saying:

I am writing this because no-one at the ABC — whose producers invited me onto their coronation coverage as a guest — has uttered one word of public support.

In response to Grant’s column, a statement was issued from the ABC’s Director News, Justin Stevens, conceding Grant has, over many months, been subject to grotesque racist abuse, including threats to his safety.

The ABC’s Bonner Committee has recommended a full review into the ABC’s responses to racism affecting staff and how they can better support their staff.

What our research found
Our report, Online Safety of Diverse Journalists, commissioned by Media Diversity Australia and released this month, focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and racially marginalised, LGBTQIA+ and/or people living with disability.

This new research followed a 2022 Media Diversity Australia report, Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories 2.0, which detailed significant under-representation of diverse journalists in the industry, particularly Indigenous people and those from culturally and racially marginalised groups.

Our new report focused more on online safety and the high cost for diverse journalists who are often not supported or protected in the workplace. It found 85 percent of participants had experienced either personal or professional abuse online.

As one participant said:

It’s so ingrained within all parts of society, all the pillars within society, all professions, which includes the media, and I think women, particularly women of colour and from Indigenous backgrounds, they receive the most horrific and vile abuse.

The report has not yet gained interest from the Australian media other than Fourth Estate which expressed alarm at the findings.

One of the key findings from this research was that diverse journalists often accepted that online harassment and abuse from the public was “just part of the job”. Many reported they were working in what they considered “hostile work environments”.

One participant expressed:

As soon as you say you are a journalist, the response is: you are asking for it.

It was concerning to find the normalisation of online harassment and abuse, and many diverse journalists were reluctant to report their experiences for fear of being considered a problem. Many felt if they raised the issue it would impact any chance of career progression.

A participant commented:

I am cautious revealing my struggles because I don’t want people to think I can’t handle my job.

In his recent experience, Grant said:

Aboriginal people learn to tough it out. That’s the price of survival.

Organisations have a duty of care to their employees. Online harassment and abuse of diverse journalists is a work health and safety issue and needs to be urgently treated as such.

The impact and cost to diverse journalists is high, and many make the same choice as Grant — to leave the industry to protect themselves and their health. Many spoke about how harassment and abuse was not only online; 39 percent reported the abuse moved offline.

When it comes to thinking about who gets to tell Australian stories or who gets to have a career as a journalist free of harassment and abuse, the Media Diversity Australia report evidences the hostility of the media industry for those who are not white, able bodied, and/or cis-gender and/or heterosexual.

The report also shows, as Grant points out, that online harassment and abuse actively and incessantly targets Indigenous journalists. Although many of the participants stated they were unofficially warned by their workplace to expect online violence, they said they received little support to protect and defend them from racial harassment and abuse.

I started to see exactly what I’d been warned about (…) But there was no mechanism to flag that to say that you had received a racist email to send it somewhere where that person could be put on a watch list or whatever it is, you know, where they’re going to become a serial offender.

Grant echoes the experiences of many participants when he says:

Barely a week goes by when I am not racially targeted.

After Stan Grant's stand against racist abuse, Chinese Australian author Louisa Lim was left shocked and upset
After Stan Grant’s stand against racist abuse, Chinese Australian author Louisa Lim was left shocked and upset at racial harassment during a local restaurant incident while in New Zealand at the weekend as a guest speaker for the Auckland Writers Festival. Image: NZ Herald screenshot APR

The research report also reveals that workplace and online harassment in media industry involves fairly predictable culprits. As one participant highlighted, they come from a similar demographic — white men.

Grant’s resignation is a huge loss to Australian journalism. He and other diverse journalists nationally are crying out for action on the part of media bodies and organisations.

There are many other diverse journalists who have left the profession prior to Grant’s departure. One of our interviewees contacted us to say:

If a serious and well respected journalist feels the best thing to do is leave and has had no support from work — what does that mean for the rest of us?

Let’s hope the media industry is finally paying attention.The Conversation

Bronwyn Carlson, professor, Indigenous Studies and director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, Macquarie University; Faith Valencia-Forrester, lecturer and lawyer, Griffith University; Madi Day, lecturer, Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University, and Susan Forde, director, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Memories of war haunt ‘slippery slope’ to a militarised Pacific

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
University of Papua New Guinea students protest against the US-PNG defence pact
University of Papua New Guinea students protest against the US-PNG defence pact in Port Moresby today. Image: TV1 News screenshot APR

ANALYSIS: By Barbara Dreaver in Port Moresby

When I was growing up in Kiribati, then known as the Gilbert Islands, New Zealand divers came to safely detonate unexploded munitions from World War II.

Decades on from when US Marines fought and won the Battle of Tarawa against Japan, war was still very much a part of everyday life.

Our school bell was a bombshell. We’d find bullet casings.

In fact, my grandmother’s leg was badly injured when she lit a fire on the beach, and an unexploded ordnance went off. There are Japanese bunkers and US machine gun mounts along the Betio shoreline, and bones are still being found — even today.

Stories are told . . . so many people died . . . these things are not forgotten.

That’s why the security and defence pacts being drawn up around the Pacific are worrying much of the region, as the US and Australia partner up to counter China’s growing influence.

You only have to read Australia’s Defence Strategic Review 2023 to see they are preparing for conflict.

The battle is climate change which is impacting their everyday life. The bigger powers will most certainly go through the motions of at least hearing their voices.

— Barbara Dreaver

Secret pact changed landscape
While in the last few years we have seen China put big money into the Pacific, it was primarily about diplomatic weight and ensuring Taiwan wasn’t recognised. But the secret security pact with the Solomon Islands changed the landscape dramatically.

There was a point where it stopped being about just aid and influence — and openly started to become much more serious.

Since then, the escalation has been rapid as the US and Australia have amped up their activities — and other state actors have as well.

In some cases, lobbying and negotiating have been covertly aggressive. Many Pacific countries are concerned about the militarisation of the region — and whether we like it or not, that’s where it’s headed.

Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Simon Kofe said he understands why his country, which sits between Hawai’i and Australia, is of strategic interest to the superpowers.

Worried about militarisation, he admits they are coming under pressure from all sides — not just China but the West as well.

“In World War II, the war came to the Pacific even though we played no part at all in the conflict, and we became victims of a war that was not of our making,” he said.

Important Pacific doesn’t forget
“So it’s important for the Pacific not to forget that experience now we are seeing things that are happening in this part of the world, and it’s best we are prepared for that situation.”

Academic Dr Anna Powles, a long-time Pacific specialist, said she was very concerned at the situation, which was a “slippery slope” to militarisation.

She said Pacific capitals were being flooded with officials from around the region and from further afield who want to engage.

Pacific priorities are being undermined, and there is a growing disconnect in the region between national interest and the interest of the political elites.

Today in Papua New Guinea, we see first-hand how we are on the cusp of change.

They include big meetings spearheaded by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, another one by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a defence deal that will allow US military access through ports and airports. In exchange, the US is providing an extra US$45 million (NZ$72 million) in funding a raft of initiatives, some of which include battling the effects of climate change.

Equipment boost
The PNG Defence Force is also getting an equipment boost, and there’s a focus on combatting law and order issues — which domestically is a big challenge — and protecting communities, particularly women, from violence.

There is much in these initiatives that the PNG government and the people here will find attractive. It may well be the balance between PNG’s national interest and US ambitions is met — it will be interesting to see if other Pacific leaders agree.

Because some Pacific leaders are happy to be courted and enjoy being at the centre of global attention (and we know who you are), others are determined to do the best for their people. The fight for them is not geopolitical, and it’s on the land they live on.

The battle is climate change which is impacting their everyday life. The bigger powers will most certainly go through the motions of at least hearing their voices.

What that will translate to remains to be seen.

Barbara Dreaver is TV1’s Pacific correspondent and is in Papua New Guinea with the New Zealand delegation. Republished with permission.

‘There must be clarity’ – PNG students protest over US defence deal

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
"Protect our sovereignty - and our boundaries" . . . University of Goroka students protest early today against the signing of a US-PNG Bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement. Image: RNZ Pacific

By Scott Waide and Lydia Lewis

University students in Papua New Guinea are protesting against the signing of a defence cooperation agreement with the United States which is expected to take place today in Port Moresby.

Since 6am this morning, students from universities from around the country have been calling for more transparency from the government.

The student president at the University of Technology in Lae, Kenzie Walipi, said the government must explain exactly what was going to be in the deal ahead of the signing.

“If such an agreement is going to affect us in any way? We have to be made aware,” Walipi said.

“An agreement of this magnitude must go before Parliament. There must be clarity. The people must be made aware of the implications.”

Walipi said they were coordinating protests with student colleagues in other universities around the country.

Students at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) gathered at the Waigani campus.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Frank Griffin said the university administration would facilitate the presentation of a petition to government.

“Our job is not to say whether it [the petition] is in order or not in order. Our job is to actually help them with bringing it through the right processes to the attention of our Prime Minister,” Professor Griffin said.

Deal will ‘enhance security cooperation’ — US
A fact sheet outlining US engagements with Papua New Guinea was released by the US Department of State yesterday. It said:

“On May 22, Secretary [Antony] Blinken will sign a Defense Cooperation Agreement, which, when it enters into force, will serve as a foundational framework upon which our two countries can enhance security cooperation and further strengthen our bilateral relationship, improve the capacity of the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF), and increase stability and security in the region.

“The United States expects to publish the text of the Defense Cooperation Agreement after entry into force, consistent with US law.”

The fact sheet noted the defence cooperation was just one of multiple new initiatives the US was entering into with Papua New Guinea.

“The United States will continue to partner with PNG on strengthening economic relations, security cooperation, and people-to-people ties, as well as promoting inclusive and sustainable development, including through plans to work with Congress to provide over $45 million in new programming,” it said.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are expected to sign the agreement today prior to Blinken also meeting with leaders from the 14 other Pacific Islands countries who are in Port Moresby.

Pacific leaders will also be meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who landed in the PNG capital overnight on his way back to India from the G7 summit in Japan.

Monday’s meeting will be the third in-person Pacific-India summit Modi has attended, the other two being in Jaipur, India in 2015 and Suva, Fiji in 2014.

Scott Waide is RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent and Lydia Lewis is a RNZ Pacific journalist. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, walks with Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape at Port Moresby International Airport on 21 May, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed to Port Moresby by his PNG counterpart James Marape (left) last night for talks with Pacific Island leaders. Image: RNZ Pacific/AFP

Timor-Leste is at the polls, here’s how Australia can support its democracy

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
Timor-Leste is an important voice both in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Timor-Leste is an important voice both in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. It is a successful state that, despite difficulties, has been able to be peace-loving and sustain relations with Indonesia. Image: The Conversation/Antonio Dasiparu/AAP

ANALYSIS: By Melissa Conley Tyler and Andrea Fahey

Today is election day in Timor-Leste, when voters are deciding on 65 members of Parliament to represent them.

Each election is a reminder of the successful regional and international cooperation that led to Timor-Leste’s independence. It is also a reminder of the importance of Timor-Leste as an exemplar of democracy, peace and human rights as foundational values.

It is in Australia’s interest that this be nurtured.

As a small state facing many challenges, maintaining these values has regional and global resonance.

Timor-Leste is an important voice both in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. It is a successful state that, despite difficulties, has been able to be peace-loving and sustain relations with Indonesia.

By contrast, democratic regression, or the worst-case scenario of a failed state, would be an enormous setback for the entire region.

What role should Australia play in keeping this democracy strong?

Complicated relationship
The history of the Australia-Timor-Leste bilateral relationship is complicated. It includes the vital Timorese assistance during World War II and Australia’s tacit approval of Indonesia’s 1975 annexation.

It also includes Australia leading the UN International Force East Timor (INTERFET), which in turn led to Timor-Leste’s transition to independence following a referendum in 1999.

The two nations have been complexly intertwined through Timor-Leste’s journey to independence and democratic development.

There have been instances of unease between the two countries. The most notable was the allegation of Australian spying during negotiations on the Greater Sunrise oil fields. This remains an ongoing issue with the potential to derail ties again.

But there have also been positive steps, such as Operation Astute, an Australian-led military and police deployment. This operation helped stabilise the country during the 2006-2008 political turmoil that culminated in the attempted assassination of President Jose Ramos-Horta and his medical evacuation.

In 2018, Australia and Timor-Leste concluded a treaty establishing their maritime boundaries following a United Nations conciliation process.

The complexity of the relationship means Australia needs to be respectful in relations, but it should not stop Australia from being a partner to support Timor-Leste’s democratic processes and institutions.

ustralia and Timor-Leste came to a resolution
Australia and Timor-Leste came to a resolution on a maritime dispute in March 2018. Image: The Conversation/Antonio Dasiparu/AAP

Supporting governance
A recent report outlines how Australia can support Timor-Leste’s governance in ways that ensure effective, capable and legitimate institutions that are responsive to people.

Australia has a track record of such programs. The eight-year, $72 million Governance for Development Programme supported Timor-Leste agencies to develop good policy and improve systems as well as helping civil society engage with government decision-making.

The programme worked in areas including public financial management, economic policy, enabling business, public service administration, law reform and financial services.

The Partnership for Inclusive Prosperity (PROVISU) will continue to support good governance and economic policy by providing support to Timor-Leste’s central government agencies and economic ministries. Through programmes like this, Australia can offer meaningful support to Timor-Leste.

Good governance that responds to citizens’ needs is a perennial problem. Timor-Leste’s nascent bureaucracy makes this a priority issue. Australia should continue to develop partnerships that strengthen institutions so they are able to deal with problems.

An example of this is PARTISIPA, a ten-year $80 million programme to improve access to quality basic infrastructure and services. It works in partnership with national and subnational governments to improve the delivery of decentralised services and village-level infrastructure, such as rural water. It continues Australia’s long-term support for the national village development programme and its community-driven processes.

Another area where Australia can contribute is in media.

Vibrant media
Timor-Leste has a vibrant media landscape that is among the freest in the region. Australian can support Timor-Leste to ensure its media are strong and robust as well as free, with public interest is at its core.

It can also work with local media to strengthen their ability to educate the general public on governance issues, to hold power to account and to promote the rule of law.

Australia can help Timor-Leste maintain a vibrant and free media
Australia can help Timor-Leste maintain a vibrant and free media landscape. Image: The Conversation/Antonio Dasiparu/AAP

An example of this is a recent memorandum of understanding between the ABC and Timor-Leste’s public broadcaster RTTL, which includes media development programmes. The agreement recognises the vital role both organisations play in informing audiences and contributing to democracy.

The ABC will work with RTTL to establish a new English-language news service, helping staff enhance their journalism and content-making skills.

Another priority Australia can engage with is the justice system.

Consultations with Timorese civil society organisations, conducted by the Asia Foundation for the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D) report, revealed a particular concern about rebuilding trust in the judicial system. It is an area with which Australia has not been greatly involved compared to Portugal.

Australia should also engage with Timorese political parties, recognising the important structural role they play in governance. This can complement continued engagement with formal government institutions and the national parliament.

Promotion of human rights
Australia should continue to invest in the protection and promotion of human rights.

Finally, Australia should be a partner for youth civic and political engagement, given the reality of a future political transition from independence leaders to younger generations.

Timor-Leste today lives with a legacy of conflict, which has far-reaching implications. There is significant pressure on government to meet the needs and expectations of the Timorese people. Australia can be a partner to support these goals.

By helping to build a stronger, resilient and prosperous Timor-Leste, Australia is investing in a more secure and stable immediate neighbourhood, which will reap mutual benefits.The Conversation

Dr Melissa Conley Tyler is a honorary fellow, Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne and Andrea Fahey, PhD scholar, National Security College, Australian National University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Papuan activists accuse Jakarta over mounting ‘brutal’ repression, arrests

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
A protest against the division of Papua Province and the establishment of a New Autonomous Region in Jayapura
A protest against the division of Papua Province and the establishment of a New Autonomous Region in Jayapura City in 2022, shortly before it was broken up by police. Image: Theo Kelen/Jubi

Jubi News in Jayapura

Esther Haluk, a women’s rights activist from GARDA Papua, is among West Papuan activists who have condemned a declining state of freedom of speech in the Melanesian region.

Speaking in a recent online discussion on “Status and Trends of Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Digital Rights in West Papua”, she said there was a growing sense of fear among Papuans who wished to openly voice their opinions due to the Indonesian government’s response.

Haluk said that the deterioration of freedom of expression in Papua could be traced back to 2019 when large-scale protests erupted in response to instances of racism.

She said individuals from the Papuan community who had participated in those protests were subsequently arrested and imprisoned.

“Some Indonesian people call us monkeys but when we fight against it, we are arrested. We are victims,” Haluk told the discussion organised by SAFEnet and TAPOL this week.

According to Haluk, whenever Papuans exercised their freedom of expression to voice the truth, they were consistently met with opposition from the military and police forces.

Haluk shared that she personally experienced being arrested for participating in a peaceful protest in May 2022. However, at the police station she was questioned about her social media posts instead.

Facebook account hacked
“So at that time we were taken to the police station not because of the protest but rather due to our social media posts. My Facebook account was hacked three times after I posted some comments on the news,” Haluk explained.

Haluk said the policies implemented by the Indonesian government did not align with the wishes of the Papuan people, particularly over the splitting up of Papua province to  establish new provinces.

However, when Papuans protested against the policy, they were arrested.

“We refuse to accept the policies enforced in Papua because they do not positively impact our lives,” she said.

“We are witnessing ecological destruction that poses a threat to our existence, as well as issues of land appropriation.

“It is our fundamental right to express ourselves and engage in peaceful protests, yet the government responds by deploying a significant number of military and police personnel to suppress Papuan voices,” Haluk said.

Some of the speakers at the online discussion
Some of the speakers at the online discussion organised by SAFEnet and TAPOL. Image: Jubi screenshot APR

She said Indonesia as a democratic nation should uphold and honour the freedom of expression of Papuans.

Peaceful protests
In Haluk’s view, the way the Indonesian government treated Papuans indicated that Papuans were not viewed as a part of Indonesia.

“We intended to conduct a peaceful protest, so why did the government resort to sending in the police and military to forcibly disperse us?

“We were simply exercising our rights, so why the use of such excessive force by the military and police?

“Based on our experiences as Papuans, it feels as though our rights hold no significance and are not acknowledged within Indonesia,” Haluk said.

Ian Moore of the human rights campaign TAPOL revealed in the forum that there were 21 instances of arbitrary dispersals that took place in 2022, according to the Tapol West Papua 2022 report “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly”.

Moore highlighted that most of the incidents occurred in Papua province, particularly in the capital Jayapura. However, similar incidents were also reported in other parts of West Papua, especially in Sorong, and Central Papua.

Moore said that various police units were involved in the dispersal of peaceful demonstrations in Papua, ranging from standard units to special task forces such as the Nemangkawi Task Force, the Mobile Brigade Corps, and police intelligence agencies

Papuans ‘oppressed’
Made Supriatma, a researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said the state continued to oppress Papuans by deploying military forces to deal with their protests.

This response, Supriatma added, was “excessively brutal” and amounted to repression against Papuans.

Supriatma said that various protests by Papuans indicated a growing sense of nationalism, particularly among the youth in Papua.

The Indonesian government should engage in dialogue with Papuans to address their concerns and listen to their demands.

“Papua has a strong movement, and young Papuans are eager to voice their opinions and participate in protests, even in the face of military repression,” Supriatma said.

Republished from Jubi News and Asia Pacific Report with permission.

Top UN Pacific official told to leave Fiji amid ‘harassment’ allegations

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
UN's Sanaka Samarasinha
UN's Sanaka Samarasinha . . . "deeply disturbed" by the allegations against him. Image: UN/RNZ Pacific

By Kelvin Anthony

Allegations of sexual harassment have emerged in the case of a senior United Nations manager at the Fiji multi-county office who has been put on “administrative leave” after complaints of “unsatisfactory behaviour”.

On Thursday, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office to Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu confirmed to RNZ Pacific that Sanaka Samarasinha had been temporarily stood down to facilitate investigations.

The UN office said the complaints against Samarasinha were “being taken very seriously” but did not provide further details.

RNZ Pacific understands the complaints against Samarasinha allege sexual harassment and one complainant has also alleged Samarasinha asked them to delete all electronic communications they had with him, claiming it undermineD the investigations process.

It is understood that one of the complaints against Samarasinha is that in February, at a formal diplomatic function held at the New Zealand High Commission in Suva, he made sexual advances against the complainant while in a drunken state.

RNZ Pacific also understands that Samarasinha’s electronic devices have been confiscated and he has been asked to leave the country.

RNZ put the allegations to Samarasinha who said he was deeply disturbed by the extremely serious and damaging allegations.

“While I am very keen to respond more fully, UN rules prohibit me from doing so as a staff member. Therefore, please reach out to the UN office,” he said.

Meanwhile, Samarasinha’s term as the resident coordinator has been confirmed to end this year.

The UN office said his replacement has already been selected and expected to be presented to the Fijian government, which is hosting the UN multi-country office.

Kelvin Anthony is RNZ Pacific‘s lead digital and social media journalist. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ and Asia Pacific Report.

Biden apologises to PNG, Blinken being sent for Pacific dialogue

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
PNG Prime Minister James Marape (top right) did not give a firm answer on the signing of the controversial US-PNG Defence Cooperation Agreement
PNG Prime Minister James Marape (right) did not give a firm answer on the signing of the controversial US-PNG Defence Cooperation Agreement. Also pictured is US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Montage: PNG Post-Courier

By Lawrence Fong and Gorethy Kenneth in Port Moresby

United States President Joe Biden yesterday apologised to Prime Minister James Marape and the people of Papua New Guinea for abandoning his planned trip to Port Moresby, and instead is sending Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Details of Blinken’s travel to PNG are still being finalised and will be announced soon, but he will be in Port Moresby on Monday, Marape said.

He said Blinken would be involved in bilateral dialogue with the PNG government and leaders of the Pacific Island countries.

Marape, while addressing journalists yesterday afternoon, had to excuse himself twice during the hour-long address, to take calls from the White House and from Biden.

He said Biden was apologetic but had given his commitment to visit PNG and the region in the near future.

Marape also talked about the benefits of the US-PNG Defence Cooperation Agreement, downplaying fears that the agreement was unconstitutional and would sacrifice PNG’s sovereignty.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to be rude, but this call that came in this time, you know the US President is a very important man, he is not easily accessible, he’s got stiff protocols to access him and I was privileged on behalf of our people that he placed a call directly through my cell phone,” Marape said in apology to the local and international journalists in attendance.

“We spoke and I just stepped out and got his call.

‘Sincerest apology’
“He [President Biden] conveyed his sincerest apology that he cannot make it into our country.

“I did place an invitation to him that the next earliest available time, please come and visit us here, but he has confirmed that he has directed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to arrive here on Monday to meet with us for a specific bilateral with Papua New Guinea as well as a regional meeting with the Pacific Island leaders.

“He did invite again the Pacific Island leaders for a continuation of a progressive continuation of the meeting that we initially held last September in Washington.

“And so those were the reasons why I stepped out.”

Marape also said he had invited Biden to visit PNG whenever he could, and Biden had agreed.

He said that when Biden came, he would be able to sign the Ship Riders Agreement with PNG.

He said the agreement had been approved, and was ready for signing.

But he did not give a firm answer on the signing of other, more controversial agreement, the US-PNG Defence Cooperation Agreement.

He said the agreement was done within the confines of PNG laws, and assured the people that it would be of benefit to the country.

Rabuka apologises to PNG
Meanwhile, Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae received Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at Government House in Port Moresby this afternoon.

Rabuka arrived in the country today and paid a courtesy call on the Governor-General.

By way of introduction, the Prime Minister and his delegation performed a traditional Fijian reconciliation ceremony complete with the presentation of a whale tooth, a significant Fijian traditional gift, to the Governor-General.

The traditional ceremony that Prime Minister Rabuka performed sought forgiveness and reconciliation on behalf of the people of Fiji for the closure of the Fiji High Commission in PNG in 2020.

Lawrence Fong and Gorethy Kenneth are PNG Post-Courier reporters. Republished with permission.

US envoy persuades two of three north Pacific nations to sign defence deals

By
Cafe Pacific Publisher
-
0
FSM Chief Negotiator Leo Falcam Jr (left) and US Presidential Envoy Joseph Yun in Pohnpei initial a nearly final version of the funding agreement for extending the Compact of Free Association
FSM Chief Negotiator Leo Falcam Jr (left) and US Presidential Envoy Joseph Yun in Pohnpei initial a nearly final version of the funding agreement for extending the Compact of Free Association. Image: FSM President's Office/MIJ/RNZ

By Giff Johnson in Majuro

Two Pacific nations considered by Washington as crucial in its competition with China for influence in the region have agreed to 20-year extensions of funding arrangements as part of security and defence treaties.

The Federated States of Micronesia signed off on a nearly-final Compact of Free Association on Monday with US Presidential Envoy Joseph Yun, followed by Palau on Wednesday.

Both documents are expected to be formally signed later this month, ending two years of negotiations.

However, the Marshall Islands, the third North Pacific nation with a Compact, is unlikely to sign primarily because of outstanding issues surrounding the US nuclear testing legacy in the country.

The FSM will reportedly receive US$3.3 billion and Palau US$760 million over the 20-year life of the new funding agreements, according to US officials.

Yun was due to visit the Marshall Islands capital Majuro this week to discuss the situation further.

But the situation in the Marshall Islands appeared murkier than ever.

“The RMI (Republic of the Marshall Islands) looks forward to reaching an agreement soon with the US,” Marshall Islands Chief Negotiator and Foreign Minister Kitlang Kabua said on Wednesday.

Doubtful over new Compact
It is unclear at this stage when the two governments will reach agreement on a new 20-year deal, despite Kabua and Yun having initialled a memorandum of understanding in January that spelled out the amounts of funding to be provided to RMI over 20 years.

That would bring in US$1.5 billion and an additional US$700 million related to the nuclear weapons test legacy.

Yun acknowledged the situation with the Marshall Islands telling Reuters it was “doubtful” that the US and Marshall Islands would sign off on the Compact before he departs from Majuro this weekend.

At least one member of the Marshall Islands Compact Negotiation Committee said he was in the dark as to next steps.

“I really have no idea what is the game plan here,” he said.

In a widely-circulated email on the eve of Yun’s visit, Arno Nitijela (parliament) member Mike Halferty said there had been no involvement of the atoll of Arno and the majority of islands in the nation in developing the Compact.

“There is no report on the Compact negotiations for us to understand the situation,” he said. He objected to the exclusion of Arno and other islands from participation, saying the people of Arno are Marshallese like the people involved in the talks with the US.

‘Let people decide own fate’
“If we are truly a democracy, we should have had (a vote on Compact Two) and should now let the people vote to decide their own fate,” he said.

Reuters cited an unnamed “senior US official” who said the discussion between the US and RMI “is no longer about the amount of money but … about how the money will be structured and how it will be spent and what issues it will cover.”

Kitlang Kabua’s comments to the Marshall Islands Journal tended to confirm this analysis: “The RMI has matters tabled in the negotiations that are unique to our bilateral relationship with the US.

“These matters include the nuclear legacy, the communities affected by the US military operations and presence in-country, and the existential threat of climate change,” she said.

“We are also keen on strengthening processes to facilitate the RMI working jointly with the US, without jeopardising accountability and transparency, to utilise resources for areas of priorities as deemed by the RMI government’s strategic plan and other planning documents for the future.”

Giff Johnson is editor of the Marshall Islands Journal and RNZ Pacific correspondent. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ and Asia Pacific Report.

Runit Dome in the Marshall Islands
Runit Dome, built by the US on Enewetak Atoll to hold radioactive waste from nuclear tests. Image: Tom Vance/MIJ/RNZ
1...464748...82Page 47 of 82

Popular Posts

Twitter

Follow, subscribe, interact via Café Pacific's social platforms (below).

DavidRobie.nz

The latest

How the US became blind to Israeli terror

Analysis 0
ANALYSIS: By Derek Leebaert The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ)...

Caitlin Johnstone: On human rights, ‘friendly’ war crimes and Western hypocrisy

Analysis 0
COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone The death toll has risen to...

Great journalism overview of troubling politics and violence in the Pacific region

Articles 0
BOOK REVIEW: By Anna-Karina Hermkens Don't Spoil My Beautiful Face:...

Subscribe

© 2023 DavidRobie.nz. All Rights Reserved. Served by Multimedia Investments Ltd.