Displaced Bikini Islanders marched on the US Embassy in Majuro in early June to voice their anger over what they say is misuse of the Bikini Resettlement Trust Fund by island leaders. Image: Hilary Hosia/The Marshall Islands Journal/RNZ Pacific
By Giff Johnson in Majuro
Following widespread media coverage of the collapse of what was a more than US$70 million trust fund for Bikini islanders displaced by American nuclear weapons testing, the United States Congress has demanded answers from the Interior Department about the status of the trust fund.
Four leading members of the US Congress put the Interior Department on notice last Friday that Congress is focused on accountability of Interior’s decision to discontinue oversight of the Bikini Resettlement Trust Fund.
In their three-page letter, the chairmen and the ranking members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources — which both have oversight on US funding to the Marshall Islands — wrote to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland with questions about what has happened to the Bikinians’ trust fund.
It was initially capitalised by the US Congress in 1982 and again in 1988 for a total investment of just under US$110m.
Protests in Majuro The Congressional letter is the first official US action on the Bikini Resettlement Trust Fund and follows several demonstrations in Majuro over the past six weeks by members of the Bikini community angered by the current lack of money to support their community.
The letter notes that on November 16, 2017, Interior accepted Kili/Bikini/Ejit Mayor Anderson Jibas and the local council’s request for a “rescript” or change in the system of oversight of the Resettlement Trust Fund.
As of September 30, 2016, the fund had $71 million in it, the last audit available of the fund.
“Since then (2017), local officials have purportedly depleted the fund,” the four Senate and House leaders wrote to Haaland.
“Indeed, media reports suggest that the fund may have been squandered in ways that not only lack transparency and accountability, but also lack fidelity to the fund’s original intent.
“If true, that is a major breach of public trust not only for the people of Bikini Atoll, for whom the fund was established, but also for the American taxpayers whose dollars established and endowed the fund.”
They refer to multiple media reports about the demise of the Resettlement Trust Fund, including in the Marshall Islands Journal, TheNew York Times, Marianas Variety and Honolulu Civil Beat.
No audits since 2016
The Resettlement Trust Fund was audited annually since inception in the 1980s. But there have been no audits released since 2016 during the tenure of current Mayor Jibas.
The lack of funds in the Resettlement Trust Fund only became evident in January when the local government was unable to pay workers and provide other benefits routinely provided for the displaced islanders.
Since January, no salaries or quarterly nuclear compensation payments have been made, leaving Bikinians largely destitute and now facing dozens of collection lawsuits from local banks due to delinquent loan payments.
Bikini women load their belongings onto a waiting US Navy vessel in March 1946 as they prepare to depart to Rongerik, an uninhabited atoll where they spent two years. Image: US Navy Archives
‘Fund is in jeopardy’ The letter from Energy Chairman Senator Joe Manchin and ranking member Senator John Barrasso, and Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman and ranking member Raul Grijalva says American lawmakers “have a duty to oversee the management of taxpayer dollars appropriated for the resettlement and rehabilitation of Bikini Atoll”.
The letter also repeatedly makes the point that the money in the trust fund was only to rehabilitate and resettle Bikini Atoll, with projects on Kili or Ejit islands limited to only $2 million per year, subject to the Interior Secretary’s prior approval.
“Regrettably, the continued viability of the fund to serve its express purpose now appears to be in jeopardy,” the US elected leaders said.
The US leaders are demanding that Haaland explain why the Interior Department walked away from its long-standing oversight role with the trust fund in late 2017.
Specifically they want to know if the Office of the Solicitor approved the decision by then-Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech to accept the KBE Local Government’s rescript “as a valid amendment to the 1988 amended resettlement trust fund agreement.’
They also suggest Interior’s 2017 decision has ramifications for US legal liability.
Key questions
“Does the department believe that the 2017 rescript supersedes the 1988 amended resettlement trust fund agreement in its entirety?” they ask.
“If so, does the department disclaim that Congress’s 1988 appropriation to the fund fully satisfied the obligation of the United States to provide funds to assist in the resettlement and rehabilitation of Bikini Atoll by the people of Bikini Atoll?
“And does that waive any rights or reopen any potential legal liabilities for nuclear claims that were previously settled?”
They also want to know if KBE Local Government provided a copy of its annual budget, as promised, since 2017.
The letter winds up wanting to know what Interior is “doing to ensure that trust funds related to the Marshall Islands are managed transparently and accountably moving forward?”
The Baker underwater nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Dozens of World War II vessels were used as targets for this weapons test, and now lie on the atoll’s lagoon floor. Image: US Navy Archives
Australian anti-nuclear activist Nat Lowrey (left) joined activists from Japan, Tonga and Fiji in Sapporo, Japan, on April 26 to protest against the plan to dump nuclear waste. Montage: Nat Lowrey/Green Left
By Peter Boyle in Sydney
As Pacific communities protest the Japanese government’s plan to dump more than a million tonnes of radioactive waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, Australian anti-nuclear activists are highlighting the complicity of Australian uranium exporting companies.
While the Fukushima Daiichi power station operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), claims that the water will be treated to reduce radioactive content, anti-nuclear activists have no faith in TEPCO’s assurances.
The Candlelight Alliance, a Korean community group in Sydney, is organising a protest outside the Japanese consulate this Saturday.
Spokersperson Sihyun Paik told Green Left: “We have a great fear that it may already be too late to stop Japan’s release of radioactively contaminated waste water into our largest ocean, an action by which every Pacific Rim nation will be impacted.
“There are serious, global ramifications,” he said. “It will directly endanger the marine life with which it comes into contact, as well as devastate the livelihoods of those reliant on such marine life, such as fisherfolk.
“All living organisms will be implicitly affected, whether it is the unwitting consumer of contaminated produce, or even beachgoers.
