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[Super Mario]

For those of you unaware [!], the relationship is a rocky one.
Recently, a boat load of Papuans fronted up in Oz requesting refugee status. They were then granted temporary visas whilst their claims were investigated. The Indo ambassador to Oz was recalled, the Australian Embassy was subjected to attacks and a cartoon published in a local newspaper portraying PM Howard and Foreign Affairs minister Downer as a pair of copulating dingoes [wild dogs].
I, and most Aussies [at a guess], found this quite funny. So did the targets.
However, a similar cartoon: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5132449,00.jpg

published in THE AUSTRALIAN has been met with howls of protest in Indonesia.
I guess next they'll be wanting to return a billion dollars of humanitarian aid.

[guruengerish]

The Indonesian officials seem to be stupid enough to think that the average Aussie is unaware of what's going on in Papua.

From what I've read, there is an extreme lack of hospitals in the province, and possibly a lack of many other facilities, with the notable exception of the army.

It will be most interesting to hear what this latest batch of political refugees have to say about the conditions there.

Two news items not given much airing this week have been: 1) the refugee camp across the border in PNG, with around 6000 people in it, and being run by the Catholic church. 2) A pastor phoning the ABC in Australia and telling them he just buried a youth. His family were too frightened to attend the funeral, and this lad had had his toes cut off.

Dramatic stuff I know, but one can understand why the Indonesians don't want the treatment of these people publicised and their hope that if they protest loudly enough, attention will be drawn away from the real problem.

This is what caused Aceh to complain, with money earned in their province going to Jakarta, as it does in West Papua.

Before howls of protest come flooding in about the accuracy of services in Jayapura, consider that the recent land slide in the Freeport mine resulted in some of the injured being flown to Australia for medical treatment.

The Australian govt does NOT want to see West Papua ending up like PNG with its law and order problems, and does NOT support separation. But anyone who cares a little, would like to see some of the vast profits earned in West Papua, being returned to the region, for the betterment of both the indiginous people and the ever-growing flood of Indonesians.

There is a current warning, advising Australians not to visit any part of Indonesia at present.

[uilleannpiper]

Just reading through the 'readers comments' under each of the stories in 'Rakyat Merdeka' - www.rakyatmerdeka.co.id

many respondents - Indonesian - were critical of Indonesia's upset at the Australian cartoon given that Rakyat Merdeka started first. Others were in agreement with the SBY/Papuan sodomi cartoon - one even suggesting that it pertains to other areas of Indo, not just Papua. Then some goon named Keith got on and basically told Indonesians where to go - not good diplomacy. Just waiting to see what today's batch has to say.

[Zorobabel]

Hopefully the situation in Papua will improve in the coming years. Revenue-sharing in the autonomy bill has significantly augmented the provincial budget and economic growth in the province has been robust. The real problems with Papua lie in the country's blatant Islamization of the region; an example being the seperation of Irjabar and Papua which made one of the provinces of Western New Guinea Muslim-majority (The Department of Religion won't release Mosque/Muslim figures for Irjabar as a result). Another problem was the disastrous transmigration program. While this no longer officially exists, the government still assists over 10,000 "voluntary" migrants with financial assistance to Papua every year. Seeing the socio-economic situation in both East Timor and PNG, however, reveals that independence is not an option.

[gugelhupf]

[guruengerish]

I think someone has got the wrong end of the bull here; the usual anonymous politician in Indonesia stated that they should not be accepting aid money from Australia, and the funds for Bird Flu shots should be returned.

On the ABC TV program "Foreign Correspondent" today, a good few of the West Papuans interviewed stated that close relatives of theirs have been shot; the leader of this refugee group recently did two and a half years in jail, for being a 'serial flag raiser' (of the OPM flag).

[Super Mario]