Dag Hammarskjöld and the Congo Crisis and West Irian

Dag Hammarskjöld played a pivotal role in the Congo Crisis, a period of political turmoil and violence that followed the country's independence from Belgium in 1960.

Key Points about Hammarskjöld's Involvement:

 * Mediation Efforts: Hammarskjöld was instrumental in mediating negotiations between the central Congolese government and the secessionist province of Katanga. His goal was to prevent the Congo from descending into a full-scale civil war.

 * UN Peacekeeping Force: Under Hammarskjöld's leadership, the UN deployed a peacekeeping force to the Congo to maintain order and prevent further violence.

 * West New Guinea: While Hammarskjöld was involved in the Congo, he was also working on the issue of West New Guinea, which was then a Dutch colony. He played a role in negotiating a peaceful transfer of the territory to Indonesia.

The Mysterious Plane Crash

Hammarskjöld's death in a plane crash in 1961 remains a subject of speculation and controversy. While the official investigation concluded that the crash was accidental, there have been persistent theories that he was assassinated. Some of these theories link his death to his involvement in the Congo crisis and his efforts to maintain the Congo's neutrality.

While there is no definitive proof of foul play, the circumstances surrounding Hammarskjöld's death have fueled speculation and conspiracy theories.

How much should a level 5 Hospital cost?

Sunday 6th October 2024

By Governor Allan Bird

First of all, let me acknowledge that NCD, Gulf and Central Provinces need level 5 hospitals and they should get them. This will take pressure off PomGen which is full of patients mostly from Central and Gulf provinces.

I am extremely alarmed to learn that a consultant has a K64m design and documentation contract for the proposed NCD hospital at Gerehu.

I am even more shocked that this new hospital will cost K800m to build.

If Vamed, an internationally recognized medical service provider can build a world class level 5 facility in Wewak for K210m, why does the one in Gerehu have to cost K800m?

I would think for K800m, NCD, Central and Gulf can all have a brand new Level 5 hospital each. Someone needs to come clean on these deals.

As a former hospital Chair who presided over the design and build of Sir Michael Somare Specialist Hospital Boram, I can say that K800m is exhorbitantly high. Someone is definitely making a killing on the side.

Vamed built Boram Level 5 for K210m with everything shipped from Europe. This includes all equipment from the CT Scan to the screws in the building. This also includes two standby generators and a stand by 50,000 liter water tank because we can't rely on the utility companies.

Vamed will also provide 4 years of training for the technicians to maintain the new equipment.

Since then, I have been involved in oversight of the building of Ambunti level 4 District Hospital for K28m and Wirui level 3 Polyclinic for K4.6m.

To operate all these facilities, we need about 40 doctors and many other technicians and support staff. So from the village aid post up to the level 5 hospital we need 1,641 medical workers (730 positions are currently filled).

I am sharing this information because I believe the new Gerehu Hospital will need around 400 staff including 40 doctors. Have we got enough Drs? Or do we build the facilities first and worry about the staff later? Boram hospital is still struggling to recruit staff because Treasury can only fund a certain number of positions each year.

Staffing, water and reliable power supplies are critical for hospitals to operate. Has anyone thought of fixing our power issues yet?

Finally, why can't we spend K5m each and upgrade all the clinics in Port Moresby and Central Province to help deal with the workload? We should also ensure we have enough staff at those facilities to care for our people so they don't all end up being referred to PomGen in the first place.

Our people need quality health services available close to them. We need to rethink how we are providing this service and ensure that we are following the National Health Plan.

Building a hospital at an enormously inflated price only means an unnecessary burden on the taxpayers. Someone should investigate this situation and tell the country why the same type of Hospital can cost K210m in a remote part of the country and K800m in the capital.

And while they are at it, can the PNG Institute of Engineers tell us if K64m is a reasonable design, documentation and supervision cost?

We can't keep doing this to our tax payers. Someone needs to properly justify how we are using tax payer money.

Sir Jerry Mateparae appointed in Bougainville post-referendum moderator role

 

Dated 3rd October 2024,

 Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand Foreign Affairs - Port Moresby. 

