AT least six people were killed and dozens more hospitalised following a fight on the outskirts of the Porgera gold mine in Enga last week.
There was a shooting incident last Wednesday at Kumbipara village in Porgera in which four died, followed by an ambush on the road at Aiyaka in Laiagam.
Of the injured, four were airlifted by the mine’s helicopter to the Sopas Adventist Hospital in Wabag. More than 20 were treated at the mine site clinic.
The rest are admitted at the Paiyam Hospital in Porgera.
It is alleged that violence erupted between two parties from Kandep and Paiyala.
The Kandep faction attacked two men from Paiyala and killed them.
In retaliation the Paiyala men armed themselves and blocked the road at Aumbi.
They ambushed the Kandep community residing in Porgera who were travelling in a convoy of vehicles to go and bury their dead.
Enga police commander Chief Superintendent Joseph Tondop said the ambush was unacceptable.
“I strongly condemn the actions of the suspects who were involved in this cold-blooded murder,” he said.
“This is an inhuman act that will spoil the good name of Enga.
“I appeal to the community leader especially the Walin Tribe and seven ward councillors to surrender the suspects from the Yapal clan to the police.”
Two women were killed in the ambush.
Neighbouring tribes assisted in taking the bodies from the crime scene to Yakend village.
Tondop said some escaped to Sirunki through bush tracks.
“At this point in time I’m yet to confirm the number of survivors plus the number of deaths,” he said.
Meanwhile, the security forces are patrolling the highway from Wabag to ensure no further killings take place.
Civil society is looking at China as the best bet for reducing illegal logging in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
PNG is China’s single largest supplier of timber, large quantities of which come from illegal operations.
A policy advisor with the environmental and anti-corruption NGO Global Witness says PNG’s government has largely failed to put the interests of landowners who depend on forests ahead of foreign logging interests.
Lela Stanley said China holds the key because it purchases at least 85 percent of PNG’s annual log exports.
“It’s a similar situation in PNG’s neighbour Solomon Islands. China just has this outsize purchasing power, this outsize influence in the business.
“Any changes that it makes in terms of what kind of requirements it places on how timber is produced, how it’s sourced, how it’s checking to make sure it’s been done legally or not, will have a really profound impact.”
PNG civil society groups have written to China’s government urging it to regulate illegal wood imports from the country.
The letter, which highlights the impacts of illegal logging on PNG rural communities, was addressed to Chinese president Xi Jinping who is in PNG this week for APEC.
Ms Stanley said it was hoped that Xi’s new Belt and Road initiaitives in the region would take heed of the need for regulations around sourcing of raw materials like timber.
“It’s going to be hard to break through other competing demands for attention this week at APEC,” she admitted.
Ms Stanley said other major economies have created laws to ensure timber they source abroad are produced legally and sustainably, and China’s lack of regulations was notable.
The Vanuatu Daily Post – A team of agriculturalists from California, United States of America (USA) were in Vanuatu recently to explore new possibilities of sourcing local labor for seasonal work on farms in the U.S.
Islands to Oasis, an Australian-based company brought 25 farmers, growers and entrepreneurs who run companies that support the agriculture sector in California to Port Vila before going to Tanna Island.
Their visit came after the Seasonal Workers Program Forum held in Port Vila in mid-2018.
Islands to Oasis is working closely with the government of Vanuatu, through the Special Envoy for Seasonal Employment,Francois Chani, to improve and expand the seasonal worker program outside of New Zealand (NZ) and Australia.
“One of those areas we have been exploring is USA”, said one of the owners of the company, Chris Luxford.
“There is a a great opportunity to explore other places around the world where farmers are in desperate need of labor. It is estimated that in California alone, there are around 450,000 people working on farms.
“So there is lots of opportunity to explore different labor sources and Vanuatu is one of those that being considered.
“The role Island to Oasis is playing is to establish an opportunity for the Vanuatu people and work with the government to formalize a structure that will allow us to open that market up as a potential destination for work”, he told Kizzy Kalsakau from Buzz 96FM Nightly News .
