Papua Land of Peace - faith based network on West Papua
Through the 'Papua, Land of Peace' initiative Papuan, religious leaders aim to promote in Papua a culture of peace instead of a culture of violence. The Faith-Based Network is founded by faith-based organisations to support these efforts to promote peace, justice and human rights in West Papua.
The religious leaders - Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Protestant and Catholic -want to provide a free and just living space for the Papuans. A "Land of Peace" is not merely a geographical area free of violence. It is a social condition, in which the socio-cultural, economic and political problems Papuans face today are resolved without the use of violence. "Peace" encompasses the following elements that should be part of daily reality for all people in Papua: feeling secure; being respected as a human being irrespective of differences; enough food and the fulfilment of other basic needs; a fair and just treatment; recognition as an individual; recognition as an ethnic group; the possibility to live independently and in control of one's own life; being heard and taken into account; and finally, living in harmony with nature.
Watch Indonesia!, WPN, Diakonie & VEM - Indonesia: The government must reign in on increasing violence and restrictions of free expression. These four organisations urge the UN Human Rights Council to focus on the deteriorating human rights situation in the provinces of Papua, the repression and persecution faced by human rights defenders, arbitrary limitations on the right to free expression, and the ongoing impunity for serious human rights violations.
How to deliver peace in troubled Papua province (1 Mar 2010)
The Jakarta Post - what the people of Papua basically need is recognition ‘as a different identity, a different culture and an equal partner within Indonesia’.
Indonesia's Protected Forests Now Open to Development (1 Mar 2010)
The Jakarta Globe - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has signed a decree to allow mining, power plants and other projects deemed strategically important to take place in protected forests. The decree, which took effect on Feb. 1, is certain to anger environmental groups given that the country already has one of the fastest rates of deforestation in the world.
