AsiaPacificReport.nz

350.org founder Bill McKibben’s message to New Zealand. Video: Greenpeace NZ

Environmentalist Bill McKibben today appealed to New Zealanders to take part in peaceful civil disobedience to overthrow “radicalism”.

The American made the call in a video five days before citizens will participate in a Greenpeace-organised mass demonstration of peaceful civil disobedience at the annual petroleum conference at SkyCity in Auckland.

It will be the first time in New Zealand that Greenpeace has invited the general public to take part in a mass civil disobedience action.

McKibben, who founded global climate change organisation 350.org, recorded the video in support of the action on Monday.

In a personal message to the New Zealanders taking part, McKibben said:

“We thank you in advance for being willing to stand up peacefully and non-violently to the most violent forces on our planet.”

He said New Zealand was one of the most “beautiful places in the world” but now stood as a country that needed to get serious about the climate crisis.

‘Lots of sweet things’
“Everybody went off to Paris [COP21 climate conference]. Everybody said lots of sweet things. Everybody pounded each other on the back about what great people they were,” he said.

“[But] if you come home from Paris and say ‘nothing is changing – we’re still going to mine coal, we’re still going to go drill in the deep blue sea for oil, we’re still going to frack’, then you didn’t get the message.”

On the back of the Paris Climate Conference last December, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he had no intention of scaling back the search for fossil fuels.

McKibben is encouraging for New Zealanders considering using peaceful civil disobedience as a tactic for change.

“The point that you’re trying to get across I think, most importantly, is there’s nothing radical about what we’re talking about. All we’re talking about is trying to keep a world that works a little bit like the world worked for the last 10,000 years,” he said.

“The radicals [are the] oil companies and the government ministries that aid and abet that…[It’s] our job, with our bodies if need be, to slow down that radicalism…Civil disobedience is a powerful tactic – it needs to be done with a complete commitment to non-violence and peacefulness.”

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Dan McGarry in Port Vila

A brave local woman has come forward with a shocking story of out-of-control violence in Vanuatu.

Bus and taxi drivers stand accused of forcibly abducting the local tour company employee, striking her repeatedly and forcing her to apologise to a transport association “president” for saying that local drivers were “big headed” and were acting “unprofessionally”.

Mid-morning Sunday, witnesses saw three men, said to be local transport operators, approach the booking offices of Vanuatu helicopters, located on the Port Vila Seafront. One of them was seen to be gesticulating angrily, pointing to something on his mobile phone.

Moments later, Florence Lengkon, Vanuatu Helicopters’ office manager, was pulled by the arm from her office and allegedly forced to climb into the passenger seat of a nearby bus.

“I was in the office when they came. They shouted at me to explain myself,” said Lengkon. “I was confused. I didn’t know what they were talking about.”

“One of them ran up to me,” she continued, “and showed me his mobile phone, saying, ‘Your comment on Facebook’.”

The comment they were referring to, she said, was one of over 100 that comprised a discussion in which some blamed the Port Vila and Efate Land Transport Authority (PVELTA) for the recent spate of violence down at the wharf. Her comment, written in Bislama, said there were too many “big-headed” bus and taxi drivers, and labelled them as “unprofessional’” for their behaviour.

Negative comments
The overwhelming majority of the comments in the discussion were negative, many included swearing and intemperate language. It is not known why this particular comment was singled out.

“I was inside the office,” she said. “One of them, who wasn’t wearing a shirt, came and pulled me out of my office.” She demonstrated how he had grabbed her upper arm and pulled her outside the kiosk.

“He pulled me out of the office, and told me I had to go see the president of the taxi drivers. We would go down there together and I must apologise to them.”

Asked to specify which association they were referring to, Lengkon said, “They didn’t mention any association. They only called him the president. They mentioned the name Melten, and said he was from Eton.”

“After I came out of the office, they pushed me into the front seat of a bus, a red bus…. I was frightened. I asked them, ‘If I get in the bus, what guarantee do I have that I’ll be safe? How do I know you won’t beat me?’”

She said they assured her that they wanted only to talk, and that she would not be harmed.

Lengkon says that she was slapped in the back of the head the moment she descended from the bus.

“There were a lot of taxi and bus drivers there [at the wharf]. A lot of them began to swear at me. I’d just got down from the bus when one of them slapped the back of my head. Another one blocked me and told the others, ‘Don’t hit her. We’re just here to talk’.

‘Apologise to the drivers’
“We came to the place where the president was, and he was continuously telling me I had to apologise to all the taxi and bus drivers because of my comment in Facebook.

“I apologised. I apologised for a second time, and one of them gestured like he was going to hit me. That’s when I started to cry and bent down to hide my face. I don’t know who hit me, but someone did. Blood began to run down my face.”

A medical report indicated that Lenkon had bruising below both eyes, abrasions on her lip, a swollen nose and one eye swollen shut.

The entire episode was over within 15 minutes. Lengkon was brought to hospital for examination, treated and released. Police officials told her that the appropriate staff were not in the office that day, and she was given criminal complaint forms to fill out. No arrests were made and no investigation had begun as of press time yesterday.

There have been numerous reports of similar acts of violence and intimidation by local transport operators in recent months.

It is rare that someone has the courage to tell their story to the public.

Dan McGarry is media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post group.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Vannessa Hearman and Jose da Costa

In 1995, 18 East Timorese youths sailed illegally to Australia in a small fishing boat. After five nights at sea they reached Australian waters. They were picked up by Australian Customs and brought to Darwin.

As young members of the clandestine movement opposed to Indonesian rule, many of the youths risked being captured, tortured or even killed in East Timor. Their voyage created a diplomatic nightmare for both countries.

Jose da Costa was 18 when he embarked on the journey. “Sometimes people asked me, why did you want to risk your life traveling on a small fishing boat to cross the ocean? The answer is, we didn’t want to but we had no choice.”

Da Costa was born six months after Indonesia’s December 1975 invasion. “I was born in the jungle near Uaimori, Viqueque district. My family had fled from Baucau to seek sanctuary after the invasion.”

After about two years, Indonesian encirclement and aerial bombardment made living conditions almost impossible for the fugitives. “Five of my siblings died from starvation. My uncle and his family were killed during the heavy bombardment by the Indonesian armed forces.”

The Indonesian military captured Da Costa’s family and transported them back to their village in Baucau, where their freedom of movement was curtailed.

When he was just eight years old, his father Bie Ono was lynched by the Indonesian military as he had been helping the anti-Indonesian forces. They made out Bie Ono had committed suicide and the villagers were brought to see his lifeless body.

Clandestine movement
In his teenage years, Da Costa joined the clandestine movement. He was badly tortured after participating in a protest march to the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital, Dili, on 12 November 1991.

The march preceded a funeral procession for a Timorese activist who had been murdered by Indonesian troops.  The Indonesian military opened fire on the protesters, killing 271 of them, in what became known as the Dili Massacre.

Young people who survived were rounded up and interrogated. Some never made it back out of the detention centres they were taken to.

Da Costa was one who did make it out of detention. Following his release, he began working as a courier, passing on goods and messages between the towns and the Timorese guerrillas in the mountains.

The boat voyage to Australia took some planning. Several young people had thought about travelling to Australia and seeking asylum, including other members of the clandestine network, such as Florentino Das Neves and Alfredo Reinado.

Reinado had lived and worked in Indonesia. As a young boy, he was forced to be a military assistant, carrying equipment and weaponry for the military. He joined the clandestine movement upon his return from Indonesia.

