Today's front page of the PNG National newspaper covering the Engan tribal fighting. Image: National screenshot APR
By Cretilda Alokaka in Port Moresby
Six hired gunmen in Enga were shot dead by men from the Ambulin tribe on Friday in what Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has described as “jungle justice”.
Police alleged that on Friday around 5am, the six men sneaked into Ambulin tribal territory to ambush them but were caught. The Ambulins surrounded them in a culvert and shot five men.
Security force members intervened and rescued the sixth man, but he died later in hospital.
The bodies of three of the shot gunmen being dragged out on the road with their legs tied. Image: The National, PNG
Police said the gunmen were from the Silin and Kaekin tribes.
Provincial police commander Acting Superintendent George Kakas said one was from Sirunki in Laiagam, one was from Kompiam and four from Wapenamanda.
“According to the Ambulin tribe, these six men were hired to go into their territory and ambush them,” he said.
“They [Ambulins] said the killing of the six men was a warning to other tribes, especially from Kompiam, Laiagam or Wapenamanda not to get involved in their tribal warfare.”
Bodies dragged
Commander Kakas said the bodies of the five men were dragged out of the culvert and had their hands and legs tied to the back of a vehicle.
“Their bodies were then thrown on the road as a message to other tribes sending gunmen not to get involved in another tribe’s warfare.”
He said investigations were underway, with 70 policemen being deployed at the site.
Meanwhile, Commander Kakas warned businessmen, educated elites and other people funding activities to hire gunmen, buy guns and bullets to stop the practice.
He said that operational plans were being drawn up to focus on the “manipulators” of the bloodshed “while we are increasing the number of security force personnel deployed to hotspots to minimise killings and property damage”.
“Through their respective commanders, security force personnel have been instructed to use all means necessary to detain gunmen and to use lethal force when warranted,” he said.
Police Commissioner David Manning has advised Prime Minister Marape and Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili of additional measures being taken to strengthen security in Enga.
Engan hot spots
He said Assistant Commissioner, Operations, Samson Kua would lead the operation.
“It is important that ramping up personnel in hot spots in Enga does not undermine security presence in other areas,” Commissioner Manning said.
“As such, I have appointed Assistant Commissioner Anthony Wagambie Jr to focus on enhancing security operations to support the reopening of the Porgera mine, while force strength in areas such as Hela and the Southern Highlands will be maintained.”
Commissioner Manning said the approach being taken in Enga was “a break from the colonial methods of the past”.
“While we bring the full weight of the state to bear on those who perpetrate these heinous acts, we must be honest and acknowledge that security forces cannot arrest or kill our way out of tribal fighting in Enga.
“We have to deal with the cause of these conflicts at the root and stop this senseless violence where it starts.”
Cretilda Alokaka is a reporter with PNG’s National newspaper. Republished with permission.
Educationalist, diplomat, politician and activist Dr Meraia Taufa Vakatale . . . an inspiration to thousands in the Pacific, particularly young women in politics and anti-nuclear activists. Image: Image: Vakatale family/DevPolicy
By Asenaca Uluiviti and Sadhana Sen
Fiji recently lost Dr Meraia Taufa Vakatale, a monumental woman leader who broke many glass ceilings with her numerous firsts. As an educationalist, diplomat and politician, she profoundly impacted on the lives of tens of thousands in Fiji and the Pacific region, particularly young women in politics and anti-nuclear activists.
Dr Vakatale was Fiji’s first woman deputy prime minister, the first woman to be elected as a cabinet minister, the first female to be appointed as a deputy high commissioner, and the first Fijian woman principal of a secondary school in Fiji.
Dr Vakatale was also a fervent anti-nuclear activist. In 1995 she took a costly stand against her party and the then Sitiveni Rabuka government on renewed French nuclear testing on Moruroa Atoll in “French” Polynesia.
Joining a protest march against French testing led to her losing her cabinet position in the Rabuka-led government, in which she served as a member of the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) party.
She held the portfolio of Education, Science and Technology in two stints — from 1993 to 1995 and then, after being reinstated, from 1997 to 1999. In 1997, she was appointed Deputy Prime Minister.
In 2000, she resigned as President of the SVT party over the 2000 coup fallout.
She was a woman ahead of her time. Dedicated to her principles, she “paid it forward” to Pasifika generations by her fight to keep the Pacific a nuclear-free zone.
Idealism inspired thousands Dr Taufa Vakatale’s spirited and unwavering determination, her activism, idealism and her principles inspired thousands of women and youth to fearlessly pursue their dreams.
The name Taufa Vakatale was first linked to the renowned all-girls Adi Cakobau School when she became a pioneer student there in 1948, aged 10 years. She was also the first female student at the all-male Queen Victoria School.
She completed her 6th form year at Suva Grammar School, where she became the first Fijian female to pass the NZ University Entrance. She entered the University of Auckland and in 1963 was the first Fijian woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree, privately funding her studies from her wages as a teacher in Fiji.
Taufa Vakatale went on to further studies in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1971. On return to Fiji, she became the first Fijian woman president of the Fiji YWCA and principal of her old school, the Adi Cakobau School.
The YWCA in Fiji was the driving force of the anti-nuclear protest movement in the early 1970s, while she was president.
In her time as an educator, Dr Vakatale disciplined fairly, understood her students, and entrusted them with positive goals for their future, instructing them to “leave the world better than we found it”.
She was respected and honoured. Her feats helped ease the students’ own steps, to bring to life the Adi Cakobau School motto.
Towering moral stature
Of petite and elegant frame, in moral stature Dr Vakatale towered above many. In diplomacy she served as Fiji’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK in 1980, while single-handedly raising her daughter to become a lawyer.