Islands to Oasis was engaged by the Vanuatu government to have a look at the current seasonal work program and see what improvements can be made on the superannuation and living conditions for Ni-Vanuatu workers.
On their visit to Port Vila, the agriculturalists team met parliamentarians such as the Acting Prime Minister Bob Loughman, Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat including MP Chani.
Luxford said: “The role really now is for Islands to Oasis to establish a pilot program similar to the way the seasonal worker program of NZ and Australia started.
“But it’s not going to be a small pilot. USA is a much larger market compared to NZ and USA. We are looking at a pilot of several thousand workers”.
Asked why Vanuatu was selected as one of the labor source for the USA market, Luxford replied: ” All growers in Australia that we spoke to rate Ni-Vans in terms of work ethic and productivity,efficiency, friendliness, generosity and just lovely people to have.
“They would always select Ni-Vans over everyone else if they have a choice. With that, we’ve become very passionate for Vanuatu at the same time, we also have an obligation to the growers.
“If we are going to find workers for them we have to find workers that are reliable, hardworking and, predictable and do what we need them to do.”
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is expected soon between the Islands of Oasis and the government to supply workers to USA.
Orang Asli Papua (OAP) digunakan saat ini di pulau New Guinea bagian Barat untuk membedakan Orang Papua yang TIDAK Asli, atau istilah kita orang-orang Amberi, atau umumnya kita bisa katakan orang-orang Melayu Indonesia. Jadi, dengan mengatakan OAP, kita sedang mengatakan “Saya bukan orang Melayu, saya bukan orang Indonesia”. Itu makna secara sosio-linguistik.
Tulisan ini bertujuan bertanya kepada OAP, “Apa yang timbul di pikiran, otak secara kilat, cepat, sekejap kalau Anda berpikir tentang liburan?” Libiran natal, liburan sekolah, liburan semester, liburan hari raya agama, yang begitu banyak dirayakan di wilayah Indonesia.
Dulu saya pernah punya pikiran, bahwa “Papua New Guinea itu jauh sekali, ada di pulau mana?” Begitu! Dulu saya berpikir, kalaupun Papua New Guinea itu satu pulau,jaraknya sangat jauh. Lalu saya bandingkan dengan jalan-jalan ke Sorong, Mnukwar, Byak, Serui menjadi sangat dekat, masih dalam wilayah saya sendiri. Padahal saya ada di Tanah Tabi, dan Vanimo, Papua New Guinea itu juga Tanah Tabi. Ke Vanumi butuh sepeda motor atau mobil dan satu dua jam sudah sampai di PNG.
Tetapi otak saya bilang begini,
“Ah, jangan itu jauh sekali, itu sulit, banyak tentara jaga di pos-pos perbatasan. Nanti kamu diperiksa, nanti kamu ditanya-tanya banyak, nanti banyak rumit. Lebih bagus berlihur ke Jawa, Bali, Raja Ampat, Manokwari, Wamena.”
Ini kalimat bukan dari orang lain, tidak ada iklan di TV, koran atau buku yang mengatakan seperti ini. Kalimat-kalimat ini muncul di otak secara otomatis.
Lalu saya duduk bertanya kepada diri sendiri:
Hei Jhon, kau orang Tanah Tabi, PNG itu sebagian adalah Tanah Tabi. Wamena itu wilayah La-Pago, Sorong dan Mnukwar itu wilayah Domberai dan Bomberai, Byak itu wilayah Saierri, wilayah adatnya sudah lain. Apalagi ke Jawa dan Bali, itu ras manusianya sudah lain, agamanya sudah lain, pulau nya jaaaaaaaauh sekali. Ada salah apa dengan otak-mu? Mengapa otakmu tidak rasional? Atau otakmu ada gangguan identitas dan identifikasi?
