French police and gendarmes force were deployed around the political headquarters of the pro-independence Caledonian Union in Kanaky New Caledonia’s Nouméa suburb of Magenta in a crackdown today.

The public prosecutor confirmed that eight protesters had been arrested, including the leader of the CCAT action groups, Christian Téin, as suspects in a “criminal conspiracy” investigation, local media report.

Prosecutor Yves Dupas said that the Prosecutor’s Office “intends to conduct this phase of the investigation with all the necessary objectivity and impartiality”.

The arrests were made in Nouméa and in the nearby township of Mont-Dore.

This was part of the investigation opened by the prosecution on May 17 — for days after the rioting and start of unrest in New Caledonia.

The Caledonian Union (UC) is the largest partner in the pro-independence umbrella group FLNKS (Kanak and Social National Liberation Front).

Presidential letter
Meanwhile, RNZ Pacific reports that French President Emmanuel Macron had written to the people of New Caledonia, confirming that he would not convene the Congress (both houses of Parliament) meeting needed to ratify the controversial constitutional electoral amendments.

Local media reports said Macron was also waiting for the “firm and definitive lifting” of all the roadblocks and unreserved condemnation of the violence — and that those who had encouraged unrest would have to answer for their action.

Macron had previously confirmed he had suspended but not withdrawn New Caledonia’s controversial constitutional amendment.

The changes would allow more people to vote with critics fearing it would weaken the indigenous Kanak voice.

In this letter, the President said France remained committed to the reconstruction of the Pacific territory, and called on New Caledonians “not to give in to pressure and disarray but to stand up to rebuild”.

The need for a return to dialogue was mentioned several times.

He wrote that this dialogue should make it possible to define a common “project of society for all New Caledonian citizens”, while respecting their history, their own identity and their aspirations.

This project, based on trust, would recognise the dignity of each person, justice and equality, and would need to provide a future for New Caledonia’s younger generations.

Macron’s letter ended with a handwritten paragraph which read: “I am confident in our ability to find together the path of respect, of shared ambition, of the future.”

‘Financial troubles’
Nicolas Metzdorf, a rightwing candidate for the 2024 snap general election, said he had contacted the President following this letter to tell him that it was “unsuitable given the situation in New Caledonia”.

New Caledonia’s local government Finance Minister Christopher Gygès said the territory was trying to get emergency money from France due to financial troubles.

One of the factors is believed to be the ongoing civil unrest that broke out on May 13, which prevented most of the public sector employees from being able to pay their social contributions.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police have used tear gas and stun grenades on rioters at an airport near Nouméa as the chaos in New Caledonia stretched into its sixth day.

Five people, including two police officers, have died and hundreds of people are injured amid clashes between authorities and pro-independence protesters.

They were sparked by anger at a proposed new law that would allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for more than 10 years to vote — which critics say will weaken the indigenous Kanak vote.

Last night, local media reported rioters on the field at Magenta Airport had thrown hammers and stones at police.

Officers responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

Police warned that if that was not enough to control the situation, the military was authorised to use lethal weapons.

Nouméa is under a nightly curfew, with anyone who violates it warned they could face six months in prison or a fine of up to 895,000 French Pacific francs (NZ$13,000).

A New Caledonia government crisis unit spokesperson said there was enough food in the country to last two months.

However, there was a restocking issue, with some roads impassable due to debris.

A 71-year-old woman who missed out on dialysis treatment this week due to the blockages has finally been transported to Nouméa by boat for treatment.

Meanwhile, cars have been set on fire at Dumbéa town hall. Mayor Yohann Lecourieux told the public television station NC La Première he was “worried about the future”.

Journalists attacked
La Première is strengthening security surrounding its journalists after an incident where a reporting team was attacked by about 20 hooded men.

A reporter said she and a camera operator were attacked yesterday morning near the centre of Nouméa.

The men ordered them to leave, then smashed the windows of their car, the reporter told AFP news agency.

They also snatched the camera operator’s camera from his hands and threatened him with a stone.

The journalists were not injured and were rescued by a passing motorist.

La Première news content director Olivier Gélin told AFP the station’s journalists would be accompanied by security agents until further notice.

“We will now take people to protect the teams during filming, in addition to the classic protections in this type of situation — helmets and bulletproof vests,” he said.

Meanwhile, Coralie Cochin said her husband, a reporter for AFP, was photographing the burnt ruins of a shop when a man started throwing rocks at him.

An intern who had been working with Cochin at the local media outlet, La Première, was also attacked yesterday.

She was also rescued by a passing motorist, but lost her belongings in the ordeal.

END FRENCH SETTLER COLONIALISM IN KANAKY, IN MELANESIA, IN PACIFICA !

WE’RE PEOPLE FROM PACIFICA! https://t.co/6rAyyHLycj

— Rsy (@rosymakalu) May 17, 2024

‘A complete war zone’
A resident of Portes de Fer, in the centre of Noumea, said it was terrifying to witness the chaos unfold.

Hari Simon told RNZ Pacific that businesses, houses, car companies and factories in the area had all been burnt.

It was “a very frightening scene punctuated by the sound of gunshots that broke the silence of the night,” he said.

There was “a threatening sense of danger looming in the air,” he said.

At night, people roamed the streets with guns, burning down buildings and exchanging fire with police officers.

However, since the arrival of the first batch of military police officers (gendarmes) on Wednesday, the situation had died down a little, he said.

Residents did not expect the violence to escalate so quickly and were caught off guard, he said.

“When we became fully aware of the gravity of the situation that Monday night and, more specifically in the early hours of Tuesday morning, road blocks had already been erected.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a revered Kanak visionary, was inspirational to indigenous Pacific political activists across Oceania, just like Tongan anthropologist and writer Epeli Hao’ofa was to cultural advocates.

