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Ailing suspended Papuan governor Enembe now in detention cell after army hospital

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A team of doctors from the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) visiting the suspended Papuan Governor, Lukas Enembe,
A team of doctors from the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) visiting the suspended Papuan Governor, Lukas Enembe, at Kartika Pavilion 2 of the Gatot Subroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD), Jakarta, on Friday. Image: APR

SPECIAL REPORT: By Yamin Kogoya

An Indonesian court has held a hearing to consider whether the ailing suspended Papua Governor, Lukas Enembe, is well enough to go on trial for the allegations of bribery and gratification that he is facing.

The hearing was held in the Central Jakarta District Court yesterday to consider a second medical opinion provided by the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI).

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) public prosecutors read out the IDI medical report, which stated that the defendant Enembe was fit to face trial.

Former Governor Enembe was not present at the hearing and his lawyers and family protested against the second opinion of IDI’s decision, arguing that the judgment was not based on a proper medical report but rather a view formed and collected by KPK’s doctors through interviews.

The family refused to accept this result because they believe it did not accurately represent the medical issues facing the governor.

The governor’s lawyers contend that their client is seriously ill, and they have now received an accurate medical report from the army hospital’s specialist, who has been treating  Enembe for the past two weeks, since he was moved from KPK’s detention cell to Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD) in Jakarta on July 16 due to serious health concerns.

“As a result of the explanation given by the RSPAD doctor’s team who visited Mr Enembe’s in-patient room on Monday (24/7), it was determined that Mr Enembe’s kidney function had decreased dramatically. According to Bala Pattyona, Mr Enembe’s chronic kidney has deterorated rapidly,” reports ODIYAIWUU.com.

From army hospital to cell — emotional for family
Despite serious health concerns, on July 31 the KPK came to the Army hospital and picked up Enembe, taking him to KPK’s detention cell.

Enembe’s lawyer, Petrus Bala Pattyona, revealed an emotional atmosphere when Enembe was removed from the hospital.

His wife, siblings and other relatives who were at the RSPAD were reportedly crying.

“The governor was taken by wheelchair from his room to the ambulance,” Petrus told Kompas.com on Monday night.

Petrus said that before being picked up by the KPK prosecutors, the family had refused to sign administrative documents for Enembe’s departure from RSPAD.

“Because the person who brought Mr Enembe to the hospital was a KPK prosecutor, then they are the ones who are responsible for Mr Enembe’s discharge from the hospital,” said Pattyona.

The KPK officials signed the hospital discharge papers.

Health priority request
The governor’s lawyers asked for the unwell governor to remain in the city to prioritise his medical treatment.

In response to his deteriorating health, the governor’s legal advisory team sent a letter on Thursday, July 20, to the Jakarta District Court judges.

They requested that Lukas Enembe be granted city arrest status because of his serious life-threatening illness.

The letter was signed by the governor’s legal team, including Professor Dr OC Kaligis, Petrus Bala Pattyona, Cyprus A Tatali, Dr Purwaning M Yanuar, Cosmas E Refra, Antonius Eko Nugroho, Anny Andriani and Fernandes Ratu.

According to the governor’s senior lawyer, Professor Kaligis, the application was submitted on the grounds that Enembe’s health had not improved since he had been detained in KPK’s detention cell.

Professor Kaligis said: “Our client is suffering from many complicated, serious illnesses. His kidney disease has reached stage five, he has diabetes, and he has suffered from four strokes. He is suffering from low oxygen saturation, swelling in his legs, and other internal diseases.”

In a written statement, Kaligis said Enembe’s legal counsel requested the judges to consider bail for the governor. He pleaded with the legal authorities to empathise with Enembe’s suffering.

Suharto’s case a valuable lesson
Kaligis said that while defending the late Indonesian President Suharto, his party went to Geneva on 13 June 2000 and met with the Centre for Human Rights and specifically the Human Rights Officer, Mrs Eleanor Solo.

“During that time, I was accompanied by Dr Indriyanto Seno Adji and two members of the TVRI crew because a seriously ill individual would not be suitable to [be examined] at the trial. Regardless of accusations a person might be facing, no one should be subjected to inhumane or degrading conduct,” Kaligis said.

During Kaligis’s visit to Geneva, a human rights delegation visited the residence of Suharto, ensuring that the judge who tried Suharto, the late Chief Justice of South Jakarta State, Judge Lalu Mariun, stopped the examination after receiving a fatwa from the Supreme Court.

Because Lukas Enembe is incarcerated under the authority of a panel of judges — not the KPK — Profewsaor Kaligis said they were hopeful that the request would be granted.

According to Elius Enembe, the governor’s brother and spokesman for the governor’s family, the governor was in a critical condition.

Nothing good will come from returning him to KPK’s prison cells. This is bad news for us and given the governor requires full support in terms of care needs, KPK should be held responsible should something grave occur while under their council. The Papuan people and the world are watching. There is nothing more torturous than this.

On Wednesday, 26 July 2023, the governor had his birthday, turning 56.

What should have been a happy celebration with family and the people of his homeland was abandoned for a hospital bed.

The trial is due to resume next week.

Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

China trying to buy influence with Pacific media as it strengthens its presence in region

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Solomon Star's editor Alfred Sasako is adamant that the newspaper has maintained its editorial independence
Solomon Star's editor Alfred Sasako is adamant that the newspaper has maintained its editorial independence. Image: Nick Sas/ABC Pacific Beat

By Mackenzie Smith and Toby Mann

Concerns have been raised about foreign influence in Pacific media after it was revealed Solomon Islands’ longest-running newspaper received funding from China in return for favourable coverage.

Earlier this week the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed how China has been attempting to gain influence in media outlets in Palau and Solomon Islands.

In Palau, a failed media deal pushed by China has revealed how Beijing was seeking to exert its influence in the Pacific region by using political pressure and funding to capture local elites, including in the media.