Dibombardir oleh pertanyaan-pertanyaan ini, saya hentikan, dengan kata, “Stop!” Saya butuh waktu untuk berpikir.
Itu terjadi tahun 2009.
Sekarang tahun 2018, yaitu sebelas tahun kemudian, saya barusan pulang dari Vanuatu, dan juga dua kali mengunjungi Papua New Guinea dalam rangka merintis kemungkinan menjual Kopi Papua, Baliem Blue Coffee ke pasar Melanesia, menyambut langkah-langkah yang sudah dilakuikan pemerintah Indonesia dan pemerintah anggota Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) lainnya di kasawasan kepulauan Melanesia.
Memang biayanya dua tiga kali-lipat daripada biaya untuk terbang ke Jawa, 4 kali lipat biaya ke Bali. Padahal saya hanya terbang ke pulau yang sama, pulau New Guinea dibagian Timur. Padahal sayaterbang hanya ke kawasan ras Melanesia di PNG dan Vanuatu.
Saya juga sempat singgah beberapa kali waktu pulang dan pergi di Fiji. Saya bisa merasakan kondisi di Fiji.
Setelah perjalanan ini, saya mulai berdialogue dengan diri saya sendiri, mundur 11 tahun lagi, mengulangi diskusi kani 11 tahun lalu, menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang saya hentikan 11 tahun lalu.
Sekarang saya bertekad, produk-produk yang ada di Indonesia harus dijual di kawasan Melanesia, dan saya harus menjadi pemain aktif di dalamnya.
Saya kok jadi heran mengapa banyak kopi Filipina, Kopi Malaysia, Mie Bangladesh dan Nepal yang merajalela di Papua New Guinea, mengapa produk Vietnam dan China yang justru banyak di Vanuatu, mengapa produk India menguasai Fiji, mengapa produk Perancis menguasai Kanaky?
PADAHAL produk mereka 2 sampai 3 kali lebih mahal daripada barang-barang yang bisa dengan MUDAH dibawa dengan mobil lewat Wutung ke PNG, lalu dengan mudah ke pasar Melanesia.
Ayo! Mari kita Go-Melanesia, hai OAP, yakinkan dan percaya-kan diri sendiri, Kita Orang Melanesia, OAP orang Melanesia, kita harus berpikir dan sibuk mondari-madir, berdagang di Melanesia, dengan orang sesama Melanesia.
Apakah Otak-mu OAP, atau Anda gunakan OAP hanya dalam rangka memberontak terhadap orang-orang Melayu – Indonesia, yang Anda anggap mereka datang menduduki dan menguasai tanah leluhur bangsa Papua ras Melanesia? Kalau ini penjelasannya, itu terlalu picik, tidak membangun, tidak menguntungkan.
Mulailah melangkah, mulailah bergerak, start lalu-lalang di Melanesia, dengan sesama Melanesia. Anda akan merasakan “SESUATU YANG BERBEDA!” Jiwamu akan kesiraman Roh Leluhur,melihat saudara-saudaramu OAP di PNG, dan orang Melanesia pada umumnya. Jiwamu yang selama ini memberontak akan mendapatkan peristirahatan.
Kibat berpikir kita OAP harus kita PUTAR BALIK, dari lihat ke barat menjadi lihat ke Timur. Peluang bisnis untuk jua produk Indonesia sangat besar di sana. Jangan biarkan orang lain dari jauh-jauh saya merusak pasar Melanesia.
By Adjei-Gyamfi Yaw on November 5, 2018 — Yaw Adjei-Gyamfi explores the links between Emperor Haile Selassie and Rastafarians and considers why he remains a source of inspiration for Rastas all over the world
Recently, Ethiopia became the third African country, after Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender parity in their Cabinets when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s appointments saw women taking up half of the posts. A week later, Ethiopia made history when, through unanimous parliamentary approval, Ambassador Sahle-Work Zewde was appointed president, making her the first female head of state of modern Ethiopia.
