tagged w/ Papua
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Indonesia, though still a young democracy, is admirably open about most of its affairs. The exception is Papua. The security apparatus ensures that the country's easternmost province remains a closed book. In Jakarta, foreigners—and journalists above all—are turned away before they can board the six-hour flight.
Papua (first known as Dutch New Guinea, then West New Guinea and later Irian Jaya) is the glaring exception to Indonesia’s progress in tackling the explosion of ethnic, sectarian and separatist violence that only a decade ago threatened to tear the country apart. Today peace prevails in once strife-torn places such as Aceh, Ambon and Poso, along with a measure of reconciliation. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono can take a good chunk of the credit. But all this progress now serves mainly to highlight the failure of Indonesia’s approach to Papua, heavily militarised already and now seeing a fresh troop surge.
Papuans’ resentment towards their overlords—first Dutch, later Indonesian—has been nourished for half a century, with much to justify it. Over the past year, it has been expressed in intensified violence. In particular, a number of fatal shootings have taken place around the giant Grasberg gold-and-copper mine, run by America’s Freeport-McMoRan. The hideous mine has long been a focus of discontent.
Much is murky about the upsurge in violence. Among other incidents, a cult group seized a government airstrip. Its leader claimed the strip to be the site on which the “Great General” Jesus had ordered her to create the Kingdom of Heaven. For a fuller understanding of the murk, I recommend a recent report by the International Crisis Group
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan
http://www.shelleytherepublican.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/jesus-with-rifle-thumb.jpgIndonesia, though still a young democracy, is admirably open about most of its... more
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A Swiss research company, Covalence, periodically publishes a ranking list that measures, according to various parameters, the ethics of large multinational corporations. At the bottom of the list are thus the worst companies in the world, those who have a serious negative impact on the lives of people for working conditions or the damage they cause. It is not really an exhaustive catalog of the evils of the world, but it is a good approximation.
http://www.inaltreparole.net/en/money/classificaimprese290110.htmlA Swiss research company, Covalence, periodically publishes a ranking list that... more
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A suspected bomb has gone off at an international airport in Timika, in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, police say. It was not immediately clear if anyone has been killed or injured in the blast, which reportedly could be heard up to 5km (three miles) away. The blast occurred on Sunday evening at Moses Kilangin International Airport, media reports say.
On Thursday, unidentified militants set off two small bombs on a road to a nearby gold and copper concession. The concession is run by PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan. The same company runs the airport. A suspected bomb has gone off at an international airport in Timika, in... more
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