The OCCRP report published in Asia Pacific Report on Monday 31 August 2023
The OCCRP report published in Asia Pacific Report on Monday. Image: OCCRP

The OCCRP said at least one front page story had been supplied by an initiative that was backed by investors with ties to China’s police and military.

China had even more success gaining favour in Solomon Islands, where it has steadily been increasing its presence and influence since the Pacific nation switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019.

There, according to the OCCRP,  the Solomon Star newspaper received Chinese money after giving assurances it would push messages favourable to Beijing.

Desperate for funding, editors at the Solomon Star wrote up a proposal to China’s embassy in Honiara in July last year.

Paper struggling to keep up
The paper was struggling to keep up and needed assistance — its printing machines were deteriorating and papers were often hitting the streets a day late, according to the proposal the Solomon Star sent to China.

Its radio station, Paoa FM, was having difficulty broadcasting into remote provinces.

“Reporters obtained a July 2022 draft funding proposal from the Solomon Star to China’s embassy in Honiara in which the paper requested 1,150,000 Solomon Islands dollars ($206,300) for equipment including a replacement for its ageing newspaper printer and a broadcast tower for its radio station, PAOA FM,” OCCRP said.

“The Solomon Star said in the proposal that decrepit equipment was causing editions to come out late and ‘curtailing news flow about China’s generous and lightning economic and infrastructure development in Solomon Islands’.”

According to the proposal, seen by the ABC’s Pacific Beat programme, China stood to gain “enormously”.

“The intended outcome of this project . . .  is that Solomon Star newspaper will be produced on time for the benefits of its readers, subscribers and the advertising community,” it said.

“China’s timely intervention in Solomon Islands’ infrastructure and economic development will also benefit enormously as news about this new-found partnership is published.”

OCCRP has confirmed the printing equipment the Solomon Star wanted was delivered earlier this year.

Alfred Sasako, Solomon Star’s editor, said the newspaper maintained its independence.

He told the OCCRP that any suggestion it had a pro-Beijing bias was “a figment of the imagination of anyone who is trying to demonise China”.

Sasako told the OCCRP the paper had tried unsuccessfully for more than a decade to get funding from Australia.

Financial desperation drives ailing paper to Chinese backers
Ofani Eremae, a journalist and co-founder at In-depth Solomons who used to work at the Solomon Star, said it has been struggling financially since COVID, and the majority of staff have left.

“They are really in a very, very bad financial situation, so they are desperate,” he told the ABC.

“I think this is what’s prompting them to look for finances elsewhere to keep the operation going.

“It just so happens that China is here and they [Solomon Star] found someone who’s willing to give them a lot of money.”

The Solomon Star building
The Solomon Star newspaper is based in Honiara . . . “It’s a paper with the reputation people trust but in situations like that, you lose your credibility,” says Ofani Eremae. Image: OCCRP

Taking the assistance from China has raised questions about the paper’s independence, he said.

“It’s a paper with the reputation people trust but in situations like that, you lose your credibility, you lose your independence and of course you become some kind of organisation that’s been controlled by outsiders,” Eremae told the ABC.

Government spending on advertisements in the paper could help it somewhat, but Eremae said “democratic countries, especially the US” should step in and help.

‘Have to defend democracy’
“They have to defend democracy, they have to defend freedom of the press in this country,” he told the ABC.

“Otherwise China, which seems to have a lot of money, they could just easily come in and take control of things here.”

University of South Pacific associate professor of journalism Shailendra Singh said “the Chinese offer hit the right spot” with the paper facing financial challenges due to covid and advertising revenues going to social media.

“If you look across the region, governments are shaking hands with China, making all kinds of deals and also receiving huge amounts of funds,” he told the ABC.

Dr Singh said media outlets had become part of the competition between large countries vying for influence in the region and warned other struggling Pacific media companies could be tempted by similar offers.

“They would seriously consider surrendering some of their editorial independence for a new printing press, just to keep them in business,” he said.

“Let’s just hope that this does not become a trend.”

The concerns these kind of deals bring was clear.

‘Risk of compromising editorial independence’
“This is simply because of the risk of compromising editorial independence,” Dr Singh told the ABC.

“There is concern the country’s major newspaper is turning into a Chinese state party propaganda rag.”

If China managed to sway both the Solomon Islands government and its main newspaper, that would create an “unholy alliance”, Dr Singh said.

“The people would be at the mercy of a cabal, with very little — if not zero — public dissent,” he said.

Despite the concerns, Dr Singh said there were some sound reasons for the Solomon Star to enter the deal.

“If they don’t sign the deal they will continue to struggle financially and it might even mean the end of the Solomon Star,” he told the ABC.

Only the Solomon Star publisher and editor had a full grasp of the situation and the financial challenges the paper faced, he said.

‘Makes business sense’
“From our lofty perch we have all these grand ideas about media independence in theory, but does anyone consider the business realities?”

“It may not make sense to the Americans or the Australians, but makes perfect sense to the Solomon Star from a business survival point of view.”

Solomon Islands and Pacific outlets have been funded for media development by Australia and other governments.

Third party organisations such as the ABC International Development supports the media community across the Pacific to promote public interest journalism and hold businesses, governments and other institutions to account.

But Solomon Islands opposition MP Peter Kenilorea Junior said he was concerned by direct support given to the Solomon Star by a foreign government.

“It’s totally inappropriate for any government — let alone the Chinese government — to be involved in our newspaper publications, because that is supposed to be independent,” he told the ABC.

“I don’t think standards are kept when there is this, according to the report, involvement by the Chinese to try and perhaps reward the paper for saying or passing on stories that are positive about a particular country.”

Georgina Kekea, president of the Media Association of Solomon Islands, said the financial support did not come as a surprise as most businesses were struggling.

“It’s quite difficult for us to ensure that the media industry thrives when they are really floundering, where companies are finding it hard to pay their staff salary,” she told the ABC.

