Indonesia’s MSG bid on back burner: PM Marape
A one-year moratorium has been placed on Indonesia’s application to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
Prime Minister James Marape said this was so that Pacific Island Forum could address the West Papua issue and specifically human rights allegations in the province.
Marape also said that the MSG received interest from Australia, France and Indonesia to join the group.
He explained that...
OPM accuses Melanesian group of taking Jakarta’s ‘blood money’ at expense of West Papuan justice
A West Papuan leader has condemned the Melanesian Spearhead Group for abandoning the West Papuan cause in favour of a “corrupt alliance” with Indonesia.
Jeffrey P Bomanak, chairman of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM), declared last week’s MSG Leaders’ Summit ruling on West Papua a “betrayal” of the Papuan people and called for the regional group to be dissolved.
His response...
Wenda calls on MSG for urgent action to back pledge over human rights
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua has responded cautiously over the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s surprise denial of full membership at its leaders summit last week, welcoming the communique while calling for urgent action over Indonesia’s grave human rights violations.
In a statement released by President Benny Wenda after the second ULMWP leaders’ summit in Port Vila, the movement said...
USAID pledges partnership and progress for Pacific nations: Administrator Power
By Rowena Acraman
The administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has highlighted the importance of collaboration and partnership in the region to tackle pressing global challenges.
Administrator, Samantha Power delivered an inspiring message of empowerment and shared progress during the Talanoa session which included USP students last week in Suva.
Power emphasised USAID's commitment to supporting Pacific...
Melanesian leadership failure to stand by ULMWP is a ‘travesty’
Analysis by David Robie
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has thrown away a golden chance for achieving a historical step towards justice and peace in West Papua by lacking the courage to accept the main Papuan self-determination advocacy movement as full members.
Membership had been widely expected across the Pacific region and the MSG's silence and failure to explain West Papua's...
Vanuatu Supreme Court rules in favour of opposition in Parliament majority case
The Supreme Court of Vanuatu ruled on Friday that Vanuatu’s opposition party won a no-confidence vote regarding incumbent Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau last week.
While the speaker of Parliament initially ruled that the motion failed, because it garnered less than the absolute majority of 27 votes, Judge Edwin Goldsbrough of the Supreme Court found that 27 votes should not constitute...
China sends ‘police experts’ to Vanuatu after pro-West PM loses power
As the Pacific nation of Vanuatu plunges into a political crisis, China has reacted by rushing its so-called ‘police experts’ into the country.
China’s move comes hot the heels of a Supreme Court’s ruling that observed that the pro-West prime minister of Vanuatu has lost a no-confidence vote in the parliament.
According to the ruling, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau will have...
Niue raises concerns over Fukushima radioactive wastewater release
The Government of Niue is concerned over Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater from its Fukushima nuclear plant last Thursday.
More than a million tons of ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) treated nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is planned to be released into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 years.
Premier of Niue Dalton Tagelagi says...
Tuvalu ‘concerned, dismayed, disappointed’ with Fukushima release
In Tuvalu, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Seve Paeniu said he is “concerned, dismayed, disappointed and kind of surprised” that Japan - which has first-hand experience of nuclear material - is now putting nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean.
“Tuvalu collects roughly about 45 percent of its total income from fisheries and fisheries resource through access licensing fees to...
SODELPA appeals to Fiji PM over Japan’s nuclear wastewater plan
Social Democratic Liberal Party(SODELPA) leader and deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka has appealed to Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to review his stance on Japan’s disposal of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
Rabuka had initially supported Japan’s compliance with safety protocols outlined by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
However, the PM has also emphasised the need for an independent scientific...