Tuesday, October 27, 2015

1) Extreme Cold Weather, Papua Residents Evacuated


2) PAPUA GOVERNOR: MELANESIAN BROTHERHOOD PROPOSED BY JAKARTA INTENDED TO SERVE POLITICAL INTERESTS
3) MELANESIAN ARTS AND CULTURE FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN KUPANG
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TUESDAY, 27 OCTOBER, 2015 | 09:06 WIB
1) Extreme Cold Weather, Papua Residents Evacuated
TEMPO.CO, Jayapura-About 800 residents in a number of villages in the Districts of Kuyawage, Wanobarat and Goabaliem, Lanny Jaya Regency, Papua, have to take refuge because of extreme cold weather, officials said Tuesday, October 27.
"The Regent contacted me and requested for help to mobilize refugees," said Military Command (Kasdam) XVII/Cenderawasih Chief of Staff Brigadier General Herman Asaribab to Antara News Agency on Tuesday.
“The local government have also sent food aid,” he said.
He added that residents of three districts, Kuyawage, Wanobarat and Goabaliem Districts, will be evacuated until the weather improves.
The extreme cold weather disaster had occurred about a week, since October 21, and became most severe on Sunday morning when residents came out of their honai (traditional house) and the icy dew caused skin burn.
As a result, hundreds of residents in the three districts were evacuated to take nearby areas, including in Habema, Jayawijaya Regency, Malageneri in Lanny Jaya Regency, Ilaga and Sinak Districts in Puncak Regency and to several districts in Puncak Jaya and Nduga Regencies.
It was also reported that people who are unable to walk and the church pastor were airlifted to Tiom, the capital of Lanny Jaya and Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya Regency.
ANTARA

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2) PAPUA GOVERNOR: MELANESIAN BROTHERHOOD PROPOSED BY JAKARTA INTENDED TO SERVE POLITICAL INTERESTS
Jayapura, Jubi – Papua Governor Lukas Enembe said the Indonesian Government’s proposal to establish the Indonesian Melanesian Brotherhood, which is marked with the signing of declaration in Ambon in the early October, was only a political ploy.
“Melanesian Brotherhood signed in Ambon is part of political interests. I wasn’t there as well as some of other governors,” Enembe told Jubi at his resident last week. Neither governors of North Maluku or West Papua attended the signing of the declaration.
Although he asked the former Papua Vice Governor who also has acted as Acting Papua Governor to represent him in the signing of declaration, but he explained he’s actually not interested with the government’s gimmick to counter the Melanesian Spearhead Group issue. Declaring the Indonesian Melanesian Brotherhood, according to him, is not what’s people expected to answer the Papua issue.
“This group (Indonesian Melanesian Brotherhood) is full of political interest,” said Enembe.
He believes, as the Indonesian Government’s representative in Papua, he had no authority to speak about the foreign affairs. “I am the representative of Indonesian Government in Papua. So I don’t have any interest to speak about politic or the international affairs as well because I have no right to talk about it. MSG is the Jakarta’s concern, not mine. I don’t see this problem should involve the five provinces. Jakarta should tackle this issue on behalf of us. So it shouldn’t involve us,” said the Governor Enembe.
Constan Karma who represented the Papua Governor in the declaration of Melanesian Brotherhood said the declaration had connection with the political interest to accommodate the domestic interest in the Eastern Indonesia since people in the five provinces are part of Melanesian race.
“The political agreement like this is excellent and important because it’s built to maintain the togetherness and brotherhood from Melanesia and Indonesia,” he said.
He added this agreement is important because it becomes a mediator or unifier in connecting the political connection of five provinces, which have different custom and culture.
Since the United Liberation Movement of West Papua was accepted as the observer in MSG and Indonesia was accepted as association member in last June, the Indonesian Government in Jakarta increasing its political gimmick to legitimate a claim of eleven million Melanesian live in Indonesia. In addition to declaring the Melanesian Brotherhood, the Indonesian Government also planned the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival and Melanesian Culture Study Center. (Victor Mambor/rom)
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3) MELANESIAN ARTS AND CULTURE FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN KUPANG
Jakarta, Jubi – Indonesia will for the first time be the host of the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival 2015 to be held from 26–30 October in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara Barat.
“It is a fact that majority of Melanesian population, about 80 percent, live in Indonesia,” the Director General of Culture of the Minister of Education and Culture, Kacung Marijan, told reporters in the press conference held in Jakarta on last week.
The festival will be attended by the stakeholders in cultural affairs and artists from Indonesia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia and the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s representative based in Vanuatu.
In this festival that aims to improve collaboration among the Melanesian countries, the Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Diplomacy of the Minister of Education and Culture will held a conference, film screenings and dance performance. Representatives from East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua will represent Indonesia in the festival.
Three Indonesian movies that would be screened in the festival are Atambua 39 C, Tanah Mama and Cahaya Dari Timur; and the Indonesian actress Jajang C Noer and actor Chico Jericho will attend as representative of the movie.
In addition to Indonesia, Fiji and New Caledonia will also send their movies to be screened in the community forum of Melanesian culture influence for sharing knowledge, tradition and culture to improve the solidarity in Melanesian region.
Melanesia is a sub-race, which its distribution in Indonesia covers East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua and other countries such as Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
Archeologist from the National Archeological Research Center, Prof. Dr. Harry Truman Simanjuntak, explained their ancestors came to Indonesian archipelago some were decided to stay and some were migrated until Australia and based in Papua, Papua New Guinea and Australia. The culture were grown in Papua and Papua New Guinea later spread out until East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara and to the eastern regions such as Fiji and Vanuatu.
The evidence of Melanesian heritage was proven its presence in Australia represented by Aborigines since 60,000 years ago. Meanwhile relics in Indonesia refer to 45,000 – 50,000 years ago. The cultural differences grow in the Melanesian spreading according to Truman were influenced by local factors.
Kacung Marijan is targeting the festival could bring the comprehensive understanding about Melanesia and its distribution, including in the cultural context. “The improvement of cooperation among Melanesian countries for example in the fields of culture, education and economy,” Marijan said.
While Truman added this festival is also aimed to raise the awareness of two largest races in Indonesia, Mongoloid and Austronesia, are relatives and culturally and biologically interacted since thousands years ago. “Do not build a barrier, to know each other to let the nationality grows,” Truman said. (*)
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