“The danger posed by the plan cannot be contained within just the Northeast Asia region. In two to three years, it will eventually reach and contaminate all ocean waters to certain, yet significant degrees according to scientists.
Korean fishery victims
“The local Korean fishery industry is the first commercial victim of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and it raised deep concerns to the Korean government immediately after the explosion of the nuclear reactors.
“This was in conjunction with Korea’s progressive action groups during the term of the previous Moon Jae-In administration.
“However, since the current administration (2022), the voice of protest has been extinguished at the government level, invariably raising suspicion of possible under the table dealings between Japan’s Kishida government and current Korean President Yoon [Suk Yeol] during the latter’s recent visit to Japan.”
Epeli Lesuma, from the Fiji-based Pacific Network on Globalisation, told Green Left that “for Pacific people the Ocean represents more than just a vast blue expanse that Japan can just use as a dumpsite.
“Our Ocean represents the economic, spiritual and cultural heart of Pacific countries.
“Pacific people know all too well the cost of nuclear testing and dumping. The Pacific was used as a nuclear test site by the UK, France and the USA who carried out a total of 315 tests on Christmas Island in Kiribati, Australia, Māohi Nui or French Polynesia and the Marshall Islands.
“These nuclear legacies have cost us countless lives and continue to impact the health and well-being of our people; it has impacted access to our fishing grounds and land to plant crops to support our families; and it has cost us our homes, with Pacific people displaced (on Bikini and Enewetak) due to nuclear contamination.
Japan, Pacific share trauma
“Japan and the Pacific share the trauma of nuclear weapons and testing.
“So it comes as a deep disappointment to us that the Japanese government would consider actions that threaten not only Pacific people and our Ocean but the health and well-being of all the planet’s oceans and the people who depend upon them.
“The Pacific Ocean also contains the largest tuna fish stocks which are a source of economic revenue for our countries. The Japanese government’s plans to dump its nuclear wastewater into our Ocean pose a direct threat to the economic prosperity of our countries and in turn our developmental aspirations as well as being a fundamental breach of Pacific people’s rights to a clean and healthy sustainable environment.”
Australian anti-nuclear activist Nat Lowrey delivered a statement of solidarity from the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance when she visited affected local communities in Fukushima in March.
The statement acknowledged that uranium from the Ranger and Olympic Dam mines was in TEPCO’s Fukushima reactors when the meltdowns, explosions and fires took place in March 2011.
The ANFA statement said that “Australian governments, and mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto, are partly responsible for the death and destruction resulting from the Fukushima disaster. They knew about the corruption in Japan’s nuclear industry but kept supplying uranium.”
Lowrey said that since it was Australian uranium that fuelled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, “the Australian government has a responsibility to stand with local communities in Fukushima as well as communities in Japan, Korea, China and Pacific Island states in calling on the Japanese government not to dump radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean”.
‘Fundamental self-determination right’
“We must support Pacific peoples’ fundamental right to their sovereignty and self-determination against Japan’s nuclear colonialism.
“If Japan is to go ahead with the dumping of radioactive waste, Australia should play a lead role in taking a case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea against Japan.”
Paik said no Australian government had taken serious action since the Fukushima disaster.
“Despite the Japanese government’s decision to release nuclear contaminated water into the ocean, no official statement or comment has been made by the [Anthony] Albanese government.
“We did not expect any form of government level protest on this issue due to conflicts of interest with Australia’s member status in the Quad partnership which is a key pillar in Australia’s foreign policy, and an influential determinant of our stance on nuclear energy.”
When the G7 met in Tokyo, the Japanese government urged the summit to approve the planned radioactive water release.
Tanaka Shigeru, from the Pacific Asia Resource Centre in Japan, said: “Japan did not get the approval by the G7 as it had hoped, but it stopped at saying the G7 will adhere to the conclusion of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
‘IAEA approves release’
“The IAEA is of course approving of the release, so it is a way for them to say they have approved without explicitly saying so.”
Shigeru said that despite a three-year propaganda campaign over Fukushima, most people polled in Japan in April said that “the government has not done enough to garner the understanding of the public”.
Only 6.5 percent of those polled believe that the Japanese government has done enough.
Yet it has “done enough to keep people from the streets”, Shigeru said.
“While there are, of course, people who are still continuing the struggle, I must say the movement has peaked already after what has been a fervent three-year struggle.”
Japanese opponents of the radioactive water release, including fisherfolk, have been fighting through every administrative and legal step but now “there are no more domestic hurdles that the Japanese government needs to clear in order to begin the dumping”, Shigeru said.
“The opposition parties have been so minimised in Japan that there is very little realistic means to challenge the situation except for maybe international pressure. That is really the only thing standing in the way of the dumping.
Ambassador propaganda
“So Japan has been taking ambassadors from the Pacific nations on lucrative paid-for trips to Fukushima to spread the propaganda that the dumping will be safe.”
Lesuma confirmed the impact on swaying some Pacific Island governments, such as Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia.
“Pacific Islands Forum member states have been some of the most vocal opponents at the international level of the Japanese government’s plans to dump their nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean,” he said.
“The PIF leaders had appointed an Independent Panel of Experts who have engaged with TEPCO scientists and the IAEA to provide advice to Pacific governments on the wastewater disposal plans … the Panel has concluded unanimously that Japan should not release nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean and should explore other alternatives.
“The Fiji government has been one such Pacific government consistent in coming out strongly in opposing Japan’s plans.
“The PNG Fisheries Minister, Jelta Wong, has also been vocal and consistent in expressing his disapproval of the same, going as far as saying that the nuclear wastewater discharge would create a ‘Pacific Chernobyl’ with the potential to cause harm to Pacific people for generations to come.”
Peter Boyle is a Green Left activist and contributing writer. Republished with permission.