"Solomon Star condemns [unrelated] attack by US-funded OCCRP"
“Solomon Star condemns [unrelated] attack by US-funded OCCRP” reply by the main Honiara daily newspaper. Image: OCCRP

Solomon Star says ‘stop geo-politicising’ media
Following the OCCRP report, the Solomon Star on Tuesday published an editorial on page six headlined “Solomon Star condemns unrelated attack by US-funded OCCRP”.“It is sad to see the US-funded OCCRP through its agent in Solomon Islands, Ofani Eremae, and his so-called ‘In-depth Solomons’ website making unrelented attempts to tarnish the reputation of the Solomon Star Newspaper for receiving funding support from China,” the paper said.

“One thing that Solomon Star can assure the right-minded people of this nation is that we will continue to inform and educate you on issues that matter without any geopolitical bias and that China through its Embassy in Honiara never attempted to stop us from doing so . . .  Solomon Star also continued to publish news items not in the favour of China and the Chinese Embassy in Honiara never issued a reproachment.

“It is indeed sad to see the OCCRP-funded journalists in Solomon Islands and the Pacific trying to bring geopolitics into the Pacific and Solomon Islands media landscape and Solomon Star strongly urges these journalists and their financiers to stop geo-politicising the media.”

OCCRP said it “is funded worldwide by a variety of government and non-government donors”.

“OCCRP’s work in the Pacific Islands is currently funded by a US-government grant that gives the donor zero say in editorial decisions,” it said.

Dr Singh said whether aid came from China, the US or Australia: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

The ABC has sought comment from the Solomon Star and the Chinese Embassy in Solomon Islands.

Mackenzie Smith and Toby Mann are journalists with the ABC Pacific Beat. Republished with permission and in collaboration with Asia Pacific Report.

Bryce Edwards: Can David Parker push Labour back onto a more progressive path?

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Cabinet Minister David Parker has thrown a real spanner in the works for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins
Cabinet Minister David Parker has thrown a real spanner in the works for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at a crucial time in Labour’s re-election campaign in New Zealand. Such dissent from a Cabinet Minister is highly unusual. Image: TDP screenshot APR

ANALYSIS: By Bryce Edwards

Cabinet Minister David Parker recently told The Spinoff he’s reading The Triumph of Injustice – how the wealthy avoid paying tax and how to fix it, by Berkeley economists Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez.

The book complains that leftwing politicians throughout the world have forsaken their historic duty to innovate on taxation and force wealthy vested interests to pay their fair share. The authors say governments of both left and right have capitulated unnecessarily to the interests of the wealthy in setting policies on tax and spending.

Parker shares this ethos and it’s undoubtedly a big part of his decision to revolt against his leader.

First, Parker ignored constitutional conventions and spoke out against the Prime Minister’s decision last month to rule out implementing any capital gains or wealth taxes. And last week he resigned as Minister of Revenue, saying it was “untenable” for him to continue in the role given Hipkins’ stance on tax.

Clearly, Parker is highly aggrieved at Hipkins’ decision to rule out a substantially more progressive taxation regime, especially when there is such strong public openness to it.

In May, a Newshub survey showed 53 per cent of voters wanted a wealth tax implemented. And last week, a 1News poll showed 52 per cent supported a capital gains tax on rental property.

Parker has become the progressive voice of Labour
Parker has thrown a real spanner in the works for Chris Hipkins at a crucial time in Labour’s re-election campaign. Such dissent from a Cabinet Minister is highly unusual.

It’s also refreshing that it’s over a matter of principle and policy, rather than personality, performance, or ambition.

There will be some Labour MPs and supporters annoyed with Parker for adding to Labour’s woes, especially when the government is already looking chaotic. He’s essentially declared a “vote of no confidence” in his own party’s tax policy.

This is not the staunch loyalty and unity that Labour has come to expect over the last decade, whereby policy differences are suppressed or kept in-house.

But even though Parker was being criticised last week by commentators for throwing a “tantrum” in resigning his Revenue portfolio, this charge won’t really stick, as he just doesn’t have that reputation.

His protest is one of principle, not wounded pride or vanity, and it’s one that will be shared within the wider party.

In taking such a strong stance on progressive taxation, and so openly opposing Hipkins as being too cautious and conservative, Parker has become something of a beacon for those in Labour and the wider political left who are discontented over this government’s failure to deliver on traditional Labour concerns.

Is there a future for Parker in Labour?
Parker’s outspokenness may be a sign that he’s had enough, and is looking to leave politics before long. Being on the party list means he can opt out of Parliament at any time.

After the election, he may decide it’s time to retire, especially if Labour loses power. In fact, Parker has long been rumoured to be considering his retirement from politics, so it might just be that the time has finally come.

A private decision to leave might explain why Parker has decided to put up and not just shut up, and publicly distance himself from Labour’s decisions on tax for the sake of his reputation.

It’s also possible that Parker has chosen to try to pressure Labour towards a more progressive position on taxation, and this is the start of a bigger campaign. If so, he would be playing the long game.

Parker is now established as the most progressive voice in Labour, which could see him move up the caucus ladder when Hipkins eventually moves on — especially if Labour is defeated at the election in October.

And Hipkins might have inadvertently invited opponents to want to replace him with a more progressive politician when he made his “captain’s call” to rule out any sort of real tax reform for as long as he holds the role.

Given that they had an absolute majority in the last three years they can’t blame anyone else. And should they lose the election, the analysis from within Labour will certainly be that they were too centrist and didn’t do enough.

Parker would be a strong contender for the leadership sometime in the next term of Parliament. That is if he wants it and hasn’t simply had enough. There are signs that he would be keen — he ran for the top job in 2014, with Nanaia Mahuta as a running mate, but lost out to David Cunliffe.

Last week he reiterated that he was up for a fight, explaining his decision to stand down as Minister for Revenue, saying, “I’m an agent for change — for progressive change.

“I’ve been that way all of my political life and I’ve still got lots of energy as shown by the scraps that I’ve got into in the last couple of weeks on transport.”

Of course, when the time comes to replace Hipkins, the party will face the temptation to look for a younger and “fresher” leader. Until very recently, the likes of Kiri Allan and Michael Wood were seen as the future, but those options have disappeared.

And the party might do well looking to someone with more proven experience.

Parker could fit that bill — he’s been in Parliament for 21 years and served in the Helen Clark administration as Attorney-General and Minister of Transport. He is seen as an incredibly solid, reliable politician, with a very deep-thinking policy mind.

By contrast, the rest of the cabinet often seems anti-intellectual and bereft of any ideas or deep thinking, which means that they are too often captured by whatever new agendas the government departments have pushed on them.

Arguably that’s why the blunt approaches of centralisation and co-governance have so easily become the dominant parts of Labour’s two terms in power.

Labour needs Parker’s progressive intellectual politics
Regardless of whether Parker ever gets near the leadership again, it’s clear he has much to offer in pushing the party in a more progressive direction. Certainly, Labour could benefit from a proper policy reset and revival — which Hipkins hasn’t been able to achieve.

The new leader managed to throw lots of old policy on the bonfire, and he successfully re-branded Labour as being more about sausages and “bread and butter” issues, but Hipkins hasn’t yet been able to reinject any substantial positive new policies or ethos.

Parker’s dissent this week indicates that frustration from progressives in Labour is growing, and there are some very significant policy differences going on in the ruling party of government.

For the health of the party, and for the good of the wider political left, hopefully Parker will continue to be a maverick, positioning himself as an advocate of boldness and progressive change.

Parker recently selected Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century as the book “Everyone should read”. He explained that “As a politician who believes in social mobility and egalitarian outcomes, this book inspired me to seek the revenue portfolio”.

That Parker has now had to give away that portfolio says something unfortunate about the party and government he is part of. And if the last week also signals that Parker is on his way out of politics, that too would be a shame.

After all, in a time when parliamentary politics is about scandal, and the government has lost so many ministers over issues of personal behaviour, it would be sad to lose a minister who is passionate about delivering policies to fix the problems of wealthy vested interests and inequality.

Dr Bryce Edwards is a political scientist and an independent analyst with The Democracy Project. He writes a regular column titled Political Roundup in Evening Report.

Disinformation and climate crisis, governance, training feature in PJR

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Pacific women show off the colours of the Morning Star flag of West Papuan
Pacific women show off the colours of the Morning Star flag of West Papuan "independence" at MACFEST2023 in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in July 2023. Image: Stoen/Melanesian Spearhead Group

Pacific Journalism Review

Research on climate crisis as the new target for disinformation peddlers, governance and the media, China’s growing communication influence, and journalism training strategies feature strongly in the latest Pacific Journalism Review.

Byron C. Clark, author of the recent controversial book Fear: New Zealand’s Hostile Underworld of Extremists, and Canterbury University postgraduate researcher Emanuel Stokes, have produced a case study about climate crisis as the new pandemic disinformation arena with the warning that “climate change or public health emergencies can be seized upon by alternative media and conspiracist influencers” to “elicit outrage and protest”.

The authors argue that journalists need a “high degree of journalistic ethics and professionalism to avoid amplifying hateful, dehumanising narratives”.

PJR editor Dr Philip Cass adds an article unpacking the role of Pacific churches, both positive and negative, in public information activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pacific Journalism Review July 2023 v29(1&2)
The latest Pacific Journalism Review . . . 29(1&2) July 2023.

Several articles deal with media freedom in the Pacific in the wake of the pandemic, including a four-country examination by some of the region’s leading journalists and facilitated by Dr Amanda Watson of Australian National University and associate professor Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific.

They conclude that the pandemic “has been a stark reminder about the link between media freedom and the financial viability of media of organisations, especially in the Pacific”.

Dr Ann Auman, a specialist in crosscultural and global media ethics from the University of Hawai’i, analyses challenges facing the region through a workshop at the newly established Pacific Media Institute in Majuro, Marshall Islands.

Repeal of draconian Fiji law
The ousting of the Voreqe Bainimarama establishment that had been in power in Fiji in both military and “democratic” forms since the 2006 coup opened the door to greater media freedom and the repeal of the draconian Fiji Media Law. Two articles examine the implications of this change for the region.

An Indonesian researcher, Justito Adiprasetio of Universitas Padjadjaran, dissects the impact of Jakarta’s 2021 “terrorist” branding of the Free West Papua movement on six national online news media groups.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, media analyst Dr Gavin Ellis discusses “denying oxygen” to those who create propaganda for terrorists in the light of his recent research with Dr Denis Muller of Melbourne University and how Australia might benefit from New Zealand media initiatives, while RNZ executive editor Jeremy Rees reflects on a historical media industry view of training, drawing from Commonwealth Press Union reviews of the period 1979-2002.

Protesters calling for the release of the refugees illegally detained in Brisbane - © 2023 Kasun Ubayasiri
Protesters calling for the release of the refugees illegally detained in Brisbane . . . a photo from Kasun Ubayasiri’s photoessay project “Refugee Migration”. Image: © 2023 Kasun Ubayasiri

Across the Tasman, Griffith University communication and journalism programme director Dr Kasun Ubayasiri presents a powerful human rights Photoessay documenting how the Meanjin (Brisbane) local community rallied around to secure the release of 120 medevaced refugee men locked up in an urban motel.

Monash University associate professor Johan Lidberg led a team partnering in International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) studies about “the world according to China”, the global media influence strategies of a superpower.

The Frontline section features founding editor Dr David Robie’s case study about the Pacific Media Centre which was originally published by Japan’s Okinawan Journal of Island Studies.

Pacific Journalism Review, founded at the University of Papua New Guinea, is now in its 29th year and is New Zealand’s oldest journalism research publication and the highest ranked communication journal in the country.

A strong Obituary section featuring two personalities involved in investigating the 1975 Balibo Five journalist assassination by Indonesian special forces in East Timor and a founder of the Pacific Media Centre plus nine Reviews round off the edition.

It is published by the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) Incorporated educational nonprofit.

Solomon Star promised to ‘promote China’ in return for funding

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The Solomon Star office in Honiara
The Solomon Star office in Honiara . . . pledges to use Chinese-funded printing equipment to promote China’s “goodwill” and role as “the most generous and trusted development partner” in Solomon Islands. Image: OCCRP

By Bernadette Carreon and Aubrey Belford

A major daily newspaper in Solomon Islands received nearly US$140,000 in funding from the Chinese government in return for pledges to “promote the truth about China’s generosity and its true intentions to help develop” the Pacific Islands country, according to a leaked document and interviews.

The revelation comes amid Western alarm over growing Chinese influence over the strategically located country, which switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019 and then signed a surprise security agreement with Beijing last year.

Solomon Islands journalists have complained of a worsening media environment, as well as what is perceived to be a growing pro-China slant from local outlets that have accepted funding from the People’s Republic.

A document obtained by OCCRP shows how one of these outlets, the Solomon Star newspaper, received Chinese assistance after providing repeated and explicit assurances that it would push messages favorable to Beijing.

Reporters obtained a July 2022 draft funding proposal from the Solomon Star to China’s embassy in Honiara in which the paper requested SBD 1,150,000 (about $137,000) for equipment, including a replacement for its aging newspaper printer and a broadcast tower for its radio station, PAOA FM.

The Solomon Star said in the proposal that decrepit equipment was causing editions to come out late and “curtailing news flow about China’s generous and lightning economic and infrastructure development in Solomon Islands.”

The document shows the Chinese embassy had initially offered SBD 350,000 in 2021, but revised this number upward in recognition of the newspaper’s needs.

A dozen pledges
In total, the proposal contains roughly a dozen separate pledges to use the Chinese-funded equipment to promote China’s “goodwill” and role as “the most generous and trusted development partner” in Solomon Islands.

In interviews, both the Solomon Star’s then-publisher, Catherine Lamani, and its chief of staff, Alfred Sasako, confirmed the paper had made the proposal, but declined to speak in detail about it.

Sasako said the newspaper maintained its independence. He said any suggestion it had a pro-Beijing bias was “a figment of the imagination of anyone who is trying to demonise China.”

Sasako said the paper had tried unsuccessfully for more than a decade to get assistance from Australia’s embassy in the country. Other Western countries, such as the United States, had neglected Solomon Islands for decades and were only now showing interest because of anxiety over Chinese influence, he added.

“My summary on the whole thing is China is a doer, others are talkers. They spend too much time talking, nothing gets done,” he said.

Press delivered
OCCRP was able to confirm that the printing equipment the Solomon Star had requested was indeed purchased and delivered earlier this year.

“I can confirm what was quoted was delivered in February and the payments came from the Solomon Star,” said Terry Mays, business development manager of G2 Systems Print Supply Division, the Brisbane, Australia, based supplier named in the proposal.

The Solomon Star funding is just one part of a regional push to get China’s message out in the Pacific Islands, as well as build relationships with the region’s elites, reporters have found.

Earlier this month, OCCRP reported on an aborted deal in the northern Pacific nation of Palau involving the publisher of the country’s oldest newspaper and a Chinese business group with links to national security institutions.

Bernadette Carreon and Aubrey Belford report for the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). OCCRP is funded worldwide by a variety of government and non-government donors. OCCRP’s work in the Pacific Islands is currently funded by a US-government grant that gives the donor zero say in editorial decisions.

Wenda accuses Jakarta of crackdown in response to Papuan MSG rallies

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Huge rallies across the West Papua region in support of MSG membership
Huge rallies across the West Papua region in support of MSG membership have triggered a draconian Indonesian crackdown. Image: ULMWP

Asia Pacific Report

Indonesia has stepped up its campaign of repression against West Papuans peacefully rallying for full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), says a Papuan advocacy leader.

Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), said a “massive military and police presence” greeted Papuans who had taken to the streets across West Papua calling for full membership.

In Sorong, seven people were arrested — not while raising the banned Morning Star flags of independence and shouting Merdeka (“freedom”), but for holding homemade placards supporting full membership, according to Wenda.

In Jayapura and Wamena, protesters were chased by security forces, beaten and dragged away into police cars, Wenda said in a statement.

During a protest in Dogiyai, 20-year-old Yosia Keiya was alleged to have been summarily executed by Indonesian police on July 13 while he was peacefully sitting on the roadside.

“Eyewitnesses reported seeing two police cars arrive in the vicinity and shoot Keiya without provocation,” Wenda said in the statement.

“This crackdown follows the mass arrest of KNPB (West Papua National Committee) activists handing out leaflets supporting full MSG membership on July 12.

‘Ocean of violence’
“But Keiya and those arrested are only the latest victims of Indonesia’s murderous occupation — single drops in an ocean of violence West Papuans have suffered since we rose up against colonial rule in 2019.”

Both Indonesia and the ULMWP are members of the MSG – the former as an associate and the ULMWP as an observer.

The full members are Fiji, FLNKS (New Caledonia’s Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

“Melanesian leaders must ask themselves: is this how one group member treats another? Is this how a friend to Melanesia treats Melanesians?” asked Wenda.

“The fact that they brought an Indonesian flag to the Melanesian Arts Festival in Port Vila, only shortly after their soldiers shot Keiya dead, is an insult.

“They’re dancing on top of our graves.”

Wenda said West Papua was entitled to campaign for full membership by virtue of Melanesian ethnicity, culture, and linguistic traditions.

“In all these respects, West Papua is undeniably Melanesian — not Indonesian,” he said.

“While Indonesia won its independence in 1945, we celebrated our own independence on December 1, 1961. Our separateness was even acknowledged by Indonesia’s first Vice-President Mohammed Hatta, who argued for West Papuan self-determination on this basis.

“More than anything, this crackdown shows how much West Papua needs full membership of the MSG.

“Right now, we are defenseless in the face of such brutal violations; only as a full member will we be able to represent ourselves and expose Indonesia’s crimes.

“West Papuans are telling the world they want full membership. By coming out onto the streets with their faces painted in the colours of all the Melanesian flags, they are saying, ‘ We want to return home to our Melanesian brothers and sisters, we want to be safe.’ It is time for Melanesian leaders to listen.”

The MACFEST 2023 — the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival — ends in Port Vila today.

The MSG meeting to decide on full membership is due to be held soon although the dates have not yet been officially set.

Oppenheimer’s warning lives on: global laws, treaties fail to stop new arms race

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There are still about 12,500 nuclear warheads on the planet
Although the world’s nuclear powers agree “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”, there are still about 12,500 nuclear warheads on the planet. This number is growing, Image: Getty Images/The Conversation

ANALYSIS: By Alexander Gillespie

J. Robert Oppenheimer — the great nuclear physicist, “father of the atomic bomb”, and now subject of a blockbuster biopic — always despaired about the nuclear arms race triggered by his creation.

So the approaching 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing invites us to ask how far we’ve come — or haven’t come — since his death in 1967.

The Cold War represented all that Oppenheimer had feared. But at its end, then-US President George H.W. Bush spoke of a “peace dividend” that would see money saved from reduced defence budgets transferred into more socially productive enterprises.

Long-term benefits and rises in gross domestic product could have been substantial, according to modelling by the International Monetary Fund, especially for developing nations.

Given the cost of global sustainable development — currently estimated at US$5 trillion to $7 trillion annually — this made perfect sense.

Unfortunately, that peace dividend is disappearing. The world is now spending at least $2.2 trillion annually on weapons and defence. Estimates are far from perfectly accurate, but it appears overall defence spending increased by 3.7 percent in real terms in 2022.

J. Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer . . . the approaching 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing invites us to ask how far we have come since his death in 1967. Image: Getty Images

The US alone spent $877 billion on defence in 2022 — 39 percent of the world total. With Russia ($86.4 billion) and China ($292 billion), the top three spenders account for 56 percent of global defence spending.

Military expenditure in Europe saw its steepest annual increase in at least 30 years. NATO countries and partners are all accelerating towards, or are already past, the 2 percent of GDP military spending target. The global arms bazaar is busier than ever.

Aside from the opportunity cost represented by these alarming figures, weak international law in crucial areas means current military spending is largely immune to effective regulation.

The new nuclear arms race
Although the world’s nuclear powers agree “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”, there are still about 12,500 nuclear warheads on the planet. This number is growing, and the power of those bombs is infinitely greater than the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

According to the United Nations’ disarmament chief, the risk of nuclear war is greater than at any time since the end of the Cold War. The nine nuclear-armed states (Britain, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — as well as the big three) all appear to be modernising their arsenals.

Several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapons systems in 2022.

The US is upgrading its “triad” of ground, air and submarine launched nukes, while Russia is reportedly working on submarine delivery of “doomsday” nuclear torpedoes capable of causing destructive tidal waves.

While Russia and the US possess about 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, other countries are expanding quickly. China’s arsenal is projected to grow from 410 warheads in 2023 to maybe 1000 by the end of this decade.

Only Russia and the US were subject to bilateral controls over the buildup of such weapons, but Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended the arrangement. Beyond the promise of non-proliferation, the other nuclear-armed countries are not subject to any other international controls, including relatively simple measures to prevent accidental nuclear war.

Other nations — those with hostile, belligerent and nuclear-armed neighbours showing no signs of disarming — must increasingly wonder why they should continue to show restraint and not develop their own nuclear deterrent capacities.

The threat of autonomous weaponry
Meanwhile, other potential military threats are also emerging — arguably with even less scrutiny or regulation than the world’s nuclear arsenals. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) is sounding alarm bells.

AI is not without its benefits, but it also presents many risks when applied to weapons systems. There have been numerous warnings from developers about the unforeseeable consequences and potential existential threat posed by true digital intelligence. As the Centre for AI Safety put it:

Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.

More than 90 countries have called for a legally binding instrument to regulate AI technology, a position supported by the UN Secretary-General, the International Committee of the Red Cross and many non-governmental organisations.

But despite at least a decade of negotiation and expert input, a treaty governing the development of “lethal autonomous weapons systems” remains elusive.

Plagues and pathogens
Similarly, there is a fundamental lack of regulation governing the growing number of laboratories capable of holding or making (accidentally or intentionally) harmful or fatal biological materials.

There are 51 known biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) labs in 27 countries — double the number that existed a decade ago. Another 18 BSL-4 labs are due to open in the next few years.

While these labs, and those at the next level down, generally maintain high safety standards, there is no mandatory obligation that they meet international standards or allow routine compliance inspections.

Finally, there are fears the World Health Organisation’s new pandemic preparedness treaty, based on lessons from the COVID-19 disaster, is being watered down.

As with every potential future threat, it seems, international law and regulation are left scrambling to catch up with the march of technology — to govern what Oppenheimer called “the relations between science and common sense”.The Conversation

Dr Alexander Gillespie is professor of law, University of Waikato. This article is republished from The Conversation and Asia Pacific Report under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

France, Vanuatu agree to sort out ‘southern land’ border dispute

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The beginning of a journey to resolve the land issue in Vanuatu’s Southern region
The beginning of a journey to resolve the land issue in Vanuatu’s Southern region . . . French President Emmanuel Macron, Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jotham Napat discussing the way forward at Saralana Park in Port Vila yesterday. Image: Doddy Morris/Vanuatu Daily Post

By Doddy Morris in Port Vila

French President Emmanuel Macron and Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau have reached an agreement to settle the “land problem” in the southern region of Vanuatu before the end of this year.

Prime Minister Kalsakau made this declaration during his speech at the 7th Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival (MACFEST) in Saralana Park yesterday afternoon, coinciding with President Macron’s visit to the festival.

“We have talked about a topic that is important to the people of Vanuatu in relation to the problem for us in the Southern Islands. The President has said that we will resolve the land problem between now and December,” he said.

President Macron of France and Vanuatu Prime Minister Kalsakau at MACFEST 2023 at Saralana Park
President Macron of France and Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau at MACFEST 2023 at Saralana Park yesterday afternoon. Image: Doddy Morris/Vanuatu Daily Post

Though not explicitly naming them, it is evident that the southern land problem mentioned refers to the islands of Matthew and Hunter, located in the southern portion of Vanuatu, over which significant demands have been made.

In addition to this issue, the boundary between New Caledonia and Vanuatu remains unresolved.

The hope was that during President Macron’s visit, Prime Minister Kalsakau — carried in a traditional basket by Aneityum bearers during the opening of MACFEST 2023 — would address the Matthew and Hunter issue with the French leader.

As part of Vanuatu’s traditional practice, Kalsakau and President Macron participated in a kava-drinking ceremony, expressing their wish for the fruitful resolution of the discussed matters.

Matthew and Hunter are two small and uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Pacific, located 300 kilometres east of New Caledonia and south-east of Vanuatu.

Both islands are claimed by Vanuatu as part of Tafea province, and considered by the people of Aneityum to be part of their custom ownership. However, since 2007 they had also been claimed by France as part of New Caledonia.

Elation over statement
The announcement of the two leaders’ commitment to resolving the southern land issue was met with elation among the people of Vanuatu, particularly in the Tafea province.

“France has come back to Vanuatu; President Macron has told me that it has been a long time, but he has come back today with huge support to help us more,” said Prime Minister Kalsakau, expressing gratitude.

The Vanuatu government head revealed that France had allocated a “substantial sum” of money to be signed-off soon, which would lead to significant development in Vanuatu.

This would include the reconstruction of French schools and hospitals, such as the Melsisi Hospital in Pentecost, which had been damaged by past cyclones.

In response to the requests made by PM Kalsakau and President Macron, the chiefs of the Tafea province conducted another customary ceremony to acknowledge and honour the visiting leaders.

President Macron at MACFEST 2023
More than 4000 people gathered yesterday at Saralana Park to witness the presence of President Macron and warmly welcome him to MACFEST 2023.

He delighted the crowd by delivering a speech in Bislama language, noting the significance of Vanuatu’s relationship with France and highlighting its special and historical nature.

“Let me tell you how pleased I am to be with you, not only as a foreign head of state but as a neighbour, coming directly from Noumea,” President Macron said.

He praised Prime Minister Kalsakau for fostering a strong bond between the two countries amid “various challenges and foreign interactions”, emphasising that their connection went beyond bilateral relations, rooted in their shared history.

President Macron further shared his satisfaction with the discussions he had with Kalsakau, expressing joy that his day could culminate with the celebration of MACFEST, symbolising the exchange between himself and Vanuatu’s PM.

“My delegation is thrilled to participate in the dances and demonstrations that bring together delegations from across the region, celebrating the strength and vitality of Melanesia and the spirit of exchange and sharing,” he said.

The President expressed his pride in being part of the region, particularly in New Caledonia, and witnessing the young teenagers of Melanesia coming together, dancing, and singing, driven by the belief that they will overcome the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Last night, President Macron departed for Papua New Guinea to continue his historic Pacific visit. He expressed his happiness in meeting members from PNG, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and other participating nations during MACFEST.

Doddy Morris is a Vanuatu Daily Post journalist. Republished with permission from VDP and Asia Pacific Report.

CIVICUS protests to Marcos over ‘judicial harassment’, ‘terrorist’ label on human rights activists

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"Activism is not terrorism" . . . five Filipino indigenous peoples’ leaders and advocates have been branded as "terrorist" individuals and their property and funds have been frozen. Image: CIVICUS

Asia Pacific Report

A global alliance of civil society organisations has protested to Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr in an open letter over the “judicial harassment” of human rights defenders and the designation of five indigenous rights activists as “terrorists“.

CIVICUS, representing some 15,000 members in 75 countries, says the harassment is putting the defenders “at great risk”.

It has also condemned the “draconian” Republic Act No. 11479 — the Anti-Terrorism Act — for its “weaponisation’ against political dissent and human rights work and advocacy in the Philippines.

The CIVICUS open letter said there were “dire implications on the rights to due process and against warrantless arrests, among others”.

The letter called on the Philippine authorities to:

  • Immediately end the judicial harassment against 10 human rights defenders by withdrawing the petition in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 84;
  • Repeal Resolution No. 35 (2022) designating the six human rights defenders as terrorist individuals and unfreeze their property and funds immediately and unconditionally;
  • Drop all charges under the ATA against activists in the Southern Tagalog region; and
  • Halt all forms of intimidation and attacks on human rights defenders, ensure an enabling environment for human rights defenders and enact a law for their protection.

The full letter states:

President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacañang Palace Compound
P. Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila
The Philippines.

Dear President Marcos, Jr.,

Philippines: Halt harassment against human rights defenders

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is a global alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs) and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide. Founded in 1993, CIVICUS has over 15,000 members in 175 countries.

We are writing to you regarding a number of cases where human rights defenders are facing judicial harassment or have been designated as terrorists, putting them at great risk.

Judicial harassment against previously acquitted human rights defenders
CIVICUS is concerned about renewed judicial harassment against ten human rights defenders that had been previously acquitted for perjury. In March 2023, a petition was filed by prosecutors from the Quezon City Office of the Prosecutor, with General Esperon and current NSA General Eduardo Ano seeking a review of a lower court’s decision against the ten human rights defenders. They include Karapatan National Council members Elisa Tita Lubi, Cristina Palabay, Roneo Clamor, Gabriela Krista Dalena, Dr. Edita Burgos, Jose Mari Callueng and Fr. Wilfredo Ruazol as well as Joan May Salvador and Gertrudes Libang of GABRIELA and Sr Elenita Belardo of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP).

The petition also includes the judge that presided over the case Judge Aimee Marie B. Alcera. They alleged that Judge Alcera committed “grave abuse of discretion” in acquitting the defenders. The petition is now pending before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 84 Presiding Judge Luisito Galvez Cortez, who has asked the respondents to comment on Esperon’s motion this July and has scheduled a hearing on 29 August 2023.