Da Costa, Das Neves and Reinado experimented with sailing a boat from Dili, but the canoe they bought only made it as far as Laga, 142 kilometres away.

On 12 November 1994, a group of Timorese youth jumped the fences of the United States Embassy in Jakarta and received asylum in Portugal. This renewed the Dili youths’ interest in the boat voyage.  In consultation with Timorese pro-independence leaders, they resumed planning to sail to Australia, this time with a boat called Tasi Diak [Good Sea].

Father Domingos Maubere is a Catholic priest who played an active role in supporting the independence movement. As the 15 men, two women and one baby assembled on the beach at Tibar, 18 km west of Dili, to prepare for their departure, Father Domingos married Reinado to Maria Alves and baptised the couple’s six month-old baby, Billy Ray.

He then handed each person a small crucifix to hang around their neck “as a symbol of suffering and hope”.

Father Domingos told them, “My children, if I have not heard any news about you in seven days, I will bring candles and flowers to the sea to remember you as heroes of your country.”

His words suddenly brought the poignant realisation that they might not make it to Australia.

Hid behind mangroves
Da Costa recounted, “Father Domingos hid behind the mangroves and watched us sail away. From the boat, we saw his car lights slowly disappear behind the hill. We were then all alone. Just us and the sea.”

The journey took five nights and six days. Overloaded, the boat soon leaked and the passengers had to bail out water continuously. Luckily the sea remained placid until the second day of the voyage. Da Costa who, like most of the other passengers, was unable to swim recalled:

The waves were very rough, it was dark. We could not see anything we could only hear the sound of the waves hitting the boat and people vomiting. The only light that we had was a battery-powered torch to light the compass so we could see where to go. We could hear the sea water coming in and in the dark we were struggling to bail out the water.  We were vomiting on each other, because we could not see in the dark. All night we struggled with the rough waves and tried to save the boat from sinking and there were no life jackets.

Tracking southeast, they didn’t tell the boat’s skipper Julio that Australia was their destination until the second day of the journey. They were confined to eating raw noodles and Indonesian military tinned rations, as a storm made it impossible to cook the sack of rice they brought.  Eventually the storm cleared.

In the morning I was at the back of the boat pumping out the sea water. I saw a big group of dolphins jumping around and I remembered my father telling me that if you were at sea and you saw a dolphin you were very safe.

Da Costa recalled their arrival in Australian waters on the morning of 29 May 1995:

An Australian Customs boat sailed alongside our boat and we cut the boat’s engine, thinking they would bring us onto their boat. Instead two Customs officers jumped into our boat and restarted the engine. They asked us in English if we were Indonesian. Alfredo replied in his limited English, that we were Timorese. They put a light reflector on our boat and we followed them. When it was close to Darwin the officer tied a rope to our boat and towed us to Larakeyah naval centre. We arrived there around 2am Australian time [on 30 May 1995].

From the Naval Centre, they were brought to Darwin Airport, where they were to be accommodated. The following day, the group was rushed to the isolated Curtin RAAF Base in Western Australia, which had just been converted into a detention centre. This was partly to prevent the group, dubbed the Quail Group, from becoming a public rallying point for Timorese independence supporters in Darwin.

The Timorese community in Darwin had been alerted to the departure of the group from Dili and had been waiting anxiously for the boat’s arrival. Embarrassingly for the Indonesian government, the group’s arrival coincided with Indonesian Research and Technology Minister Baharuddin Jusuf Habibie’s visit to Australia. The Australian press quizzed him on the “boat people”.

Members of the “Quail group” were the only asylum seekers to arrive by boat from Indonesian-occupied East Timor. When they were released from Curtin detention centre, all 18 were issued bridging visas, allowing them to stay in Australia while their refugee claims were being assessed. They went to live with Timorese families in Melbourne, Sydney and Darwin.

Torture survivors
Da Costa, who like the other members of the group had been interviewed by the department of immigration, lawyers and counsellors, including those who specialised in working with torture survivors, said, “My group did not understand the visa process and we did not understand what the bridging visa meant. We only understood that we could not leave the country nor work or study in Australia.”

Foreign Minister Ali Alatas was livid at the issuing of the bridging visas. He argued that they were not genuine refugees, ridiculing their claims of torture. Despite then Foreign Minister Gareth Evans defending the issuing of the bridging visas, other Australian public officials bent over backwards to appease the Indonesian government.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Allan Taylor assured them that a bridging visa did not mean the East Timorese had been granted refugee status. Then Prime Minister Paul Keating put forward contradictory positions when he told The Guardian newspaper in October 1995: “Though the government has taken the view that East Timor . . . is a province of Indonesia, those people still have Portuguese citizenship and status.”

Australia was the only country to provide de jure recognition of Indonesian rule over East Timor (1975–99). But in this instance, Keating seemed prepared to junk that policy, at least momentarily for the sake of claiming that “these people have dual citizenship; therefore they cannot argue they are refugees”.

A second boat voyage was attempted when 35 people sailed from Dili in November 1995, but their boat was stranded on the coast due to bad weather and the passengers were arrested by Indonesian police.

In August 1999, the East Timorese people voted in a United Nations supervised referendum to reject Indonesian rule. Indonesian forces withdrew the following month, but only after destroying some 70 per cent of the territory’s buildings.

After Da Costa’s arrival, Australian governments, both Labor and Liberal, tried to repatriate over 1500 Timorese asylum seekers on the grounds that they had Portuguese citizenship and, after Indonesian rule ended, that East Timor was safe. After successive bridging visas, Da Costa received a special humanitarian visa (rather than refugee status) under Liberal Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone in 2003, eight years after his arrival in Australia.

Vannessa Hearman is lecturer in Indonesian Studies at the University of Sydney. Jose Da Costa is a teacher, filmmaker and actor. He is completing a Master in Educational Studies at the University of New South Wales.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

The ABC Four Corners news team in Malaysia have been told they will not be charged over an incident with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak only hours after they were told to face court, reports ABC News.

Reporter Linton Besser and cameraman Louie Eroglu had questioned Najib during a public event in Kuching over a corruption scandal, and police had claimed they had crossed a security cordon — an allegation they deny.

Last night, Besser and Eroglu were told they would likely be charged with obstructing a public servant in the discharge of their duties. If they were found guilty of the charge they could have faced two years in prison.

But three hours after the pair were given the order to appear in court on Tuesday morning, their lawyer was called by police and told no charges would be filed and they may be able to leave the country today after some paperwork.

Yesterday the lawyer for the ABC pair, Albert Tang, said he received a call from Ng Ahlek, the superintendent of police for Malaysia’s Padawan District, telling him to bring his clients to court at 8:30am (local time) so they could be charged.

“When asked who made the decision to institute the charge against my clients, he said it was the Attorney-General who made the decision,” Tang said.

Tang said normally those decisions were made by a local deputy public prosecutor.

Change unclear
ABC South East Asia correspondent Adam Harvey said it was not clear why there had been a change of heart.

“The lawyer was called in the middle of the night and told it’s all off you don’t have to go to the court,” he said.

“What you’ll need to do is bring the ABC team to a police station here where we’ll do some paperwork and hopefully a few hours after that they’ll be able to leave Malaysia, which was just not looking like happening any time soon just a few hours ago.”

Najib, 62, has been under fire for a year over allegations concerning as much as $1.4 billion being deposited into his personal bank account. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The pair were arrested after Besser questioned Najib as he walked into a mosque on Saturday night, asking the Prime Minister why hundreds of millions of dollars had been deposited into his bank account.