The University of St Andrews in Scotland awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters for her contribution to the cause of Pacific women, while Fiji bestowed her with the Order of Fiji in 1996.
The extraordinary Dr Meraia Taufa Vakatale died on 24 June 2023, aged 84. She leaves behind her only daughter Alanieta Vakatale, three granddaughters, and many more following in her footsteps to leave this world a better place.
Thirty eight years on from the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and the adoption of the Pacific nuclear-free zone treaty, the Rarotonga Treaty, and with the imminent release of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant radioactive waste into the Pacific ocean, the leadership and sacrifices of Dr Vakatale must be hailed, and her life celebrated.
Asenaca Uluiviti is a community legal officer in Auckland. She has worked as a state solicitor in Fiji and at its diplomatic mission in the UN, and has served as chairperson of Fiji YMCA, and on the NZ board of Greenpeace. She went to the Adi Cakobau School. Sadhana Sen is regional communications adviser at the Development Policy Centre. Republished from the DevPolicy blog through a Creative Commons licence.
Peace researcher and archaeologist Owen Wilkes in his self-built house at Punakaiki, West Coast . . . The SIS admits to holding a six-volume file on him but will not release it. Image: Diane Hooper/Peacemonger
New Zealand’s globally renowned peace researcher Owen Wilkes has been dead since 2005, but he is still very much in the news. Throughout his decades of peace research, both in NZ and overseas, Owen was the subject of intense interest by spy agencies, none more so than the NZ Security Intelligence Service (SIS).
Watchdog has been reporting this slow-moving saga for decades. He features throughout the SIS file on CAFCA (“SIS Spied On CAFCA For A Quarter Of A Century“, Murray Horton, Watchdog 120, May 2009).
CAFCA tried to get the SIS Personal File on Owen. The SIS released a tiny smidgen of it. And that was the end of it as far as CAFCA was concerned. To get that, we had to work with Owen’s younger brother, his only surviving blood relative, as he was (and is) the only person with legal standing to request access to Owen’s file.
Despite Owen having retired from his peace work many years before he died, the SIS still won’t release his full file to family or researchers, only the odd sliver of it. The SIS admits to holding six volumes on Owen. Among the reasons given for continuing to withhold it is that releasing it “would be likely to prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand or the international relations of the Government of New Zealand”.
Maire Leadbeater, the veteran and indefatigable activist and historian, took up the cudgel. She secured some more of Owen’s SIS file, also with the vital cooperation of Owen’s brother. Reading those documents led me, in 2019, to straight away ring Owen’s ex-wife, Joan Hazlehurst (the exact 1976 date of their legal separation is recorded in the file) to inform her that she is listed in it as “Relative Of Interest” (i.e. wife) and was therefore likely to be the subject of her own SIS file. I urged Joan to apply for it.
She didn’t do so until 2023, when she asked the SIS for what it has on file about her. And she duly received a small amount of material, in May 2023, which she promptly copied to me. The accompanying letter to her (15/5/23) from SIS Director Andrew Hampton says that she was never the subject of an SIS Personal File. Any material it held on her was in Owen’s file.
There is one paragraph in Hampton’s letter that cannot pass without challenge, in fact it is breathtaking.
“As a high-profile peace activist during a period when the USSR sought to use the legitimate peace movement to further its own geopolitical objectives, Owen Wilkes came to NZSIS attention (as did you, purely by association). Mr Wilkes was never, however, considered to be a threat to security.”
Which begs the question: If “Mr Wilkes was never considered to be a threat to security”, why did the SIS spy on him for decades (and on people close to him, such as his then wife)? Why does the SIS still refuse to release the bulk of its file on him?
Still lying about the NZ Peace Movement Then there is the not so subtle smear of the “legitimate peace movement” being used by the former USSR to “further its own geopolitical objectives”. That was an outrageous lie then and even more so in a letter written in May 2023. What is Director Hampton implying here?
For example, is the suggestion that those who successfully campaigned for NZ to become nuclear free (something that is so much part of the cultural furniture that it is used in beer commercials) were puppets of the Kremlin? The SIS needs to explain why it spied on someone for decades who was “never considered a threat to security”. And release his full file forthwith.
And the SIS needs to apologise to the peace movement (not just the “legitimate” one. Was there an illegitimate one?) for still spouting tired old Cold War libels.
I’m not going to detail any of what is about Owen in this latest release. It’s from so long ago (Owen and Joan were married from 1964-76) and is frankly trivial. Although I was amused to see him describe his occupation on one international travel document as “subsistence farmer”.
SIS Director Hampton wrote to Joan: “We consider it is appropriate to explain why the NZSIS holds historical information about you from 1966 through to 1990. Briefly, you came to the attention of the NZSIS because of your membership of the NZ-China Friendship Society (NZCFS) and your marriage to Owen Wilkes”.
“During the Cold War the various communist parties were deemed subversive and also their influence in front and friendship organisations, and mainstream protest movements. The NZCFS was among such friendship organisations until 1984, when the Society was assessed as no longer being of security interest” (letter, 15/5/23, ibid.).
The SIS devoted a lot of time trying to track Joan’s international travels during the 24 years it was spying on her.
Joan Hazlehurst (or Wilkes, as she was back then) took part in CAFCA’s two foundational activities. In 1974 she and Owen were among the Kiwis — I was another — who took part in the Long March, a bus trip right across Aussie, from Sydney to the US Navy’s nuclear submarine communications base at North West Cape, the westernmost point of mainland Australia.