Human rights defenders designated as terrorists
CIVICUS is also concerned that on 7 June 2023, the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) signed Resolution No. 41 (2022) designating five indigenous peoples’ leaders and advocates – Sarah Abellon Alikes, Jennifer R. Awingan, Windel Bolinget, Stephen Tauli, and May Casilao – as terrorist individuals. The resolution also freezes their property and funds, including related accounts.

The four indigenous peoples’ human rights defenders – Alikes, Awingan, Bolinget and Tauli — are leaders of the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA). May Casilao has been active in Panalipdan! Mindanao (Defend Mindanao), a Mindanao-wide interfaith network of various sectoral organizations and individuals focused on providing education on, and conducting campaigns against, threats to the environment and people of the island, especially the Lumad. Previously, on 7 December 2022, the ATC signed Resolution No. 35 (2022) designating indigenous peoples’ rights defender Ma. Natividad “Doc Naty” Castro, former National Council member of Karapatan and a community-based health worker, as a “terrorist individual.”

The arbitrary and baseless designation of these human rights defenders highlights the concerns of human rights organizations against Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act, particularly on the weaponization of the draconian law against political dissent and human rights work and advocacy in the Philippines and the dire implications on the rights to due process and against warrantless arrests, among others.

Anti-terrorism law deployed against activists in the Southern Tagalog region
We are also concerned about reports that the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) has been deployed to suppress and persecute human rights defenders in the Southern Tagalog region, which has the most number of human rights defenders and other political activists criminalised by this law. As of July 2023, up to 13 human rights defenders from Southern Tagalog face trumped-up criminal complaints citing violations under the ATA. Among those targeted include Rev. Glofie Baluntong, Hailey Pecayo, Kenneth Rementilla and Jasmin Rubio.

International human rights obligations
The Philippines government has made repeated assurances to other states that it will protect human rights defenders including most recently during its Universal Periodic Review in November 2022. However, the cases above highlight that an ongoing and unchanging pattern of the government targeting human rights defenders.

These actions are also inconsistent with Philippines’ international human rights obligations, including those under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which Philippines ratified in 1986. These include obligations to respect and protect fundamental freedoms which are also guaranteed in the Philippines Constitution. The Philippines government also has an obligation to protect human rights defenders as provided for in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and to prevent any reprisals against them for their activism.

Therefore, we call on the Philippines authorities to:

  • Immediately end the judicial harassment against the ten human rights defenders by withdrawing the petition in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 84;
  • Repeal Resolution No. 35 (2022) designating the six human rights defenders as terrorist individuals and unfreeze their property and funds immediately and unconditionally;Drop all charges under the ATA against activists in the Southern Tagalog region;
  • Halt all forms of intimidation and attacks on human rights defenders, ensure an enabling environment for human rights defenders and enact a law for their protection.

We urge your government to look into these concerns as a matter of priority and we hope to hear from you regarding our inquiries as soon as possible.

Regards,

Sincerely,

David Kode
Advocacy & Campaigns Lead
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Cc: Eduardo Año, National Security Adviser and Director General of the National Security Council
Jesus Crispin C. Remulla, Secretary, Department of Justice of the Philippines
Atty. Richard Palpal-latoc, Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines

Macron to ditch Noumea Accord for self-determination and impose new statute for New Caledonia

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French President Emmanuel Macron with the New Caledonia territorial President Louis Mapou
French President Emmanuel Macron with French President Emmanuel Macron with the President of Vanuatu, Nikenike Vurobaravu, in Port Vila. Image: France 1ere TV screenshot.

By Eleisha Foon

French president Emmanuel Macron says he will forge ahead with processing a new statute for New Caledonia, replacing the 1998 Noumea Accord.

New Caledonia held three referendums on independence from France under the Noumea Accord, and all resulted in a vote against it.

But the last referendum result, held in December 2021, is disputed, as it was boycotted by the indigenous Kanak people due to the devastation caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

The main body of the independence movement has been quiet during the trip, waiting to see what was put on the table.

Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan told RNZ Pacific that Macron, speaking in Noumea yesterday, threw out a challenge to them.

He said independence leaders, particularly from the Caledonian Union party, the largest pro-independence party boycotted the president’s speech.

“Macron threw out a challenge to them, basically saying that the French state would forge ahead with the process to introduce a new political statute for New Caledonia, replacing the Noumea Accord, the framework agreement that’s lasted for three decades,” Maclellan said.

The President of the New Caledonia territorial government, Louis Mapou, did welcome Macron.

“[The French President] talked about the reform of political institutions. A major step which won large applause from the crowd was to unfreeze the electoral rolls for the looming provincial and congressional elections to be held in May next year,” Maclellan said.

“That will allow thousands more French nationals to vote than are currently able to under under the Noumea Accord.

“And he basically said that he would be moving ahead to review the Constitution in early 2024.

“The Noumea Accord is entrenched in its own clauses of the French constitution, so there needs to be a major constitutional change. He suggested he was going to move forward pretty strongly on that.”

French President Emmanuel Macron with the New Caledonia territorial President Louis Mapou
French President Emmanuel Macron hugs a ni-Vanuatu child in Port Vila today . . . historic visit to independent Pacific states. Image: Vanuatu Daily Post

Rebuilding the economy
Maclellan said Macron also talked about the future role of the French dependency around two key areas.

The first was about rebuilding the economic and social models of New Caledonia, addressing an inequality, particularly for poor people from the Kanak indigenous community, questions of employment.

He said a major section of his speech focused on the nickel industry, and the need to solve the energy crisis that powered nickel with improved productivity in this key sector.

France 1 television, the state broadcaster, reports Macron confirmed more than 200 soldiers for the armed forces of New Caledonia.

But there will also be the creation of a military “Pacific academy, right here, to train soldiers from all over the region”.

Emmanuel Macron is also visiting Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Eleisha Foon is an RNZ Pacific contributing journalist. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ and Asia Pacific Report.

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