ABC News director Gaven Morris has previously denied the allegations that were made about the behaviour of Besser and Eroglu at the event in Kuching.

“I can tell you that at no time did our journalists obstruct or intend to obstruct any public servants in performance of their duties,” Morris said in a statement yesterday.

“They did not see a police line and do not believe they crossed one. They stopped filming and left the event as soon as they were asked. They fully cooperated with the police before and after their arrest.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has said Australia’s High Commissioner in Malaysia was in contact with the pair.

Earlier story

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) has been given observer status in the board of the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF), Secretary-General Dame Meg Taylor has announced.

Observer status grants the PIFS with the privilege of participating and overseeing the developments within the UN Green Climate Fund.

According to Dame Meg, the GCF board has said it would invest up to US$2.5 billion on climate change projects in 2016, and PIFS observer status would improve opportunities for cooperation between the Pacific region and the GCF.

The UN GCF was established with a mission to advance the goal of keeping the temperature increase on Earth below 2 deg Celsius.

The fund is a global initiative to respond to climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development.

Two forum countries already on the board are Australia and Samoa.

Australia is the current co-chair and Samoa represents the Small Island Developing States.

The Cook Islands early this month received US$75,000 from the GCF to strengthen capacity “to access finance through GCF”.

It is the first country in the Pacific and the Small Island Developing States to receive such funding.

The grant will help Cook Islands strengthen clean development mechanism (CDM) projects concerning the reduction of emissions. Apart from the Cook Islands, Fiji late last year received funding from GCF for its urban water supply and wastewater management project.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

More than a thousand Fijian, Vanuatu and Samoan youths will be helped to secure employment through organic agriculture with the launch of a US$1.5 million two-year programme in Suva, Fiji.

The “Farm to Table” project is a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom) housed within the Pacific Community (SPC) funded by the Sustainable Development Fund (SDG-F).

Activities of the project will address the high levels of youth unemployment in the three countries through skills building in organic agriculture, income generation, food security and climate change resilience.

UNDP Resident Coordinator Osnat Lubrani said the UN is looking forward to supporting a programme focused on sustainable livelihoods that targets youths, adding the project can open up opportunities for income generation, boost confidence and empower young women and men.

“The UN is proud to work in partnership with SPC and POETCom on this initiative, an excellent approach to sustainable farming and at the core is that it relates to food security and nutrition as well as climate change adaptation,” she said.

“All these are closely connected to the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals.”

Organic agriculture builds resilient farming systems with the ability to withstand extreme weather events and can provide yields comparable to conventional or chemical based farms.

Organic training
As lead implementing agency, POETCom will work with partner civil society organisations, FRIEND, Farm Support Association and Women in Business Development, and the governments of the three countries to identify suitable youths to receive training in organic agriculture and product development.

Target youths are those seeking employment between 18 and 30 years of age or transitioning to formal employment within the next 12 to 24 months.

The programme will address the high level of youth unemployment in the three countries, at around 44 percent of the youth population in Fiji and 8.9 percent in Vanuatu.

To do this, it will support linkages between the agriculture and tourism sectors of these countries, mapping value chains from the farms to hotel tables or retail outlets.

POETCom Coordinator Karen Mapusua said: “In Fiji we are going to focus on Cyclone Winston badly hit areas helping to rebuild the economy through supporting the value chains between the suppliers (youths) and buyers (hotels and restaurants), developing menus that will use local products or the promotion of local products.

“Simply, the youths will be trained to do organic farming, develop a product for example banana or coffee and be supported to market their product with the tourism sector.”

The programme responds to a call by Pacific leaders at the 2011 Pacific Island Forum for increasing youth employment and the aims of the Pacific Youth Strategy for young people to see agriculture as a viable career option.

Economic viability
Mapusua said the programme has the added benefit of getting more youth into agriculture which will boost the economic viability of the sector.

“Though agriculture remains for most Pacific Islands country’s’ population the main source of livelihood, its contribution to economic value added chain has generally declined over the last decade, whereas the tourism sector has seen significant growth,” she said.

“Reinforcing linkages and developing synergies between tourism and agriculture should help to achieve the objectives of sustained and equitable growth.”

IFAD’s Pacific sub-regional coordinator Sakiusa Tubuna said the focus is on poor small-holder farmers.

“IFAD recognises the importance and value of partnership as a means to achieving our development objective,” Tubuna said.

“This is the reason we are partnering with UNDP, POETCom and SPC in this project.

“Our focus is on poor smallholder farmers and this project will enable smallholder farmers in the three countries to benefit from business opportunities that are available locally.”

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Lealaiauloto Fatu Tauafiafi in Auckland

Seventeen Pacific island countries, including New Zealand and its territory Tokelau, will have the results of a Pacific-wide study revealing the real value of lost annual revenue in the Pacific’s US$6-7 billion fishery through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

The results of the two-year study: Towards the Quantification of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in the Pacific Islands Region, coordinated by the Forum Fisheries Agency will be reported to countries in a closed session tomorrow as part of FFA’s 19th Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Working Group meeting held in Auckland, New Zealand.

The FFA sessions follow on from two other key MCS events hosted in Auckland this month.

Discussion by the MCS working group officials will be followed by the report’s public debut at a media launch with FFA’s Director-General James Movick, Tuvalu’s Minister for Works and Natural Resources Pita Elisala, and the report’s author, MRAG’s Duncan Souter taking questions.

“This is the first time that the Pacific countries, through FFA have been in a position to determine the type and scope of such a review,” said FFA’s Movick.

“The study itself provides a clearer sense of what the main IUU risks are, what is working, and what needs additional priority when it comes to ensuring tuna vessels in Pacific waters are complying with the rules.”

At the core of the report is for the first time, being able to speicifically quantify the nature and extent of IUU fishing in the Pacific region’s fishery.

Planning with confidence
What that means at the street-level is the information in the report will help Pacific countries plan with confidence against losses through more effective stock assessments and stronger MCS responses.

Importantly, says FFA, the report provides the most reliable and current estimate, which puts to rest previously touted guesses totalling up to US$1.5 billion.

The Federated States of Micronesia has applauded FFA’s initiative in putting together the report. Attending the meeting, Susan Lowe-Gallen, FSM’s Chief of Compliance says the report is a game changer and sees two main impacts the region needs to take note.

First it elevates the Pacific to be one of the leading forces in the fight against IUU tuna fishing globally, “I don’t think any other region in the world has that [study] at this point,” she said.

She admits the numbers would not be absolute but “it gives us a better sense, a better estimate for the Pacific overall. In that regard we are slightly ahead of the game.”

But that follows up with a warning and the second impact that might hit the region as a result of the study.

“We don’t want decisions that end up going to the FAO [UN Food and Agricultural Organisation] or IMCS [International MCS Network] or anyone else that would could generate things such as frameworks or initiatives that would actually set the Pacific back a step from where we already are.

‘More at stake’
“We’re working hard and we’re trying our best to ensure that we don’t end up like a lot of those countries in Europe and Africa. We have a lot more at stake because for the majority of our countries, fisheries is all they have –we don’t have anything else so we have a little bit more at stake than many others.”

It is already a moot point that the majority of Pacific countries agree it is the “Unreported ‘U’” in IUU that is an area of weakness in current MCS efforts.

Samoa points to the absence of independent catch monitoring and verification in the longline sector as major weakness and therefore needs more attention for a mitigation upgrade.

