Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

The documentary Loimata, The Sweetest Tears has won the Grand Prix du Jury at Tahiti’s FIFO (Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien).

Produced and written by senior lecturer in communication studies Jim Marbrook at Auckland University of Technology and his sister Anna Marbrook (who directed the film), it debuted at Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival 2020, where it received outstanding reviews and box office sell-outs.

The documentary also made the stuff.co.nz top 10 films of 2020 list. AUT students formed part of the crew for some of the Auckland portions of the shoot.

At the prizegiving ceremony, jury member Julia Overton, a leading figure in Australian film and television, described Loimata as “a film that was really well directed . . . on an
important subject: childhood trauma”.

She added: “Our congratulations to the whole team who presented this family’s story with so much compassion.”

Jury member Doc Edge director Alex Lee said: “The film’s narrative is superbly told, giving us a personal connection with the subject, Ema. We are taken into her world where she confronts issues of culture, family, the tradition of wayfaring, sexual abuse, identity, life and death.

“While her mortality is urgent and pressing, the film enables us to pause and reflect as Ema navigates these issue. This is an excellent example of skilled filmmaking and a feature-length theatrical Pasifika documentary which the world needs to view, indicative of the treasure trove of content of our region rarely seen and funded internationally.”

Healing pathway
Director/producer Anna Marbrook said: “We are so thrilled and honoured to be among such an amazing selection of films in competition. This award is a tribute to the protagonist of the film Lilo Ema Siope and her dedication in forging a healing pathway for her extraordinary family – a pathway deeply rooted in her culture, history and philosophy.

“Tahiti is hugely significant in voyaging kaupapa so to win an award there dignifies both our film and Ema’s legacy as a voyaging captain and waka builder.”

Producer Jim Marbrook said: “This is another vital stepping stone that helps us take our film out into the world and also deeper into the Pacific region. We set out to make a documentary that was both cinematic and intimate and the reactions to the screenings and this prize have vindicated our creative choices.

“It was a complex movie to produce because the material was so sensitive.”

Loimata had its television debut on Waitangi Day on Māori Television and is available to watch on their on demand website for the next two months.

Loimata, The Sweetest Tears takes the viewer on an emotional healing journey with extraordinary ocean-going waka captain, Lilo Ema Siope.

The film is an intimate exploration of a family shattered by shame working courageously to liberate themselves from the shackles of the past. A journey of courage, tears, laughter and above all, unconditional love.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Zealand has reported no new cases of covid-19 coronavirus today, but the death toll has risen to 22 to include a woman who died after recovering from the disease.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said there were only eight active cases in the country and there was still nobody receiving hospital care for the coronavirus.

The eight active cases include five in Waitematā, two in Auckland, and one in Counties Manukau District health boards.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates – US deaths top 100,000

Dr Bloomfield said the death toll now included Eileen Hunter, a resident of St Margaret’s rest home who died on Sunday and whose family believed had died of Covid-19, despite her having been considered recovered.

He said Hunter had Covid-19 in mid-April who was sent to North Shore Hospital for care. Once recovered, with two negative test results, she returned to the rest home.

“It’s important to note that Eileen was regarded to having recovered from Covid-19 at the time of her death, and Covid-19 is not recorded as the primary cause of her death on her death certificate.

“However, after consideration, we have decided to include Eileen’s death in our overall tally of covid-19-related deaths, consistent with our inclusive approach to date, so we have a good idea of the full impact of this condition on our health and well-being in New Zealand.”

Long coronvirus tail
The announcement of a further death from an earlier infection today showed the coronavirus had a long tail, he said.

The latest covid-19 media briefing today. Video: RNZ

“It shows just how long the impact of this disease can be there, and we have also seen that some people are testing positively quite a long way after they might have been originally infected.”

He said there were 4255 tests carried out yesterday and there had been 271,690 tests in total processed in New Zealand.

Dr Bloomfield said a second wave was still a possibility in New Zealand for “a number of months”, and the WHO had reminded countries to be cautious about relaxing restrictions.

“So we need to continue the hard work we’ve all put in to ensure we continue to maintain our zero cases, our ongoing downward trajectory, and that we don’t allow a second peak to occur.

“So heading into the coming long weekend, stay safe and well.”

Eradication of the coronavirus has to be a global effort, Dr Bloomfield said.

“It’s very hard for New Zealand to say we’re on a pathway to eradicate a virus that clearly is still incredibly prevalent and growing in prevalence offshore.