An insight into the age and temperament of the young PNG kidnappers . . . "What is happening in Bosavi is a glimpse, a dark glimpse of where our country is heading to." Image: Melvin Levongo/RNZ Pacific
By Don Wiseman and Scott Waide
A woman who was part of a group kidnapped in Papua New Guinea in February has spoken out after the kidnapping and reported rape of 17 schoolgirls in the same area of Southern Highlands earlier this month.
Cathy Alex, the New Zealand-born Australian academic Bryce Barker and two female researchers, were taken in the Mt Bosavi region and held for ransom.
They were all released when the Papua New Guinea government paid a ransom of US$28,000 to the kidnappers to secure their release.
Alex, who heads the Advancing Women’s Leaders’ Network, said that what the 17 abducted girls had gone through prompted her to speak out, after the country, she believed, had done nothing.
A local said family members of the girls negotiated with the captors and were eventually able to secure their release.
The villagers reportedly paid an undisclosed amount of cash and a few pigs as the ransom.
Alex said she and the other women in her group had feared they would be raped when they were kidnapped.
Professor Bryce Barker and an unnamed woman after being released by kidnappers in February. Image: PM James Marape/FB
‘My life was preserved’
“My life was preserved even though there was a time where the three of us were pushed to go into the jungle so they could do this to us.
“We chose death over being raped. Maybe the men will not understand, but for a woman or a girl rape is far worse than death.”
Alex said they had had received a commitment that they would not be touched, so the revelations about what happened to the teenage girls was horrifying.
She said her experience gave her some insight into the age and temperament of the kidnappers.
“Young boys, 16 and up, a few others. No Tok Pisin, no English. It’s a generation that’s been out there that has had no opportunities. What is happening in Bosavi is a glimpse, a dark glimpse of where our country is heading to.”
The teenage girls from the most recent kidnapping are now safe and being cared for but they cannot return to their village because it is too dangerous.
Need for focus
Cathy Alex said there was a need for a focus on providing services to the rural areas as soon as possible.
She said people were resilient and could change, as long as the right leadership was provided.
Bosavi is one of the remotest areas in PNG, with no roads and few services
Don Wiseman is an RNZ Pacific senior journalist, and Scott Waide is RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
A French nuclear explosion at Moruroa atoll in 1970 . . . France stopped atmospheric testing in the Pacific in 1974, and later in 1996 it also stopped all nuclear tests after 193 detonations. Image: Wikimedia Commons
By Jimmy Ellingham
Fifty years ago 242 men left New Zealand on a mission to Moruroa Atoll in French Polynesia.
The crew of HMNZS Otago, and later the frigate Canterbury, were sent there to protest against French nuclear testing.
Little did they know that the fallout from the mission would continue decades later, with health problems and worries about the effects on their children and future generations.
Prime Minister Norman Kirk farewelled the Otago on 28 June 1973.
Cabinet Minister Fraser Colman has his daily tot of rum aboard the HMNZS Otago. Tony Cox is standing next to him, on the left. Image: RNZ News
Twenty-year-old sailor Tony Cox was on board.
“I was standing on the deck along with a lot of other guys, and Norman Kirk was with the skipper, talking to various members of the crew.
“He said to me, ‘Don’t worry about anything, son. Nothing’s going to happen, but if it does, we will look after you’.”
Witnessed atmospheric test
A month later the Otago witnessed an atmospheric test just over 20 miles away.
The crew initially sheltered below deck.
“As soon as the flash had gone they said we could go up and have a look, so [we went] up the ladder and opened the door and out we went,” Cox said.
“It was a bit disappointing. It wasn’t like the movies. It was almost a straight line to start with, then it started to form into a mushroom. It had a pinky, grey colour to it.”
Fellow Otago crewman Ant Kennedy turned 20 at Moruroa.
“I got married at Honolulu. I didn’t know I was going to be married then. We were on the way to southeast Asia to be part of New Zealand’s deployment there.
“Then we were called back and it was jokingly called Norm’s Mystery Tour.”
Labour government opposed
France started nuclear tests in the Pacific in the 1960s and Kirk’s Labour government was staunchly opposed.
Cabinet Minister Fraser Colman travelled there on the Otago, and transferred to the HMNZS Canterbury when it took over protest duties.
Gavin Smith says the crews of the Otago and Canterbury drank and washed in contaminated seawater. Image: Jimmy Ellingham/RNZ
Aboard the Canterbury, Gavin Smith also witnessed a test.
“We were inside a gas-tight citadel for the explosion. We never thought about the consequences of it until much later, and then people started dying and getting crook.
“We realised that the seawater around there was contaminated. The seawater was used on board for washing vegetables. We washed in it, bathed in it.”
The water was desalinated, but that didn’t remove radiation, as Cox recalls.
“The water around us was contaminated. We didn’t know that,” he said.
‘No fish, no seabirds’
“There were no fish there, so that was a waste of time. There were no sea birds anywhere. They were well dead, gone. It was totally different to all the different oceans I’ve been through over the years.”
Kennedy said his health was okay, but he knew he was one of the lucky ones.
He remembers one fellow sailor needing surgery.
“He had this bad cancerous stuff on his face. And a guy called Cloggs. He was a signalman on Canterbury. He was at one of our reunions, and basically he came to that and that was that.
“He was younger than me.
“I thought, holy hell. This seems to be a bit out of the ordinary. You’d expect fit, young sailors to live into their 80s.”
About 20 years ago Cox’s oncologist told him he had a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Excessive doses of radiation
“[He said], ‘The only time you get this type of cancer is from excessive doses of radiation. Where would you have got that from?’
“I said, ‘I did go to a nuclear bomb test,’ and he said, ‘That’ll do it’.”
Crew from on board the Otago caught up for a reunion in 2003. Image: RNZ
Veterans’ costs are covered for sickness arising from service.
But as Smith, the president of the Moruroa Nuclear Veterans group, said, there was concern about subsequent generations.
The group, formed in 2013, is active in trying to get recognition for possible effects on their families.
“Our children and grandchildren have oddball illnesses and we would like to know if that was a result of our service at Moruroa,” Smith said.
“Are we passing on bad genes or are we not?
Asking for DNA testing
“All we ask is for DNA testing to be done and when science can prove that fact one way or another we have an answer.
“If science does prove we have passed on bad genes we would simply like our children and grandchildren and the next generations to be looked after if they have an illness that’s related to our service.”
So far, that has not happened, despite regular lobbying of officials and ministers.
For Donna Weir, whose father Allan Hamilton was aboard the Canterbury, that concern was real.
Hamilton died in 2021 from aggressive cancer.
“I have had fertility problems, multiple miscarriages and things like that. We have kids who have problems that nobody can explain, if that makes sense.”
That included stomach and vision problems.
So much trouble
Weir said one older sister, who was conceived before 1973, had no such trouble.
The nuclear test veterans deserved greater recognition for their service, she said.
“They’re some of New Zealand’s most forgotten heroes, I think.
“I asked Dad if he knew then what we now know, would you have gone. His answer was quite simply, ‘I signed up to serve my country and that’s what I did.’”
A hikoi (march) to deliver a petition to the Aotearoa New Zealand prime minister over the Ihumātao land protest in Auckland in 2019 . . . It is hoped the New Zealand on Air's Tiriti Framework will help media organisations develop strategies that promote more accountable and equitable practices in their day-to-day reporting and commentary. Image: Getty Images
ANALYSIS:By Angela Moewaka Barnes, Belinda Borell and Tim McCreanor
There is little evidence to suggest Aotearoa New Zealand’s mainstream news media critically evaluate their own reporting on issues about or affecting Māori and te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi).
This is concerning, given the negative framing of so much coverage, past and present.
The one exception to this general ambivalence has been the groundbreaking apology in 2020 by digital and print news organisation Stuff for a long history of monocultural and Eurocentric bias.
Informed by our research on how news about Māori and te Tiriti is often constructed, Stuff looked back at its legacy mastheads and found stories that ranged from “blinkered to racist”. It pledged to change and improve to reflect a commitment to Māori audiences and the principles of te Tiriti.
To date, no other media organisation has attempted to evaluate its reporting in this way — or, in fact, acknowledge this might be necessary.
It is hoped the framework will help media organisations develop strategies that promote more accountable and equitable practices in their day-to-day reporting and commentary.
Colonial and settler narratives The initiative is important because news is not some objective truth waiting to be reported. It is constructed through the lenses of news teams — and particularly senior journalists and editors — who are predominantly Pākehā.
The types of stories that are told, and the way people and subjects are represented, involve deliberate choices. This frequently means few Māori stories are told. And when Māori are represented, they can be framed in limiting and negative ways.
Our Truth, Tā Mātou Pono is a Stuff project investigating the history of racism. Part one, out today, focuses on Stuff & its newspapers, & how we have portrayed Māori.@ParahiCarmen & I did a cartoon together based on real headlines about Māori. @NZStuffpic.twitter.com/RfOCjtjBNj
Historically, this is common to news and media representations of Indigenous peoples everywhere. There is undoubtedly bias at work some of the time.
But as we have argued previously, these “negative ‘stories’ and representations of Indigenous peoples are strategic; tactical necessities rather than aberrations”.
In other words, they “play important roles in the ongoing colonial project, enhancing the legitimisation and naturalisation of the institutions, practices, and priorities of the colonising state”.
Early European colonists in the South Pacific founded newspapers and published material to serve their interests, institutionalising their preferred social order and norms. For example, an early handbook from the New Zealand Company in 1839 — “Information Relative to New Zealand, Compiled for the use of Colonists” — included some of the first representations of Māori as savage and lawless.
Settler newspapers recycled these themes from 1840 onwards. Variations of the same message persist to the present day. Recent research shows that in countries colonised by Britain, news consistently represents Indigenous peoples as violent, primitive and untrustworthy.
Fundamental questions Contemporary coverage of Māori activism still routinely misinforms and fails to capture nuance. Reporting of the 2020 Ihumātao occupation, for example, frequently reduced internal tensions to a clash between young and old.
On the other hand, there is evidence that both journalists and their audiences want to see change. This is where the new media framework can make a difference.
It provides detailed examples of more equitable news practices, and prompts news organisations to ask themselves several fundamental questions:
Commitment to te Tiriti: how do you enact responsibilities under He Whakaputanga and te Tiriti?
Societal accountabilities: how do you transform use of harmful, racist themes and narratives around Māori?
News media practices: who benefits from the kinds of stories you choose to tell?
Māori-controlled media: how do you represent diversity in Māori stories and in your own staffing?
Challenge and opportunity
We’ve seen some positive responses to the framework, as well as accusations that the Tiriti requirements of New Zealand on Air’s Public Interest Journalism Fund amount to “propaganda” that muzzles mainstream media.
Either way, media organisations are now operating in an environment where profit models require innovation, with increasing competition from social media and changes in audience behaviours.
While this is challenging, it also offers an opportunity to transform journalism and improve newsroom practices. The Stuff and New Zealand on Air initiatives show how it’s possible to tackle harmful representations of Māori in mainstream news media.
Our framework could also be adapted to other sectors and settings where systemic bias and disadvantage are felt. For now, though, it is up to media organisations, funders and policymakers to decide how they will respond.
The authors acknowledge Dr Jenny Rankine and Dr Ray Nairn who were authors on Te Tiriti Framework For News Media and contributed to this article.
A Papuan protest against the "criminalisation" of Governor Lukas Enembe of Papua province before his state "kidnapping" in January . . . supporters allege he has been the target of an Indonesian conspiracy to remove him from office. Image: Tabloid Jubi
SPECIAL REPORT:By Yamin Kogoya
Last Monday, suspended Papua Governor Lukas Enembe was indicted on gratification, bribery and corruption charges in Indonesia’s central Corruption Criminal Court in Jakarta.
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors accused and charged Governor Enembe of accepting bribes totalling Rp 45.8 billion (US$3 million) and gratuities worth Rp 1 billion (US$65,000).
Tomorrow the ailing former high official, highly popular among Papuans, will know the judges’ rulings and responses to his requests.
Prosecutors argued that these funds came from private infrastructure development companies in West Papua.
As the Governor of Papua Province, Enembe, along with his subordinates Mikael Kambuaya and Gerius One Yoman, are accused of giving the bribe in order to obtain the companies used by Piton Enumbi and Rijatono Lakka for the 2013-2022 procurement project within the Papua Provincial government.
Enembe was charged under Article 12a and Article 12b of Law 31 of 1999 regarding the Eradication of Corrupt Criminal Acts, Kompas.com reports.
A barefooted Governor Enembe sat in the middle of the courtroom beside his lawyer Petrus Balapationa, looking directly at the panel of judges. Both of his defence attorneys and KPK prosecutors were seated on opposite sides of the courtroom.
‘Empty speeches, trickery’
During the 2.5 hour hearing, the governor shouted angrily at the KPK’s prosecutors, asking, “Woi (hey) — lying, where did I receive (Rp 45 billion)?” . . . “Not right, not right, empty speeches, you’re lying, empty speeches, trickery and lying, where did I get it?,” Lukas Enembe said during his indictment reading, reports Kompas.com.
The governor’s lawyer Petrus Balap read out statements of objections written by Enembe in response to the allegations and charges.
“I am being vilified, dehumanised, impoverished and made destitute,” said the governor in his statement to the judges and prosecutors, raising 32 objections to the indictment. He said:
“To all my Papuan people. I, the Governor, whom you have elected twice, I am the traditional chief, I have been vilified, dehumanised, demonised, mistreated and, I have been [made] destitute and impoverished.
“I, Lukas Enembe, never stole state money, never took bribes, yet the KPK provides false information and manipulates public opinion as if I were the most notorious criminal.
The suspended Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, enters Jakarta’s Corruption Criminal Court last Monday . . . He shouted out, “I am being vilified, dehumanised, [made] impoverished and destitute”. Image: Kompas.com
“I have been accused of being a gambler. Even if this were true, it is a general criminal offence, KPK does not have the authority to investigate gambling issues. Even the alleged bribe of one billion dollars in my indictment grew into a bribe of tens of billions of rupiah, resulting in the confiscation of all my savings.“Not only was my money confiscated, but also the money of my wife and children. Even though I have emphasised in my BAP (minutes of the legal examination) that the one billion rupiah is my personal money and does not constitute bribes or gratuities.
“On my oath as a witness against defendant Rijatono Lakkadi in court on May 16, 2023, I explained the same statement.
“Once again, I dare to declare that the one billion rupiah is not the result of a bribe that Rijatono Lakka gave me at my request. I have never given Rijatono Lakka facilities, Rijatono Lakka’s wealth has come from his own work.
‘Cruel treatment’
“I have never interfered in the tender process of the procurement of goods and services, nor do I know the participants of the Electronic Tender since I created the E-Tender process to prevent the participation of KKN (Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism) in the tender process.
“Not only was I the target of the pensoliman (cruelty and inhumane treatment), but my wife and son were also called as witnesses for me, despite their refusal to cooperate which is protected by the constitution.”
The governor continued to protest against the KPK’s arrest of Dr Stefanus Roy Rening, one of his lawyers who had defended Enembe against the allegations and the attempt to arrest him September last year.
“It was also difficult for me to comprehend that my lawyer, Dr Stefanus Roy Rening, was made a suspect, obstructing the examination, despite the fact that he did not accompany the witnesses and stated that because of the statements made by Dr Stefanus Roy Rening who had defended me in public, which could affect the testimony of witnesses. He (Dr Roy) did not accompany the witnesses of my case.
“Is it possible for Dr Stefanus Roy Rening to influence witnesses when they are not accompanied by a lawyer and at the end of every witness BAP [statement] a sentence is included stating that the witness’ testimony is free from influence, and it is the witness’ own testimony without any influence from others?”
The governor concluded his statement of objections by stating:
“What I have explained and [with] the facts stated above, I have the right in this court to be treated fairly, not to be slandered, vilified, or impoverished, as I have been accused of gambling to the tens of hundreds of millions in Singapore, despite the fact that no one has ever given a statement about gambling, or that I was involved in the purchase of KKB weapons (arms for West Papuan freedom fighters) by a pilot arrested in the Philippines.”
Lawyers’ objection letter
An objection letter by the governor’s legal team was released last Thursday stating:
Lukas Enembe’s senior lawyer, OC Kaligis, expressed his objection to KPK officials’ attitude during the trial at the Jakarta District Court, Thursday (22 June 2023). Lukas Enembe’s legal counsel have only been able to consult with him for two hours a week since he has been detained.
Is it possible that legal counsel will only be given two hours of visitation time per week? Kaligis stated that the two-hour period was insufficient for discussing all the witnesses in the case file (184 witnesses) and the 1024 minutes of seizure according to Article 129 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
According to Kaligis, his defence counsel had the right to provide legal assistance, as per Article 56 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in order to determine whether there were any witnesses who directly gave bribes or gratuities to Lukas Enembe.
“The [details] in this case need to be explained carefully to Lukas Enembe, with adequate time. Two hours of consultation each week is definitely not enough,” said Kaligis.
Kaligis stated that on June 19, 2023, following the indictment, when legal counsel sought to meet with Lukas Enembe, the time given was very short, and a KPK official who claimed to be the Public Prosecutor closely monitored the meeting.
“Even though the legal counsel had requested that the seating be changed in the same area, the Public Prosecutor arrogantly still forbids, despite the fact that the panel of judges before the court had stated that we can meet Lukas Enembe after the hearing. Particularly now that the power of detention lies with the panel of judges and not with the KPK anymore,” said Kaligis.
Detention visits
His legal team requested that the panel of judges allow him to visit Lukas Enembe at the KPK detention centre every day before his trial.
“The legal counsel team filed an application with the panel of judges, as the extension of detention is now within the jurisdiction of the court and is no longer under the authority of the KPK. The KPK prohibited us from meeting Lukas Enembe in court, everything was done based on the KPK’s power and arrogance.
“Doesn’t that violate Article 56 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, granting a right to legal counsel to consult the law?” Kaligis said.
Governor Enembe’s ordeal has been characterised by numerous twists and turns as the KPK, doctors, the governor himself, and the defence legal team strive to find a resolution to these problems.
The situation is made worse by the fact that in Indonesia the lines between law enforcement agencies, KPK officials, medical doctors, and judges are blurred in a country notoriously known for corruption and impunity from top officials to local mayors.
Dealing with cases like Lukas Enembe is even worse — coming from Indonesia’s most contested territory — West Papua.
Legal system questioned
Indeed, this case undermines the whole foundation of the Indonesian legal system.
What has broken down between Papuans and Indonesia’s government for the past 60 years is trust.
Unfortunately, Governor Lukas and every Papuan considered to be breaking Indonesian laws, must face the Indonesian legal system. This in itself is so ironic and demoralising for Papuans, as every moral, ethical and legal framework Jakarta employs is viewed as fraught by Papuans within the West Papua sovereignty disputes in Indonesia.
Jakarta’s criminalisation of Papuans is like criminalising innocents and accusing them of breaking the law through the perpetrator’s legal system.
This is due to the fact that the Indonesian government has a long history of targeting Papuans for their political views and beliefs. This has led to an environment of fear and intimidation, where Papuans are often accused of crimes they did not commit and are treated harshly by the Indonesian legal system.
For more than 500 years, most indigenous people around the globe have been criminalised and exterminated since a series of Papal bulls (decrees) signed by European Catholic popes and Christian kings during the early period of European colonisation in the 1400s and 1500s.
Legal myths
They were legal myths for conquests, civilising mission — the myth of discovery, the myth of empty lands, and the myth of Terra Nullius.
It has been used to justify the exploitation of indigenous peoples, to strip them of their rights, and to deny them access to land and resources.
By criminalising the indigenous population, colonial authorities have maintained an unequal power dynamic and control over them. These colonial myths have had devastating consequences for the original inhabitants.
Today, Jakarta still propagates this myth in West Papua. Colonial myths have been made truer than truth, more real than reality, and unfortunately, indigenous leaders, such as Governor Lukas Enembe, have been swayed by them by their legal jargon, codes, numbers, symbols, grammar, and semantic power.
Currently there are three high profile Papuan leaders locked up in KPK’s prison cells — Papua Governor Lukas Enembe; the Regent of Mimika Regency, Eltinus Omaleng; and the Regent of Mamberamo Tengah Regency, Ricky Ham Pagawak. All are accused of corruption.
The status of the two regents remains unclear.
As for Governor Lukas Enembe, he requested that the judges take his deteriorating health seriously and that he receive medical assistance from specialists in Singapore, and not from KPK’s appointed general practitioners.
This is partially due to the breakdown of trust.
Further, the Governor has also requested that the block on the bank account of his son (a student based in Melbourne) be lifted in order for him to be able to continue his studies.
The judges are due to deliver their verdict tomorrow regarding the outcome of his requests and all charges against him.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic/activist 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.
Pro-independence Tahitian politician Vannina Crolas . . . "France values democracy as much as our government does, and if I stand here in front of you today it's because of democracy." Image: Présidence de la Polynésie Française/RNZ Pacific
By Finau Fonua
France’s grip on its overseas territories in the Pacific may be waning, with pro-independence delegates now claiming to have the support of the majority of their indigenous people in their territories.
The delegates from New Caledonia and French Polynesia spoke during talks at the UN’s Special Committee on Decolonisation this week.
The sensitive issues of indigenous rights were part of the speeches delivered by the delegates from Kanaky New Caledonia and French Polynesia — French “overseas territories and collectivities” — at the UN.
Kanaky — an ‘illegitimate referendum’
Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) delegate Magalie Tingal-Lémé repudiated a controversial 2021 referendum that had rejected independence from France, which had been boycotted by pro-independence groups in the wake of the covid pandemic.
“We believe that through this illegitimate referendum, the French state has robbed us of our independence,” said Tingal-Lémé.
“We will never accept this outcome and so, unable to contest the results under French internal law, we are turning to the international community for an impartial institution to indicate how to resume a process that complies with international rules on decolonisation.”
FLNKS permanent representative at the UN Magalie Tingal-Lémé . . . “The pro-independence movement found itself alone in raising public awareness of the positive stakes of self-determination.” Image: UN screenshot APR
Tingal-Lémé told the committee that the indigenous Kanaks of New Caledonia were unhappy with the status quo, accusing France of breaking the UN’s principles of freedom and equality.
“Every time we speak before your institution, we carry the voice of the colonised people,” said Tingal-Lémé.
“When we speak of colonisation, we are necessarily speaking of the people who have suffered the damage, the stigma and the consequences.”
French Polynesia — government supports decolonisation
Pro-independence Tahitian politician Vannina Crolas also advocated for the independence of a collective of islands in eastern Polynesian known as “French” Polynesia.
Like New Caledonia, the island group has been a part of France since the 19th century, but opinions of independence are more divided among the native French Polynesians who have experienced a more positive historical relationship with Paris than their Kanak neighbours.
Earlier this year, the pro-independence party Tāvini Huiraʻatira Party — led by Moetai Brotherson — won the Territorial Assembly’s 2023 presidential election by 38 votes to 19 over the ruling anti-independence Tapura Huira’atira Party.
Delegate Crolas told the committee that Brotherson had recently met President Emmanuel Macron and that the French government had so far respected the democratic processes in French Polynesia, which at the moment appears to be moving towards independence.
“France values democracy as much as our government does, and if I stand here in front of you today it’s because of democracy,” said Crolas.
“I’m here to represent the government that our people elected democratically to confirm to your committee and the world, that the government of French Polynesia fully supports the proper decolonisation and self-determination process under the scrutiny of the United Nations.”
Tokelau — committed to self-determination Tokelau head of government Kerisiano Kalolo told the Special Committee on Decolonisation that he was committed to self-determination.
A referendum held in Tokelau in 2007 showed that more than 64 percent of Tokelauans supported removing the current political status of the islands, although the results were not enough to bring about change.
Kalolo said there was renewed interest and that he was pushing for independence.
Ulu-O-Tokelau Faipule Kelihiano Kalolo and Tokelau Administrator briefing the UN Decolonisation Committee on recent key developments and challenges in Tokelau. Image: Twitter/@FSarufa
He stressed he would maintain strong economic ties with New Zealand.
“The General Fono agreed to revive the conversation on self-determination and the future political status of Tokelau, and we plan to initiate that in the second half of the year,” said Kalolo.
“Madam chair, the relationship between Tokelau and the government of New Zealand is significant and we will continue to look towards New Zealand and development partners for support.”
The UN Special Committee on Decolonisation meeting concludes this week.
Finau Fonua is a RNZ Pacific journalist. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
A new crime trend has emerged in PNG . . . more than six kidnappings and ransom demands have happened since 2014. Image: PNG Post-Courier
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea police will be able to use lethal force to deal with crimes that come under “domestic terrorism” through the amendments to the Criminal Code Act.
Police Commissioner David Manning said this as the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) continue to work for stronger law enforcement powers to fight against domestic terrorists causing havoc in some parts of the country, such as in the mountainous Bosavi region.
Commissioner Manning said that the kidnappings and held-for-ransom cases were part of “domestic terrorism”.
“The amendments establish clear legal process for the escalated use of up to lethal force, powers of search and seizure, and detention for acts of domestic terrorism.
“It is high time that we call these criminals as domestic terrorists, because that is what they are and we need harsher measures to bring them to justice one way or another,” he said.
“Domestic terrorism includes the deliberate use of violence against people and communities to murder, injure and intimidate, including kidnapping and ransom, and the destruction of properties.
“An accurate definition of domestic terrorism also includes hate crimes, including tribal fight and sorcery and related violence.”
New crime trend
A new crime trend has emerged in PNG with kidnappings and held-for-ransom cases happening over the last six years with more than six kidnappings and ransom demands occurring since 2014.
However, it took the kidnapping of the New Zealand-born Australian professor and the demand for ransom this year to bring to light several years of continued kidnappings and demand for ransoms on expatriates and locals working at logging camps and elsewhere in Western province and the Highlands region.
Localised kidnappings have also continued with successful returns of victims particularly children.
Other domestic terrorism crimes include:
Organised crimes;
Weapons smuggling;
Illegal drug production and distribution; and
People trafficking.
“The RPNGC, through the Minister for Internal Security, is putting forward amendments to the Criminal Code Act that will strengthen police capacity to search, investigate, intercept and prosecute people and groups involved in domestic terrorism,” Manning said.
Commissioner Manning said the way criminals operated had changed, particularly in the use of information and communications technologies, and police powers needed to be strengthened.
“The amendments will enable more effective lawful communications interception of channels and electronic devices used by domestic terrorists,” he said.
Criminal internet use
“Many of our laws do not take sufficient account of the way criminals, including domestic terrorists, use the internet and phone systems in carrying out violent crimes, and this is a key area for reform.”
Commissioner Manning said the new amendments would build on previous related legislation, and go even further to tip the balance of justice and public safety away from the criminals.
“Amendments have been made to the Criminal Code, such as in 2022 by the government to strengthen laws against so-called glassman or glassmeri [people with the power to accuse women and men of witchcraft and sorcery] and the vile crimes they commit — especially against women, children and the elderly.
“The amendments will further improve law and order co-operation and collaboration with international partners through training, equipment, technical advice and the use of new technologies and resources.
“Having interoperability with domestic and international partners requires the proper and recognised definition of a domestic terrorist and acts of domestic terrorism, as will be clear in the amendments.”
According to information put together by the PNG Post-Courier since 2014 there have been a string of kidnappings that have occurred with a report of K300,000 (NZ$140,000) paid for the return of six expatriates held by armed men allegedly from the Southern Highlands.
The latest kidnapping saw 17 girls, two of whom were married, taken by armed men in the Bosavi LLG, also in Southern Highlands. They were later released with about K3000 (NZ$1400) paid and several pigs offered to the kidnappers.
Police have remained quiet with Post-Courier understanding that investigations continue to be carried out in the latest kidnapping incident and the case of the abducted professor and local researchers.
Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.
The pro-independence United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has welcomed Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Jotham Napat’s comments on West Papua during this week’s diplomatic visit to Indonesia.
In a joint press conference with Indonesian Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin, Napat restated his commitment to the “Melanesian way”.
Movement president Benny Wenda has issued a statement saying that hearing those words, “I was reminded of Vanuatu’s founding Father Walter Lini, who said that ‘Vanuatu will not be entirely free until all Melanesia is free from colonial rule’ — West Papua and Kanaky included.”
The Melanesian way had been shown in full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) being extended to the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), despite them representing a Melanesian people rather than a Melanesian state [New Caledonia], Wenda said.
It has also been demonstrated in Papua New Guinea’s approach to Bougainville, where Prime Minister Marape showed true moral courage by respecting their right to self-determination with a 98 percent vote in favour of independence in 2019.
“Vanuatu has always shown the same courage in supporting West Papuan freedom. By referencing the Melanesian way in the joint press conference, Deputy PM Napat was conveying to Indonesia the message Moses gave to Pharoah: ‘Let my people go’,” Wenda said.
“As West Papuans we are also committed to Melanesian values. This is why we have turned to our Melanesian family in seeking full membership of the MSG.
Vanuatu ‘steadfast in support’
“In their role as chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Vanuatu has been steadfast in supporting ULMWP full membership.
“At this crucial hour, we need all Melanesian leaders to show the same commitment, and help bring West Papua home to its Melanesian family.
“Indonesia must respect Vanuatu and other Melanesian nations by allowing the fulfillment of this decades-long dream.”
To resolve the West Papuan issue peacefully in the Melanesian way, the first step was admitting the ULMWP as a full member of the MSG at the forthcoming summit of the group, Wenda said.
The Jakarta Post reports that an earlier meeting between Minister Napat with his Indonesian counterpart Retno LP Marsudi on Friday is being seen in Jakarta as a bid to build a “bridge over the troubled waters of the past”.
During the visit, Vanuatu has announced plans to open an embassy in Jakarta and to hold annual bilateral meetings with Indonesia.
In addition, the two ministers pledged to strengthen cooperation in trade and development, which experts pointed out were part of Indonesia’s larger strategy for the Indo-Pacific region.
The joint Indonesia-Vanuatu foreign ministers media statement from Jakarta. Video: MoFA Indonesia
Jakarta announces ‘development steering committee’ RNZ Pacific reports that the joint talks between Vanuatu and Indonesia this week had West Papua high on the agenda
The talks have come amid tensions in the region, and ahead of a state visit next month to Papua New Guinea by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Indonesia’s state-owned news agency Antara reports Vice-President Amin meeting with Minister Napat in Jakarta on Monday.
Vanuatu has strongly supported the pro-independence push in West Papua for many years and Antara reports the issue of conflict in the Melanesian region was discussed.
Amin announced a Papua Special Autonomy Development Acceleration Steering Committee had been formed to evaluate development in the Papua region.
“The granting of this special autonomy has been planned for the long term up to 2042,” he said.
Amin said Indonesia “respected the diversity” in West Papua.
Now, let’s examine the way I composed the above sentence.
I included the word “serious” to signal to readers that this news is of significant importance. The reason is that I believe there is already extensive frustration at media coverage of news — and therefore anything that erodes trust in our major media should be taken seriously.
Later in the sentence, I used the word “edited”. Initially, I had used the word “altered” but I made a conscious decision to change it to “edited”. I did this because I thought the word “altered” might suggest a higher type of wrongdoing — one that could be linked to fraud and criminality, such as being paid by a foreign agent to alter documents.
There is no evidence that this was the case at RNZ. The word “edited” suggests the use of some sort of journalistic judgment which, in this particular case, regardless of the factuality or falsehood of the edits, were clearly unethical because they were unauthorised and undeclared.
The reference to “an individual employee” was to ensure that other journalists at RNZ, and the organisation as a whole, were not implicated in the revelation. If I had thought RNZ was systematically biased in its reporting, I probably would have just written that RNZ had been found to be altering wire service news.
So my choice of words to form the first sentence of this column was informed by my personal perspectives, as well as the impression I hoped to create in the minds of those reading it.
The subject of this column isn’t about what happened at RNZ. We will be informed of this, in time, when the result of the ongoing inquiry is made public.
Unbiased reporting?
The question I intend to explore here is if there is such a thing as unbiased reporting.
I went back to university later in life to study journalism because it was important to me to understand how the news was produced. My course placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of objectivity and impartiality as ideal standards of news reporting, without much discussion about the limits of achieving such unrealistic standards.
News is produced by reporters and shaped by editors who cannot help but inject their own perspectives and personal experiences into the final product. Even when reporting live from the scene, journalists often have to form a judgment as to what is newsworthy, and so depending on who is reporting the story, the information we receive may alter.
In general, the idea of “unbiased”, “objective” or “neutral” reporting cannot be entirely divorced from the editorial guides journalists use to determine what information to report, and also what they believe is the truth.
Omitting context or the decision to exclude some key words can, in some instances, produce a misleading report.
For instance, my interest in the Palestinian cause has meant that I notice the journalistic language used in reporting on Palestine. I consider that Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) should always be referred to as “occupied Gaza” and “occupied West Bank” because this is their legal status under international law.
But in many articles about Palestine, the word “occupied” is often dropped even though its use matters because it gives relevant context to reporting of political and military events there.
Impartial presentation
Some journalistic codes refer to “balanced” and “fair” reporting. The idea here is that, where there is controversy, there should be an impartial presentation of all facts as well as all substantial opinions relating to it.
A fair report, it is said, should avoid giving equal footing to truths and mistruths and should provide factual context to any inaccurate or misleading public statement.
In recent years, The New York Times has used a series of articles known as Explainers to, as they describe it, “demystify thorny topics”.
Stuff’s Explained follows a similar format to help deconstruct topics that are complex and challenging to understand.
The notion of bias in news writing has become the most common criticism of the media.
Ultimately, the solution to increasing trust in journalism lies in transparency and disclosure of the standards, judgments and systems used to produce and edit news. It is therefore right that RNZ has announced an external review of its processes for the editing of online stories.
But there should also be a mind shift in our understanding of the notions of unbiased and objective reporting — namely that these notions have always existed and continue to operate within power dynamics that give privilege to certain perspectives.
The best approach, therefore, is to always allow for an element of doubt — and only believe something to be true just so long as our active efforts to disprove it have been unsuccessful.
Donna Miles-Mojab is an Iranian New Zealander interested in justice and human rights issues. She lives in Christchurch and works as a freelance journalist and a columnist for The Press. This article is republished with the author’s permission.