“Very importantly, this report will set a definitive baseline for the scale, composition and quantified value on IUU fishing and what it is costing this region, against which future success can be measured,” said Movick.

“It will also help to provide a clearer basis to assess what is working and what needs reworking to ensure that collective regional efforts are targeted toward the most prevalent and costly forms of IUU in the evolving Pacific tuna fishery.”

And that is exactly one of the major roles the study is expected to provide.

It will provide evidential support for IUU mitigation management measures.

‘Don’t have ammunition’

According to Hugh Walton, FFA’s project manager for the EU-funded DEVFISH II programme, which coordinated the study, the report will allow discussion on mitigation measures “because we already know what they are but we don’t have the ammunition for them.

“We’re hoping that this report will give us the ammunition, say management measures in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) sense, then for us at the regional level in terms on how we focus our MCS activities and then at the national level, in terms of our national level MCS activities, how they are focused.”

He cited as an example one of the MCS tools currently being discussed, e-monitoring and e-reporting in terms of the “U” for unreported.

“When you look at the e-monitoring and e-reporting tools in terms of the unreported, the camera doesn’t lie. In the trials we’ve done, we have done enough to know that the camera doesn’t lie.

“What that means is if you have a history of being a compliant vessel then I don’t need to worry too much about you. But if you rate on my compliance register over here [risk] – then that says I’m going to make you carry this camera – ideally. And there are, potentially, quite accessible mechanisms to focus on some of these risk areas. And tools are available and evolving to assist in that focus.”

Essentially, Walton added, “we are saying that this stuff is here, it’s now, and what it means is a change in the way we run our organisations and our national administrations.

“We don’t enter data anymore, we’ve got real time data that we can analyse and act on the analysis. So essentially we are moving towards a paradigm shift in the way organisations work.”

Frontline improvement
At the frontline of improving the management of the Pacific’s fishery are MCS practitioners.

Their efforts are guided by a newly endorsed “Fisheries Roadmap” that talks about increasing employment, revenue and economic returns to Pacific countries while ensuring sustainability of the tuna resource.

The MCS framework and the IUU work that forms a key part of it are all about ensuring there is tuna today and tomorrow- but it is a known fact that many times, decision-makers come up with things at very high superficial level without knowing what the reality is on the ground.

Which means that to deliver on the aspirations of, say, the Pacific Roadmap; and aligning them to the reality facing MCS practitioners is about the mechanisms needed to be put in place that will facilitate meeting some of those ambitious targets.

It means the support mechanisms will need to be built around what needs to be done to hit some of those targets – and the study being launched tomorrow will provide some of the building blocks to meet those ends.

Pacific Fisheries Roadmap

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

An ABC Four Corners investigative programme crew has been detained by Malaysian police after trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak over a corruption scandal.

Reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu were arrested in the city of Kuching on Saturday night, after approaching Razak on the street.

Both were released without charge on Sunday, but have been told not to leave the country.

Their passports were initially seized but have since been returned.

A police statement obtained by the AFP news agency said they were held after they crossed a “security line and aggressively tried to approach the prime minister”.

“Both of them were subsequently arrested for failing to comply with police instructions not to cross the security line,” the statement said.

The programme’s executive producer, Sally Neighbour, said on Twitter the arrest was related to the crew’s reporting of corruption allegations involving Razak.

The Malay Mail Online media outlet said police were investigating the incident under Section 186 of the Penal Code, which relates to obstructing a public servant.

‘No breach’
But Neighbour tweeted that the team was “doing what journalists do in countries with a free press”.

“There was no breach. In a democracy, journalists asking the PM questions is routine,” she wrote.

Malaysian news agency Bernama quoted national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar as saying officials would “discuss with the Attorney-General’s Chambers [whether] to charge them”.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said local and foreign media would not be sanctioned for covering events but “must perform their duties according to the journalism ethics”, AFP reported.

Earlier this month, leaders from across Malaysia’s political spectrum joined forces to call for the removal of the scandal-hit Prime Minister.

Najib, 62, has been under fire for a year over allegations as much as $1.4 billion was deposited into his personal bank account. He has denied any wrongdoing.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Mark Bowling

Allegations of recent military and police intimidation, beatings and torture, kidnapping and murder in West Papua, have been documented in a new Church report.

The report documents Muslims being radicalised in the once predominantly Christian Papuan provinces, and “very active” Muslim militias that burn down Papuan houses.

The report was compiled by the Brisbane Catholic Justice and Peace Commission’s Shadow Human Rights Fact Finding Mission to West Papua, following a visit to West Papua last month.

It has not yet been publicly released, nor comment sought from Indonesian authorities.

The report documents religious, social and economic discrimination, including how the carve up of land for major development has benefited multinationals and excluded Papuans from ownership and jobs.

It refers to a slow motion genocide happening and states that “the Indonesians want to replace the Christian religion with Islam”.

The report author, Josephite Sister Susan Connelly, was accompanied to West Papua by Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission executive officer Peter Arndt. During their fact-finding mission they interviewed more than 250 community leaders in Japapura, Merauke, Timika and Sorong.

Comparison to East Timor
Sr Connelly, a respected human rights advocate, likened her visit to West Papua to “stepping back 20 years when I first went to East Timor”.

“The same oppressive security presence everywhere, the same suspicion, bewilderment, frustration and sadness,” she said.

“The same fear. The same seemingly groundless hope. A man took my hands in his and said, ‘We are in danger’. That simple statement sums up for me the experience of the whole visit.

“The Papuan people have lost so much, and are facing erasure as a people, merely preserved as oddities of the past or artifacts to be photographed for tourist brochures. They realise that their land is considered more valuable than they are.”

The fact-finding team heard many accounts of alleged military and police brutality and murder.

“There is clear evidence of ongoing violence, intimidation and harassment by the Indonesian security forces,” Arndt said on his return to Brisbane.

“That is especially the case for Papuans expressing their support for particular political points of view. Authorities want to close down any Papuan efforts to promote discussion about self-determination, and they have applied a military response to deal with the irrepressible desire of a large number of Papuans to promote their cause for freedom.”

Instigators identified
Based on his interviews across West Papua, Arndt (pictured) identified the instigators of alleged human rights violations as members of the Indonesian army including Kopassus, police including a special counter insurgency unit, Detachment 88, and Indonesia’s intelligence agency, BIN.

“Even demonstrations about social issues such as access to education get broken up by authorities,” he said.

The fact-finding team heard many examples of how the Indonesian government pushed economic development, but ignored human rights.

“The government has carved up the land and given it for exploitation to some 50 multinational companies,” the report said.

“The procedure is that the local government invites companies to come and gives permits. People are usually shocked when the companies come to sign a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with them, showing them the permit and the map. If the villagers don’t agree to the proposal, the company goes back to the local government and returns with the police.”

In the 1970s, ethnic Papuans accounted for 96 percent of the population. Today they are a minority 48 per cent, because of the rapid migration of Indonesians from other more populated islands such as Java.

The report found that Papuans were now marginalised economically at the expense of immigrants, the majority of whom are Muslims. The report said there was “a movement for Muslims from Indonesia to replace Papuans in every sector”.

Many mosques built
“The Indonesians want to replace the Christian religion with Islam.

“Many mosques are being built everywhere. They want Papua to be a Javanese Malay nation,” the report said.

“Radicalisation is happening in Papua, with some militias very active near the border with PNG. They burn down the Papuan houses. They are recruited as illegal loggers. Their camps and logging are well protected by the military.

“The military are certainly killing the people, and closed access to opportunity to Papuans in all areas of life constitutes a slow motion genocide. The general opinion encountered was that Indonesia is a total failure regarding Papua and is just another coloniser.

“The Indonesian government does not give opportunities to Papuan people or protect them. It was said that most Church leaders try to deal with the problems one by one, but the whole picture should be looked at as a series of policies designed to overcome the Papuan people.

“In every sector of government the system is composed of Indonesian tactics to destroy the Papuans. Beatings and torture are used, but also the economic aspects of lack of opportunity, the sidelining of the indigenous peoples, the taking over of land by companies… are part of the plan.”

Accusations in the report

• A young, wealthy businessman poisoned in 2015. He had financially supported building an office for the National Committee for West Papua, an independence-oriented group. He also funded Papuans being sent to international conferences.
• A Papuan woman activist arrested in 2015 by police for holding a prayer service in support of an international conference in London. She and her group were interrogated for five hours.
• -In January this year, 27 Papuan palm oil workers were allegedly tortured by the Indonesian army’s special force Kopassus. The men had previously complained to their company bosses after they had not been paid for two months.
• A man aged 35 who used to work for Papua’s Freeport gold mine was kidnapped in 2015, killed, and his body thrown on the street. There was no sign of torture and the police told his family that it was an accident.
• Police and military broke up community activities such as prayer meetings.
• In September 2015, 18-year-old Daniel Bowgow was killed. His father was a local prayer meeting leader.
• People reported they could not move freely at night to search for food for fear of being kidnapped. The military and police use Papuan informers to let them know of people’s movements.

Mark Bowling is a contributor to The Catholic Leader. This article was first published by The Catholic Leader.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Josie Butler

This week marks the beginning of the New Zealand government’s national roadshow on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), a roadshow that was meant to address the people’s questions and concerns regarding this “trade agreement”, with a focus on public consultation.

I put “trade” in italics, because out of the 29 chapters of this agreement, only 5 are actually related to trade, the other 24 are to do with investors rights.

If we wanted to call it what it is, we would call it an investors rights agreement, with a sprinkle of trade making for an excellent public spin.

Anyway I digress. I attended the roadshow at the Rydges Hotel in Christchurch on Friday, March 11.

When I arrived there was quite a heavy police presence, with all entry points into the hotel covered by police and security. The hotel/restaurant/bar was on a complete lock-down and not open to the public.

Unfortunately the heavy police presence thwarted our original action against this atrocity, which I wont go into details of, but let’s just say if someone’s pants are on fire from lying so much it seems logical that a fire alarm could go off, and that friendly protesters might be kind enough to put out said fire.

Thankfully I had registered for the event so me and my pink squeaky phallic friend (carefully concealed in my jacket) decided to go in.

Military on security
I went to the first security check point which was at the front driveway to the hotel. The guards asked for my ID, and while I was getting it out I noticed one of the guys had an army badge pinned to his lapel.

I asked him if he was military and he confirmed that all security present today were army personnel. Bloody hell! Seemed a bit excessive for a “trade” roadshow!

Finally I got to the actual entrance to the building, which was covered by numerous security guards and police. More ID checks, bag searches, and even some photographs taken.

The police informed me they had quite a presence here today, and pointed to one of the conference rooms which was filled with numerous police personnel.

I told them that I hoped to make an interesting work day for them, they laughed and left me to it.

One of the waiter staff came over to me, and warned me to be careful inside as one lady had been kicked out literally for saying “boo” when MFAT were presenting. I was appalled that this could even happen, so I went in to check it out for myself.

I arrived at the Q&A session, which was meant to be an opportunity for the public to voice their concerns and questions to MFAT and David Walker (Chief Negotiator of the TPPA).

Enforcer of propaganda
Sean Plunkett was meant to be MCing the event, but a more accurate description of his actual role would have been enforcer of propaganda.

I stood at the back of the room and listened for a while. There is full video footage of this event, but the general gist was every time someone stood at the microphone and politely voiced a concern they had about the TPPA they were immediately shut down by Sean Plunkett who informed them that they were to ask a question or sit down.

A lot of people tried to explain that to ask their question they needed to explain the background information, but they were repeatedly shut down. Any time someone’s question went for more than 10 seconds, they were shut down.

And the very few questions that actually were able to be asked were either danced around by the officials, or flat out lied about.

It would be like if you asked someone what their age was, and they responded by saying, “I have an age, it’s a very good age, I’ve been this age for a while, and it’s the best age for New Zealand at the moment”, but without at all addressing the actual question!

People were getting understandably upset by this reception, one elderly lady even told Sean Plunkett “it is a very scary thing to stand up here and ask my question in front of a large group of people, and I’d like to think you’d show me some respect”.

He didn’t. He interrupted her, shouted at her, and told her to either ask her question or sit down. She was shaking and tearful by the end of it. It was absolutely disgusting, and it honestly hurt my soul to see the community trying to honestly and respectfully partake in this “rogue show” only to be disrespected and cruelly bullied by our government and their henchmen.

My turn at the microphone
I’d decided that I’d seen enough, so lined up at the microphone for my turn to have a say. I got to the microphone and announced that on behalf of the vast majority of New Zealanders I would like to present David Walker with New Zealand’s very first Dick of the Year Award.

I whipped out my pink friend, and held it staunchly in the air for the room to see. Sean Plunkett at this point tried to interject, at which point I loudly and proudly told him “you were a very close second for this award ‘Shane’ with the way you were carrying on today”.

I knew his name was Sean, I just wanted to show him a sliver of the disrespect that he had shown the good people of Christchurch today. Security came and escorted me away (very gently I must say!) from a room full of applause, cheers, and yahoos!

As I was being taken away I shouted, “but you are so deserving of this award dear David, you have put in so much work to earn this honour, you simply must accept it!”

Police came and walked me out of the building, stating they thought it was pretty funny, and that they were very surprised I didn’t actually throw the toy at David.

We laughed, and I said that I would have absolutely loved to but that I’d probably pushed the boundaries with the law enough currently.

I went back to the beautiful and vibrant protest group that was outside the event….all day I must add. Big ups!

Water pistol protest
About ten minutes later the roadshow broke for lunch, so I went and grabbed a water pistol (onsite from our thwarted original action idea), and eagerly waited at the gate for one of the villains to exit the premises.

I was rewarded rather quickly, as an MFAT officially approached me almost immediately. He smiled, laughed and said, “before you shoot me can I please explain to you why the TPPA is so good”.

I said cheekily to him “you can try!” He went on to tell me that the TPPA is so wonderful for New Zealand and that we need to be in it to win it, wank wank wank.

I smiled at him and yelled “not good enough!” and squirted him, a lot, in the face with the water pistol. It was all very friendly, and we both had a good laugh.

Suddenly I was grabbed from behind by a police officer, I had my arm twisted behind my back, heavy flexion put on my wrists and was marched down the street. He shouted at me, “you are under arrest for disorderly conduct!”

I was incredibly shocked by this heavy handed approach to a bit of playful protest. The MFAT official came over and told the police officer that it was fine, and that he most certainly did not want to press charges.

Our film crews came over and started recording. The police officer continued to put heavy flexion on my wrists, repeating that I was under arrest.

A potential martyr
I asked him to please loosen his hold on me because he was hurting me. He ignored me. I appealed to him again and said that I was not resisting or any risk to anybody, and would he would please stop hurting me.

I reminded him the cameras were recording everything, and that he was potentially about to make a martyr for our cause by arresting me.