“We are very interested in opening up our borders more and more and in that case, elimination remains the strategy, because it’s going to be a prolonged effort.”

• This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.
• If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP – don’t show up at a medical centre.
• Follow RNZ’s coronavirus newsfeed

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Hortencio Sanchez in Dili

Foreign Minister Dionísio Babo Soares has confirmed that an expatriate Timorese woman living in Northern Ireland has become Timor-Leste’s first death from covid-19.

The minister said yesterday 58-year-old Luciana Viviana da Silva had died on Sunday night due to “complications from pneumonia”.

Ambassador Gil da Costa in the United Kingdom confirmed the Dili-born woman had been living in Dungannon, west of the provincial capital Belfast. Silva, better known as Anoy Soriano, was working for a nearby food manufacturer.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates – WHO warns 190,000 could die in Africa

Ambassador Costa has conveyed the country’s “profound condolences” to the woman’s family.

A death notice posted in the local media confirmed Silva was laid to rest in a private funeral on Tuesday, “in line with government guidelines” for victims of covid-19.

Her death is described as sudden and “deeply regretted” by family and friends.

“Your smile could brighten everyone’s day, no matter what they were going through, and everyday for the rest of our life. We will be missing you,” the notice read.

Northern Ireland has been disproportionately affected by the virus, with almost 4000 cases and 404 deaths in a population of just 1.8 million.

The United Kingdom, with 30,150 deaths, is the second-worst hit country after the United States.

Within Timor-Leste, 24 people are confirmed to have contracted the virus – however, all but three have since recovered, and there have been no reported deaths.

Read the original Tetum news story here: “Timoroan Na’in Ida Mate Iha Irlanda Norte Deskonfia Sofre COVID-19”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific’s Melanesian affairs correspondent

A West Papuan church leader has been “invited” by Indonesian police to “clarify” an article he wrote about a shooting incident in which a New Zealander was killed.

The shooting attack, which occurred at the offices of mining giant Freeport in Papua’s Mimika regency on March 30, resulted in the death of Graeme Wall and injuries to several other employees.

A faction of the West Papua Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack, as part of the pro-independence guerilla force’s ongoing campaign to target Freeport’s local operations.

READ MORE: Jailing of Jakarta Six fuels virus fears over Papuan political prisoners

However, the president of the Alliance of West Papuan Baptist Churches, Reverend Socratez Yoman, wrote an article a month ago, published by Majalah Wekonews, which suggested the Indonesian military could have engineered the attack to help its security agenda in the area.

He also said police and military were trying to discredit the Papuan independence movement.

Papua’s Police Chief Paulus Waterpauw said Reverend Yoman was invited to clarify his statement, which he claimed had implicated police in the shooting attack.

General Waterpauw said that if the church leader didn’t clarify or apologise for the accusation, he may be liable for spreading fake news.

‘Fake news’ imprisonment
Under Indonesia’s criminal code, people can be imprisoned for to six years for publishing or broadcasting “fake news or hoaxes resulting in a riot or disturbance”.

Reverend Yoman said he was served with a letter by police summoning him for a meeting at police headquarters in Jayapura. His lawyer, Aloysius Renwarin, attended the meeting last week on his behalf.

The church leader said Renwarin relayed a request from police for another meeting with him in person, adding that General Waterpauw also told him via text message that his statement was “tendentious”.

Reverend Yoman based his article on a history of attacks in the region around Freeport where Indonesian military and police forces vied for lucrative security contracts.

Indonesian military forces in Mimika regency have been contending with a recent surge in attacks on their personnel by the Liberation Army whose guerilla fighters they continue to pursue

Last month, police arrested Ivan Sambom, a member of the West Papua National Committee, a pro-independence activist group, in relation to the attack at Freeport.

General Waterpauw said police were continuing their investigations.

The increase in violence comes as Mimika regency experiences an increase in the number of confirmed covid-19 cases. It now has 51 cases, a quarter of Papua province’s total confirmed cases, among a population which frequently travels back and forth from other parts of the republic.

Killing of university student pair
Meanwhile, families of two young West Papuan men shot dead near the Freeport mine are pushing for an independent probe into the incident.

Eden Bebari and Ronny Wandik were aged only 19 and 21 when they were shot dead during an encounter with security forces about halfway between the city of Timika and the Freeport gold mine two weeks ago.

The two university students’ families said their sons had gone fishing but were wrongly identified by Indonesian military as pro-West Papuan independence fighters.