Tragically, he was assassinated in 1989 by an opponent within the independence movement during the so-called “les événements” in New Caledonia, the last time the “French” Pacific territory was engulfed in a political upheaval such as experienced this week.

His memory and legacy as poet, cultural icon and peaceful political agitator live on with the impressive Tjibaou Cultural Centre on the outskirts of the capital Nouméa as a benchmark for how far New Caledonia had progressed in the last 35 years.

However, the wave of pro-independence protests that descended into urban rioting this week invoked more than Tjibaou’s memory. Many of the martyrs — such as schoolteacher turned security minister Elöi Machoro, murdered by French snipers during the upheaval of the 1980s — have been remembered and honoured for their exploits over the last few days with countless memes being shared on social media.

Among many memorable quotes by Tjibaou, this one comes to mind:

“White people consider that the Kanaks are part of the fauna, of the local fauna, of the primitive fauna. It’s a bit like rats, ants or mosquitoes,” he once said.

“Non-recognition and absence of cultural dialogue can only lead to suicide or revolt.”

And that is exactly what has come to pass this week in spite of all the warnings in recent years and months. A revolt.

Among the warnings were one by me in December 2021 after a failed third and “final” independence referendum. I wrote at the time about the French betrayal:

“After three decades of frustratingly slow progress but with a measure of quiet optimism over the decolonisation process unfolding under the Nouméa Accord, Kanaky New Caledonia is again poised on the edge of a precipice.”

As Paris once again reacts with a heavy-handed security crackdown, it appears to have not learned from history. It will never stifle the desire for independence by colonised peoples.

New Caledonia was annexed as a colony in 1853 and was a penal colony for convicts and political prisoners — mainly from Algeria — for much of the 19th century before gaining a degree of autonomy in 1946.

Here are my five takeaways from this week’s violence and mayhem:

1 Global failure of neocolonialism – Palestine, Kanaky and West Papua
Just as we have witnessed a massive outpouring of protest on global streets for justice, self-determination and freedom for the people of Palestine as they struggle for independence after 76 years of Israeli settler colonialism, and also Melanesian West Papuans fighting for 61 years against Indonesian settler colonialism, Kanak independence aspirations are back on the world stage.

Neocolonialism has failed. French President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to reverse the progress towards decolonisation over the past three decades has backfired in his face.

2 French deafness and loss of social capital
The predictions were already long there. Failure to listen to the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) leadership and to be prepared to be patient and negotiate towards a consensus has meant much of the crosscultural goodwill that been developed in the wake of the Nouméa Accord of 1998 has disappeared in a puff of smoke from the protest fires of the capital.

The immediate problem lies in the way the French government has railroaded the indigenous Kanak people who make up 42 percent pf the 270,000 population into a constitutional bill that “unfreezes” the electoral roll pegging voters to those living in New Caledonia at the time of the 1998 Nouméa Accord. Under the draft bill all those living in the territory for the past 10 years could vote.

This would add some 25,000 extra French voters in local elections, which would further marginalise Kanaks at a time when they hold the territorial presidency and a majority in the Congress in spite of their demographic disadvantage.

Under the Nouméa Accord, there was provision for three referendums on independence in 2018, 2020 and 2021. The first two recorded narrow (and reducing) votes against independence, but the third was effectively boycotted by Kanaks because they had suffered so severely in the 2021 delta covid pandemic and needed a year to mourn culturally.

The FLNKS and the groups called for a further referendum but the Macron administration and a court refused.

3 Devastating economic and social loss
New Caledonia was already struggling economically with the nickel mining industry in crisis – the territory is the world’s third-largest producer. And now four days of rioting and protesting have left a trail of devastation in their wake.

At least five people have died in the rioting — three Kanaks, and two French police, apparently as a result of a barracks accident. A state of emergency was declared for at least 12 days.

But as economists and officials consider the dire consequences of the unrest, it will take many years to recover. According to Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) president David Guyenne, between 80 and 90 percent of the grocery distribution network in Nouméa had been “wiped out”. The chamber estimated damage at about 200 million euros (NZ$350 million).

4. A new generation of youth leadership
As we have seen with Generation Z in the forefront of stunning pro-Palestinian protests across more than 50 universities in the United States (and in many other countries as well, notably France, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom), and a youthful generation of journalists in Gaza bearing witness to Israeli atrocities, youth has played a critical role in the Kanaky insurrection.

Australian peace studies professor Dr Nicole George notes that “the highly visible wealth disparities” in the territory “fuel resentment and the profound racial inequalities that deprive Kanak youths of opportunity and contribute to their alienation”.

A feature is the “unpredictability” of the current crisis compared with the 1980s “les événements”.

“In the 1980s, violent campaigns were coordinated by Kanak leaders . . . They were organised. They were controlled.

“In contrast, today it is the youth taking the lead and using violence because they feel they have no other choice. There is no coordination. They are acting through frustration and because they feel they have ‘no other means’ to be recognised.”

According to another academic, Dr Évelyne Barthou, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Pau, who researched Kanak youth in a field study last year: “Many young people see opportunities slipping away from them to people from mainland France.

“This is just one example of the neocolonial logic to which New Caledonia remains prone today.”

5. Policy rethink needed by Australia, New Zealand
Ironically, as the turbulence struck across New Caledonia this week, especially the white enclave of Nouméa, a whistlestop four-country New Zealand tour of Melanesia headed by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who also has the foreign affairs portfolio, was underway.

The first casualty of this tour was the scheduled visit to New Caledonia and photo ops demonstrating the limited diversity of the political entourage showed how out of depth New Zealand’s Pacific diplomacy had become with the current rightwing coalition government at the helm.