And in 1975 she and Owen were among the two busloads of people (including Aussies) who comprised the South Island Resistance Ride, which was inspired by the Long March. Out of this arose CAFCINZ, which morphed into CAFCA in the 1980s.
Owen was one of our founders. Joan was one of those who typed the very first versions of what was to become Watchdog onto stencils for printing on a Gestetner.
Rediscovered As for Owen, dead since 2005, he is turning out to be having a year in 2023.
Peacemonger . . . the first full-length account of peace researcher Owen Wilkes’ life and work. Image: Raekaihau Press
It’s well worth reading. And it was a major coup getting it into such a publication, not to mention downright odd. Owen would have loved the irony of him gracing the cover of a magazine devoted to fashion, music, food and “wellness”.
The fashionistas would have been non-plussed to open their usual read, only to find the cover photo was of some real old school bearded dude in shorts and bare feet sitting in a hut. (I only have one fashion story of Owen. After high school I swore never to wear shorts again. Decades later I told Owen I’d changed my mind. He replied: “I was always a trendsetter”. But I never went as far as the leather ones he favoured).
Murray Horton is a political activist, advocate and researcher. He is organiser of the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (Cafca) and editor of Watchdog, and he has been an advocate of a range of progressive causes for the past five decades. Horton occasionally contributes articles for Asia Pacific Report and this article is republished from Watchdog 163.
Dr Samantha Power giving a media conference after her speech at USP in Fiji . . . "We do want you to have a choice. It’s not a choice that we will make for you." Image: Kalinga Seneviratne/IDN
The last USAID office in the region was closed over 25 years ago.
The haste with which the US re-established these offices with its Administrator, Dr Samantha Power — a former Harvard professor, flying from the US to officiate in the ceremonies in Suva and in Port Moresby in PNG on August 15 has also got some sceptics in the region questioning its motives.
Addressing Pacific youth at a ceremony at the University of the South Pacific, also attended by the Pacific Island Forum’s Secretary-General Henry Puna — a former prime minister of Cook Islands — Power said USAID was setting up an office in the Pacific to help them to directly “listen, learn, and better understand” the challenges that Pacific Island countries were facing.
“Our new mission here in Fiji and our office in Papua New Guinea — are not going to come in and impose our ideas or our solutions for the shared challenges that we face” she told an audience of students and academics from the region.
USP is one of only two regional universities in the world largely funded by regional countries. She described the two missions as “reinvigorated (US) commitment to the Pacific Islands”.
At a number of times during her 20-minute speech, Power emphasised that USAID only gave grants and they did not give loans.
“As we increase our investments here in the Pacific, I want to be very clear — and this is subject to some misunderstanding — so please, I hope I am very clear,” she said.
Not forcing nations
“The United States is not forcing nations to choose between partnering with the United States and partnering with other nations to meet their development goals.
“That said, we do want you to have a choice. It’s not a choice that we will make for you, but we want you to have options.
“We want Pacific Island nations to have more options to work with partners whose values and vision for the future align with your own.”
Although Dr Power did not mention China in her speech, this could be interpreted as a reference to the Chinese presence in the Pacific and the “rules-based order” the US and its allies claim to promote in the region.
She immediately added to the above comments by pointing out that USAID only gives grants.
“We are very interested in economic independence, and independence of choice and not saddling future generations with attachments and debts that will later have to be paid,” she said.
“And we will engage with you openly, transparently, with respect for individual dignity and the benefits of inclusive governance, the benefits of being held accountable by your citizens, and we will join you in seeking to combat corrupt dealings that can enrich elites often at the expense of everyday citizens.”
Training farmers in new techniques
Another area where they would allocate funding would be training farmers in new techniques to grapple with changing weather patterns and encroaching salt water.
She also announced the launch of a new initiative, a Blue Carbon Assessment, to quantify the true value of the marine carbon sinks across the Blue Pacific continent.
Referring to Dr Power’s comments about reinvigorating the US’s commitment to the region, Maureen Penjueli, coordinator of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), told IDN that this was a way to frame the US as a partner of choice by allowing the islanders to determine what is a priority in terms of their development.
“The US is not the only development partner that is suggesting this,” she added, “Australia’s recent Development Policy attempts to frame themselves is no different.”
Referring to US ally Australia’s aid policies, she pointed out that for decades there has been accusation of tied aid, “boomerang aid” by many of our development partners — or how aid is an extension of foreign policy and therefore it is by its nature extractive — an iron fist in a velvet glove”.
“But its other implication is to subtly suggest that the US and its allies’ goals are unlike what China does, which is to ‘extract concessions’ through this relationship either through ensuring that Chinese companies get the contracts, Chinese labour is recruited (as well as) many other forms of accusation of Chinese engagement in the region,” Penjueli said.
During an interaction with the local media after her speech, a local television reporter told Dr Power that critics had been quick to say that the US was ramping up support in the greater Indo-Pacific region because it believed that American dominance was at risk.
“How do you respond to such an observation? And why should Pacific leaders choose US diplomatic support over Chinese support?”, the reporter asked.
“Lots of experience around the world is the recognition that governance and human rights, and economic development go hand in hand,” Dr Power replied.
“You can have economic development without human rights, but it’s almost impossible to have inclusive economic development that reaches broad segments of the population.
“So, we really believe that a development model that values transparency, that ensures that private sector investment is conducted in a manner that benefits broad swaths of the population rather than like a couple of government officials who take a bribe or pay a bribe.”
Grants at a time of a different model Dr Power also added that USAID gave grants at a time when others were pushing a very different model, “which is much more about concentrating both political and economic power, which tends to stifle the voices of citizens to hold their leaders accountable, allows officials to do what they believe is right, but without checks and balances”.