A joint investigation by police and military is underway, according to General Waterpauw. But the families said military personnel should be sidelined from the probe. They urged police to ensure the safety of the victims’ families and witnesses, also asking authorities to allow the Human Rights Commission access to the regency.

In response to the families’ joint appeal to Freeport and authorities to allow human rights investigators access to the area, a spokesman from the mining company said it was not appropriate for Freeport to comment on an incident which took place outside its work area.

Following the killing of the two young men at Mile-34 (denotes distance along road between Timika and Freeport’s mine area), initial media claims that the two Papuans were linked to the Liberation Army fighters and armed have been strongly denied by families of the victims.

Together with Indonesia’s military commander in Papua, Herman Asaribab, General Waterpauw have appeared before the community to witness the bodies, and expressed condolences to the families.

The police chief told local media it was sometimes difficult for security forces to distinguish between armed “criminal groups” and ordinary citizens.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Michael Andrew

Members of the Pacific media have paid tribute to the late Tongan Prime Minster ‘Akilisi Pohiva, who died in New Zealand earlier this week.

An enduring symbol of democracy in Tonga and the Pacific, Pohiva died at Auckland hospital after a long struggle with various health problems.

“He fought for many years for real change in the Pacific’s only kingdom against at many times daunting odds from the establishment,” said Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie.

READ MORE: Tongan PM blasts Pacific regionalism ‘myth’ and silence over West Papua

“But he persevered and eventually opened the door to fundamental changes a decade ago.

Dr Robie said the late leader faced a new set of challenges as Prime Minister.

“While he found being in office as Prime Minister more complex and conflicted, he had an impassioned vision for such critical and existential Pacific issues such as climate change and self-determination for West Papua.”

Pohiva spoke passionately on both topics at the last Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu, delivering unprecedented emotional pleas to his fellow Pacific leaders to act on climate change and condemn Indonesia for its treatment of West Papua.

Friend and former editor of Taimi ‘o Tonga Kalafi Moala said his death would not have surprised many Tongans due to the long deterioration of Pohiva’s health in recent years.

“He was not a healthy man. In recent years, prostate problems, and more recently diagnosed with liver cancer.”

Nevertheless, Moala said he was saddened by the loss of a friend despite the political differences between the two over their three-decade relationship.

“[He was] very intense, and treated most things, especially political issues as ‘life and death’.”

“Because of his focused and intensive nature, he tended to be feisty at times. He liked being viewed that he was leading a revolution.”

Pohiva and Moala along with Filokalafi Akau’ola were jailed for contempt of parliament in 1996, after Moala published in Taimi ‘o Tonga details of parliamentary proceedings that Pohiva had leaked.

Their 26-day incarceration prompted Dr Robie and journalist Peter Cronau to cover the story intensely in order to raise awareness and have the “Tongan three” released from prison.

This saga was the genesis of the Pacific Media Watch project and its role as “watchdog” to support regional journalists facing adversity.

After his release, Pohiva continued campaigning for democracy, clashing with the government and monarchy before becoming the first democratically-elected Prime Minister in the country’s second democratically-elected parliament.

Moala said that despite Pohiva’s later years as Prime Minister, when he was unable to produce the things he had promised in his campaigns, his years of fighting the monarchy for the rights of Tongan people will stand out.

“People will remember him as the best opposition leader ever in Tonga, and he helped shape Tongan politics, and helped bring about the 2010 [constitutional] reforms, in partnership with King George V,” he said.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for an independent inquiry into the death in detention of Muhammad Yusuf, a reporter who was being held in South Kalimantan province, in the far south of the Indonesian part of Borneo, on a charge of defaming a local palm oil production company.

A series of irregularities surround Muhammad Yusuf’s death in the town of Kotabaru on June 10, nine weeks after his arrest because of his coverage of allegedly illegal land seizures linked to the activities of MSAM, a company that operates a huge oil palm plantation in the province, reports RSF.

Yusuf had become well-known for his reporting on the story, writing no fewer than 23 articles for two news websites, Kemajuan Rakyat and Berantas News, from November 2017 to March 2018.

Muhammad Yusuf’s death … “credibility of rule of law in Indonesia at stake,” says RSF. Image: RSF

He was arrested on April 5 as he was about to fly to Jakarta to meet with the National Commission on Human Rights.

After holding him for more than two months, the police say he was taken from prison to a hospital in Kotabaru on 10 June with chest pains, vomiting and breathing difficulties, and died soon after arrival as a result of a heart attack.

