“Mongolia’s ‘reindeer’ people jump into the future “

A Mongolian reindeer herder (http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/09/02/2043912.aspx)

Mongolian Reindeer whos milk feeds the local people (http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/09/02/2043912.aspx)

As a result of recent regulations like strict hunting laws and land use in the region and the upheavals of Mongolia’s socialist era (1921-1991) the Tsaatan reindeer herder’s became “extremely marginalized politically, socially, economically, and culturally.”

However with the help of  an American woman named Morgan Keay the Tsaatan people came up with the solution of eco-tourism, up until recently tour guides had been bringing tourists into the remote mountain area without giving any thing back to the community.

“The tourists were coming here…and treated us like objects in a museum,” said Bayanjargal a Tssantan.

“Tour operators were taking Americans and Europeans out to this remote place, charging thousands of dollars and the community wasn’t getting a penny of that.”

Eco-tourism is to provide a sustainable income to the Tsaatan tribe to insure their survival.

With the help of Keay the tribe set up the  Tsaatan Community & Visitors Centre (TCVC) in Tsagaannuur, which has hosted 100 people since it first opened earlier this year. NBC Adrienne Mong reports the full story. Read his article

“Papua Tribe Targets Mining Giant Freeport in $30 Billion Legal Action”

Wes Papuan's in tradtional dress

Based upon an article written by the Jakarta Globe’s Heru Andriyanto the West Papuan   Amungme tribe has filed a $30 billion lawsuit against Freeport McMoRan for damages sustained over 40 years of operations on their ancestral lands. The 90 Amungmes are represented by  their tribes lawyer Titus Natkime.

Natkime said “from 1969 to 2009, our land has been exploited and we have not had a fair share of the wealth it generates,the tribe holds the traditional rights to own the land and all its resources, but other people took away all the financial benefits from us”.

The tribe claims that it owns 2.6 million hectares of the land on which the mine is located.

A spokesperson for Freeport McMoRan Mindo Pangaribuan responded by email stating that “since 1996, PT Freeport Indonesia has allocated 1 percent of its gross revenue for a society development program, and in 2008 the partnership fund reached some $324 million.” Read the full article

“600 Army Officers Deployed to Guard Papua Freeport Mine”

West Papua Freeport Mine (http://www.safecom.org.au/images/freeport1.jpg)

According to an article published on Jakarta Globe the Freeport Timuka mine (West Papua) has employed 600 army officers to secure the mine following a series of armed attacks from separist groups. The Papua Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Yani Nasution said that the situation was “totally secure” and that ” West Papua is secure and under control”.

The move comes after a number of armed roadside ambushes outside the mine, workers at the mine have started wearing flak jackets and helmets and other safety measures have been instigated. Read the full article

Day of the Broken Promise

Free Papua Independence leader Benny Wenda  along with a  a number of other Papuan’s protested outside the Dutch embassy in the UK on August 14 against the’ day of broken promises’ (15 August 1962).

Benny Wenda (http://insideindonesia.org/images/stories/edition_96/robinson4.jpg

The ‘Day of Broken promises’ marks the day that the Dutch signed the New York agreement handing over West Papua to Indonesian colony, despite having previously promised West Papua independence.

“The Indonesian army moved in on 1 May 1963 and began a programme of repression and human rights abuse against the people. In 1969 they rounded up and detained just over a thousand West Papuans as representatives of the people and ensured that they voted for rule by Indonesia by threats, including at least in some cases that they and their families would be killed unless they did so…Since then there have been many reports of repression by Indonesia in the country, including murder, political assassinations, torture, rapes, disappearances and bombing. The government also had a programme of resettling migrants from Indonesia in the country, apparently aimed at producing an Indonesian majority population.”

Peter Marshall of Indymedia Uk covered the protests of a number of Papuan’s outside the Dutch embassy in London. Read his Article

Sustaining people and nature in the Andes

Andean Farmer working in a Maze field (http://rolexawards.com/media/images/the-laureates/zenon-gomel-apaza/03_RAE06ZGA142.jpg)

Neus Marti writes about sustaining people and nature in the Andes in his article published by iied.

