Duncan Graham, Contributor, Surabaya
It is probably one of the most difficult jobs on the diplomatic circuit in Indonesia: To get United States policies, values and lifestyles understood by people who have never been to America.
For some, it is the great democracy; for others it is the great Satan. Demolishing myths and substituting facts is no task for the weak-willed.
The latest recruit to this "challenging task" -- as she prefers to label the assignment - is the energetic Claire Pierangelo; marathon runner, linguist, economist and now U.S. consul general in Surabaya.
"There's a lot of interest but not a whole lot of knowledge about the U.S. in Indonesia," she said. "Its important for people to meet face to face in order to form their own opinions on issues beyond the simple headlines of the day.
"Nor was there much depth of knowledge of Indonesia in America until the terrible tragedy of the tsunami. That's now changing. One in five Americans donated to the tsunami victims.
"A priority in my job is community outreach. By that I mean getting to know Indonesian people and help them develop their own ideas of what America is and what it means. Of course, it was easier to do that in the old days."
Indeed. Now there are real obstacles to add to the cultural, historical and language differences. Since Ms Pierangelo took up her post in July the consulate's high steel fences have been shielded so the lovely old Dutch house can no longer be seen by passersby or the queues of visa applicants.
There is always a heavy police presence outside waiting for the next demo, and the roadside barriers in Jl Dr Sutomo have been strengthened.
It is an annoying impediment to the free flow of traffic and Pierangelo will not comment on when or if it will be removed. By comparison, within a couple of kilometers the French consulate runs an open-door policy with free access to a substantial library, exhibitions and regular film nights.
If the average Indonesian cannot saunter into the U.S. consulate, then the staff have to get out to meet the people. Ms Pierangelo has already visited a pesantren in Malang and has been confronted with questions about her country's attitude toward independence in Papua.
The issue has been made more sensitive by reports that some members of the U.S. Congress have proposed a bill questioning the validity of Papua's inclusion in the Republic in the 1969 so-called Act of Free Choice.
"I said we continue to support the territorial integrity of Indonesia but we are concerned about some human rights issues," Ms Pierangelo said. "Members of Congress are free to discuss international issues and propose legislation, but that doesn't mean they become law."
Her colleagues visit schools and other education institutions to explain how the U.S. works, and distribute information on exchange programs and fellowships. More than 11,000 Indonesians have utilized these in the past 50 years. (The figure for Australian government scholarships over the same period is 8,000.)
The Pesantren Leaders Program gives educators the chance to study in public and private schools in the U.S. and meet religious leaders of all faiths. This is part of a US$ 157 million four-year educational aid package for Indonesia.
The U.S. has had a consulate in Surabaya since 1896. With a staff of about 50 locals and 10 expatriates it is the largest foreign mission in Indonesia's second-largest city. This is despite the fact that probably fewer than 2,000 Americans live in the consulate's coverage area. This extends east from central Java across to Papua.
Australia, the country next door, has no office in Surabaya even though Western Australia has a "Sister-State" relationship with East Java.
Pierangelo said her country recognized the importance of the East Java capital and its significance to Indonesian business, industry and politics. "I want as many people as possible to get to know America," she said.
"It's not my role to dictate. I want Indonesians to know and understand us. I'll have succeeded if they've met a variety of people and been exposed to a variety of opinions -- and they remember the effort we've put into that ambition."
Her previous overseas posting was in Vietnam where she worked on trade issues. She joined the U.S. State Department in 1985 after studying international relations at Johns Hopkins University where she graduated with a master's degree.
She has also studied at the National Defense University and has served in Britain, Haiti, Malta and Italy -- the birthplace of her grandparents. Her linguistic abilities include Italian, French, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Vietnamese.
With this background, it is not surprising that she has yet to encounter any great culture shock.
After being offered the Surabaya job she studied Indonesian intensively in Washington, but finds limited opportunities to practice her skills now she is in Indonesia, such are the security concerns. It also hampers chances of running marathons, which she did in Washington.
Operating under tight security is not the best way to meet the people but so far Ms Pierangelo seems to have done a reasonable job if comments in the small foreign community are any guide.
Her predecessor Philip Antweiller had a low-profile reputation -- his successor is said to be more direct and outspoken -- an analysis she found amusing.
While sipping tea served by men, she rejected local gossip that she had been chosen for the job to show a predominantly Muslim nation that in the West women can rise to high administrative positions. She also dismissed the idea that she might give the job a soft touch.
"Gender is not a criterion for selection," she said. I was offered the position. Who wouldn't want to come to Indonesia?"
..:: West Papua ::.. - Page 14
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Reaching out beyond the barriers
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Menhut Desak Proses Hukum 10 Bupati yang Terlibat Kejahatan Kehutanan
Rabu, 07 September 2005 - 07:30 AM
Jakarta, Menteri Kehutanan (Menhut) mendesak Kejaksaan Agung mengusut tuntas kasus 10 bupati dan mantan bupati yang terindikasi kuat melakukan kejahatan di bidang kehutanan. Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono juga telah mengeluarkan izin pemeriksaan terhadap para bupati tersebut.
''Saat ini beberapa kasus sudah sampai pada penyelidikan dan pengumpulan bahan keterangan. Jadi memang ada beberapa kasus pelanggaran yang berpotensi merugikan negara yang diduga kuat melibatkan para bupati dan mantan bupati itu. Kita sudah minta secara resmi kepada Kejaksaan Agung supaya kasus ini cepat diselesaikan,'' kata Menhut MS Kaban di Jakarta, Senin (5/9).
Menurut Menhut, akibat ulah para kepala daerah itu, negara berpotensi mengalami kerugian puluhan miliar. Saat diminta memerinci kesepuluh bupati dan mantan bupati itu, Menhut mengaku tidak hafal satu per satu. Dia hanya menyebutkan, kesepuluh bupati dan mantan bupati tersebut, lima orang berasal dari wilayah Kalimantan, empat orang dari Sumatera, dan satu orang dari Papua.
Direktur Jendral Bina Produksi Kehutanan Dephut, Suhariyanto menambahkan, kasus-kasus yang melibatkan para kepala daerah tersebut meliputi penyelewengan setoran Dana Reboisasi dan Provisi Sumber Daya Hutan (DR-PSDH), pemberian izin pengusahaan hutan yang tidak sesuai dengan UU 41/1999 tentang Kehutanan, serta pembalakan liar (illegal logging).
''Ada setoran DR-PSDH dalam jumlah yang cukup besar yang sampai saat ini masih ditahan kepala daerah dengan berbagai alasan. Ada setoran yang mengendap di rekening bupati, dan ada juga yang digunakan untuk hal-hal lain. Padahal dana DR-PSDH itu harus disetorkan ke kas negara. Jumlahnya memang tidak sampai ratusan miliar rupiah, hanya puluhan miliar rupiah. Tapi, kita tidak melihat nominalnya. Ini adalah pelanggaran aturan dan merugikan negara. Jadi, ini yang kita tekankan,'' katanya.
(sumber: pembaruan)
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NASA's Science Resources Help Agencies Respond To Katrina
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Forum seeks public debate on Papua
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A group of prominent figures established a forum on Tuesday to increase public participation in the efforts to resolve the problems of Papua, which has been affected by human rights abuses and secessionist sentiment for decades.
The establishment of the Papua Forum has been inspired by a lack of transparency in the way in which the government dealt with the Aceh conflict recently, the forum's deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman said.
"People feel they have been excluded by the government from the efforts to settle the Aceh problem. Now that the President has announced the government's intention of addressing the Papua issue, we hope that this forum will be capable of ensuring greater public participation," Marzuki, of the Golkar Party, said.
In his address to the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) a few weeks ago, President Susilo said that the government would now turn its attention to Papua after the peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to end three decades of bloodshed in the country's westernmost province.
Albert Hasibuan, who chairs the new forum, said that it had been established to show the public that the Papua issue was not the exclusive domain of Papuans and the government, but also concerned other Indonesians.
Other founders of the forum include H.S. Dillon, Sabam Siagian, Fikri Jufri, Tommy Legowo, Zoemrotin K. Susilo, Asmara Nababan, Fajrul Falaakh, Faisal Basri, Tuty Herati Nurhadi, Bara Hasibuan, Rizal Sukma, Father J. Budi Hernawan OFM, Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, Shanti Poesposoetjipto, Sjafii Maarif and Harry Tjan Silalahi.
Wiryono said Indonesians quickly unite when it comes to problems with other countries but do the opposite in response to domestic problems.
"There has also long been a mind-set that separatism must be crushed (by the use of force). It's reform time now, meaning that problems must be resolved through peaceful means," said the former diplomat, who was the government's chief negotiator during talks with GAM in 2002.
Albert said the forum planned to initiate debate on the problems of Papua and to approach them from various perspectives. The results would then be presented to the government.
Jakarta, Sabam added, must not attempt to oversimplify the problems in Papua, which he said were complicated and had persisted since the late 1940s.
The government has admitted that separatist sentiment in Papua is the result of the unfair treatment meted out by Jakarta to indigenous Papuans in the economic, political, social and security fields.
Human rights violations have been widespread in Papua, but the perpetrators have rarely been brought to book. Meanwhile, most Papuans continue to live in abject poverty despite Papua's mineral wealth.
Like Aceh, Papua has been granted special autonomy, but unlike Aceh its implementation has consistently been thwarted by Jakarta. To date, the government has yet to set up the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), even though its establishment is mandated by law.
Through changes in the legislation, the government has ensured that if and when it is set up, the MRP, which is supposed to have a say in the political, social and economic affairs of the province, will serve as little more than a cultural talking shop.
Separately in Jayapura, tribal leader Seblum Werbabkay called on the Papua administration, the Papua General Elections Commission (KPUD) and the Papua provincial council to hold a gubernatorial election after the establishment of the MRP.
He said it was the MRP that had the power to determine those eligible to contest the election under the Papuan Special Autonomy Law (No. 21/2001).
"Otherwise, it may spark conflict," Seblum said.The Papua issue recently came to the fore again following the questioning in the U.S. of Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua in the 2006-2007 foreign relations authorization bill, which has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is now at the committee stage in the Senate.
Sumber dari http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20050907.C02&irec=1
JIAK
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Masalah Kehutanan Papua
Dalam waktu dekat paling lama tgl 09 Sept. 2005 akan dimuat berita tentang Kehutanan Papua yang dirilis oleh salah satu situs di Amerika. Yaitu
FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY
West Papua Logging & Human Rights Abuses
***********************************************
Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org, Inc.
http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Portal
http://www.EnvironmentalSustainability.info/ -- Eco-Portal
http://www.ClimateArk.org/ -- Climate Change Portal
Tunggu aja informasinya ok, itupun bagi mereka dan aku yang lain yang tidak mau ketinggalan denga berita seputar Papua.
JIAK
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Papua Gubernur
6 confirmed dead in helicopter crash in Indonesiawww.chinaview.cn 2005-09-03 14:01:07
JAKARTA, Sept. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- An Indonesian rescue team has confirmed that six people were killed after a police helicopter crashed into a jungle in West Sumatra province, local press reported Saturday.The helicopter was flying in a bad weather and caught fire before it crashed into the forest on Thursday, The Jakarta Post newspaper reported.
Co-pilot Sen. Insp. Asep was the only survivor in the accident. He was found by the rescue team when crawling out of the jungle for help with severe knee injury.
Meanwhile, the Antara news agency reported that the evacuation process has been hampered by bad weather.
The rescue team resumed the evacuation Saturday morning.
Carrying six middle-ranking police officers and a journalist, the ill-fated MI-2 helicopter crashed when it was on the way to the West Sumatra capital of Padang after inspecting forest fires in South Solok regency.
Witnesses said they heard explosion before the helicopter went down, Antara said.
The accident is the second involving police plane this year, after a Cassa 212 airplane nosed-dived into an estuary meters in front of Sarmi Airport in Papua province, killing 15 people. Enditem
Dalam versi bahasa indonesia silahkan download aja di bawa ini ok gubernur_papua_luncurkan_kapal_seharga_rp17_miliar.doc
JIAK
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Papua - En.wikipedia
Papua (Indonesian province)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Map showing Papua province in IndonesiaPapua is a province of Indonesia comprising part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also Western New Guinea).
The name Papua may also refer to either the entire island of New Guinea or to the southern half of the neighboring country of Papua New Guinea. The name West Papua is preferred among nationalists who hope to separate from Indonesia and form their own country (the region was promised a referendum on independence from the Netherlands). The province was known as West Irian or Irian Barat from 1969 to 1973—Irian is the Indonesian term for the island of New Guinea. It was then renamed Irian Jaya (roughly translated, "Victorious Irian") by Suharto, a name that remained in official use until 2002. During the colonial era the region was known as Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea.
The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea, but in 2003, the western portion of the province, on the Bird's Head Peninsula, was made a separate province named West Irian Jaya.
Netherlands New Guinea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Netherlands New Guinea was the official name of western New Guinea while it was a colonial possession of the Netherlands. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea. It is now a province of Indonesia known as Papua.
From 1898 to 1949 Dutch New Guinea was governed as part of the Dutch East Indies.
In 1949, when the rest of the Dutch East Indies became fully independent as Indonesia, the Dutch retained sovereignty over western New Guinea, and took steps to prepare it for independence as a separate country. Some five thousand teachers were flown there. The Dutch put an emphasis upon political, business, and civic skills. The first local naval cadets graduated in 1955 and the first army brigade become operational in 1956.
Elections were held across Dutch New Guinea in 1959 and an elected council officially took office on April 5, 1961, to prepare for full independence by the end of that decade. The Dutch endorsed the council's selection of a new national anthem and the Morning Star as the new national flag on December 1, 1961.
Indonesia invaded the region on December 18, 1961. After an armed conflict the territory was placed under United Nations administration in October 1962 before being transferred to Indonesia in May 1963. The territory was formally annexed by Indonesia in 1969 after a controversial plebiscite was conducted by the Indonesian military.
See also: Papua (Indonesian province); Western New Guinea
JIAK
Sumber : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_(Indonesian_province)
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Msalah HIV/AIDS di Papua
Ada berita yang dirilis di situs The Jakarta Pos tentang Perkembangan HIV/AIDS di Papua hingga sekarang jika anda ingin mau baca dan tidak sempat baca dikoran tersebut silahkan download dibawa ini masalah_hiv-aids.txt
JIAKSumber : http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20050830.Q01&irec=0 -
Pendidikan Papua
Yang ingin tidak mau ketinggalan dengan informasi seputar Papua silahkan download aja dibawa ini ok pilkada_enam_bupati_di_irjabar.doc Disamping itu tidak luput dari Masalah Pendidikan, dari Kota Rusa Merauke ada kebrakan tersndiri untuk para Bupati lain untuk ditiru ok. pendidikan_papua.doc
Baca aja jika mau tahu Perkembangan Papua ok
JIAK
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Kumpulan masalah Papua
Beberapa kumpulan Masalah mengenai Papua yang dirangkum di dalam beberapa surat kabar, namun saya dari Koran Tempo belum aku masukin karena waktu membuat saya lagian kekuarangan dana untuk membiayai update berita jadi minta maaf yang se dalam-dalam hingga 1000 km meter. ingin mau baca silahkan download ada ok kumpulan_masalah_papua.doc .
Masih ada lagi yang berhubungan dengan maslah Papua download aja Mang jika anda tidak mau ketinggalan berita perkembangan Papua august_6_and_the_barbarians_of_the_dark_ages_papua.doc
Barangkali anda tidak bosan untuk membaca dan mengklik kesana - kesini ok bos dagggggg<<<<<<<<<<:::::::::....
JIAK