He confirmed that the MFAT official did not want to lay charges, and then let me go, telling me to “pull my …… head in”. It is worth noting that apart from this specific police officer, all of the police on site were polite and pleasant, and seemed supportive of our cause.

From my observations today these roadshows labelled as public consultation were actually heavily enforced propaganda missions dead set on annihilating any public discussion.

They were policed and secured to such a high level, one has to wonder if this “trade” deal is so great for our country why on earth would 30 police and 40 military personnel be required to protect a presentation about it?

The vast majority of New Zealanders remain staunch against this absolute violation of our sovereignty, and the government are frightened. We can and we will still stop this.

As with any movement, things need to gain momentum to continue progressing and growing. If we look at previous successes such as the Suffragettes, the Civil Rights Movement, the Springbok tour, Nuclear-Free NZ, it is clear that direct action and strategic civil disobedience are required.

Every time you see a National MP, every time Prime Minister John Key tries to come to your town, I strongly encourage you to stand up and let our “dear leaders” know that if they try to trample on our country and our human rights then they are no longer welcome here!

Josie Butler is a human rights activist. This column was published first on The Daily Blog.

Background on the TPPA

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

Joanna, 11, talks about life in Vanuatu one year on after Cyclone Pam. Video: UNICEF

By Karen Allen

Something is seriously wrong in the Pacific.

The numbers speak for themselves; since 1970 only 11 category 5 cyclones have been recorded south of the equator; two of these happened in the last 12 months.

In 2015 the Pacific also saw three Category 4 cyclones occurring simultaneously. In a deeply concerning trend, cyclones are beginning to form out of the normal Pacific cyclone season, which spans November to April; five such cyclones formed in 2015 alone.

Last, but by no means least, Pacific countries near the equator such as Kiribati, normally protected from these storms, have in recent times reported cyclones forming in their neighbourhood.

It’s clear that the Pacific, already home to four of the world’s 10 most disaster-prone countries, has become even more vulnerable to disasters.

Sunday, 13 March 2016, marks the one-year anniversary of Cyclone Pam, which hit Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Pam made landfall in Vanuatu as a devastating category 5 cyclone, affecting two-thirds of the country’s population.

Less than 12 months later, Fiji is recovering from the second-strongest storm ever to make landfall (second only to Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines). Forty percent of the country’s population (an estimated 350,000 people) have been directly affected.

More severe cyclones
While scientists are unsure of the connection between climate change and the overall number of cyclones, most agree that climate change is leading to a higher number of severe tropical cyclones.

In short, the cyclones we do get, will be more destructive. In an El Niño year, warm waters caused by the cyclical weather phenomenon provide the perfect stomping grounds for stronger and longer-lasting cyclones to form and roam over vast distances.

In the case of Fiji, Cyclone Winston began as a tropical disturbance on February 7, only dissipating 26 days later, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

During this time it travelled past Fiji at a lower intensity, grazed Tonga, did a u-turn and came straight back at Fiji at category 5 strength, hitting the island nation with monstrous peak sustained winds of 297 kmh. Islands directly in its path never stood a chance.

In the days since this cyclone hit, we have met countless families who have said that they had no understanding of what a category 5 cyclone meant. Entire villages have simply disappeared. Concrete or wooden foundations and scattered debris are the only evidence of houses, schools and health centres.

For children and families who have lost literally everything, the impact on their lives is incalculable. UNICEF has been working around the clock to support the Fiji government to provide immediate relief to affected communities – we will continue to do so as they begin the long road to recovery.

Even a year on from Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu, children and their families still talk about the cyclone with fear in their voices. A year may have passed but the memory of that terrifying weekend is like a fresh wound.

In both countries, communities are doing their best to recover, to clean up, and to return to a sense of normality. Those in Vanuatu would no doubt tell those in Fiji that this takes time, effort, patience and strength in the face of seemingly insurmountable problems.

So what does this mean for Pacific nations?
It may sound like a cliché – but the expression “the new normal” is a reality here in the Pacific. Pacific countries now need to plan and prepare for all eventualities, including the prospect of a direct hit by a category 5 cyclone.

The implications are immense. We need to consider everything from the way we build homes, schools, health facilities and other critical infrastructure such as water and power supply, to the way that families prepare themselves, their crops and their livelihoods.

Buildings traditionally designated as evacuation centres may now be insufficient; community centres purpose built to serve large numbers as evacuation centres are needed.

Every child and adult in the Pacific needs to know what to do before, during and after a disaster strikes. Pacific Islanders are extremely resilient in times of difficulty but the new normal requires another level of planning, preparedness and emotional strength.

Children in the Pacific must also be a vital part of these conversations, both as those most affected by emergencies, and as those who can and will contribute to building more resilient communities in the future.

When a disaster strikes, children’s lives are changed forever. Death, injury, illness and the loss of the most basic human rights can happen in a moment; schooling comes to an end, family incomes disappear, hopes and dreams are washed away.

When it comes to climate change, with rising sea levels, prolonged droughts and intensified storms, those least responsible for this unfolding environmental disaster are shouldering the consequences of climate change.

We must listen to children and communities and actively involve them in preparing for disasters. An early warning system for cyclones is only useful if everyone understands what the warnings mean and what actions to take.

Read more about the year since Cyclone Pam struck:  Fast Facts Vanuatu Cyclone Pam – One year on

At UNICEF we are investing in school-based preparedness efforts so that children will be prepared for emergencies from their youngest years; just as children learn to brush their teeth or wash their hands, they must also be aware of the simple actions they can take to prepare for emergencies and become more resilient, together.

We regularly support government-led assessments and community feedback systems using mobile phones and traditional community conversations. These can also complement existing systems used to warn children and communities about impending disasters and steps needed to protect themselves, as well as real-time monitoring and reporting.

We must learn from the past. We know, for example, that, on average, more women and girls die in disasters than men.

Seventy percent of those who died in the 2009 Tonga tsunami were women. People with disabilities, the elderly, children, those in remote communities and other groups made vulnerable by their position in society are also disproportionately and differently affected.

These groups are often the last to be reached by relief efforts, and say that they are rarely consulted or included during preparedness or recovery planning. If we are serious about assisting those most affected by disasters, then these groups need to be prioritised and supported in practical and meaningful ways.

Delaying action for children and communities on climate change not an option.
Climate change will not wait. Natural disasters will not wait. Anote Tong, the former President of Kiribati, one of the world’s most climate-affected countries, has said: “At the rate we are going it doesn’t seem likely we will be able to keep what we have for our children.” We must act to protect children now and in generations to come.

The consequences of climate change inaction are being felt every day in the Pacific. On 12 February 2016 Fiji became the first country in the world to formally ratify the new Paris Climate Agreement, undertaking to pursue renewable energy sources and cut overall emissions by 30 per cent.

Eight days later, Cyclone Winston hit.

For those who live outside the Pacific, the reality of climate change and other natural disasters can be hard to grasp. For the children of the Pacific however, this is the reality of today – and tomorrow.

The Pacific is leading the way on action to reduce the impacts of climate change. Policy changes, investment in climate change resistant crops, improved water supply and treatment methods and community-led mitigation efforts are all pieces of a much larger puzzle.

The same is true for disaster preparedness and response. Just as the Pacific looks to others for expertise and guidance, the rest of the world has much to learn from the Pacific region. We are, after all, experts by circumstance.

Whether you live in or beyond the Pacific, we all have a role to play, both in everyday actions to reduce the effects of climate change and in simple measures to better prepare ourselves and our communities for emergencies. Every step we make today to prevent and reduce the impact of climate change and natural disasters in the Pacific is an investment in a safer and more resilient future for all. We have done a lot but we need to push ourselves to do even more, our children are depending on us.

Dr Karen Allen is the UNICEF Pacific Representative. This post first appeared on UNICEF’s Connect and Vanuatu Daily Digest blogs.

Other Cyclone Pam one year later videos

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pack your sunhat and sunscreen, and plan your journey to Auckland’s Western Springs Park – Pasifika returns this weekend.

One of New Zealand’s longest-standing and best-loved annual festivals, Pasifika brings a slice of island paradise to Western Springs for two days. The free, family-friendly festival presents the colourful sights, sounds and tantalising tastes of the Pacific in 11 villages representing different Pacific Island nations.

Some of Auckland’s most famous Kiwi-Pacific faces will be making an appearance at the festival.

Kiwi-Samoan hip hop artist and singer-songwriter Ladi6 is the festival ambassador, while several Auckland Blues will be visiting the More FM festival family zone, and former My Kitchen Rules contestants and Pacific Island food icons Aaron and Heather Freeman are this year’s Pasifika food ambassadors.

They will be visiting food stalls to sample their delicacies and talking about Pacific Island food with stallholders and visitors.

Mayor Len Brown says Pasifika is always a favourite on his calendar, and he isn’t alone, so with that in mind, festival-goers should plan their travel to and from Western Springs.

“Auckland is a Pacific city and Pasifika is a proud celebration of that, with tens of thousands of people flocking to the festival every year. There are plenty of transport options, so put some thought into how you are getting there.”

As well as normal bus services travelling between Britomart and Western Springs, a point-to-point shuttle displaying “Special Event – Pasifika’”will be operating to the event between 10am-1.30pm and from the event between 2-6pm.

People cycling to the event can use Auckland Transport’s bike parking valet station, while all-day parking is available within a short stroll for a cash fee.

Sina Aiolupotea-Aiono, chair of the Auckland Council Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel, says the panel is pleased with council’s continued support and investment in Pasifika.

Key event
“This is the key event for Pasifika communities, and an acknowledgement of the significant and growing Pasifika population in Auckland. Importantly, the festival recognises the contribution that Pasifika communities make to the cultural, social and economic landscape and future of the region.

“We look forward to seeing all Aucklanders and visitors from other parts of New Zealand, the Pacific and beyond, joining us to celebrate what will be another stunning event.”

Pasifika is the biggest celebration of Pacific Island culture and heritage in the world. The festival celebrates its 24th birthday this year.

Each day provides a vibrant yet relaxed atmosphere. Saturday has a festive and busy vibe and Sunday is a good choice for those who prefer a relaxed pace. Villages feature traditional and contemporary performances for the whole family, alongside delicious food to sit down with and savour.

Highlights
• On Sunday, Ladi6 will be on site at the Mai FM area for a photo opportunity and signing session, while players from the Auckland Blues will be found at More FM with a fun competition for the kids.

• The Cook Island village has beautiful authentic products to purchase. In addition to the extensive range of colourful attire, tropical plants and hand-made wooded instruments, Kora Pearls is back this year with a larger variety of settings of pearls with improved lustre and colour. Their pearl farm in located in the Manihiki Northern Islands – the only Islands in the Cook Islands that produces the gorgeous black pearl.

• The Fiji Village will host some of the talented women involved in The Veiqia Project. Artists Margaret Aull, Donita Hulme, Joana Monolagi, Dulcie Stewart and Luisa Tora will be on-site to share and discuss their experience researching the art of Fijian female tattoo. Julia Mage’au Gray will share her research and knowledge of tattoo practice across the Pacific and will be performing a live tattooing with the hand-poking technique.

• Niue village will provide some great entertainment on Saturday with the coconut husking and coconut scraping competition followed by a breath-taking fashion parade.

• There are many established artists that will take the stage in Samoa village throughout the weekend including; Rosita Vai Gibbons, Ura Tabu Dance, Tatau Dance Crew and Le La O Samoa to name a few. Samoa Village prides itself for offering the stage as platform to promote emerging talents alongside familiar names to the Samoan community.

• Also in Samoa village visitors will find legendary internationally renowned master tattooist Suluape Tatau – Marks of Polynesia and his son tattooist Su’a Paul Suluape in action as they skilfully apply the Samoan tatau.

• The sponsors’ activities provide plenty fun and entertainment for the whole family, including the Air New Zealand Boeing 737 cockpit on-site to explore!

Supported by AMI Insurance, Pasifika Festival forms part of Auckland’s summer event programme. It is being delivered for the second year by Orange Productions on behalf of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and Auckland Council.

Other sponsors include Mai FM, Tip Top, Air New Zealand, Edgewater Resort, Moneygram, Niu FM, Localist, Wonderful Indonesia, Waikato Tainui, The University of Waikato and More FM.

Getting there
Visit at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry for further travel information and planning.

People planning to drive to Pasifika should note the Bullock Track Road will be closed both Saturday and Sunday.

Parking is available at Western Springs College, Pasadena Intermediate and MOTAT 2 (off Meola Rd) for a cash fee. For more information, see aucklandnz.com/pasifika

At Pasifika
Saturday, 12 March (10am – 5pm), and Sunday, 13 March (10am – 4pm), 2016.
Western Springs Park

MOTAT is opening its gates for the first time to host the Pan Pacific Village. Visitors to the village will find authentic Pacific Island products that are not confined to one specific village.

More tha 200 stallholders and around 300 performance groups taking part.

Pasifika online
To find out more about Pasifika Festival 2016, and get a programme and map, go to:
www.aucklandnz.com/pasifika

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Lealaiauloto A. F. Tauafiafi in Auckland

The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) has walked away with the top two global prizes awarded for efforts against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The third prize went to Peru.

The winners were selected by an international panel of judges composed of leading experts from the MCS field in the world.

“The judges did agree unanimously on a first place winner which reflected an innovative, ingenious and very low cost solution to one of the fundamentals of MCS Network”, said Michele Kuruc, vice-president-ocean policy, World Wildlife Fund and Cephase Ralph, chair, International MCS Network.

The IOC’s award-winning projects are implemented through the Smartfish project, a $25 million euro European Union-funded programme involving 20 countries in East and Southern Africa implemented by IOC.

Its intervention focuses on fisheries management, policy, food security, marketing and trade, and monitoring control and surveillance (MCS).

In receiving the award at the 5th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop taking place in Auckland, the key expert for Smartfish, Marcel Kroese, felt the bigger prize was still in the water.

Reflecting on the popularity of rugby union in South Africa, Kroese could not help but highlight Smartfish’s victory could improve the disappointing run of losses that the South African Springboks has against host New Zealand’s current world rugby champions, the All Blacks.

‘Winning World Cup’
“It felt like winning the World Cup in New Zealand,” he said.

“The only time South Africa will win something here.”

The first prize went to SmartFish pilot project in Tanzania: Fishing Vessel Registration and Licensing.

Tanzania sits at the heart of the East African region, is an important link in a chain of coral reefs, mangroves, that support a host of locally important ecosystems and fisheries stretching along 1400 km of coastline.

But in recent years, it has fallen prey to a particular destructive illegal practice – blast fishing with a wide range of explosions.

The rationale for this intervention was to demonstrate to the local government authorities that revenue streams derived from fisheries could be significantly increased with improved levels of vessel registration and licensing through the adoption of an inspection method that could easily determine compliant vessels and those not licensed and registered in their district, or adjacent districts.

The second prize is related to the implementation of a Multi-Agency Task Team (MATT) to address organised environmental crime including fishery crimes (Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and blast fishing), illegal mining, smuggling of wildlife and timber in Tanzania.

The activities conducted by IOC’s SmartFish programme (IOC-SmartFish) focused on a collaborative process to incorporate all role players in the blast fishing value chain and to have a cohesive strategy to address blast fishing.

The MATT methodology was tested for 1 year in Tanzania and resulted in establishing the smuggling routes domestically and internationally. Through joint operations of the MATT, more than 3000 kg of explosives were seized and several suspects arrested.

This is the second “Stop IUU Fishing Award” managed by the IMCS Network, based in Washington, DC, which aims to recognise innovative solutions used in both small and large scale fisheries to deter IUU fishing.

Indian Ocean Commission: 30 years of expertise
The Indian Ocean Commission is a Mauritius-based intergovernmental organisation regrouping five member states, including Comoros, France/Reunion, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles. It has registered more than 30 years of expertise on coastal and marine environment issues. The IOC-SmartFish programme is the largest EU funded Fisheries programme in Africa, involving 20 countries.

The Stop IUU Fishing Award
At the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2011, it was recognised that “development and implementation of appropriate tools and approaches remain vital”. The Stop IUU Fishing Award seeks to encourage and recognise development of appropriate MCS tools that will help in the global fight against IUU fishing.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Bob Makin in Port Vila

Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas has terminated the board of the national broadcaster Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation after meeting with the previous board to hear its reasons for the long delay in re-establishing the VBTC’s transmitter network.

Johnety Jerety from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade is now chairman of the board.

Newly appointed board members are: Jennifer Kausei, Transparency International Vanuatu CEO; Wilson Toa; Gratien Tiona, journalist with The Independent newspaper; journalist Aristide Meltecoin; former VBTC marketing officer Alex Steven; and former Greens Confederation politician Iarris Naunun.

The level of information concerning service giving has certainly improved with the arrival of a government determined information should flow freely.

Prime Minister Salwai has spoken out concerning deficiencies in the public services of VBTC, especially the physical extent of its reach.

This is a topic previously taken up by senior media personnel in the Vanuatu Daily Post. The daily newspaper has been the major provider of news on an increasing basis, but it lacks the reach-all network provided by VBTC’s short wave.

VBTC has hit back at the Daily Post which has been giving considerable column centimetres to the Leader of the Opposition, always ready to fill them.

The Opposition’s Kalsakau has criticised – in Daily Post – the Mayor of Port Vila, stating that the Mayor is not paying the monthly allowances of Opposition side councillors.

“The way the council is depriving Opposition councillors of their Special Duty Allowance is illegal and it is a maladministration practice of the council which brings disrepute and discredits this high office,” said Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau in the Daily Post.

The deprivation is alleged to have started around six months ago.

Kalsakau has called on Mayor Sumptoh to resign.

However, Town Clerk Ronald Sandy said through Radio Vanuatu noon news that every allegation made was wrong and that the Opposition should check its facts, as should the Daily Post.

There had been no complaint to the Town Clerk concerning missing duty allowances, nor to the ministry, said Sandy.

VBTC also reported on a documentary film made by Red Cross concerning women’s role in the Cyclone Pam recovery period. Haos i foldaon: Woman i stanap was made for International Women’s Day earlier this week.

It will be screened in Saralana Park on Monday at 5:30pm.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

The findings of a major study which will put accurate and up to date numbers to the nature and extent of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing will be made public in New Zealand next week.

Pacific frontline officials in monitoring, control and surveillance work are attending a suite of MCS meetings in Auckland this month — at their working group meetings next week, they will be presented with findings of a major quantifying illegal (IUU) fisheries report two years in the making.

“This is the first time that the Pacific countries, through the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), have been in a position to determine the type and scope of such a review. As such it will help clear the air on previous claims made, and the sensational figures that are often quoted,” says FFA Director-General James Movick.

“More importantly, the study itself provides a clearer sense of what the main IUU risks are, what is working, and what needs additional priority when it comes to ensuring tuna vessels in Pacific waters are complying with the rules.

“The report will be useful to anyone and everyone with an interest in Pacific development and oceanic resources. It is not just for those interested in seeing how the authors arrived at the conclusions they reached.

“We anticipate that Pacific officials receiving the report will welcome the information and recommendations it provides,” says Movick.

“It’s all about having the best data to lock in better decisions and action for the future of Pacific fisheries. Of course, this is a highly complex issue and it will take detailed consideration and analysis to ensure that the results are viewed in the correct context.

Costs to the region
“Very importantly, this report will set a definitive baseline for the scale, composition and quantified value on IUU fishing and what it is costing this region, against which future success can be measured.

“It will also help to provide a clearer basis to assess what is working and what needs reworking to ensure that collective regional efforts are targeted toward the most prevalent and costly forms of IUU in the evolving Pacific tuna fishery.”

The report authors are the MRAG Asia Pacific, an independent fisheries and aquatic resource consulting company dedicated to the sustainable use of natural resources through sound, integrated management practices and policies.

Funding for the study came from the European Union-funded DEVFISH II project aimed at ensuring a fairer slice for Pacific peoples of the economic benefits from tuna fisheries.

Following its presentation to the 19th MCS Working Group of the Forum Fisheries Agency on March 15, the report will be made public.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) has identified rampant violations by broadcasting companies, particularly television stations, of laws that govern the content they air to the public.

“We found journalistic content showing violence, descriptions of criminal acts in too much detail, insufficient protection of victims, inaccurate news and repetitive reporting of tragedy,” said KPI chairman Judhariksawan in a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission I overseeing intelligence, defence and foreign affairs on Monday.

The KPI had imposed 49 sanctions, including discontinuing two programs and limiting the duration of two others, across several television networks in the first two months of 2016, he said, adding that there was still a lot of broadcast content that violated the Broadcasting Code of Conduct and Programme Standards (P3SPS).

Among those remaining violations are: the use of public channels to serve the interests of their owners, physical and verbal abuse on various television shows and featuring personal and private matters as infotainment, Judhariksawan added.

He also said that the broadcasting commission planned to evaluate the 10 television networks whose permits were set to expire this year.

Lawmaker Elnino M. Husein Mohi of the Gerindra Party said that House Commission I had discussed several changes in the revision of the Broadcasting Law, including the extension of the KPI’s power to fine unresponsive television networks and the restriction of cigarette and political advertising.

“We are proposing one point to be included in the hearing’s conclusion: stopping all unfair and unequal political ads, so that there will be no more complaints from the public about kids memorising political party anthems,” he said.

–]]>

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Gregory Walsh

Nineteen-year-old Mukesh was born into a marginalised community in an impoverished region of rural India. Now he documents corruption in his region’s school system in an effort to transform his community for the better.

Mukesh Rajak’s childhood was marked by discrimination due to his status as a dalit, a member of India’s “untouchable” caste.

But an opportunity to attend a nonprofit private school led him to find his voice as a journalist.

In rural schools, corruption is rife: teachers take bribes, appear drunk in the classroom, and claim students’ stipends.

After Mukesh reported these concerns for one school, the principal was transferred, and bribes stopped.

“It’s quite fascinating that this young boy has been able to make so much of a difference”, says Indira, from the community news service Mukesh works for.

A 27min documentary by Gregory Walsh. Journeyman Pictures is an independent source for the world’s most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today.

–]]>