While hailing this development, Ethiopians have reflected on the days of Empress Zewditu, one of the first women to govern and represent Ethiopia in international relations in the early 20th century. However, this is not the focus of this article. On 2 November 1930, one of the largest public events ever in the world took place in Abyssinia. In his song “Blessed is the Man”, Kabaka Pyramid refers to this event: “Bowing at his feet, 72 nations; Ras Makonnen crowned Conquering Lion.” It was the coronation of Ras Tafari Makonnen as the last Emperor of Ethiopia, along with his queen, Empress Menen Asfaw. He took the name “Haile Selassie” (Power of the Trinity) when he ascended the throne. We remember his commitment to advancing the cause of Pan-Africanism, as well as world peace and harmony. He is regarded as having laid the foundation for modern-day Ethiopia and for the transformation of the country. This article attempts to establish the connection between the Rastafari movement and Haile Selassie.
Coronation as “King of Kings”
Haile Selassie was born Tafari Makonnen on 23 July 1892, in Ethiopia. He was the son of Ras Makonnen, a chief adviser to Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, and the ruler became his mentor, placing him in positions of power from a young age. After Menelik II’s death, Tafari became a prominent political figure and began shaping Ethiopian government. He rapidly became known for his progressive policies. He served as a regent in the government of Empress Zewditu. Even under the conservative reign of Empress Zewditu, his progressive policies gained national attention. He won the hearts of the Ethiopian people, who described him as more globally minded, and had nationwide appeal. This love and admiration for Ras Tafari heightened when he secured Ethiopia’s entry into the League of Nations in 1923. He was the first Ethiopian ruler to travel outside of the country. Ras Tafari was crowned two years after the death of his precedessor, Empress Zewditu, in 1928. Not long after did he begin his transformation agenda with a strong belief in the power of education as an essential catalyst for the modernisation of a nation. On 2 November 1930, together with his wife, Ras Tafari was crowned the King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Conquering Lion in St George’s Cathedral, Abyssinia (Addis Ababa).
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia standing in front of a throne, probably some time in the 1960s, wearing a suit, stiff collar, and boat cloak. Photo: Wiki commons
Haile Selassie and the Rastafari Movement
Haile Selassie is regarded by the Rastafari fraternity as the incarnation of God, to unify all the peoples of Africa and the human race. The name of the movement comes from “Ras Tafari”, a combination of his name and the noble title “Ras”, which translates to “prince”. Marcus Garvey’s teachings greatly influenced the formation of the Rastafari movement. Although Marcus Garvey never actually followed Rastafarianism or believed in it, he is considered to be one of the movement’s prophets, because it was his ideologies that eventually grew into the Rastafari ideology. (Martin, 2009). Garvey proclaimed that black people should look for the Black King who would be crowned in the East, because this King was the Black redeemer and deliverer. When he left for the United States, many of his followers still gathered together, but had no leader to follow. In 1930, when Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia, many Garveyites had forgotten the message Garvey had told them when he left, but when Selassie was crowned it was remembered by many Rastas (Parmett, 2013). Leonard Howell, the founder of the Rastafari Movement, was a Garveyite. Howell has been considered as the first Rasta and his book, The Promised Key,launched the propagation of his message of Rastafarianism. He declared:
His Majesty Ras Tafari is the head over all man for he is the Supreme God. His body is the fullness of him that fillet all in all. Now my dear people, let this be our goal: Forward to the King of Kings must be the cry of our social hope.
Forward to the King of Kings to purify our social standards and our way of living, and rebuild and inspire our character
Forward to the King of Kings to learn the worth of manhood and womanhood.
Forward to the King of Kings to learn His code of Laws from the mount, demanding absolute Love, Purity, Honesty and Truthfulness
Forward to the King of Kings to learn His Laws and social order, so that virtue will eventually gain the victory over body and soul and that truth will drive away falsehood and fraud.
File picture: Rastafarians celebrate after the South African Constitutional Court ruled that the personal use of marijuana is now legal. EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
According to Beckford and Charles (2017:119), “Garvey congratulated Ras Tafari(name of Haile Selassie before his coronation) when he ascended the Ethiopian throne in 1930.” In an article in the Blackman newspaper in Jamaica, Garvey wrote on the coronation of Ras Tafari:
The Psalmist prophesied that princes would come out of Egypt and Ethiopia would stretch forth her hands unto God. We have no doubt that the time is now come. Ethiopia is now really stretching forth her hands. This great kingdom of the East has been hidden for many centuries, but gradually she is rising to take a leading place in the world and it is for us of the Negro race to assist in every way to hold up the hand of Emperor Ras Tafari.
The Rastas accepted the idea of Ethiopia as being their saviour with the influence of Marcus Garvey. His inspiring words has created an image of God to the Rastas:
If the white man has the idea of a white God, let him worship his God as he desires. If the yellow man’s God is of his race, let him worship his God as he sees fit. We, as Negroes, have found a new ideal. Whilst our God has no colour, yet it is human to see everything through one’s own spectacles, and since the white people have seen their God through white spectacles, we have only now started out (late though it be) to see our God through our own spectacles. The God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, let him exist for the race that believe in the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. We, Negroes, believe in the God of Ethiopia, the everlasting God- God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, the one God of all ages. That is the God in whom we believe, but we shall worship him though the spectacles of Ethiopia (Garvey, 1925:44).
These words gave the Rastafarians hope and motivation to find their God in Ethiopia and have pride in their race. It encouraged the people to believe that they can be their own leaders, without the white minority telling them who to worship and follow. Haile Selassie nonetheless refuted his status as God, as claimed by the Rastafari community, during his visit to Jamaica in 1966, saying: “I have told them clearly that I am mortal, and I will be replaced by the oncoming generation. And they should never make a mistake in assuming or pretending that a human being is emanated from a deity.”
Photo: bob-marley.es
Revolutionary singer and reggae icon Robert Nesta Marley popularised the deification of Haile Selassie through his songs, declaring him the “return of the Messiah”. He adopted the famous speech of His Imperial Majesty delivered at the United Nations Assembly in 1963 in his song “War”. In his song “Selassie is the Chapel”, he expresses his intense love and reverence for the Ethiopian emperor:
Haile Selassie I is the chapel. Power of the Trinity.
Build your mind in this direction
Take your troubles to Selassie; he’s the only King of Kings
Serve the living God and live
Take your troubles to Selassie
He is the only King of Kings
Conquering Lion of Judah
Triumphantly we all must sing
I search and I search on book of Man
In the Revelation, look what I find
Haile Selassie is the chapel
Here’s all the world should know
That man is the angel
Our God, the King of Kings
Emperor Haile Selassie remains a source of inspiration for Rastas all over the world. His name has characterised several messages delivered in their reggae songs, hailing him as the pillar of the Rastafari faith. On a day to mark the 88th anniversary of his crowning as the King of Kings, Rastafari brethren in Africa have convened in Shashemene, Ethiopia, for the second All-Africa Rastafari Gathering (AARG) under the aegis of the Rastafari Continental Council. His messages of hope, progress, love and peace continue to resonate in the minds of Rastas and Africans at large. Let me end in the words of Burning Spear: “Hail Jah, the Farai. Hail Him for everything which is Good… Hail him without any apology. Hail His Imperial Majesty.”
Vanuatu’s capital of Port Vila has witnessed one of its biggest exhibitions of art, with around 5,000 carvings and woven Melanesian products presented for sale last week.
Local organiser Tyson Stanley Ghera told the Daily Post newspaper that it is the first initiative of its kind, organised between the sister cities of Honiara and Port Vila.
Mr Ghera said it was possible it would become a regular event to promote an opportunity for carvers and weavers of the two Melanesian countries to exchange skills, training and business.
Most of the products come from Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province of the Solomons, where approximately 70 percent of the people are carvers or weavers.
