Jayapura, 20/5 (Jubi) – New Zealand confirmed the future of its assistance to Indonesia would be decided after the presidential Election this year.
The partnership program between Indonesia and New Zealand including the Community Police Training Program will be finally terminated this year, the New Zealand government said. This year, New Zealand allocated NZ$ 6.3 million or around US$ 5.4 million for the Community Police Training Program in the eastern Indonesia, in particular in Papua province.
The official statement of the Ministry of the Foreign and Trading Affairs of New Zealand received by Jubi on Tuesday (20/5) said the program would be terminated following Indonesia’s suggestion due to its incapability to support the project implementation within 2014. But the MFAT further said the program’s sustainability is depending on the funding priority in supporting the development agreed by New Zealand and the new Indonesian government.
In 2013, New Zealand’s journalist, Paul Benseman visited Papua and interviewed some Papuan activists about the New Zealand’s aid to the Indonesian police. The activists requested Auckland to terminate the aid because they believed the police had misused it to commit violence against the people of Papua.
A church congregation member in Jayapura who was arrested by the Police in 2011 admitted in the interview that he was accused of being a member of the Papua Free Movement.
“The police officers kicked me wearing their boots. I have been beaten with rifle butts and rattan. They broke the door of the house and fired a shot in the air. Two police officers who coming to the house fired their guns towards our kitchen,” he witnesses.
The Coordinator of Papua Peaceful Network, Pater Neles Tebay when being interviewed by Paul Benseman said even though the Government of Indonesia committed to improve their attention to the people of Papua, the military and the police would raise the problem in Papua instead. The aid from other country is often turned to be a contra-productive. Therefore, Tebay suggested the Government of New Zealand to participate into the conflict resolution in Papua.
“The Government of Indonesia has a close relationship to the Government of New Zealand than the Australian. To talk with the group of the Pro Papua Independence is the only way to resolve the conflict in Papua. New Zealand is in the good position to grasp it,” Pater Neles Tebay said.
A New Zealand Parliament’s member from Green Party, Catherine Delahunty appreciated this termination. She said the collaboration between her country and the Indonesia Police was really not helping the people of Papua. She further admitted if most of New Zealand’s citizens do not know about the use of the New Zealand aid to Indonesia due to the lack of the report of public statements about such aid.
“Our party is glad on the termination of this program. We are very concerned on the activists’ statement in Papua who said the New Zealand aid is being used to kill Papuans. We would not spend NZ$ 6,300,000 to help the violence in anywhere,” said Catherine Delahunty by phone (20/5). (Jubi/Victor Mambor/rom)