Heading home, Peters thanked the people and governments of Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tuvalu for “working with New Zealand towards a more secure, more prosperous and more resilient tomorrow”.

The delegation is now heading home ✈️

Many thanks to the people and governments of Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu & Tuvalu for their kind hospitality – and for working with New Zealand towards a more secure, more prosperous & more resilient tomorrow.

🇸🇧🇵🇬🇻🇺🇹🇻 🤝 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/ZciN70cNP6

— Winston Peters (@NewZealandMFA) May 16, 2024

His tweet came as New Caledonian officials and politicians were coming to terms with at least five deaths and the sheer scale of devastation in the capital which will rock New Caledonia for years to come.

News media in both Australia and New Zealand hardly covered themselves in glory either, with the commercial media either treating the crisis through the prism of threats to tourists and a superficial brush over the issues. Only the public media did a creditable job, New Zealand’s RNZ Pacific and Australia’s ABC Pacific and SBS.

In the case of New Zealand’s largest daily newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, it barely noticed the crisis. On Wednesday, morning there was not a word in the paper.

Thursday was not much better, with an “afterthought” report provided by a partnership with RNZ. As I reported it:

“Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest newspaper, the New Zealand Herald, finally catches up with the Pacific’s biggest news story after three days of crisis — the independence insurrection in #KanakyNewCaledonia.

“But unlike global news services such as Al Jazeera, which have featured it as headline news, the Herald tucked it at the bottom of page 2. Even then it wasn’t its own story, it was relying on a partnership report from RNZ.”

New Zealand Herald finally catches up with the Pacific’s biggest news story after 3 days of crisis #CafePacific #kanaky #newcaledonia #nzherald #media #insurrection #stateofemergency #franceinpacific @KanakySuport @cpcflnkspt @westpapuamedia @anaisduongp https://t.co/TZZ2JDE6nr pic.twitter.com/52bJDECU2g

— David Robie (@DavidRobie) May 16, 2024

Also, New Zealand media reports largely focused too heavily on the “frustrations and fears” of more than 200 tourists and residents said to be in the territory this week, and provided very slim coverage of the core issues of the upheaval.

With all the warning signs in the Pacific over recent years — a series of riots in New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu — Australia and New Zealand need to wake up to the yawning gap in social indicators between the affluent and the impoverished, and the worsening climate crisis.

These are the real issues of the Pacific, not some fantasy about AUKUS and a perceived China threat in an unconvincing arena called “Indo-Pacific”.

Dr David Robie covered “Les Événements” in New Caledonia in the 1980s and penned the book Blood on their Banner about the turmoil. He also covered the 2018 independence referendum.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai — who is also Chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group — has reaffirmed MSG’s support of the pro-independence umbrella group Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) stance opposing the French government’s constitutional bill “unfreezing” the New Caledonia Electoral Roll.

It is also opposed to the proposed changes to the citizens’ electorate and the changes to the distribution of seats in Congress, reports the Vanuatu Daily Post.

In a statement yesterday, he expressed “sadness” over the “unfortunate happenings that have befallen New Caledonia over the last few days”, referring to the riots sparked by protests over the French law changes.

Salwai expressed support for the FLNKS call for calm, and shared the FLNKS’s condemnation of the violence.

The MSG Chair said in the statement that the indiscriminate destruction of property would affect New Caledonia’s economy in a “very big way” and that would have a “debilitating cascading effect on the welfare and lives of all New Caledonians, including the Kanaks”.

Consistent with the support recorded during the MSG Senior Officials Meeting and the MSG Foreign Ministers Meeting in March this year, Salwai reaffirmed that the French government “must withdraw or annul the Constitutional Bill that has precipitated these regrettable events in New Caledonia”.

“These events could have been avoided if the French government had listened and not proceeded to press forward with the Constitutional Bill aimed at unfreezing the electoral roll, modifying the citizen’s electorate, and changing the distribution of seats in Congress,” the statement said.

“There is [a] need for the French government to return to the spirit of the Noumea Accord in its dealings relating to New Caledonia,” Salwai said.

The MSG Chair added that there was an urgent need now for France to agree to the proposal by the FLNKS to establish a dialogue and mediation mission to discuss a way forward so that normalcy could be restored quickly and an enduring peace could prevail in New Caledonia.

The statement was signed by Salwai and Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Matai Seremaiah.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Indonesia has stepped up its campaign of repression against West Papuans peacefully rallying for full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), says a Papuan advocacy leader.

Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), said a “massive military and police presence” greeted Papuans who had taken to the streets across West Papua calling for full membership.

In Sorong, seven people were arrested — not while raising the banned Morning Star flags of independence and shouting Merdeka (“freedom”), but for holding homemade placards supporting full membership, according to Wenda.

In Jayapura and Wamena, protesters were chased by security forces, beaten and dragged away into police cars, Wenda said in a statement.

During a protest in Dogiyai, 20-year-old Yosia Keiya was alleged to have been summarily executed by Indonesian police on July 13 while he was peacefully sitting on the roadside.

“Eyewitnesses reported seeing two police cars arrive in the vicinity and shoot Keiya without provocation,” Wenda said in the statement.

“This crackdown follows the mass arrest of KNPB (West Papua National Committee) activists handing out leaflets supporting full MSG membership on July 12.

‘Ocean of violence’
“But Keiya and those arrested are only the latest victims of Indonesia’s murderous occupation — single drops in an ocean of violence West Papuans have suffered since we rose up against colonial rule in 2019.”

Papuan people throughout the territory of West Papua have held huge demonstrations of support for full membership of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) pic.twitter.com/tUqpQ7Fv5j

— Benny Wenda (@BennyWenda) July 26, 2023

Both Indonesia and the ULMWP are members of the MSG – the former as an associate and the ULMWP as an observer.

The full members are Fiji, FLNKS (New Caledonia’s Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

“Melanesian leaders must ask themselves: is this how one group member treats another? Is this how a friend to Melanesia treats Melanesians?” asked Wenda.

“The fact that they brought an Indonesian flag to the Melanesian Arts Festival in Port Vila, only shortly after their soldiers shot Keiya dead, is an insult.

“They’re dancing on top of our graves.”

Wenda said West Papua was entitled to campaign for full membership by virtue of Melanesian ethnicity, culture, and linguistic traditions.

“In all these respects, West Papua is undeniably Melanesian — not Indonesian,” he said.

14/7/23 Dogiyai, West Papua

Two more people, Fredi Pekei and Stefanus Pigome, were shot dead by Indonesian forces in the aftermath last night.

More troops arrived at the local airport this morning. https://t.co/F8F4NXGhF6 pic.twitter.com/OJOUO55aqO

— Veronica Koman 許愛茜 (@VeronicaKoman) July 14, 2023

“While Indonesia won its independence in 1945, we celebrated our own independence on December 1, 1961. Our separateness was even acknowledged by Indonesia’s first Vice-President Mohammed Hatta, who argued for West Papuan self-determination on this basis.

“More than anything, this crackdown shows how much West Papua needs full membership of the MSG.

“Right now, we are defenseless in the face of such brutal violations; only as a full member will we be able to represent ourselves and expose Indonesia’s crimes.

“West Papuans are telling the world they want full membership. By coming out onto the streets with their faces painted in the colours of all the Melanesian flags, they are saying, ‘ We want to return home to our Melanesian brothers and sisters, we want to be safe.’ It is time for Melanesian leaders to listen.”

The MACFEST 2023 — the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival — ends in Port Vila today.

The MSG meeting to decide on full membership is due to be held soon although the dates have not yet been officially set.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea lawbreakers who disrupt public order and ruin other people’s festive season will be arrested, charged and be placed in police cells across the country, says Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr.

As the festive weekend commences this Friday, provincial police commands across the country are already implementing their operations.

Supported by the police hierarchy and now backed by the Internal Security Ministry, the zero tolerance for lawbreakers during the festive season will see an immediate lock up of all men and women who disrupt the festive season for others.

Police Commissioner David Manning said he had issued a directive for all provincial police commanders to “not show leniency to those who wish to be involved in disruptive behaviour”.

“Public safety measures will be in place to ensure everyone enjoys this festive period without any issues,” he said.

“Offenders will go direct to Bomana from Port Moresby, or the nearest lockup in Lae, Kimbe, Hagen and Goroka and every other part of the country for whatever time it takes for them to make bail.

Christmas is a time for embracing our faith and spending enjoyable time with family and friends,” Minister Tsiamalili said.

‘We are Christian’
“We are a Christian nation, with Christian values, and anyone who disturbs our peace at this very important time of the year is showing great disrespect to our country.

“Our people should not have to put up with people who are full of drink and bad attitude.

“So I issue a very clear warning to people who loiter in public places with intent to steal or fight, or who think they can drink and get behind the wheel of a car.

“Police are on high alert and they will catch lawbreakers and lock them up for their actions.”

In Morobe, acting provincial police commander Superintendent John Daviaga said that police would ensure all drunkards and those who disturbed the peace would be locked up until they either sobered up, or if they were arrested and charged they would pay bail.

In the National Capital District (NCD), police operational orders will also see intoxicated people “dealt with”.

Both commands said that due to the limited police cell space it will be the prerogative of the police commands to decide on how they will deal with people caught drinking and driving, fighting, disturbing the peace and ruining the festivity for others.

NCD Metropolitan Commander Silva Sika said: “Police operations will be done with the support of all those within the command.”

Manus build-up
In Manus, 40 police personnel are on the ground to carry out the Christmas operations. They will have assistance from the Correctional Service and 10 mobile squad personnel who will be flown into the province.

Manus police commander Chief inspector Kiweri Kesambi said that the team’s focus would be on people consuming marijuana and homebrew.

According to PPC Kesambi, operations would cover mainly Lorengau which was the central location for everyone coming in and going out to the villages, areas in the highway and the coastline.

The minister said the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) crackdown on violent crimes over recent months was continuing into 2023, with police on high alert during the Christmas and New Year period when there was often an upsurge in violence and other criminal activities

“Consistent with government policy, Commissioner Manning has issued orders through his chain of command that police will not be showing leniency to people involved in disruptive behaviour,” the minister said after being briefed by the commissioner on the RPNGC’s intent to strengthen public safety measures during the holiday period.

“I have every confidence in the leadership of the RPNGC, and police will use every legal means and the appropriate use of force to take disruptive people off the street.

‘Carrying weapons’
“This includes people who get into fights and confrontations, carry weapons of any kind, or are drunk in public, and particularly anyone who commits violence against women.”

He further thanked the personnel from the RPNGC and Correctional Service for their dedication to their jobs at what could be a stressful time of the year for all who worked in the law and order.

“Our men and women in uniform do an outstanding job,” he said.

“They place their lives on the line for our communities and our nation, and I thank them for their service.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Justice and peace advocates in New Zealand have strongly criticised Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s “horrific crackdown” on community leaders, activists, and educators.

They have condemned in a statement published in Manila yesterday the arrest last September of Filipina educator and poet Lorena Sigua on a “trumped-up murder charge”.

The advocates of the Auckland Philippiness Solidarity (APS) say Sigua, who is also a community activist, had recently returned from a visit to New Zealand and was not in Mindanao at the time of the alleged killing of Filipino soldiers on 22 April 2018.

The campaigners say the crackdown is “reminiscent of [Duterte’s] infamous war on drugs“.

Writing in a letter to the editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, Helen Te Hira of APS, said: “It is outrageous that thousands have been unjustly arrested and brutally killed under Duterte’s drug war and war against community activists.

“Meanwhile those who are rich and close to power such as Kerwin Espinosa, a self-confessed drug dealer, will soon be free after the court dismissed drug trafficking charges against him.

“New Zealand indigenous rights advocates and community leaders were shocked to hear of the arrest of Lorena Sigua, a Filipino educator, poet, and community advocate on a trumped-up murder charge.

“Lorena was arrested on September 19, 2021, in Bulacan, Northern Luzon, and charged with murder for allegedly taking part in an attack by the New People’s Army [NPA] on members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] on April 22, 2018, in Agusan del Sur, Mindanao.

Not in Mindanao
“But in fact, she was not in Mindanao at this time. Lorena returned to Manila after arriving back from New Zealand on April 6, 2018, and on the day of the alleged murder she was attending the indigenous festival “Cordillera Day” in Baguio, 1413 kilometers from Agusan.”

In 2018, Sigua took part in a speaking tour in Aotearoa New Zealand to discuss the situation of indigenous Lumad schools in Mindanao, Philippines.

Sigua spoke out strongly to New Zealand audiences in defence of the Lumad schools during her visit.

She met members of Parliament, representatives from the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), human rights advocates, members of the local Filipino community, Māori leaders, and students and staff at kohanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori and tertiary wānanga.

Te Hira wrote that kohanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori students and staff “enjoyed a rich dialogue with Lorena and the delegation as they exchanged experiences around the strategies that Māori and indigenous communities have adopted to build a national movement for language and cultural revitalisation”.

“We were particularly disturbed to learn of the routine harassment and state violence that our Lumad counterparts face for attempting to educate children in indigenous ways,” she said.

Te Hira described Sigua as a volunteer with the Education Development Institute in developing curriculum, books, and resources for Lumad schools in Mindanao.

Sigua was also a volunteer for students at the Lumad Bakwit School at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, a school set up for young people forced to leave their ancestral lands due to militarisation and human rights violations.

“Lorena’s bravery and commitment to quality education for indigenous communities resonate with the struggles of our people in the kura kaupapa movement,” Te Hira wrote.

“We call for immediate freedom for Lorena and all political prisoners who have been slapped with trumped-up charges.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

More than a week after four Indonesian soldiers were killed by pro-independence fighters in an attack on a military post in Kisor village, South Aifat sub-district, Maybrat district, West Papua, police have arrested two suspects and launched a manhunt for 17 others.

Also, a joint team of personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI) has continued to crack down on Papuan rebels operating in the area.

The XVIII/Kasuari Regional Military Command’s spokesperson, Colonel Hendra Pesireron, said that TNI soldiers had “secured” several villages.

The troops’ presence in villages had “restored the security situation” in Maybrat district, and guaranteed public safety, he claimed in a statement.

On 5 September 2021, TNI personnel engaged in a gunfight with several members of a pro-independence group in the neighborhood areas of East Aifat sub-district.

The rebels retreated into a thick forest to escape, Colonel Pesireron said.

Before the gunfight, the rebels destroyed a bridge, he said.

Kisor military post attacked
On Thursday, pro-independence rebels had ambushed several soldiers while they were sleeping at the Kisor military post.

Four soldiers—2nd Sergeant Amrosius, Chief Private Dirham, First Private Zul Ansari, and First Lieutenant Dirman—died in the attack, while two others suffered serious wounds.

The bodies of three soldiers had been found at the post, while the body of another soldier had been discovered in bush not far from the post.

Several local residents had fled their homes fearing for their safety.

On Friday, Indonesian police investigators named 19 alleged suspects in connection with the attack on the military post.

Rahmad Nasution is a journalist for the Indonesian news agency Antara.

(2/2) pic.twitter.com/FaUhbkRA8S

— Veronica Koman 許愛茜 (@VeronicaKoman) September 7, 2021

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A 15-year-old Papua New Guinean girl, found in a Port Moresby guesthouse during a spot check by immigration and police officers yesterday, says she was sold without her knowledge by her cousin sister for K100 to two men for sex.

Officers of the Immigration and Citizenship Authority (ICA) and police arrived at the guesthouse for a spot check just when the two men were trying to find a room for them and the girl.

The guesthouse at 5-Mile was next on the officers’ list as they crack down on illegal activities by businessmen and foreigners who have become naturalised citizens.

They found the girl among about 20 men and women inside.

They realised that the business was providing other services than accommodation.

The girl, when questioned by the officials, broke down, saying she had been forced to follow the two men by her cousin sister.

“My cousin asked my mother for me to spend a night with her.

‘My mother allowed me‘
“My mother allowed me to spend a night,” she said.

“But [yesterday morning], my cousin said she wanted us to go to the second-hand shop.

“She took me out of the house at 4-Mile and took me to Gordon.

“We met a guy from Popondetta who my cousin said was a friend of hers, and a man from Southern Highlands.

“My cousin told me to keep her friends company while she went to look for betel nut.

“However, she didn’t return.

“And with no bus fare, I was forced to follow the two men.

Paid money to cousin
“They both told me they had paid some money to my cousin.”

The officers found out that the cousin had sold her to the two men for K100 (NZ$40) for an hour of sex.

The two men, released with others in the guesthouse, were tracked down at Vision City, where officers found them with the cousin sister.

They had used the girl to find out where the three were after they had left the guesthouse.

The three were surprised when they were surrounded by ICA and police officers.

They were taken to the ICA office in Waigani where they were interviewed.

The girl’s 20-year-old cousin admitted to the officers that the man from Popondetta was her brother-in-law.

Police detain trio
Last night, the three were detained at 6-Mile police station for further interrogation today.

Police plan to charge the two men with “obtaining the services of child prostitution”.

The 20-year-old cousin will likely face a charge of “officering, facilitating and receiving benefits from child prostitution”.

It is understood that the girl was taken back to her relatives.

ICA officers and police began their spot checks last weekend arresting people — especially foreigners they believe have been involved in illegal activities.

Some are also being investigated for breaching their visa conditions.

Miriam Zarriga is a reporter for The National. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Apple Daily has announced its imminent closure in a dark day for Hong Kong’s press freedom and democracy, sparking condemnation by global media freedom watchdogs.

The Australian-based Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom, Reporters Without Borders in Paris and the Committee to Protect Journalists were among the watchdogs that issued statements criticised the crackdown by authorities that has forced Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy daily to close.

Founded by Jimmy Lai, who is currently jailed on a series of charges including unlawful assembly, fraud and “colluding with foreign forces”, Apple Daily has been a longstanding and well-read publisher for 26 years.

This closure comes days after more than 100 police raided their offices, arrested five Apple Daily executives and froze their assets on Monday. Another columnist was arrested yesterday afternoon.

These incidents occurred under a new National Security Law, which critics say restricts the territory’s autonomy and undermines the human rights of its citizens.

Peter Greste, spokesperson and director of the AJF said:

“Since the national security law was introduced, we’ve seen: the arrest and ongoing detention of Jimmy Lai as he awaits trial; the freezing of a news publisher’s assets so they can no longer pay their staff; the mass-raid of the publisher’s offices – in numbers fit for terrorists – and the arrest of five executives; and the arrest of a columnist during a company board meeting only days later.

‘This is not normal’
“This is not normal. This is not democracy,” said Dr Greste, who is also the UNESCO chair in journalism at the University of Queensland, Brisbane.

“Press freedom and democracy cannot function when journalism in the public interest is restricted or denied. Apple Daily was a vocal critic of the government, but that should not be a crime.

“They were a legitimate news outlet. If a publisher like Apple Daily cannot exist in Hong Kong anymore, it is hard to see what remains of their democracy.

“The AJF implores Hong Kong to re-commit to the democratic principle of press freedom, release the Apple Daily journalists and employees now in custody, and unfreeze the company’s assets so they can continue to report freely.”

In Paris, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deplored the “suffocation” of independent media following the announcement by the parent Next Digital media group’s board of directors yesterday that Apple Daily would cease all its operations from Sunday, June 27, due to the government’s decision to freeze its financial assets, leaving the media outlet unable to pay their employees and suppliers.

On Tuesday, June 22, RSF submitted an urgent appeal to the United Nations, asking the organisation to “take all necessary measures” to safeguard press freedom in Hong Kong.

“The tearing down of Apple Daily, one of the last major Chinese-language media critical of the Beijing regime, after years of harassment, is sending a chilling message to Hong Kong journalists,” said Cédric Alviani, RSF East Asia bureau head.

Erasing press freedom
“If the international community does not respond with the utmost determination, President Xi Jinping will know that he can erase press freedom in Hong Kong with complete impunity, as he has already done in the rest of China.”

In New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists also denounced the Chinese government’s “outrageous efforts to stomp out critical voices in Hong Kong”.

Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator, said: “Even under colonial rule, the people of Hong Kong enjoyed robust freedom of expression. China has managed to snuff that out, in stark violation of firm commitments it made to the people of Hong Kong during the handover from British rule in 1997.”

Apple Daily, launched in 1995, was one of the last major Chinese-language media to still dare publish information contradicting the Beijing regime’s propaganda and editorials critical of its authoritarian policies, and for many years it was the target of harassment by government and pro-Beijing camps.

On the 17 June 2021, approximately 500 police officers raided its headquarters and five executive staff members were arrested on suspicion of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces”, a crime that bears a life sentence under the National Security Law imposed last year by the Chinese regime.

Apple Daily founder and 2020 RSF Press Freedom Awards laureate, Jimmy Lai, detained since December 2020, was recently sentenced to a total of 20 months in prison for taking part in three “unauthorised” pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019 and also faces six other procedures, including two charges for which he risks life imprisonment.

On the May 28, RSF submitted another urgent appeal asking the UN to “take all measures necessary’ to obtain his immediate release.

Hong Kong, once a bastion of press freedom, has fallen from 18th place in 2002 to 80th place in the 2021 RSF World Press Freedom Index.

The People’s Republic of China, for its part, has stagnated at 177th out of 180.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As the New Zealand government confirmed it would apologise for the 1970s Dawn Raids against Pacific Islanders, memories have surfaced for those traumatised by them, including one elderly man.

The politically-driven crackdown on overstayers from the Pacific Islands involved special police squads raiding homes and workplaces, often in the early morning.

Savelio Ikani Pailate, 93, remembered being chased by dogs in the middle of the night.

He said they had to run to away to Manurewa, to places “where there were no houses”, with some being injured because they fled in bare feet.

Pailate’s case was before the court at the end he was allowed to work, but the police ignored it and deported him anyway.

He dreamt of buying his family a home and getting his children educated

He achieved that after returning to New Zealand and working until age 82, refusing to listen to the many voices against him.

The crackdown on Pacific overstayers. Video: TVNZ News

Racially profiled
Racially profiled and picked up randomly by police, workplaces were raided and homes stormed.

“They’d call it the Dawn Raids but they actually raided just after midnight cause our families would be up and gone before dawn because that’s what they did, they worked at the crack of dawn,” Pakilau Manase Lua of the Pacific Leadership Forum said.

Pacific People’s Minister ‘Aupito William Sio wiped away tears as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed she would apologise for the Dawn Raids next week.

‘Aupito described what the apology would mean, and the significance of restoring mana for the victims of the raids.

The Pacific People’s Minister, whose family moved to New Zealand in 1969 from Samoa, spoke of being raided, having “memories about my father being helpless”.

“We bought the home about two years prior. To have someone knocking at the door at the early hours with a flashlight in your face, disrespecting the owner of the home, with an Alsatian dog frothing at the mouth wanting to come in without any respect for the people living there.”

‘Aupito described it as “quite traumatising”.

“The apology is about helping people heal. People who have been traumatised.”

Ardern and the government will formally apologise for the 1970s Dawn Raids that targeted the Pacific community on June 26 in the Auckland Town Hall.

This article is republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A joint unit of Indonesian military and police have broken up a West Papuan rally against the extension of special autonomy and at least 140 demonstrators were arrested – but later released.

The detainees were taken to the West Papua regional police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) command headquarters after the rally by the Papuan People’s Solidarity (SRP) was disbanded on Tuesday.

Action coordinator Arnold Halitopo said that the arrests took place about 7.15 am when the demonstrators were forced into police tactical vehicles under tight security.

“Our action was held at five points in Manokwari, first in front of the University of Papua campus, second at the AMD Amban, third at Reremi Puncak, fourth at Fanindi and fifth at the Wosi traffic light intersection,” he said.

“This is our second demonstration to deliver our demands to the West Papua People’s Council (MRPB). The protest was broken up by police.

“Hundreds of fully armed soldiers and police were closely guarding all points. One hundred and forty six of us were taken to the Mako Brimob. [We were] held there all day then released at 5 pm,” he told Suara Papua newspaper.

The demands of the follow up action, said Halitopo, were expressing their opposition to special autonomy (Otsus) and for the right to self-determination to be given to the Papuan nation.

Several people injured
Halitopo said that several people were reportedly injured when police forced them into the vehicles.

“Comrades were injured when getting into the vehicles. Several people had bruised faces because of the police violence,” he said.

Halitopo also claimed that when they arrived at the Mako Brimob, the police asked the demonstrators for their fingerprints.

“I asked, ‘why must we get our fingerprints taken?’ What we were doing is in accordance with the prevailing regulations on demonstrations.

“But we were asked for our identities, full name, parents and employment. I don’t know what for,” said Halitopo.

According to Halitopo, the action was a follow up to an earlier protest on Friday, May 21. They already had a permit for the demonstration and calls for a peaceful action had been circulated.

But Halitopo said he was surprised that the police had blocked them from protesting for reasons which were unclear. It was said that they did not comply with covid-19 health protocols.

Police intimidation
Runi Seleng, one of the speakers at the action, said that after being transported to the Mako Brimob they were intimidated by police.

“We were intimidated, including being interrogated about the field coordinator and who was responsible for the action, then they asked us to testify about Papuan activists who were said to be the key actors.

“But we said that it was purely an action by the Papuan People’s Solidarity who are aware that Otsus has failed”, explained Seleng.

After negotiations with police, four MRPB members met with the detained demonstrators. They wanted to hear their demands at the Mako Brimob, but the protesters insisted that it must be at the MRPB offices in accordance with an agreement with the MRPB speaker and demonstrators on Friday (May 21).

“In addition to this, the protesters were determined to hold a follow up demonstration.

“The people’s aspirations have not yet been received [by the MRPB]. Despite being intimidated and terrorised, we will come back again until our aspirations are heard,” said Seleng.

Following the arrest a number of sympathisers occupied the MRPB offices until late afternoon asking the MRPB to immediately secure the detainees’ release. At 5.30 pm, the MRPB confirmed that they had been released and had returned home.

Speaking separately, Manokwari regional police chief Assistant Superintendent Dadang Kurniawan confirmed that a group of people holding a demonstration without following covid-19 health protocols had been arrested and later released.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Ratusan Pendemo di Manokwari Ditahan 10 Jam di Markas Brimob”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific churches have condemned the media blackout in West Papua, military crackdown in parts of the territory and the silencing of dissenting voices.

They have also criticised the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) for “allowing Indonesia into their fold”.

In a statement, the Suva-based Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) said it had noted with deepening concern the humanitarian conflict in West Papua and the continued abuse of human rights perpetrated by the Indonesian security forces.

“This situation has been worsened in particular by the silencing of dissenting voices through increased military presence and suspension of electronic communication,” it said.

“Since 2018 with helicopter gunship attacks on the people of Nduga and followed by human rights abuse of Papuans in Intan Jaya Regency in 2019 and Tembagapura in 2020, Indonesia has increased its persecution of the indigenous people.”

Most recently, security forces had burned homes in Puncak, “forcing an exodus of people under the guise of fighting against terrorism”.

The council’s statement said that “terrorism” was “likely an excuse” to clear land for the “economic gain of the Indonesian elite in Jakarta and Jayapura” in the continued “cultural genocide” through displacement of Papuans.

Indonesia ‘should be ashamed’
“As a member of the United Nations Security Council, Indonesia should be ashamed of its actions and held to account,” said the churches.

“Equally culpable in these events of genocide and human rights abuse are the members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group who have allowed Indonesia into their fold.”

The PCC stood with the West Papua Council of Churches to again to call upon President Joko Widodo to order an end to human rights abuse an enter into dialogue with representatives of the Papuan people.

“We call on the MSG to accept the nomination of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua and use its offices to begin a process of dialogue and reconciliation,” said the statement.

“The churches do not condone the killing of Indonesian security forces or Papuans.

“We recognise that without free and open discussions, this conflict of more than 60 years will not end.

