Indonesian suspicions emerge over NZ's motives in Papua
A Jakarta newspaper report says the recent decision by Indonesia to axe New Zealand's planned police training programme in Indonesia's Papua region stems from suspicions over hidden motives.
Transcript
A Jakarta newspaper report says the recent decision by Indonesia to axe New Zealand's planned police training programme in Indonesia's Papua region stems from suspicions over hidden motives.
The planned US$5 million programme would have seen a small number of New Zealand police stationed in Papua, training their Indonesian counterparts in community policing.
Last month Indonesia scrapped the programme.
The Jakarta Globe now reports that the deputy chief of the Indonesia National Police cited concerns that there could be hidden motives behind the programme programme.
The journalist who wrote the article, Harry Pearl, spoke to Johnny Blades.
HARRY PEARL: What was passed on to me was that there was a political nature to the aid. But again what exactly that is, I'm unsure. I kind of think it would be a little bit naieve to think in a way that there wasn't some kind of motive towards reform or reforming practice of the security services in the region behind the New Zealand aid programme.
JOHNNY BLADES: It's interesting because the Indonesians had initially invited New Zealand in for the training back with the pilot project, hadn't they?
HP: Yeah in 2009 and 2010. By all accounts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade that was successful although I think there'd be people out there who would contend that wasn't actually the case, just in the sense that there were ongoing and persistent alleged human rights abuses carried out by the security forces. But as you follow this pilot programme, the fact that presumably time and effort went into preparing it for a start early 2014 seems kind of strange, thatit was scrapped so suddenly.
JB: But your colleague didn't press whether the political or hidden motive might pertain to the Papua self-determination question or anything to do with independence aspirations over there?
HP: He didn't, despite me asking, and also asking whether media scrutiny of the programme in New Zealand had played a part. So I can't answer that there. But you know Indonesia is particularly sensitive to any scrutiny of its security forces in the region so perhaps they thought that the programme might bring it undue scrutiny, I'm not sure. There's still a lot of speculation there. In the story, it mentions that the deputy chief of the Indonesia National Police kind of cites a kind of bizarre example that New Zealand had rebuffed an offer to train Indonesia's police in Java or Makassar, as one of the reasons why it was possibly suspicious. To be honest, I don't really know that much of what's going on. I think we've got a pretty limited picture.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's government says reported concerns about its political motives in Papua have not been raised with its officials.
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