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the announcement of Sir Jerry Mateparae as an independent moderator, to work with the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government in resolving outstanding issues on Bougainville’s future.

“New Zealand is an enduring friend to Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and has provided long-running support to the Bougainville peace process,” Mr Peters says.

“Sir Jerry is eminently qualified for the role of moderator, having served as the Governor-General of New Zealand, Chief of Defence Force, and Commander of the Truce Monitoring Group in Bougainville during Operation Belisi.”

Sir Jerry has been in Port Moresby this week engaging in initial conversations with leaders about the moderator role. The announcement of Sir Jerry’s appointment was made following a joint meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Marape and Autonomous Bougainville Government President Toroama after their consideration of several high-profile candidates.

“We hope that Sir Jerry’s engagement will assist Papua New Guinea and Bougainville to progress post-referendum consultations and decisions on Bougainville’s future, in a way that that sustains the peace and progress of the last 25 years,” Mr Peters says.

Source: New Zealand High Commission, POM - PNG

SECURITY STRATEGY, ATROCITY PREVENTION & THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT WORKSHOP

PORT VILA, VANUATU (2 October 2024): The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is happy to support efforts by the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (APR2P) to ensure that MSG countries, and others in the region, implement the commitments made to address mass atrocities such as genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

In his opening remarks at the MSG R2P Workshop, Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Leonard Louma, warned of the danger of thinking that these enumerated mass atrocities do not occur in our part of the world. He acknowledged that this is due largely to our notions being framed by what transpired in Kampuchea under Pol Pot, Kosovo and Rwanda. This he said, is a fallacy and provides a false sense of innocence to our governments and encourages in them a nefarious attitude of complacency.

The Director General urged participants to give serious consideration to this subject matter and the need to look at MSG countries’ national policies, regulations, and laws to accommodate state commitments on atrocity prevention and Responsibility to Protect (R2P). 

He noted that Governments have an inherent obligation to protect the people they govern in their nation states and must ensure their welfare is taken care of and their dignity as human beings protected. 

“At the risk of oversimplifying the notion of atrocity, we would do well to think of it as a cruel act or mistreatment that injures the dignity of a human being. Suffering from hunger, affliction with NCDs, lack of basic drugs in our medical and health facilities, abuse in the treatment of our inmates in our prisons, etc. Atrocity prevention and taking heed of, and acting on, early warning signals is critical.”

“Once we start thinking of atrocities in the sense of lack of security then we will get our governments and ourselves to approach it in a way that our people deserve to be treated,” DG Louma commented.

The Director General also clarified that the MSG is not averse to collective security approaches aimed at addressing the region’s security concerns, despite the fact that it is sometimes portrayed as being in opposition.

“In our efforts to properly frame collaboration in the security space, explore synergies between new initiatives and existing initiatives, and ensure necessary guard rails are considered in any security arrangement, we are often portrayed as being against a collective security initiative. Far from it.”

DG Louma noted the ongoing efforts in collective security and expressed appreciation for the Australian Government’s collaboration with the MSG Secretariat on many matters of mutual interest.

The newly-appointed Australian High Commissioner to Vanuatu, H.E Max Willis, acknowledged the MSG and the APR2P for co-facilitating the Workshop and stated that Australia was happy to be associated with the funding of the Workshop.

The training explored how governments in the region currently accommodate atrocity prevention in policy and practice, and how they can work at the national and regional levels to better implement their R2P commitments.

Waromi calls for safety after pilot’s release from Papua captivity

Freddy Waromi, the head of the foreign mission of West Papua in Vanuatu, has expressed relief and gratitude following the release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who spent more than 18 months in captivity in Indonesia’s Papua region.

The news was confirmed by New Zealand’s Foreign Minister on Saturday, 21st of this month, marking an end to a prolonged hostage situation that began in February 2023.

Mehrtens was taken hostage by an armed faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) on 7th of February 2023, after landing a small commercial plane in the remote and mountainous region of Nduga, Papua.

His captors hoped to pressure New Zealand into influencing Indonesia to allow Papua to secede, a demand deemed highly unlikely to be met.

Mr. Waromi voiced hope that this situation would never be repeated and called on those working in private aviation in West Papua to refrain from taking directions from the Indonesian military, warning them not to risk their lives.

Waromi emphasised the role of the West Papuan people in ensuring Mehrtens’ safety, crediting General Pokoya’s leadership for keeping him alive during his captivity.

He also apologised to the pilot’s family in New Zealand, explaining that the TPNPB had intended to release Mehrtens earlier, but the Indonesian government had delayed his freedom.

Speaking at a press conference in Timika, Indonesia, Mehrtens expressed his gratitude to those involved in his rescue and said he was “very happy” to return home. He thanked everyone for ensuring his safety and health during his ordeal, stating, “Today, finally, I have been freed. I am very happy that shortly I will be able to go home and meet my family.”

According to Waromi, negotiations for Mehrtens’ release were prolonged due to the Indonesian government’s insistence on involvement. He claimed that despite the TPNPB’s willingness to release the pilot, the Indonesian military had prevented an earlier resolution, resulting in casualties on both sides. Waromi concluded by thanking God for watching over Mehrtens during his captivity and once again apologised to his family in New Zealand.

ezra@dailypost.vu

It is so warm to fly back home into sun rising over my beloved PNG

At UN, I presented our unity, culture, biodiversity amidst our challenges. And I pledged PNG to be a bigger manufacturing based economy by 2045, so the next 20 years is for all of us to work more. Nothing is impossible if all of us work harder! 

Papa Somare in Vision 2050 aimed for a ‘ happy wealthy smart nation’ where PNG’s HDI is among the top 50 nations by 2050 and I echoed those words in my ‘ richest black Christian nation’ statement in 2019. 

We have but 25 more years to go to 2050 and I want all of us to work hard the next 20 years so by the time we celebrate 70 years in 2045, we can say we are ready to progress into the 2050s with joy for our children’s future has been secured by our work. 

Our law and order must be improved, education must be relevant to grow the economy, cheaper reliable power and ICT, enabling infrastructures and modern healthcare systems must be the work of my government and those after me if we are to move in this direction and destiny .

I pray for God’s special blessing for PNG and I ask all of you to work faithfully for your country.

PMJM 01/10/2024

Netanyahu claims Israel seeks peace, Indonesia: "Really?"

ANTARA Current Issue - Special Report

Netanyahu claims Israel seeks peace, Indonesia: "Really?"

September 29, 2024 15:33 GMT+700

      

Netanyahu claims Israel seeks peace, Indonesia: Really?

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi shares her response to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech while she was addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on September 28, 2024. (ANTARA/Suwanti)

New York (ANTARA) - Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi shared her response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech while addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday.

Netanyahu delivered his remarks the previous day, during which Indonesian delegates walked out as a sign of protest.

“PM Netanyahu yesterday mentioned and I quote that ‘Israel seeks peace’, that Israel ‘yearns for peace’. Really? How are we supposed to believe that statement?” Marsudi told the forum.

“Yesterday, while he was here, Israel conducted unprecedented massive air-attacks on Beirut. PM Netanyahu wants the war to continue. We must stop that; I repeat, we must stop that,” she added.

Marsudi challenged world countries to pressure Israel to return to the two-state solution, prompting applause from the delegations.

The Indonesian minister reiterated concrete actions that UN member countries should collectively take, as she has stated in many forums she attended.

“I urge countries that have yet to recognize the State of Palestine to do so now. If each of us does it, for sure it will have an impact,” she said.

However, she added, it is the Security Council that holds the power to stop Israel’s actions against Palestinians, which violate international law.

“The mandate of the Security Council is to maintain peace, to create peace, not to maintain and prolong wars, or even worse, to support the perpetrator of atrocities,” Marsudi emphasized.

Related news: Indonesian delegates, others walk out at UNGA to protest Netanyahu

Related news: Indonesia calls for immediate recognition of Palestine at UN meeting

Reporter: Suwanti

Editor: Anton Santoso

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