“We call on the Indonesian government and supreme court to guarantee a full and independent investigation and to deploy whatever resources are necessary to ensure that all possible light is shed on this journalist’s death,” said Daniel Bastard, head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.

-Partners-

“The credibility of the rule of law in Indonesia is at stake because of the many doubts surrounding this case.

“What with his critical reporting, the appearance of collusion and a lack of transparency, there are many reasons for suspecting that Muhammad Yusuf died because of his journalistic work.”

Strong suspicions
Yusuf’s wife, Arvaidah, had requested his release three times on medical grounds because of concern about his state of health. After his death, she was denied access to the morgue and to the autopsy results. Convinced that his death was “not natural,” she has filed a complaint against the police and district attorney, who were jointly responsible for detention.

Many people question the independence of the police and district attorney’s office in this matter. South Kalimantan’s governor is the uncle of the wealthy businessman who owns MSAM, the company targeted by Yusuf’s reporting.

According to Tempo, a leading Indonesian news website, bruises on the back of Yusuf’s neck can be seen in a video of his body.

All these suspicions prompted the National Commission on Human Rights to announce last week that it was opening an investigation into his death.

Indonesia is ranked 124th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

The Pacific Media Centre is an associate of Reporters Without Borders in media freedom work.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

This month’s chart (a comparative histogram) shows the impact – of both an aging population and rising life expectancy – on ages at death. The percentages shown basically represent the probability that the next person to die in New Zealand will be in a given age bracket.
The biggest change over the last 60 years has been the reduced numbers of deaths of babies and very young children. While this reduction is the biggest single reason for increased life expectancy at birth, the number of deaths at this age in the 1950s also reflects the sheer numbers of children in New Zealand in that decade.
Birth numbers in New Zealand picked up after 1935, so all the age groups under 20 in 1957 show higher deaths in large part because of higher age-specific populations, especially higher numbers relative to the numbers of older adults. We might also note that there was, from a 1957 perspective, an unusually large cohort of people aged in their 70s.
We see that deaths of people in their 20s represented a similar proportion in 1957 to 2017, indicating that there is a problem today with that age group; a problem that may presage future adverse mortality.
Today, nearly one-third of registered deaths are of people in their 80s. More than half of deaths are of people over 80 years old, compared to 22 percent in 1957. The main reason so many people die in their 80s is that they didn’t die younger. It is not necessarily the case that people in their 80s are healthier today than they were in 1957. The numbers of deaths of people aged 45 to 70 remain high, reflecting that these age groups now represent a substantially greater portion of the total population.
The inset chart shows changes to the median age at death, from the mid-1950s to the mid-2010s, when the median age at death increased from about 70 to about 80. The inset makes it look as though most of the increase in life expectancy happened from 1980 to 2010. However, median age at death is very much a lagging indicator of the health of a population. It was only after 1980 that the ratio of older people to younger people in the population changed substantially.
The general impression is that health gains are tapering off. The median age at death has only increased annually by 0.1 years-of-age, this decade. That is entirely accountable by the aging of the 1940-75 baby boom generations.
We should not complacently assume that “we are all living longer”, as a number of commentators do to justify raising the age of entitlement to New Zealand Superannuation. Clearly many people still die at less than 70 years of age, and will continue to do so.
I am guessing that the age-at-death histogram for New Zealand will change very little over the next decade or so, despite a still-rising median age of the living population. Most of the reasons for higher life expectancy since the 1940s have already had their impact. The future contains more downside risk than upside.]]>

By Riani Sanusi Putri in Jakarta

Indonesia’s Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) has demanded police investigate the cause of death of terrorist suspect Muhammad Jefri in Indramayu.

This is deemed important since the information about his death is unclear and appears to involve a violation of law.

“The case of Muhamad Jefri or MJ is under the authority of National Police’s counterterrorism squad Densus 88,” KontraS coordinator Yati Indriyani said at the weekend.

Jefri was arrested by Densus 88 since he was allegedly involved in a number of terrorism cases.

However, his family mentioned that his arrest was not under an official warrant. Jefri was in good health when the police took him in.

The news of his death was delivered by the police on February 15, 2018, yet he died a week prior. Yati said that this kind of treatment of terrorist suspects would spark controversy since there was no transparency and the authorities neglected human rights (HAM) parameters and the law.

“It is concerned that this will trigger, create or flourish other links of terrorist acts,” Yati said.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz