My comment on the 5 Australian in Papua

What a bad luck for William Hendry Scott Bloxam (pilot), Vera Scott Bloxam (co pilot), Hubert Hofer, Karen Burke and Ket Rowald Mortimer (passengers). According to the news, those people violate flight approval,  security clearence and immigration. I believe that we must respect national law and international law for public safety and our own safety. The case of flight approval is very serious because it relates to the safety of people and flight traffict, so it should not happen again in the future, a hard punishment can be applied in accordance to the violation. Usually the law on this kind of violation will be related to a very large amount of fine and several years ban of flying licence.

President Yudhoyono presents community empowerment funds to West Papua

Manokwari (ANTARA News) – During his first-ever working visit in West Papua, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to present Rp154.72 billion in financial aid under the National Self-reliant Community Empowerment Program (PNPM) to the province on Thursday.

The assistance was to be handed to West Papua Governor Abraham Artururi when the president visits Mansinam island in Manokwari district.

The president was expected to arrive at Manokwari`s Rendani airport from Sorong at 9:30 am local time and inspect a command post of the Earthquake Disaster Management Coordination Unit (Satkorlak) at the Manokwari district head`s office.

West Papua gets Rp 1.1t in autonomy funds

Nethy Dharma Somba, THE JAKARTA POST, JAYAPURA

The Province of West Papua received Rp 1.1 trillion (US$100 million) in special autonomy funds in the 2009 budget.

Since its initial disbursement in 2002, the special autonomy fund,–the implementation of its special autonomy status based on Law No. 21/2001– was managed by the province of Papua. West Papua, however, officially separated from Papua to establish a new province in March 2006 by electing its own governor through a peaceful regional election.

Immoral threat to Free West Papua

I would say a childish threat from someone who call himself  Mr. Jeremy Beadle to Free West Papua Blog is immoral (link :  Mr. Jeremy Beadle comment in article entitled Honesty is always the best policy).

As a poor ordinary person, I covered nothing but the truth from environmental issue, natural disaster, human rights abuses, political repression, political opportunist, freedom movement, pro – independence, pro-integration,  and it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between them.  As I covered political process, I found myself drawn, because I saw the impact that it had on people’s lives – from the Indonesian security policy and from the separatism perspectives. While most journalists become cynical about politics, I had the opposite experience – I found myself inspired by the good people I met from both papuan leaders in West Papua and Papua provinces. I also try to contact Papuan independence leaders, including foreign provocateurs such as Mr, Richard Samuelson from UK and Joe Collins from Australia, but none of them are willing to have an open online discussion.

INDONESIA Church Gives Shelter, Food For Earthquake Survivors

JAKARTA (UCAN) — A Catholic church in Manokwari is giving shelter and distributing food for earthquake survivors after a series of powerful quakes hit the capital of West Papua province beginning on Jan. 4.

“More than 5,000 people fled their homes and took refuge in the compound of St. Augustine Church in Manokwari,” Father Aloysius Teniwut of Emmanuel Church in Sanggeng-Manokwari told UCA News by phone on Jan. 5.

The local Church has erected five large tents to accommodate hundreds of people — mainly children, mothers and elderly — and is distributing food among them, he reported.

INDONESIA : Earthquake in West Papua, initial tally is 4 dead, 34 injured

by Mathias Hariyadi
Thousands of refugees have abandoned their homes out of fear of more collapses. The area is isolated, making the situation difficult for teams of aid workers. A government delegation has gone to the spot of the tragedy, one of the most poor and backward in the country.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – A series of strong tremors yesterday shook the province of West Papua, killing 4 and injuring 34. In order to address the emergency, the Indonesian government has sent a delegation of ministers and high officials to the area of the tragedy, but aid operations seem difficult because the area is isolated and difficult to reach. The main earthquake, of magnitude 7.6 on the Richter scale, struck 150 kilometers northwest of Manokwari, the capital of the province, 35 kilometers below the surface.

Yudhoyono sends ministers to West Papua

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has assigned three ministers to go to Manokwari, West Papua to take necessary steps to help manage the disaster in the earthquake-hit area.

Yudhoyono told a press conference in Jakarta that Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Jamal, and Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah would leave for Manokwari on Sunday.

“The (disaster management) system has been working, but to make certain I have sent three ministers to depart immediately,” he said as quoted by Kompas.com.