Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday pledged to ensure US$1.4 billion of state funds allocated to improve welfare in the troubled province of Papua are properly spent.
"I have to assure that those money can be used completely for the promotions of the welfare of the people and it needs the accountabilities of all leaders in Papua as well," Yudhoyono said.
Yudhoyono said his visit to Papua this week to review health, education and poverty issues in the easternmost province showed that "there must be a close communication, close cooperation" between the central government and Papua administrators.
"We have to engage directly in improving the welfare of the people. We have allocated a lot of money [for Papua]," the president told a press conference with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende at his side.
Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, a former Dutch colony, in 1969 after the UN allowed an integration referendum by about 1,000 hand-picked leaders which was widely regarded as a sham.
Yudhoyono said Jakarta could convince Papuans that "we are doing good things for Papua by ensuring that all programs are well-implemented, that the allocations of our budget can be used properly."
The president's pledge followed his warning on Monday that Indonesia would not tolerate any elements, including in Australia, providing help to separatists in Papua.
Canberra caused a furore here by granting 42 Papuan asylum-seekers temporary visas last month. Jakarta recalled its ambassador and called for a review of all cooperation with its southern neighbor.
The Papuans have accused Indonesia of "genocide" in Papua.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, in a move to ease Indonesian outrage over the decision, said on Friday his government would review the visa process.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, speaking after the press briefing, said "there are some points" from Howard's statement that needed clarification.
"It was not quite clear what was meant by reviewing. Is it a review of the current situation, or [was it about] the future process?" Wirayuda told reporters.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was