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Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 02:51:44 +0000
From: "joe collins" <seosamh20@hotmail.com>
Subject: Independent (PNG) x 2
Independent (PNG) 10 Jan 02
1)
Refugees having a tough time 18 years on - by Ian Kakarere
WEST Papuan refugees living in the Western province are still facing a tough time after 18 years coming into Papua New Guinea. Catholic Bishop for the Daru-Kiunga Diocese Bishop Gille Cote said that there are still over 8000 West Papuan refugees living in both official and unofficial camps. Bishop Cote said that there are just under 3000 West Papuans living
at Iowara in the East Awin area and another 5000 or more living in 14 unofficial camps along the PNG-Indonesian border. He said that the West Papuans are the remainder of 12000
refugees that entered Papua New Guinea in 1984 and have resided in the camps ever since.
Many of the West Papuans living at Iowara have been given permissive residency status by the Papua New Guinean government, but are still residing there as they have nowhere else to settle in PNG. Some others are still classified as refugees, and both groups may ask for repatriation to West Papua providing that they reside in the East Awin area. Bishop Gille said that the people living in the unofficial camps are not recognised as refugees by the Papua New Guinean government and will not receive any assistance by the government. He said that the Catholic Church in Kiunga is assisting these people in both the official and
unofficial camps on humanitarian grounds and 10 missionaries are engaged to help full time to help the West Papuans. Bishop Gille said that the church assists the West Papuans in educational, medical, pastoral and social programs. He said that the church is doing most of
the work at the official camp at Iowara and also maintaining the road that links the camp area with the Fly River port at Drimdemasuk that provides access to Kiunga.
Bishop Cote said the West Papuans living at the Iowara camp are facing severe difficulties and are constantly hungry due the lack of food. He said that the poor soil at Iowara is not conducive to gardening so the people cannot grow enough food to support themselves. Bishop Cote said that the church has a volunteer agriculturalist helping the people at Iowara. The volunteer is helping the people with soil improvement techniques such as composting and
other methods.He said that the church has also installed 18 water tanks in the settlements at Iowara.Bishop Cote said that the refugees in the unofficial border camps along the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers are slightly better off in terms of food supply, but he said it still
requires a tremendous amount of work for the refugees to keep their families fed.Bishop Cote said that the pollution from the Ok Tedi mine has destroyed many sago stands near the two rivers and the people have to go deeper into the bush far away from their camps to make
sago. He said the burden of food production has fallen onto the womenfolk as the men are engaged in "politics". Since the people in these camps are refugees they are not entitled to compensation from mine damage as the local population are.
Bishop Cote said that the refugees in the unofficial border camps have always refused to be located to the Iowara camp at East Awin as there are no sago stands there and also because the people want to remain close to their traditional lands on the other side of the border. He said that the Catholic Church spends K100,000 per year on the West Papuans in the official and unofficial camps. Bishop Cote said that funding come in a variety of different sources to maintain the services provided to the West Papuans.He also said that the services
provided in the border are for the local people and the refugees.
2)
Some Vanimo border crossers are former repatriated refugees
AT least one male border crosser cared for by the Catholic Church in Vanimo in the West Sepik province was a refugee repatriated to West Papua in 1988. The Vanimo Catholic Diocese Director of Justice and Peace, Michael Kalele said the man's story cast doubts on the definition of voluntary repatriation. He said because of this it is making it difficult for
both the Catholic Church and the government in what to do with 400 West Papuan border
crossers living in Vanimo since December 2000. Mr Kalele said that the man and his family were among the 12,000 refugees who entered PNG through into the Sandaun and Western provinces in the1980's.
The man and his family stayed at the East Awin camp in the Western province and volunteered with 15 other families for repatriation to Jayapura in 1988.
When the group arrived in Jayapura, the man along with the male heads of the 15 families were arrested by the Indonesian authorities.On what charges the man was arrested for is not
known, but he spent 10 years jailed in a prison on the island of Java.
After
his release from jail in 1998, the man returned to his village near Wamena in the Baliem valley in the central highlands of West Papua. The whereabouts of the other 15 men are unknown up to this day. Continuing pro-West Papua independence movement activities in the Wamena area forced a crackdown by the Indonesian military and police which caused him and his family along with 400 others to flee across the border into the West Sepik province in late 2000. Mr Kalele said that the borders crossers will not consider any form ofrepatriation until their safety is guaranteed.
He said if and when the border crossers are repatriated, then the exercise must be supervised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and the World Council of Churches.
Mr Kalele is still adamant, despite contrary statements made by Foreign Affairs Minister Dr John Waiko, that none of the border crossers had their status assessed as refugees or otherwise. None of them have been interviewed by any officer from the national or provincial government or UNHCR. He said that UNHCR cannot be involved until the government declares the border crossers as refugees. Mr Kalele said it seems that the government has no clear policy on how to deal with border crossers. He said that they cannot be traditional border crossers as they do not come from the immediate border areas. Traditional border crossers
holding passes given by the authorities in the border areas may travel freely to and
from either country.
But Mr Kalele said the people being cared for by the Catholic Church at Vanimo are from the Wamena district which is nearly 300 kilometres from the border. He said that it appears that the government is reluctant to arrest, charge and prosecute the border crossers as illegal immigrants who had unlawfully entered PNG or have them declared as refugees. Mr Kalele said that this could only happen if the government knows what to do. He said that the Catholic Diocese Of Vanimo is in increasing debt to local suppliers and is spending about K2,000 per
week in feeding the border crossers. Mr Kalele said the Vanimo diocese owes K208,000 to
local stores.He said that under the current rate of expenditure, despite some assistance it receives from donors in Australia, New Zealand and Europe, the diocese will not have enough funds to feed the border crossers. In a press release last week, Dr Waiko said that the government has not been involved in the care of the border crossers because there is no
specific funding allocation for that purpose. Dr Waiko said that the government had approached the UNHCR to assist through the Catholic Church in Vanimo. He refuted claims in a media report that the Department of Foreign Affairs has never conducted any investigations to determine the status of the 400 border crossers residing in Vanimo.
Dr Waiko said that his department has been fully engaged in consultations with the relevant government departments, the Sandaun provincial government, the Indonesian government and
UNHCR to resolve the plight of the 400 West Papuan border crossers. He said that the Foreign Affairs, Provincial Affairs, the Sandaun provincial administration, Defence Force, police
and the Catholic Church have been working together to address problems at the border.Dr Waiko said that there have been several attempts made by both PNG and Indonesia to effect the voluntary repatriation exercise but funding constraints as well as political developments takingplace in Jayapura have prevented the implementation of the arrangements. He also said that the PNG government record in processing border crossers from Irian Jaya since 1984 has beeninternationally accepted and commended.
Dr
Waiko said that the successful repatriation of over 10,000 border crossers, including those determined to be refugees since then, speaks for itself. He said that out of the original 10,000 border crossers in 1984, several hundred have been integrated into Papua New Guinean society as permissive residents.
These permissive residents could become naturalised Papua New Guinean citizens if they so desire.
Dr Waiko said that some permissive residents had sought assistance from both the Papua New Guinean and Indonesian governments to return to their villages and communities in West Papua and this process is still continuing. The Independent understands that before any border crosser can be afforded permissive residency by the government, they will have to first reside at the East Awin refugee camp near Kiunga in the Western province. Reports from the Catholic Church in Kiunga said the East Awin camp has a food shortage caused by poor soil. The report also said that there are still more than 5000 West Papuan border crossers who came into the Western province in 1984 and are still residing in unofficial camps near the
PNG-Indonesian border. These border crossers are being assisted by the Catholic Church in Kiunga.
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