Since the Peruvian government introduced foreign agricultural technologies to create an export economy in the Andes in 1995 the Andean farmers who had previously struggled to cultivate enough food to eat have been forced to produced enough crops to supply the national urban market.

“they had to increase considerably the volume of food production, using the land that had once fed their households. Farmers became slaves to the market, producing exotic crops such as barley to supply beer manufacturers as well as commercial varieties of native crops.”

This type of farming is not only labour intensive but extremely costly, and the pesticides’ and fertilizers used are destroying the environment. Read More

West Papua occupation condemned

Selena Black

16 August 2009

MELBOURNE — August 15 marked 47 years since the US, Australia, the Netherlands and the United Nations made the New York Agreement, allowing West Papua to be invaded by Indonesia.

Fifty West Papuans and supporters gathered on August 14 to commemorate the day. They took their protest to the US and Indonesian consulates to remind them of the human tragedy of West Papua’s occupation. Protesters promised to further the campaign internationally so that the genocide of indigenous West Papuans is no longer ignored. From

Indonesian lawsuit against global mining

  Christina Hill [Mining Advocacy Coordinator, Oxfam Australia]: “It has been reported that local communities in the Indonesian province of West Papua have filed a $30 billion lawsuit against the local subsidiary of US mining company Freeport-McRoRan Copper & Gold – operator of the giant Grasberg mine. The company is being sued for environmental and human rights violations. As reported by the JURIST, Freeport has been a frequent target of environmental and human rights groups who allege human rights abuse and environmental damage.

 

Back in 2006, Freeport was excluded from the $300 billion Norwegian Government Pension Fund’s investment portfolio on ethical grounds. Freeport’s mining activities at Grasberg were found [PDF file] to “involve an unacceptable risk of complicity in severe and irreversible damage to the natural environment” while the “company’s practice of riverine [tailings] disposal is in breach of international standards.” Freeport is not the only mining company to be blacklisted by the Pension Fund for causing severe environmental damage due to the practice of dumping mine waste into rivers. Barrick Gold and Rio Tinto – which has a stake in the Grasberg mine – have also been excluded from the Fund’s investment portfolio for this reason.Read More

 

 

 

Pacific Islanders call for justice

Pacific Islanders call for justice on climate and human rights

EMBARGOED: 9am Wednesday 5 August 2009

Many strong voices from Pacific, Melanesian, New Zealand and Australian civil society met in Cairns, North Queensland to raise concerns on climate change and human rights that are affected communities across the Pacific region.

The group is calling for immediate greenhouse gas emissions cuts to ensure that people across the Pacific can remain on their islands and ensuring ongoing cultural identity that is intimately tied to land.

Throughout civil society in the Pacific, there is recognition of the linkages between climate change and self-determination: The right to determine your own future and that of your land. Ultimately this is a question of survival.

Reverend Tafue Molu Lusama from Tuvalu said “We do not want to loose our identity, and our identity is strongly tied down to our land. Loosing our land literally means our death as a ‘distinct’ people on the face of this planet. You do not want to be responsible for that, so act urgently to avoid that happening.” Read More

Free papua liberation movement with the Morning Star Flag

Morning star flag

Papua independence movement raises flag

Members of the National Liberation Army of the Free Papua Movement are reported to have raised an independence flag in the border region between Indonesia’s Papua Province and Papua New Guinea.

The Indonesian newspaper, Kompas Cyber Media website reports that the group raised a Morning Star Flag and demanded open dialogue regarding Papuan independence.

The Military Information Service says the flag was raised about one kilometre from an Indonesian Armed Forces Battalion Security Post.

It says the Armed Forces response was limited to being alert and increasing surveillance, as the police are responsible for handling such cases.

But Kompas reports the incident almost resulted in an armed clash between the separatist group and local security forces.

The Morning Star flag was eventually lowered but the Free Papua Movement refused to surrender it. Read More