Police Hunt Down Shooter of COVID-19 Task Force Members in Papua

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The government’s Nemangkawi Operation Task Unit is still hunting down the armed group that shot two members of the COVID-19 Task Force in Papua. One of the task force members was killed.

The Nemangkawi Operation Task Unit reported the incident occurred in Wandai district, Intan Jaya regency, Papua, Friday, May 22, 2020, at around 16:30 local time.

Saving Stealth (Siluman) West Papua Websites

I’ve been running this blog for more than ten years. Visitors to this blog is around 27 thousands. A small number but I think it’s okay for an independent blog about West Papua. I support West Papuan to live better life, but I disagree with provocative campaign by Free West Papua Campaign (FWPC) and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP). I have a very simple reason: “please think about ending the conflict by peaceful dialogue”. No more killing and terror by Free West Papua military wing and no more security operation that frightened the population in West Papua.

I found several inactive websites about West Papua such as Westpapuaupdate.com, Onwestpapua.com, Freewestpapua.co, Freewestpapua.co.nz, dan Westpapuaarchive.com. Those short-lived websites were accused as “siluman” and Indonesian word for stealth. Tirto.id who investigated the case clearly not in favour to the objective content of the websites, but highlighted the owner named Dr. Arya and writers who openly explained the background of why they create such websites.

Remember, three sides of every story. Tirto.id has its own view, the owner also has its story. How about the truth?

The truth for me is the amazing contents of stories from the websites. We can learn many aspects of West Papua that have been neglected by mainstream media and also by conflict provocateurs.

From today, I will copy and paste all stories from those stealth website and save it in my blog. If you know the owner personally, please let him know.

 

Suspected rebels in restive Papua attack 2 COVID-19 medical workers

Breaking News from Kyodo News

JAKARTA – Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels on Saturday attacked two medical workers fighting the new coronavirus pandemic in Indonesia’s restive province of Papua, killing one of them, police and military said.

Col. Eko Daryanto, spokesman for Papua’s Cendrawasih Military Regional Command, said the attack occurred around 1 p.m. when the workers, part of the province’s task force for COVID-19 mitigation, were transporting medicine for infected patients in a remote village in Intan Jaya Regency.

Security personnel evacuates a medical worker, who was critically injured after having been attacked by gunmen believed to be rebels of the separatist Free Papua Movement, from a remote village in Intan Jaya Regency easternmost, restive Papua Province on May 23, 2020.(Photo courtesy of the Papuan Police)(Kyodo)

Shadow falls in the peaceful democratic election

Millions ordinary Papuan keep their mouth shut in silence and deeply concerned about growing violence created and supported by independence movement abroad especially from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. West Papua on the eve of the Indonesian parliamentary elections was disturbed by a successful scenario of conflict by Richard Samuelson and Benny Wenda to increase the tension among people in West Papua. We believe that recent events underscore the need for a careful approach to the problems in West Papua, and that there is an urgent need for Indonesian security (Police) to be alert by such cruel intention.

Free West Papua Campaign

A very interesting and shocking notes on Free West Papua Campaign by Free West Papua should be read by Papuan from all walk of life. Here is the lead paragraph:

I feel so sad when an activist of Free West Papua Campaign asked me to stop writing in my own blog because my position is in opposite to the Oxford based Free West Papua Campaign. I also feel sorry for Richard Samuelson attitude because he has been running away from my challenge to explain his position in Free West Papua Campaign. We as papuan are very pleased that there is sincere attention from foreign citizen like Samuelson. However, we should be sure that the attention will create a better understanding. In contrast to the people expectation, Richard Samuelson is always provoking conflict without even thinking about the consequences.

For the rest of the notes please read Free West Papua Campaign

Palapa Ring Project in East Indonesia

Another article from freewestpapua.co. Copyright owned by MACDIS

Palapa ring illustration copyright @https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/

The East Palapa Ring Package Project will reach 35 districts / cities spread across East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, Papua and West Papua regions with a total length of fiber optic cable of approximately 8,454 km.