USAID is representing the reopening of the two offices as a follow up to President Biden’s meeting with the Pacific leaders in Washington DC last year.
Its Manila-based deputy assistant director of USAID, Betty Chung, has told Radio New Zealand that currently there are just two staffers in Fiji but by the end of the year, they hope to have eight to 10 there, building up to about 30.
Also the USAID budget for the Pacific has tripled in the past three years.
In a joint press conference in Port Moresby, PNG Prime Minister James Marape has welcomed USAID’s renewed commitments to the region and said that Power’s presence completes what is President Biden’s 3D strategy — diplomacy, defence, and development — in the focus to revamp the US presence in PNG and the Pacific.
He also referred to recent defence agreements signed with the US but said that it should not be a one-way relationship on how they relate to the US. He asked Power and UNAID to assist PNG in preserving their forest resources.
Pacific people need to watch
Pointing out that PNG is home to one-third of the world’s forests and 67 percent of global biodiversity, Marape said that he had asked Dr Power to take the message back to the US and particularly to Congress “who sometimes offer resistance to support to emerging nations” — to help PNG to preserve its forest resources to offset the US “huge carbon footprint”.
Referring to Dr Power’s undertaking that she came to the Pacific to listen, Penjueli said that people in the Pacific needed to watch how USAID could translate this listening exercise into grant-making and in which areas and how they do it.
“For Pacific Island governments, I do believe that they are in a better place, this gives them more options to consider if they (foreign donors) support their own development needs particularly in the current context of a climate emergency, post-pandemic debt stress economies and an ongoing Ukraine war.”
Dr Kalinga Seneviratne is a Sri Lanka-born journalist, broadcaster and international communications specialist. He is currently a consultant to the journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific. He is also the former head of research at the Asian Media Information and Communication Center (AMIC) in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific editor of InDepth News (IDN), the flagship agency of the non-profit International Press Syndicate. This article is republished under content sharing agreement between Asia Pacific Report and IDN.
Dr Samantha Power (pink in the centre with garland) with University of the South Pacific students at the Laucala campus in Suva, Fiji. Image: Kalinga Seneviratne/IDN
The “sponge city” concept is gaining traction as a way to mitigate extreme weather, save lives and even make cities more pleasant places to live. Image: From the "Sponge Cities" cartoon strip created by Alex Scott for the Helen Clark Foundation
ANALYSIS: By Timothy Welch
Tune into news from about any part of the planet, and there will likely be a headline about extreme weather. While these stories will be specific to the location, they all tend to include the amplifying effects of climate change.
Flooding in Slovenia recently left three people dead and caused an estimated €500 million in damage.
At the same time, rainfall in Beijing has exceeded a 140-year record, causing wide-scale flooding and leaving 21 dead.
These northern hemisphere summer events mirror what happened last summer in Auckland, classified as a one-in-200-year event, and elsewhere in the North Island.
So far this year, rainfall at Auckland Airport has surpassed all records dating back to 1964.
Given more rainfall is one of the likeliest symptoms of a changing climate, the new report from the Helen Clark Foundation and WSP – Sponge Cities: Can they help us survive more intense rainfall? – is a timely (and sobering) reminder of the urgency of the challenge.
Cumulative daily rainfall by month for Auckland Airport (1964-2023). Graph: NIWA, CC BY-NC-ND
Pipe dreams
The “sponge city” concept is gaining traction as a way to mitigate extreme weather, save lives and even make cities more pleasant places to live.
This is particularly important when existing urban stormwater infrastructure is often already ageing and inadequate. Auckland has even been cutting spending on critical stormwater repairs for at least the past two years.
A new report sets out the practical ways New Zealand can improve its urban resilience to flooding due to climate change.
— The Conversation – Australia + New Zealand (@ConversationEDU) August 14, 2023
Politically at least, this isn’t surprising. Stormwater infrastructure, as it is currently built and planned, is costly to develop and maintain. As the Helen Clark Foundation report makes clear, New Zealand’s pipes simply “were not designed for the huge volumes they will have to manage with rising seas and increasing extreme rainfall events”.
The country’s current combined stormwater infrastructure involves a 17,000 kilometre pipe network – enough to span the length of the country ten times. The cost of upgrading the entire water system, which encompasses stormwater, could reach NZ$180 billion.
This contrasts starkly with the $1.5 billion councils now spend annually on water pipes. The report makes clear that implementing sponge city principles won’t wholly solve flooding, but it can significantly reduce flood risks.
Trees and green spaces
The real bonus, though, lies in the potential for sponge city design to reduce dependence on expensive and high-maintenance infrastructure.
There are already examples in Auckland’s Hobsonville Point and Northcote. Both communities have incorporated green infrastructure, such as floodable parks and planted wetlands, which kept nearby homes from flooding.
But the report’s recommendations are at odds with some of the current political rhetoric around land use policy — in particular “greenfields” development that encourages urban sprawl.
The report urges that cities be built upwards rather than outwards, and pushes back on residential infill development encouraged by the Medium Density Residential Standards.
Citing a recent report on green space from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, the Helen Clark Foundation report argues for the preservation of urban green spaces — like backyards — as part of the flood mitigation approach.
Preserving tree cover is another urgent priority. Trees help absorb rainfall, reduce erosion and provide essential shade and cooling in urban areas — counteracting the dangerous urban “heat island” effect. Citing data from Global Forest Watch, the report states:
Auckland has lost as much as 19 percent of its tree cover in the past 20 years, Dunedin a staggering 24 percent, Greater Wellington around 11 percent and Christchurch 13 percent.
