Groups meet Ramos-Horta, urge Timor ratification of disappearances treaty

On behalf of HAK and others, ETAN is circulating a media release concerning President Ramos-Horta's pledge to seek Timor-Leste's signature and ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Four more ratifications are needed before the treaty takes effect.

Read the release here.

Letter to Secretary of State Clinton on Defamation Case against Usman Hamid

Joint letter from ETAN and West Papua Advocacy Team
excerpts below, full letter here

We are non-governmental organizations long concerned with human rights and democracy in Indonesia. We are writing to express our concern about the defamation case filed against Usman Hamid, Coordinator of Indonesia's Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) and a prominent human rights defender. Criminal defamation charges carry a maximum sentence of up to four years imprisonment; longer if the subject of the alleged defamation is a government official. The complaint arises from his involvement in the campaign for justice for his murdered colleague, Munir Said Thalib, who was poisoned on September 7, 2004.

snip

We urge that the U.S. government communicate to the Indonesian government at the most senior level its concern that the criminal proceedings against Mr. Hamid set a dangerous precedent for the rule of law in Indonesia. The Indonesian legal system should not be employed to intimidate human rights advocates. Their work is crucial. For too many years those responsible for gross human rights violations have escaped accountability, especially those with command responsibility levels of military and police.

Take Action via Human Rights First: Demand End to Intimidation of Indonesian Activist Seeking Justice

Satellite imaging of environmental damage near Freeport mine in West Papua and in Timor-Leste

GeoEye: High-Resolution Satellite Observation of Remote Mining Areas Addresses Human Rights and Environmental Protection Issues

Dr. Chris Lavers writes

There is considerable international concern at the rapid growth of the Freeport mine at Grasberg, operated by Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) in West Papua (Irian Jaya) over failures to address human rights and environmental protection issues. For the Amungme tribe, reduction of the beautiful Mount Grasberg, one of the largest Sudirman range peaks, to a vast hole in the ground, has been devastating.

Read the rest here

 

Figure 4 Central view of the mine (Tambang Terbuka).

see also the ETAN/WPAT: Statement on the operations of the Freeport McMoran Mine in West Papua, Indonesia

The blog Return to Rai Ketak posted several NASA satellite images showing fires throughout Timor-Leste during the height of the dry season.

Timor Parliament Debates the Budget

A committee of Timor-Leste's parliament has rejected the Government's proposed budget, offering detailed criticisms and recommendations.


La'o Hamutuk has posted the complete Portuguese version of the Report of Parliamentary Committee C (Economics, Finance and Anti-Corruption) on the proposed RDTL General State Budget for 2010.

An unofficial English translation of the Recommendations section of the report, including recommendations from all the Parliamentary Standing Committees is here.

The opposition Fretilin party applauds the report, passed with no opposition, but says it doesn't go far enough.

All members of the committee voted in favour of the report, except for the three FRETILIN committee members and the National Unity Party MP and leader, Fernanda Borges, who abstained because the report did not go far enough in condemning the illegality of the so called "referendum package."

La'o Hamutuk collects documents and other information, including its own submission to Parliament, related to the proposed 2010 budget here.

The 20 recommendations of the Commission C in english are here.

UPDATE  - The Government responds here. The Fretilin Bancada blog is here

Juvinal Dias and Charles Scheiner present La'o Hamutuk's testimony to
President Manuel Tilman and other members of Parliament's Committee C.

APEC and Singapore’s Sex Tour Hydrofoil

comment by Jeff Ballinger

APEC and Singapore’s Sex Tour Hydrofoil

How nice for hyper-disciplined Singapore that it has an island bawdy house only half an hour away! Human rights activists have complained about child sex slavery on Batam for over a decade, but it is extremely unlikely that any of the hoard of journalists following President Obama would dig into the story; human rights just isn’t on the APEC Summit agenda, never has been.

But, hold on, there’s actually a trade-related story in Batam and it involves the uber-hot electronics industry. Here’s some U.S. House testimony from the Environmental Investigation Agency back in 2003:

“The Integrated Sourcing Initiative (ISI) of the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement allows another country to benefit from what should be a bilateral agreement. In the case of the US-S FTA, some 100 items of information technology products produced on the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintam [sic] will be allowed to benefit from the provisions of the FTA. Products produced on these Indonesian islands will be considered as originating in Singapore."

snip

“This comes at a time when customs enforcement capacity is overwhelmed by smugglers obfuscating the origin of their products... Singapore distinguishes itself regionally by refusing to release data that may point to the questionable trading practices of Singaporean companies. Singapore recently drew the ire of Indonesia when it refused to fully release trade statistics between the two nations... Analysts in the Indonesian press have said that the Singaporean government is purposely keeping the real trade data a secret to protect “certain vested interest groups” that have continued contraband trade with the country, including Indonesian military figures.”

Many had hoed that the Obama presidency would usher in practices like a human rights think-through, every time the U.S. leader would go on a foreign trip. Realistically, of course, this would not mean a press briefing at the hydrofoil’s quay. But, come on, passing on some info to a couple of journalists looking for a social justice or corruption angle seems like a no-brainer.