New Order – Evening Report https://eveningreport.nz Independent Analysis and Reportage Sat, 16 Nov 2024 08:19:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://eveningreport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cropped-MIL-round-logo-300-copy-1-32x32.png New Order – Evening Report https://eveningreport.nz 32 32 Plea to bar Prabowo from UK as Indonesian security forces crack down on Papuan rally https://eveningreport.nz/2024/11/16/plea-to-bar-prabowo-from-uk-as-indonesian-security-forces-crack-down-on-papuan-rally/ Sat, 16 Nov 2024 08:19:02 +0000 https://eveningreport.nz/2024/11/16/plea-to-bar-prabowo-from-uk-as-indonesian-security-forces-crack-down-on-papuan-rally/ Read more]]> Asia Pacific Report

A West Papuan advocacy group for self-determination for the colonised Melanesians has appealed to the United Kingdom government to cancel its planned reception for new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

“Prabowo is a blood-stained war criminal who is complicit in genocide in East Timor and West Papua,” claimed an exiled leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda.

He said he hoped the government would stand up for human rights and a “habitable planet” by cancelling its reception for Prabowo.

Prabowo, who was inaugurated last month, is on a 12-day trip to China, the United States, Peru, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

He is due in the UK on Monday, November 19.

The trip comes as Indonesian security forces brutally suppressed a protest against Indonesia’s new transmigration strategy in the Papuan region.

Wenda, an interim president of ULMWP, said Indonesia was sending thousands of industrial excavators to destroy 5 million hectares of Papuan forest along wiith thousands of troops to violently suppress any resistance.

“Prabowo has also restarted the transmigration settlement programme that has made us a minority in our own land. He wants to destroy West Papua,” the UK-based Wenda said in a statement.

‘Ghost of Suharto’ returns
“For West Papuans, the ghost of Suharto has returned — the New Order regime still exists, it has just changed its clothes.

“It is gravely disappointing that the UK government has signed a ‘critical minerals’ deal with Indonesia, which will likely cover West Papua’s nickel reserves in Tabi and Raja Ampat.

“The UK must understand that there can be no real ‘green deal’ with Indonesia while they are destroying the third largest rainforest on earth.”

Wenda said he was glad to see five members of the House of Lords — Lords Harries, Purvis, Gold, Lexden, and Baroness Bennett — hold the government to account on the issues of self-determination, ecocide, and a long-delayed UN fact-finding visit.

“We need this kind of scrutiny from our parliamentary supporters more than ever now,” he said.

Prabowo is due to visit Oxford Library as part of his diplomatic visit.

“Why Oxford? The answer is clearly because the peaceful Free West Papua Campaign is based here; because the Town Hall flies our national flag every December 1st; and because I have been given Freedom of the City, along with other independence leaders like Nelson Mandela,” Wenda said.

This visit was not an isolated incident, he said. A recent cultural promotion had been held in Oxford Town Centre, addressed by the Indonesian ambassador in an Oxford United scarf.

Takeover of Oxford United
“There was the takeover of Oxford United by Anindya Bakrie, one of Indonesia’s richest men, and Erick Thohir, an Indonesian government minister.

“This is not about business — it is a targeted campaign to undermine West Papua’s international connections. The Indonesian Embassy has sponsored the Cowley Road Carnival and attempted to ban displays of the Morning Star, our national flag.

“They have called a bomb threat in on our office and lobbied to have my Freedom of the City award revoked. Indonesia is using every dirty trick they have in order to destroy my connection with this city.”

Wenda said Indonesia was a poor country, and he blamed the fact that West Papua was its poorest province on six decades of colonialism.

“There are giant slums in Jakarta, with homeless people sleeping under bridges. So why are they pouring money into Oxford, one of the wealthiest cities in Europe?” Wenda said.

“The UK has been my home ever since I escaped an Indonesian prison in the early 2000s. My family and I have been welcomed here, and it will continue to be our home until my country is free and we can return to West Papua.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

]]> Rights group says security forces unlawfully killed 72 Papuans in past year https://eveningreport.nz/2022/12/20/rights-group-says-security-forces-unlawfully-killed-72-papuans-in-past-year/ Mon, 19 Dec 2022 21:18:00 +0000 https://eveningreport.nz/2022/12/20/rights-group-says-security-forces-unlawfully-killed-72-papuans-in-past-year/ Read more]]> RNZ Pacific

A West Papua rights group claims Indonesian police and soldiers have carried out at least 72 extrajudicial killings over the past year.

The report by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) said the police were responsible for 50 of the unlawful killings, with the remainder committed by military personnel.