Incentives for homeowners
Making Aotearoa New Zealand more resilient to extreme weather, the report says, need not break the bank.
It recommends raising the national minimum standards governing the percentage of the total area of new developments that must be left unsealed. This would ensure the implementation of sponge city concepts, and see buildings clustered to maximise preserved green space.
The government should also require local councils to plan for and provide public green spaces, and to develop long-term sponge city plans — just as they do for other types of critical infrastructure.
Neighbourhoods could be retrofitted to include green roofs, permeable pavements and unsealed car parks. Land use and zoning could also encourage more vertical development, rather than sprawl or infill housing.
The government could also provide incentives and education for homeowners to encourage minimising sealed surfaces, unblocking stormwater flow paths, and replacing lawns with native plants and rain gardens.
More extreme weather and intense rainfall is a matter of when, not if. As the Helen Clark Foundation report makes clear, spending future billions is less of a priority than acting urgently now.
The West Papua delegation flying the Morning Star flag at the opening of the 7th Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival (MACFEST23) in Port Vila on 19 July 2023. Image: @MSG Secretariat/RNZ Pacific
By Kelvin Anthony
The Pacific region’s focus will shift briefly to Port Vila next week when Vanuatu hosts the heads of governments from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the leader of the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) of New Caledonia for the 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders’ Summit.
The regional sub-group had met on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting in July last year for the handover of the chair’s role from PNG to Vanuatu.
But next week will be its first full meeting since the leaders last gathered pre-covid in Port Moresby in February 2018.
The theme for this year’s meet is “MSG, Being Relevant and Influential”. It will be 15 years since Vanuatu last hosted the Leaders’ Summit, which is the pre-eminent decision-making body of the MSG.
It is a group fundamentally established 35 years ago to represent and advance the interests of Melanesia and its people.
While the agenda for the meeting is yet to be released by the chair, one issue guaranteed to be on the table is West Papua full membership.
Momentum never stronger
The Leaders’ Summit has for the past decade dabbled with the issue of indigenous Papuan calls for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to become a full member of the MSG.
But the momentum for that to happen seems to have never been stronger.
In 2018, the MSG leaders’ approved the application by the ULMWP for full membership and referred it to the MSG Secretariat “for processing” under its new membership guidelines.
This week, Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau confirmed to RNZ Pacific that as the chair, Vanuatu would “appeal to the open mindedness of the MSG” concerning the atrocities in West Papua, adding that “hopefully it will go alright”.
“It will be a two-day meeting where we can discuss issues of concern among the Melanesian family and come up with resolutions that will be able to assist us in maintaining and sustaining our membership as a group,” Kalsakau said.
‘In Melanesia’s hands’ Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka caused a stir in February when he met ULMWP’s leader Benny Wenda in Suva on the margins of a special session of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Rabuka, wearing an independence flag Morning Star-branded bilum, became the first Fiji prime minister in 16 years to meet with Wenda for a one-on-one meeting, and assured his government’s backing of the ULMWP bid to become a full member of the MSG, subject to “sovereignty issues”.
“We will support them because they are Melanesians,” he said.
Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, intends to continue building its relations with Indonesia, a MSG associate member.
Prime Minister James Marape believes Indonesia’s control over Papua must be respected.
“We do not want to offset the balance and tempo,” Marape said.
Decisions made at the MSG are by consensus of all the leaders. If they do not agree on any issue, they must continue to dialogue until they arrive at a decision.
This means Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the FLNKS of New Caledonia will all need to agree that ULMWP can become a full member.
Pacific churches and civil society groups continue to campaign and call for MSG leaders to back the Free West Papua Movement’s bid.
Wenda was present at the 7th Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture — MGS’s flagship event — last month to further lobby for support.
According to one West Papuan academic, the absence of “Indonesian flags or cultural symbols” at MACFEST “spoke volumes of the essence and characteristics of what constitutes Melanesian cultures and values”.
“The Melanesian people must decide whether we are sufficiently united to support our brothers and sisters in West Papua, or whether our respective cultures are too diverse to be able to resist the charms offered by outsiders to look the other way,” writes Yamin Kogoya, who is from the Lani tribe in the Papuan highlands.
However, Wenda is under no illusions that for indigenous Papuans to be accepted into the Melanesian family: “The issue now is in Melanesia’s hands.”
The Leaders’ Summit will take place on August 23 and 24, and be preceeded by a senior officials meeting on Saturday and a foreign ministers meeting on Monday.
Kelvin Anthony is RNZ Pacific lead digital and social media journalist. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ and Asia Pacific Report.
Mabel Wharekawa-Burt . . . "My job today is to influence you to open your minds a little bit further, not to change your opinions." Image: Alisha Evans/LDR/SunLive/RNZ Pacific
By Alisha Evans
After a 12-year fight, mana whenua will get a seat at the table after the Western Bay of Plenty District Council has voted to establish Māori wards at the next election.
Applause then waiata rang out from the packed public gallery as the councillors voted nine to three in favour of Māori wards yesterday.
Speaking after the meeting, mayor James Denyer said it was a “momentous day, particularly for mana whenua”.
LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTING: Winner 2022 Voyager Awards Best Reporting Local Government (Feliz Desmarais) and Community Journalist of the Year (Justin Latif)
“This is about making the right decision, not making the popular decision.”
Mana whenua have long advocated for Māori wards in the district. In 2011 the council decided not to establish one and in 2017 the council opted to have a Māori ward, but it was subject to a poll requested by the public.
It was voted down in the poll with 78 percent of the respondents opposed. Just over 40 percent of eligible voters took part.
During the meeting’s public forum, Mabel Wharekawa-Burt said the poll was not an actual reflection of what the community was feeling.
‘Open your minds’
“My job today is to influence you to open your minds a little bit further, not to change your opinions,” she said.
Wharekawa-Burt, of Katikati, worked with the electoral commission for 14 years and urged the councillors to “take a chance”.
“We’re [Māori] not a threat. I’m bound and obligated to make good decisions for my grandchildren.
“Take a chance on me by unequivocally supporting the establishment of Māori wards and I’ll make sure you’re safe,” Wharekawa-Burt (Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ranginui) said.
Katikati — Waihī Beach Residents and Ratepayers Association chairperson Keith Hay opposed their establishment and said the decision affected all of the community and referred to the previous poll.
“To knowingly override these views without community consultation is arrogant.
“If you vote to introduce Māori wards today, voters’ views are being overwritten,” said Hay, in his opinion.
The council opted not to consult with the community because under the Local Electoral Act 2001 there were no obligations to consult with any person before passing a resolution to establish Māori wards.
‘Spectrum of community views’ WBOPDC strategic kaupapa Māori manager Chris Nepia’s report to council said: “Council already has a good understanding of the spectrum of community views on the establishment of Māori wards through previous processes.”
Tapuika Iwi Authority chief executive Andy Gowland-Douglas said it was “really important mana whenua were represented at the decision making table” and added “significant value”.
Former mayor Gary Webber, who was on the council for 12 years, said it was the third time he had been involved in the decision.
“It is time to do what is tika, what is right. Please don’t say no and be an outlier in the statistics.”
Deputy mayor John Scrimgeour moved the motion. He said it was a legislative requirement and important the council met this.
“Māori have continued to be entirely consistent in their request for Māori wards.
“They wanted to vote for someone that they could identify with and help them represent their interests.”
Not fairly represented
First term councillor Andy Wichers said he had heard from the community that Māori don’t feel they are fairly and effectively represented as individuals and as communities.
“The simple question was this, could Māori wards achieve a fairer and more effective representation? And the answer was yes, and I could not find an argument against it.”
Councillor Rodney Joyce said: “Partnership is deeply and rightly entrenched into our constitutional arrangements.
“Having guaranteed Māori members will help us be a better council.
“This is not a zero sum game where one treaty partner wins at the expense of the other. We can work together to make better decisions, bringing different perspectives.”
He did, however, want there to be consultation with the community.
“We should consult widely on this and seek to bring our community along with us in this decision.”
‘Incredibly rushed’
Tracey Coxhead said as a first time councillor she felt “incredibly rushed in this process” and “not informed enough” to make the right decision.
She too wanted community consultation.
Allan Sole . . . “This actual document, a great piece of our history, may not be fit for purpose today.” Image: John Borren/SunLive/LDR
Also opposed was councillor Allan Sole — he said he was part Māori but chose not to be on the Māori electoral roll.
“I believe that we have got to be people that look and work towards having a more harmonious whole community, not looking after factions.
He said, in his view, if people felt they were unequal he would “almost consider [it] patronising that somebody makes a special place for you”.
“I believe that to protect those special places is totally wrong and not beneficial to the decision making and future of our district and our country.”
Sole also questioned the Treaty of Waitangi: “We also ought to let the people look at it [the Treaty] and say perhaps . . . this actual document, a great piece of our history, may not be fit for purpose today.”
‘Same rights and privileges’ Kaimai ward councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said: “I believe strongly that, as the Treaty of Waitangi made clear that 180 years ago, all New Zealanders had the same rights and privileges.
“Creating racial division between us by creating racially separate based wards is fundamentally wrong.”
Councillor James Dally was visibly emotional as he spoke and referenced the 2021 decision by the local government minister to remove the ability for the public to request a poll on the creation of Māori wards.
He said the number of councils with Māori wards went from three to 34 and there were 66 councillors elected to represent Māori communities at last year’s local government elections.
“Hopefully in time the separatist or racist narrative will become a thing of the past.”
Denyer said: “It’s clear to me that Māori representation at council is deficient and it is no longer a radical or unknown option.”
He said Māori wards “work quite well” for the 35 councils that have them.
Mayor James Denyer . . . “This is about making the right decision, not making the popular decision.” Image: Alisha Evans/SunLive/LDR
‘About honouring commitments’ Scrimgeour concluded: “I want to emphasise this is not about establishing a race-based constituency. It’s about honouring commitments that we made under the Treaty of Waitangi.”
Speaking after the meeting, Wharekawa-Burt said: “It felt glorious.
“I’m ecstatic for my grandchildren. I just wanted the right to make my own choice.”
Te Kāhui Mana o Tauranga Moana forum chairperson Reon Tuanau said it had been a long time coming and he had been involved since 2011.
Asked if he had any words for those that were fearful of Māori wards, Tuanau referred to the whakataukī.
“Nā to rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te tāngata. With your basket and my basket put into the same basket people will thrive.”
Western Bay of Plenty is the 36th council to establish Māori wards. Only those on the Māori electoral roll can vote in that ward.
How the Māori ward will be made up will be considered as part of the district representation review next year.
The review looks at what form the wards and community boards should take and how many elected members there should be, to best represent the district’s population. It will be subject to public consultation.
How they voted: For: James Denyer, John Scrimgeour, Grant Dally, Anne Henry, Rodney Joyce, Murray Grainger, Andy Wichers, Richard Crawford, Don Thwaites.
Against: Margaret Murray-Benge, Allan Sole, Tracey Coxhead.
Alisha Evans is SunLive local democracy reporter.Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. It is published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.
The flag of Hawai'i waves beside a sign reading "Tourist(s) Keep Out" in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires in Lāhainā, Hawai'i. Image: Patrick T. Fallon/RNZ Pacific
RNZ Pacific
The board chair of the Office of Hawai’ian Affairs says the Maui wildfires were caused in part by climate change and colonisation.
Carmen Lindsey said as kānaka (Native Hawai’ians), no words could describe the devastation of the losses in Lāhainā, the former capital of the Hawai’ian Kingdom, on the island of Maui.
“The fires of today are in part due to the climate crisis, a history of colonialism in our islands, and the loss of our right to steward our ʻāina and wai,” she said.
“Today we have watched our precious cultural assets, our physical connection to our ancestors, our places of remembering — all go up in smoke.
“The same Western forces that tried to erase us as a people now threaten our survival with their destructive practices.”
She said the Office of Hawai’ian Affairs was ready to help with community needs.
The Wiwoʻole #MauiStrong benefit concert on Saturday will raise essential disaster relief funds to support and sustain the victims of the wildfires.
‘Born out of activism’
The Office of Hawai’ian Affairs is a semi-autonomous state agency responsible for improving the wellbeing of native Hawai’ians, for example by annually providing Native Hawai’ian students $500,000 in scholarship money.
It says it was “born out of activism in the 1970s to right past wrongs suffered by Native Hawai’ians for over 100 years”.
According to the 2019 US Census Bureau estimate, about 355,000 Native Hawai’ians or Pacific Islanders reside in Hawai’i, out of a total population of about 1.4 million.
At least 110 people are confirmed dead, while many others remain missing.
But Hawai’i Governor Josh Green told CNN the number of residents still unaccounted for was “probably still over 1000”.
Damaged buildings and structures of Lāhainā Town destroyed in the Maui wildfires. Image: Staff Sergeant Mttew A. Foster/US Army/RNZ Pacific
Help from American Samoa Six members of the American Samoa National Park Service Fire crew are mobilising to respond to the fires.
In partnership with Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, the National Park of American Samoa trains staff and local villagers in the skills required to fight fires at home and within other areas of the United States.
The fire crew is made up of National Park Service employees, and employees of the American Samoa government and local businesses.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Recovery and humanitarian workers ramp up efforts on Maui island to help evacuees from the town of Lāhainā. Image: Federal Emergency Management Agency/RNZ Pacific
By Finau Fonua
As recovery and humanitarian efforts ramp up in Hawai’i’s Maui to help evacuees from the town of Lāhainā, there is frustration among many about the response and the failure of emergency sirens to sound off during the disaster.
The most recent update for Hawai’i’s Governor’s Office has the death toll at 110.
“The sirens never went off which is why a lot of people died because if people had heard the sirens, they would of course have run,” said Allin Dudoit, an assistant for the New Life Church in Kahului, which has been assisting survivors with basic supplies, accommodation and counselling.
“When they saw the smoke outside, they didn’t think they were in danger because they didn’t hear the sirens,” he added.
“I had a nephew who made it out alive with his sisters, they got burnt a little but they made it out.”
Dudoit told RNZ Pacific that many survivors were still in their homes when the fires struck and that fallen telephone poles prevented cars from getting out.
Maui New Life Church receives donations for Lāhainā evacuees. Image: New Life Maui Pentecostal Church/RNZ Pacific
“People have been telling me they only had seconds to get away, that they didn’t even have time to run down the hallway to grab a family member — that’s how bad it was.
Telephone pole gridlock
“So many telephone posts were down that it caused a gridlock . . . they thought they were getting away, but the fires just came in and swept through the traffic.
“My wife’s uncle didn’t make it, he was in a truck.”
Lāhainā evacuees attended to by Red Cross volunteers. Image: Scott Dalton/American Red Cross/RNZ Pacific
More than 1000 responders — mostly from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — are in Maui assisting survivors and recovering bodies from Lāhainā.
In the wake of the disaster, Hawai’i’s Governor Josh Green had announced aid, including employment insurance, financial support and housing.
“We have over 500 hotel rooms already up and going,” said Green.
“If you’re displaced from your job, you need to talk to the Department of Labour . . . please do that so you can get benefits and resources right away.
“We have an AirB&B programme that will have a thousand available rooms for people to go to.
Stable housing
“We want everyone to be able to leave the shelters and go into stable housing which is going to take a long time.”
Hawai’i Governor Josh Green addresses Hawai’i National Guard. Image: Office of Hawaii Governor Josh Green/RNZ Pacific
A housing crisis already exists in Hawai’i. Just last month, Green issued an emergency proclamation to expedite the construction of 50,000 new housing units by 2025.
Lāhainā evacuee and single mother Kanani Higbee — now unemployed and homeless as a result of the disaster — told RNZ Pacific she is already considering leaving the state.
“It’s looking like this Native Hawai’ian and her kids will have to move to another state that has jobs and affordable housing because there isn’t enough help on Maui for us,” she said.
“Tourists are going to want to come back to visit and vacation condominiums will not want to house locals (evacuees) anymore, because the owners have high mortgages to pay,” she said.
Kanani Higbee and her family . . . “Tourists are going to want to come back to visit and vacation condominiums will not want to house locals (evacuees) anymore.” Image: Kanani Higbee/RNZ Pacific
“My work at the grocery store said they may place me to work somewhere else, but haven’t yet. I also work at Lāhaināluna High School . . . the principal told us that they aren’t sure when it will reopen.
“My sister-in-law works at a hotel near the fires and they are taking good care of her — they gave her a longer amount of disaster relief pay.
Some helped, others move
“Some people are getting lots of help while others are going to have to move away from Maui from lack of help.”