“Today [May 20] as we mark the 19th anniversary of East Timor’s acceptance into the United Nations family, we appeal to the United Nations to treat the matter of West Papua with extreme urgency.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As the military junta in Myanmar continues its brutal attempt to subdue nationwide protests following February’s coup, New Zealand-based Myanmar students are keeping in contact with family and colleagues back home.

It is a scary period, with internet services cut for many hours every day, and people disappearing from their homes without explanation.

In Myanmar’s major cities of Yangon and Mandalay, students have been in the front line of pitched street battles with the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) units who have been responsible for around 500 deaths since they deposed the elected government on the morning it was due to begin its second term.

The Tatmadaw have always regarded universities as hotbeds of organised resistance , and university authorities in Myanmar estimate roughly a third of those arrested over the past two months have been students, teachers, or academic staff.

Myanmar’s students have fought the army on the streets many times before, including protests against a military government in 1962, and the vicious conflict in 1988.

In the 1980s, the Tatmadaw employed the same tactics we are seeing again play out – hundreds of civilians killed, and protest leaders imprisoned.

Back then the army moved directly against the universities, stripping them of autonomy and moving campuses to the outskirts of major towns .

Higher education unavailable
Many were simply closed altogether and for many years higher education was unavailable in Myanmar.

The country’s immediate future is opaque, but students in New Zealand and Myanmar are determined they will not be heading back to the dark days of the early 1990s.

Zet is a student currently in Mandalay, having completed studies at Victoria University last year, and he is terrified at the way the army is operating.

“There’s been fatalities across the city,” he says, the last few days the military have been on holiday so its been quiet, but the army is like a gang now .. it’s a real struggle between the people and the Tatmadaw.”

“Both sides are standing firm, but the Tatmadaw won’t give up, that’s their history , they don’t give up”…

“The public mood though is very strong, stronger than in the past .. and getting stronger.”

Back in Wellington, Zet’s student colleagues from the Myanmar Students Association are keen to keep up with what is happening on the streets with the protest movement.

Concerned about families
But they are also extremely concerned about their families.

Jacqueline Swe says her family is away from any major protest area, but like everybody they are living with the constant fear the army can simply enter their homes and take anything they want.

“It’s a bit terrifying, and its crazy too, we now have the army attacking the people instead of protecting them.”

“We have no line of defence anymore, and we can’t depend on the police and that’s scary.”

“It’s just a big mess now.”

Wayne is from Yangon , and says he has been hearing about the dire conditions in some parts of the city.

“I’m hearing from my mother that the soldiers are chasing kids into strangers homes, they are looking at people’s cellphones on the street to see what social media accounts you control and what’s on there.

New posts deleted
“So my mother, whenever she goes out she has to delete any new posts she doesn’t want the army seeing.”

Students in New Zealand are doing what they can to support those on the barricades, and while the junta continues its old-school attempts to root out protest organisers they face a uphill battle against a generation of young people who lived and breathed democracy in Myanmar between 2011 and 2020.

Digital access to a globalised world has exposed Myanmar’s students to updated forms of protest organisation and activism using social media.

While the Tatmadaw may use the 1980s playbook to shut the universities, they may find it harder to erase the foundations of democratic politics which have taken root in Myanmar.

With most major figures in the country’s NLD government now under house arrest, a new grouping, the CPRH, has emerged.

Myanmar’s parallel civilian government, the CPRH or Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw was formed by legislators who were removed following the coup. Its spokesperson is Mahn Win Khaing Than, former speaker of the house.

In Wellington, Myanmar-born student Peter is among those suggesting the CPRH must be viewed as the country’s legitimate government.

‘Do not recgnise the junta’
“The most important thing New Zealand could do would be to recognise the CPRH as the legitimate government of Myanmar – and not the junta,” says Peter. 

”I know New Zealand has said they won’t work with the junta and I know there are sanctions in place but personally I don’t believe [the sanctions] work in Myanmar.

“I think the primary focus for the [New Zealand] government should be recognising the CPRH.

“ASEAN also plays a role,” says Peter, but South East Asian nations has power in its trade with Myanmar … “those countries need to put more pressure on Myanmar through trade.”

For student Zet in Mandalay, pressure from the outside world still seems to be having a minimal impact on the generals.

“I think it’s quite obvious the Tatamadaw has been relying on China and Russia, partly India as well ..”but international pressure won’t really impact [on] the Tatmadaw I think , unless China would somehow change the game.”

“China is the key to the Tatmadaw, only China can change their behavior.”

What actual change?
But what might be the actual change China could force on the junta, apart from convincing the generals to stop killing their own people? … and can Myanmar move back to some sort of democratic model after all the violence?

Peter is among those who see a future role for the NLD, even if it has been accused of not listening to its voters.

“I know the National League for Democracy can have a role in future if they are more inclusive, if they allow more ethnic groups to have a voice,” he says.

Others, like Zet, feel a change might involve a future move to a federal system, where Myanmar’s states run themselves to a large extent, watched over by a central government in Naypyidaw.

Inside Myanmar, student leaders suggest a major nationwide revolt is a possibility, led first by ethnic armies from Myanmar’s restive provinces, and joined by the protesters and other anti-military groups.

NZ-based members of the Myanmar Students Association, exhibit a quiet determination to prevent their country sliding back into a military-induced coma.

“In NZ mostly it’s the older generation that know about this,” says one. “The younger Kiwis need to know more about this.“

Graeme Acton joined the Asia Media Centre as manager in February 2020, moving from the position of foreign news editor with RNZ in Wellington. His experience in media stretches back to the 1980s, and he has held a series of senior editorial positions with RNZ, as chief reporter, Morning Report deputy editor, and regional editor. The article is republished under a Creative Commons licence.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz