[ad_1]
A village in Papua’s Highlands caught up in conflict between the West Papua Liberation Army and Indonesian security forces, 2019.
Photo: Supplied
Papua – armed conflict
Amnesty International Indonesia says the armed conflict in Papua has gotten more alarming and increasingly difficult to control.
Jubi TV reports the group’s Executive Director, Usman Hamid, saying there has been excessive use of force and security facilities in the last 15 years, including in legal processes.
Hamid said during the riot in Wamena recently, there was excessive and unnecessary use of firearms by the security forces.
He said the state needs to take serious steps right now because too many lives have been sacrificed in Papua due to the “unprofessionalism” of the security forces.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Independent Journalists in Papua says violence against the media in Papua is continuing.
According to Jubi TV, the Alliance said that journalists’ lives have been threatened, including a threat to burn down the office of Teropong News in Sorong City and to kill the staff.
Papua – obituary
Papuans are said to be mourning the death of Gerardus Thommey, a leader of the liberation movement.
Independence movement leader Benny Wenda said Thommey was a regional commander of the West Papuan liberation movement in Merauke, and since his early 20s has been a guerilla fighter.
He said Thommey was captured near the PNG border with four other liberation leaders and deported to Ghana, and lived the rest of his life in exile.
Wenda said even though he was exiled from his land, Thommey’s commitment to a liberated West Papua never wavered.
Vanuatu – cyclone
A 19-year-old man has been receiving treatment for a spinal cord injury, paralysis and broken bones after being trapped by a falling tree during Tropical Cyclone Judy.
The Daily Post reports surgeon Richard Leona saying the boy was transferred from a hospital on Ambae and admitted to the surgical ward at Vila Centre Hospital.
Dr Leona explained the boy was found by relatives who went searching for him four days after the cyclone had passed.
He had been trapped under the fallen tree during the storm.
Fiji/New Zealand – trade
Fiji’s deputy prime minister is leading an 80-member trade delegation in New Zealand this week.
It’s the largest deputation the country has sent – and it’s the first since the new government was elected last December.
The New Zealand-Fiji Business Council president, Chandar Sen, said the number of people in the delegation shows the importance the two countries place on each other, not just in business and trade but in familial ties.
He said there are investors attending as well as traders and Government ministers.
Palau – water rates
Some Palau residents are facing wastewater rates increases of more than 2000 percent.
The Palau Public Utilities Corporation is changing its new rates, which are based on usage, from April 1.
The Island Times reports the new rates reflect the corporation’s full operating cost.
Marianas – industrial relations
Some government workers in the Northern Marianas are set to have their hours cut from April 24.
Affected employees are those under the Executive Branch whose personnel costs were funded in whole or in part by American Rescue Plan Act funds or local revenues.
The measure, which will cut hours to 72 a fortnight, will last through the end of the 2023 Fiscal Year.
Governor Arnold Palacios has imposed other restrictions, including overtime and travel limits, termination of non-essential cellphones and landlines, and fuel conservation.
French Polynesia – heritage
France has submitted an application for French Polynesia’s Marquesas Islands to be made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The application was filed by the French culture minister Rima Abdul Malak.
French Polynesia can only apply through France, which is its administrative power.
UNESCO is expected to consider the application in mid-2024.
[ad_2]
Source link