Among the most active groups helping Lāhainā evacuees have been Maui’s many churches whose congregations have been raising donations and taking in evacuees.
Baptist Church Pastor Matt Brunt said many people were still reported missing and there was a sense of despair among those who had not heard from missing relatives.
“They’re pretty certain that people they haven’t been able to find yet are most likely going to be a part of the count of people who have died,” said Brunt.
“It seems like people have the immediate supplies they need, but housing is definitely is the biggest need now — to get people out of these shelters and find them a place to live.
“There’s a mixed response of how people feel about the response time of the government, but we also see just how many individuals are stepping out and meeting the needs of these people.”
Finau Fonua is an RNZ Pacific journalist. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ and Asia Pacific Report.
West Papuan villagers in their forest home in the Kiwirok district while seeking safety . . . they became internally displaced people (IDPs) because of the Indonesian military raids on their villages. Image: HRM
A chilling new report by a German-based human rights watchdog has exposed indiscriminate attacks by Indonesian security forces on indigenous West Papuan villages, highlighting an urgent need for international action.
Satellite imagery and on the ground analysis by researchers shows the destruction of eight villages in 2021 and 2022 — Mangoldogi, Pelebib, Kiwi, Oknanggul, Delmatahu, Spamikma, Delpem and Lolim.
The Kiwirok report on village attacks in West Papua. Image: HRM
A total of 206 buildings, including residential homes, churches and public building buildings have been destroyed in the raids, forcing more than 2000 Ngalum villagers to seek refuge as internally displaced people (IDPs) in the surrounding forest in destitute circumstances.
In a statement, the Human Rights Monitor said the report — released today — provided a “meticulous and scientific analysis” of the Indonesian forces’ attacks on the villages.
“This report sheds light on the gravity and extent of violations in the Kiwirok region and measures them against international law,” the statement added.
Eliot Higgins, director at Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group specialising in fact-checking and open-source intelligence, said: “This in-depth report provides evidence of security force raids carried out in the Kiwirok District, impacting on both indigenous villages and public properties.
‘Harrowing picture’
“It paints a harrowing picture of more than 2000 villagers displaced and forced to live in subhuman conditions, without access to food, healthcare services, or education.
“The main findings of this report include instances of violence deliberately perpetrated
against indigenous Papuan civilians by security forces, leading to loss of life and forced
displacement which meet the Rome Statute definition of crimes against humanity.”
An M72 mortar shell fired by Indonesian forces and recovered by villagers . . . manufactured by the Serbian state-owned company Krušik Holding Corporation. Image: Kiwirok Report/Human Rights Monitor
Some of the Indonesian mortar shells, grenades and other weapons used on the Papuan villagers . . . gathered by the people themselves. Image: Kiwirok Report/HRM
The report says that the armed conflict in West Papua has become “significantly aggravated since December 2018, as TPNPB [West Papua National Liberation Army] members killed at least 19 road workers in the Nduga Regency.
“That incident marks the re-escalation of the armed conflict in West Papua. The conflict statistics show a continuous increase in violence over the past three years, reaching a new peak in 2022. The number of civilian fatalities related to the conflict rose from 28 in 2021 to 43 in 2022,” added the report.
Usman Hamid, Amnesty International’s Indonesia director said: “Impunity for violence by the security forces is a major concern from both a human rights and a conflict perspective.
“This report provides the necessary information for the National Human Rights Commission, Komnas HAM, to take up the case.
“Without accountability for the perpetrators, the chances of a lasting solution to the conflict in Papua are slim,” he added.
Mangoldogi village in the Kiwirok district . . . before and after the Indonesian military raids. The photo on the left was on 29 September 2021 and on the right shows the devastation of the village, 30 April 2021. Satellite images: European Space Imaging (EUSI)/Kiwirok Report/HRM
‘Hidden crisis’
Peter Prove, director for international affairs at the World Council of Churches, said:
“The World Council of Churches has been monitoring the conflict in West Papua — and its
humanitarian, human rights and environmental impacts — for many years.
“But it remains a hidden crisis, largely forgotten by the international community — a situation that suits the Indonesian government very well. This report helps shine a small but telling beam of light on one specific part of the conflict, but from which a larger picture can be extrapolated.
“Indonesia — which is currently campaigning for election to the UN Human Rights Council — must provide more access and transparency on the situation in the region, and the
international community must respond appropriately to the increasing gravity of the crisis.”
In light of the findings, Human Rights Monitor has called on the international community,
governments, and relevant stakeholders to:
Immediately ensure humanitarian access for national and international humanitarian
organisations and government agencies to the Kiwirok District. Humanitarian aid
should be provided without involving security force members to ensure that IDPs can
access aid without fearing reprisals;
Instruct the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas Ham) to investigate
allegations of serious human rights violations in the Kiwirok District between 13
September and late October 2021;
Immediately withdraw non-organic security force members from the Kiwirok District,
allowing the IDPs to return and re-build their villages without having to fear reprisals
and further raids;
Ratify the Rome Statute;
Be open to a meaningful engagement in a constructive peace dialogue with the
United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP); and
Allow international observers and foreign journalists to access and work in West
Papua
Human Rights Monitor is an independent, international non-profit project promoting
human rights through documentation and advocacy. HRM is based in the European Union
and active since 2022.
Focused on West Papua, HRM states: “We document violations; research institutional, social and political contexts that affect rights protection and peace; and share the conclusions of evidence-based monitoring work.”
West Papuan villagers in their forest home in the Kiwirok district while seeking safety . . . they became internally displaced people (IDPs) because of the Indonesia military raids on their villages. Image: HRM
