Indonesia

West Papua police chief warns about illegal fishing

Tabloid Jubi reports Royke Lumowa as saying illegal fishing should continue to be a concern for both central and local governments, suggesting that inaction would allow the problem to become rampant.

He said that because the remoteness of West Papua, as well as lack of resources for police to monitor the waters, a lot of illegal fishing went unchecked.

Mr Royke said that to counter illegal fishing, local police needed the help of the Navy, the Marine Department and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, especially in terms of equipment.

Leonardo DiCaprio comments may cause Indonesian ban

The Oscar winner recently made a one-day visit to protected Mount Leuser National Park in northern Sumatra and uploaded photos to his Instagram account, expressing concerns over species whose habitats are threatened.

"The expansion of palm oil plantations is fragmenting the forest and cutting off key elephant migration corridors," he posted.

Indonesia looks to resolve Papua human rights cases

According to RNZI, he said President Joko Widodo passed an order to settle the cases as soon as possible.

Mr Padjaitan said the government will reopen all cases and will ask the Human Rights Commission and Papua community leaders to contribute to finding a solution openly.

Australia's FM to open new diplomatic post in Indonesia's Makassar

Julie Bishop says she will formally open the new emabssy in Jakarta and also visit the Eastern city of Makassar to open a consulate-general there.

She says Makassar, on Sulawesi Island, is a key commercial hub for Australians doing business in the east of Indonesia.

Indonesian intelligence agency to form Papua peace taskforce

Tabloid Jubi reports the BIN chairman Sutiyoso saying the Task Force is composed of representatives from BIN and the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) who have extensive experience in Papua.

According to Sutiyoso, separatism in Papua can be ended by prioritising the fulfilment of public welfare in the region.

He says separatism exists in small, widely dispersed groups in Papua.

However the chairman says separatism should be taken seriously, and that a persuasive approach must be prioritised by Indonesia's government.

Forum Chair to ask Indonesia about fact-finding mission

The situation in Indonesia's eastern region was one of the main issues discussed at this week's Forum summit in Port Moresby amid intensive lobbying by civil society for more scrutiny on abuses in Papua.

Peter O'Neill says the concerns have been taken seriously by the Forum leaders.

West Papua special envoy criticises Indonesia

Since the admission of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as an observer to the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare appointed a Special Envoy on West Papua to highlight the situation in West Papua.

Member of Parliament, Matthew Wale is in Port Moresby this week to reach out to Pacific Leaders and remind them of their moral responsibility towards the sufferings of the more than 10 million West Papuans in Indonesia.

Pacific island partnership to highlight climate adaptation

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi had just come back on Thursday from her visit to Fiji, where she attended the Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF) and discussed how to build resilience to climate change.

“The focus is how the Pacific Islands prepare adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Armanatha Nasir, said .

Pacific Churches condemn killing in West Papua

And they have called on regional leaders to speak out against summary killings, torture and human rights abuse in the Indonesian-occupied territory.

Reports from Timika, West Papua, say a group of Special Forces troops shot dead two members of the Catholic Youth Group at the Cathedral Parish of the Three Kings Timika.

At the time of the Kamoro people were performing traditional rituals.

Sources say the soldiers, who were refused entry to the area, went to their barracks, returned with weapons and fired on the group.

Pole-and-line tuna catch remains healthy, affirms IPNLF

The study focused on the production of Indonesian tuna fisheries in selected provinces, with the aim of  helping dispel any confusion over the size of the country’s pole-and-line catch and to clarify how much of the production enters commercial supply chains.

Recent reports have been circulated claiming Indonesia’s pole-and-line tuna catch fell to 10,000 tonnes last year, which is just one-tenth of the total volume that is generally accepted and reflected in the most recent Government capture fisheries statistics for 2014.