The latest report situated the unlawful killings in the context of a “narrowing of democratic space” and “massive violations of rights related to the basic principles of democracy” by President Joko Widodo’s administration.

“The widespread practice of extrajudicial killings throughout 2022 by security personnel shows that they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing who are ready to pounce when there’s an opportunity,” KontraS researcher Rozy Brilian told reporters, according to a report by Benar News.

The article quoted Rozy as saying that most of those allegedly killed by police were under criminal investigation and at least 12 of the cases involved torture.

While six Indonesian soldiers were arrested recently for their involvement in the deaths of four Papuans in Mimika regency in the unsettled Papua region, the report claims the security forces still enjoy a high degree of impunity for illegal behavior.

“This is a reminder of the considerable degree of continuity between Suharto’s military-backed New Order, in which the security forces enjoyed political prominence and vast power, and the democratic system that was established after the regime’s fall in 1998,” the authors said.

KontraS said far from investigating or prosecuting those responsible for past rights outrages, the Indonesian government has often promoted them to key positions in government.

In particular, KontraS pointed to the appointment of Major-General Untung Budiharto, the alleged perpetrator of enforced disappearances during the terminal crisis of the Suharto government in 1997 and 1998, as commander of the Greater Jakarta Command Area.

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

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Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

]]> Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Six months of new New Zealand government – the verdicts are in https://eveningreport.nz/2018/04/30/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-six-months-of-new-new-zealand-government-the-verdicts-are-in/ Mon, 30 Apr 2018 09:59:28 +0000 https://eveningreport.nz/?p=16286 ]]> Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Six months of new New Zealand government – the verdicts are in

[caption id="attachment_13635" align="alignright" width="150"] Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] Is the new government transformational? Or just fighting fires? Who are the strongest performers, and who are the weak links? What are they doing right and wrong? These are the questions at the core of reviews from political commentators of the government’s performance over its first six months in power.  [caption id="attachment_15386" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, at the APEC leaders’ summit, November 2017 (Image courtesy of APEC.org).[/caption] For the most comprehensive review of the new government, see Newsroom’s Grading the Government, authored by a number of Newsroom journalists who break down the different areas of performance and hand out grades from B+ through to F. Generally, the government sits at around a “B” – with Health and Education scoring highest (B+). The exceptions are immigration (D), foreign affairs (C). In terms of immigration, Tim Murphy asks: “Is this the coalition’s most over-promised and under-delivered policy area?” He points out that “The annual net migration numbers remain close to those assailed in opposition as disastrous and uncontrolled. The supposed low-hanging fruit of low-value international education courses and their student work visas have largely remained in place”. Sam Sachdeva says the foreign affairs portfolio is “one of the Government’s weakest areas”, lacking coherence or obvious guiding principles. He points to the role of Winston Peters and his orientation to Russia. Political management gets a C+ and on Open government and transparency the government scores an F. In terms of open government, Shane Cowlishaw is scathing. Amongst other letdowns in this area, the “Official Information Act continues to be treated with disdain, with many journalists holding the opinion that their requests are taking longer, and returning poorer results, than under National who was not exactly known for its transparency.” Martin van Beynen offers up an intriguing perspective in Jacinda Ardern’s idea of government is revolutionary. To start with, the normally conservative journalist and commentator, claims he voted for the Greens: “The Greens have always struck me as more of a religion than a political party and that’s partly why I voted for them. I sometimes think they represent our only hope with their code of vegetarianism, cycling, organics, public transport, restorative justice, Māori empowerment, minimal packaging, international peace, anti-Americanism, diversity, public ownership, high taxation, interventionist government, severe income re-distribution and, of course, conservation. If Jesus was reborn in New Zealand he would walk straight into the Green Party.” Not only that, he appears genuinely excited about the promise of “a Government based on kindness”. He looks at both the possibilities and limitations of kindness as a guiding principle, and concludes: “kindness, like Christianity, might be one of those great ideas that just hasn’t been tried yet. It could be that Jacinda Ardern is exactly the person to lead the way – and what a trip it could be.” For another enthusiastic and interesting account of the new government, see Simon Wilson’s feature article: The ministry of ‘things will be different now’ – how are they doing? Wilson argues this government is heading in the direction of being a transformational one, and his column is a nice counterpoint to critics bemoaning the lack of radicalism and progress in the new administration. Wilson is full of praise for accomplishments so far, and points to factors inhibiting change that the government has had to contend with, including support partners pulling in different directions. And he emphasises that the new administration is having to work hard to introduce new directions that will actually take the public along with it, rather than just govern by decree with radical new directions that might easily be reversed in the future. He points to the oil and gas announcement as “a model of how to introduce radical change without giving those affected any good reason to panic”. And he credits the Greens as being behind the move, highlighting “the importance of the Green Party in setting the Government’s transformational agenda”. Other areas that are truly radical, according to Wilson, are in education (with the abolition of National Standards, and the potential major reform of the Tomorrow’s Schools model), transport (with the draft Government Policy Statement) and Grant Robertson’s adoption of Treasury’s Living Standards Framework. Even in the area of tax reform, Wilson sees reason to be optimistic about radical change coming. And, although he’s critical of the Budget Responsibility Rules, he says this issue “will not define how transformational this Government really is. The big projects that are still possible will do that.” He laments that the government has failed to make te reo Maori compulsory in schools, which would make New Zealand “culturally, the most resilient nation in the world”. And on wages and pay equity, Wilson is less optimistic about real change. Writing prior to van Beynen taking up the theme of kindness, Wilson concludes: “Is it possible to run an effective government powered by kindness? If Ardern and her colleagues can show us the answer is yes, what would that change? Almost everything?” Colin James is much less convinced that we are seeing a radical new government in action, suggesting the administration might instead be one of “transition”, especially in terms of shifting power to “the post-baby-boom generations” – see: Govt looks transitional at this stage but could yet be transformational. He argues “fixing shortfalls is not transformation – or even transition. Neither, so far, are the dozens – or scores, depending what you count – of reviews, working groups, strategies and so on. They open issues up rather than open up ‘bold” (another Ardern word) new vistas. For example, the education review reads more like adjustments to the 2010s than anticipation of the 2020s”. James does concede that incremental change can still add up to transformation. But, like other commentators, he points to factors holding back the new government’s reforming agenda: “First, substandard political management: ministers’ slips and skids (Clare Curran, Shane Jones, Eugenie Sage), and off-script support parties (Russia, Air New Zealand) plus a broken promise on fuel tax. Too much of this will, in time, leach public goodwill. Second: support parties’ travails. Polls put New Zealand First well below the 5% cutoff point. The Greens’ score is steady but Marama Davidson’s big win in the co-leader vote deepens their green-red schism and leaves James Shaw as minority co-leader.” Jo Moir evaluates the performance of government ministers in her article, Six months on the job for the Government – who is up and who is down? And the prize for the strongest performer doesn’t go to the prime minister, but to the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, who gets a rating of 9/10. Other strong performers, with 8/10 ratings, are David Parker, Shane Jones, and Jacinda Ardern. The PM gets marked down on her failure to deliver on child poverty: “She really focused on it during the campaign and created the Child Poverty Reduction portfolio but that’s about where it stopped.” Meanwhile the Regional Development Minister is praised for his impact and colourfulness: “Shane Jones has been lapping up the headlines and has also had the job of going a bit rogue when necessary. If he was being measured on headlines and sound bytes Jones would be well in the lead.” At the other end of the spectrum Moir awards only 3/10 to “the invisible trio” of Nanaia Mahuta, Jenny Salesa, and Carmel Sepuloni, all of whom might have been expected to be performing strongly, but haven’t “really been seen or heard.” Labour’s deputy Kelvin Davis scores 2/10, as his “stints as acting prime minister haven’t gone too well and he hasn’t really stamped his mark on the Corrections portfolio”. And Clare Curran rates a dismal 1/10, as she is “struggling to bounce back” from her scandal and may not hold onto her ministerial position. Audrey Young also evaluates the ministers in her column, Jacinda Ardern has come through turbulent times but her cabinet has had mixed success. She points to the fact that the PM now knows that “she cannot rely on all ministers to handle difficulties in their portfolios well”, and says Clare Curran is now “a slow-moving target for the Opposition.” However, Young focuses mainly on ministers who are doing well, and helping Ardern make the government a success. She says Grant Robertson and Phil Twyford “are part of her informal kitchen cabinet along with Chris Hipkins, Megan Woods and Kelvin Davis. Andrew Little and David Parker are also highly trusted as ministers of sound judgment with difficult portfolios.” Winston Peters, too, may have raised some eyebrows as Minister for Foreign Affairs, “but in his duties as Ardern’s Deputy Prime Minister by and large he has been very good.” Also from Peters’ party, “Tracey Martin is New Zealand First’s best performing minister and showing why Ardern had the confidence to make her Children’s Minister”. Meanwhile, Shane Jones “is effectively No 2 in the party that put Labour in power. He behaves with impunity because he has impunity.” Young also points out that, “A couple of low-ranked ministers, Kris Faafoi outside cabinet, and Iain Lee-Galloway in cabinet, have really shone in their diverse portfolios.” For a more humorous evaluation that also makes serious points, see Jenna Lynch and Anna Bracewell-Worrall’s Six months in: The new Government’s report card. As with other commentaries, they point out problems in the first six months: the Labour Party youth camp, the vagueness about Russian issues, and the Clare Curran-RNZ scandal. This article adds to the consensus that Andrew Little is the surprise star of the new government, David Parker the rock behind the scenes, Kelvin Davis is missing in action, Winston Peters is a good deputy PM, and Shane Jones is now the front person for New Zealand First. Davis, in particular, gets a hard time, with these journalists pointing out that he had a lot to say about what was wrong with the status quo when he was in opposition, and he made plenty of promises, but is now not fronting up: “He’s yet to make any major – or minor – announcements.” They warn that Labour’s coalition partners are in danger of blending in too much with Labour. Peters, for example, doesn’t even talk about some of his party’s main policies: “We’ve heard almost no complaints from him on immigration and he hasn’t mentioned the Maori seats at all.” And James Shaw is “too well behaved” and therefore endangering the Green’s identity. But they regard the government as having made good progress on some core policies, such as fee-free education, the oil and gas issue, the fuel tax, and the families package to alleviate hardship. More progress is demanded from Duncan Garner in his review: Government’s six months in a leaky boat – captain overboard. Here’s his main point: “Jacinda Ardern’s stardust must turn to something useful and quickly. Voters are impatient. A slew of reviews only leads to paralysis by analysis. The Government’s hands are full but with not much to show for it. And I haven’t even touched on their populist promises to slash immigration and fix the deeply troubled mental health service. The stardust must turn to something more concrete – solutions, not slogans, trains, not talk and houses, not just hope.” Expectations are high, he says, with promises such as “$28b worth of roads and 100,000 homes in 10 years”, but failing to meet these expectations will hurt the Government. He identifies the weak links (“Kelvin Davis, Carmel Sepuloni, Clare Curran”) and praises Ardern for pulling “together the loose strands to make it all that more acceptable.” Garner sums up the first six months: “things have been a bit average, sometimes chaotic and muddled with a sideshow or two but with the very best of intentions and hugely lofty goals and ambitions, if not a little naive.” Finally, for how the cartoonists see the government’s achievements and problems so far, see my blog post, Cartoons on the first six months of the new government.]]>

]]> Indonesian victims petition against Suharto’s ‘hero’ status https://eveningreport.nz/2016/10/31/indonesian-victims-petition-against-suhartos-hero-status/ Mon, 31 Oct 2016 04:22:39 +0000 http://eveningreport.nz/2016/10/31/indonesian-victims-petition-against-suhartos-hero-status/ ]]> AsiaPacificReport.nz

Forum ’65 members during a dialogue with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Image CNN Indonesia

Victims of human rights violence from Indonesia’s New Order era, visited the Social Affairs Ministry (Kemensos) to hand over petitions which, opposed the nomination of former Indonesian President Suharto being bestowed a ‘national hero’.

CNN Indonesia reported that around 27 victims, from the group Forum ’65, waited from 9.30 in the morning in the ministry lobby to meet with Kemensos officials.

In an interview with CNN Indonesia, Forum ’65 member Bedjo Untung said, recent information suggested that a document designating Suharto as a hero has already been signed.

Untung told CNN Indonesia that the survival of many victims would be in vain if Suharto became a national hero.

According to the report, at 10.35am Kemensos officials received the members for a dialogue which, revealed a decision on Suharto’s status has still not been made.

The group have made an online petition against the proposal.

Many activists and victims who suffered human rights abuse under Suharto’s rule (1967-1988) have rallied together since the late president’s ‘hero’ status was proposed.

The Jakarta Post, reported of another group called Gema Demokrasi (Democratic Resonance) which, rallied against the proposal in early October to highlight the controversies surrounding Suharto’s rule.

‘Not worthy’

Gems Demokrasi’s spokesperson, Asep Komarudin, told The Jakarta Post that Suharto was not worthy of receiving the award because he abused human rights and stole state money during his term in office.

“He committed a lot of violations back then, such as the massacre of Indonesian Communist Party [PKI] members and other crimes during the New Order era,” Komarudin said.

The report also stated that Suharto is responsible for Indonesia’s massacres in 1965 and 1966, the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre, the 1989 Talangsari incident in Lampung, the May 1998 riots and embezzling between US$15-25 billion of the state’s money.

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