The government will spend Rp 2.7 trillion (US$207 million) on broadband infrastructure projects as part of its efforts to close the gap in internet access between rural and urban areas across Indonesia. The Palapa Ring projects aim to lay out 4,700 kilometers of undersea fibre-optic cable as the backbone for the nation’s telecommunications system.

Electrification for 1,123 villages in Papua, West Papua

Energy sufficiency – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visits the Mobile Power Plant (MPP) construction project in Jeranjang, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, in this file photo. (Tempo/Supriyanto Khafid)

Power will be supplied to these villages through hydropower plants, electric tubes, biomass power plants, and solar power plants

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) – State-owned electricity firm PLN hope to supply electricity to 1,123 villages in Papua and West Papua Provinces by the end of 2019, PLN General Manager for the Papua and West Papua regions Ari Dartomo said. Power will be supplied to these villages through hydropower plants, electric tubes, biomass power plants, and solar power plants, he told journalists in Jayapura, the capital city of Papua Province, Tuesday.

Michael Gillard Special Investigation: Provoking Conflict by Supporting Separatist Propaganda

The “special investigation” BP in West Papua – Slow Motion Genocide, High Speed Profit, by Michael Gilllar is unreliable. The report discusses irrelevant matters insinuating ugly thing about Indonesia and neglects so many improvements in the last 20 years of Indonesia’s social and political reform.

In this article, I will discuss only one important matter that Gillard highlighted in his report.

The so called slow motion genocide is a term coined in 2013 by Jim Elmslie and Camellia Webb-Gannon, both Phd in their article A Slow Motion Genocide: Indonesian Rule in West Papua published in Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity. They argued that genocide is taking place in Indonesian-controlled West Papua only by a perception of a tight control against separatist movement. They said: “Explicit and implicit government policy has been consistently directed towards countering and eliminating Papuan attempts to create an independent state for their nation or enjoy political freedom on a par with other Indonesians. In this tightly controlled situation genocidal acts have been undertaken as government policy, effectively thwarting the Papuan nationalists in the era when information emerging from the province(s) could be tightly controlled”.

Richard Di Natale’s Political Propaganda Against British Petroleum and Indonesia

I see a lot of political writing that reads smoothly, has rhythm, but ultimately makes no sense. Richard Di Natale’s article: Green Leader Richard Di Natale Calls For BP Rethink On West Papuan Gas Field is one of them. In short, this article is a typical cheap propaganda based on unreliable sources to convince readers that BP should rethink their investment and project. 

More than 100 Remote Villages in Papua Can Use Electricity

I am very thankful to MACDIS for publishing the following article on electricity development in Papua.

 

Through the program of Bright Papua 2020, PLN builds power plants and power grids to remote villages that have not yet been electrified.

 

On National Electricity Day 2017, simultaneously 101 villages spread in Papua can use electricity. Regional Director of PLN Maluku and Papua Ahmad Rofik said this is a very special gift for people of Papua and West Papua who have not enjoyed electricity for decades. A total of 16 villages are located in Sorong, 4 villages in Merauke, 6 villages in Timika, 52 villages in Jayapura and 7 villages in Biak.

Through the program of Bright Papua 2020, PLN builds power plants and power grids to remote villages that have not yet been electrified. There are villages which systems are made isolated by installing diesel generators, such as in Neney district. But many of them use the grid system (extension) from the existing electricity. The total power capacity of the whole power plant with an isolated system is 300 kW with Medium Mining Network 214.37 kms and Low Voltage Network 157.04 kms.

PLN faces many challenges in building power plants and power lines in Papua. One of them is the spread of residential location in the mountains as well as transportation access to the location. Currently there are 117 villages that have electricity from the target of 379 villages for this year. The remaining villages that have not received electricity will be cultivated to be completed by the end of this year.

The west Papua provincial administration positively welcomed this program, hoping that the Bright Indonesia Program can be well executed so that all regencies in West Papua can enjoy 24 hours electricity supplies.

Keywords: Papua, West Papua, Indonesia, Government, Electricity, PLN, Infrastructure, Jayapura, Sorong, Bright Papua.

By: Rafika Suci (Researcher MaCDIS)