West Papuan independence leader Buchtar Tabuni (foreground) has been forced to hide from police after he was stopped on the way to a soccer game last June. Photo: Paul Bensemann/PMC

Pacific Scoop:
Special Report – By Paul Benseman

The West Papuan farmer showed me scars on his head he claimed police caused nearly two years ago.

His eyes were still bloodshot after a beating by rifle butts, boots and rattan sticks. The left eye, scarred on its edge, seemed slightly out of place.

The 35-year-old still gets headaches and has a partial loss of sight. After the beating, he said he was locked in a paddy wagon with 14 others, and left without food, water, medical attention or a toilet for 26 hours. Read more »

Timor-Leste protesters accuse Australia of “stealing oil”. Image: La’o Hamutuk

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By David Robie

When Timor-Leste opens its lawsuit against Australia in a United Nations courtroom spy drama in The Hague this week with the economic survival of this Asia-Pacific country on the line, a small but feisty non-government organisation will be closely monitoring proceedings.

Renegotiation of the great Australian “rip-off” maritime treaty – as some critics have branded it – is at stake in the ultimate end game of the Timorese action against the Canberra government.

La’o Hamutuk, the Dili-based Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis, has been a public watchdog on the oil and gas industry and other vulnerable resources since independence was restored from Indonesia more than a decade ago. Read more »

Bella Kalolo of Tongan, Samoan and Māori descent is currently enjoying a successful career. Image: Louise Hatton

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Shilo Kino

She was named Best Pacific Artist at the 2012 Pacific Music Awards and calls Glastonbury and City Of London Festival a “highlight”.

Blogger Martyn Pepperell described her as a “mixture of Aretha Franklin/Jill Scott redolent soul (both classical and modern, yet with a Pacific twist)”.

Bella Kalolo, of Samoan, Tongan and Māori descent, has emerged as one of the Pacific’s most thriving musical artists.

Read more »

Pacific Scoop interviews Jason Garman, media and communications manager of Oxfam New Zealand. 

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Daniel Drageset

Oxfam New Zealand’s media manager characterises the conditions of many of the women in Papua New Guinea as “living in a war zone”.

In an exclusive interview with Pacific Scoop Jason Garman said the situation for women in Papua New Guinea could be compared to many sub-Saharan African countries, and mentioned specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“Gender violence is endemic in Papua New Guinea. I’ve heard statistics that say by a woman’s mid-20s, she has a 65 per cent chance of having experienced gender violence at some point.

Read more »

Pacific Scoop internship editor Daniel Drageset participated in a focus group about Tongan handicrafts recently. He subsequently interviewed Monalisa Palu and Elizabeth Latham about the project.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Shilo Kino and Daniel Drageset

A programme that develops handicrafts in Tonga will change people’s livelihoods and improve cultural tourism, says the project manager.

Monalisa Palu is the national coordinator for the cultural tourism support programme in Tonga. The handicrafts and cultural tourism support programme was launched in 2012.

The NZAID funded programme is collaborating with Langafonua handicrafts centre and will improve the quality and marketing of handicrafts as well as contributing to cultural tourism.

Read more »

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill reacted negatively to critical reporting about the government’s nationalisation of the Ok Tedi mine. Image: devpolicy.org

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Pacific Media Watch

Senior journalists of Papua New Guinea’s government-run radio and television stations National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and Kundu 2 have been penalised, some removed from their positions, for allegedly reporting against the government.

Editor of Radio News Michael Asagoni, and executive producers of Kundu 2 Dick Sorariba and Mulai Robby, have been relieved of their positions and told to resume duties in NBC’s archive section, the Post-Courier reported.

Experienced journalists Jerry Ginua and Wesley Manuai have also been questioned over the same issues.

Read more »

Filmmaker Jim Marbrook, Kanak elder Jean “Jojo” Neporo, environmental activist Florent Eurisouké, and soundman Steve Woodward at the Pacific Media Centre. Image: Daniel Drageset / PMC Online

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Daniel Drageset

The main participant in Jim Marbrook’s upcoming Cap Bocage documentary says he thinks the film will help in creating awareness around environmental challenges in New Caledonia.

Florent Eurisouké was the president of the environmental group Mee Rhaari, which protested against nickel mining on the east coast of New Caledonia’s main island Grande Terre.

“It’s important for people to understand that to fight on environmental issues like New Caledonia is very, very difficult.

Read more »

Sir Edmund Thomas said it is “culturally and socially offensive” that Māori are “neglected” in New Zealand. Image: Anna Majavu / PMC Online

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Anna Majavu

A retired Court of Appeal judge has attacked the treatment of Māori in New Zealand, and also slammed New Zealand’s banks as “the robber barons of our day” for failing to pay their taxes and for making “massive profits” at the expense of ordinary people.

Sir Edmund Thomas delivered the annual Bruce Jesson lecture at the University of Auckland on Wednesday this week. The lecture coincided with the Bruce Jesson Journalism Awards ceremony.

Sir Edmund is well-known for being the lawyer who brought a successful case against the 1985 All Blacks rugby tour to apartheid South Africa, giving a much-needed boost to the anti-apartheid movement’s international sports boycott.

Read more »

West Papuans of the mountain areas in the 1960s. Image: United Nations Photo

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Pacific Media Watch

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a report into human rights abuses against West Papuans by the Indonesian military in 1977 and 1978, saying what occurred amounted to genocide.

The Hong Kong-based organisation called for an ad hoc human rights court to be set up to hear the allegations and try those responsible.

The organisation conducted field visits, interviewed witnesses and examined historical records over three years to collect the names of more than 4000 people it believed were killed.

Read more »

Atapana Si’itia points to where the dog dropped the baby’s body. Image: Ilia L. Likou/Samoa Observer

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Daniel Drageset

The mother of a baby found partly eaten by dogs has appeared in District Court amid a substantial media presence.

Justice Vaepule Vaemoa Va’ai adjourned the matter to November 5 to await a report from a New Zealand pathologist who conducted the post-mortem on the deceased baby, and for police to complete their investigation of the death.

The mother, 25-year old Seuta’atia Taina, has been charged with infanticide, the Samoa Observer reported.

Read more »