fPcN interCultural:

friends of Peoples close to Nature

Benny Wenda, leader of the koteka Tribal Assembly and his wife Maria Wenda, Serogo, Brother and Roger Harmar who are the Lani Singers appear on BBC radio Londons Saturday night show a world in London hosted by Dj Ritu. They perform music from the new Lani Singers album and some traditional West Papuan music. Benny also talks about his story and about the struggle in West Papua for independence from Indonesia as well as talking about West Papuan traditions and music culture.

Vice President of the current opposition partly in Vanuatu, Reuben Ishmael, Chief of Masoen Maramanu Tinapuna, from the 'Shepherds Alliance' party, speaks for a free and independent West Papua. And independence for all Melanesians

Abel David M.P from the 'Shepherds Alliance' party in Vanuatu speaks for West Papua & other colonised peoples of Melanesia and the world.

We are the victims of an integral plan of aggression that clearly emanates from all the armed actors operating in our territories. In the name of the struggle of the people for a country without owners, we reject these actions, come from where they may! We call your attention to events that occurred on Saturday, December 13th, in the mountain of Munchique de los Tigres, in northern Cauca, where the small shed housing the transmission equipment and the antenna of ACIN’s community station Radio Pa’yumat was ransacked and damaged. The perpetrators stole the copper wires that protect the equipment, causing severe technical damage in all the transmission equipment of Radio Pa’yumat, the voice of the Nasa people.

At the 'car wash'...modernity and traditional culture collide in the Baliem Valley.

The "car wash" in the remote Baliem Valley of Indonesia's Papua region is not as innocent as it seems at first glance, and just decades ago anything like it would have been inconceivable.

A fertile basin gouged out of jagged mountains, the valley has been in contact with the outside world only since the end of World War II. Everything, from clothing to metal, money and medicine is new here.

At the "car wash" on a quiet intersection in Wamena town, homeless men and boys from the villages squat by the roadside in the midday sun, drinking and waiting for cars and motorcycles to roll up.

Washing the cars brings in some money, but the real money comes from sex with the drivers. Seeing a camera, the workers point and laugh at friends lying drunk and unconscious on the ground.

Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education) is an indigenous peoples' organization born out of the need for heightened advocacy to have the rights of indigenous peoples recognized, respected and protected worldwide.

Established in 1996, Tebtebba seeks to promote a better understanding of the world's indigenous peoples, their worldviews, their issues and concerns. In this effort, it strives to bring indigenous peoples together to take the lead in policy advocacy and campaigns on all issues affecting them.

It is with great sadness that today, the 60th Anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, some States have denied indigenous peoples of their rights at the 14th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC.

This morning indigenous peoples were shocked to see the final version of the Draft Conclusions on Agenda Item 5: Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action, of the 29th Session of Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). This Document (FCCC/SBSTA/2008/L.23) removed any references to rights of indigenous peoples and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This move was spearheaded by the same States (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA) which voted against the adoption of the UNDRIP by the UN General Assembly last 13 Sept. 2008.

This is the 55th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com.

Contents:
* Thousands of Papuans Demonstrate Peacefully, Calling for Independence
* Papuan Academics call for a Human Rights Court and Reconciliation Commission for West Papua
* Papuans Peacefully Demonstrate against Militarism
* Secession Threats Raised in West Papua and Elsewhere over Passage of Islamic Law-Based Legislation
* Papuan Governor Suebu to Launch Anti-HIV/AIDS Campaign as the Disease Spreads Explosively in West Papua
* Papuan Governor Suebu Describes "Special Autonomy" Implementation as "Chaotic"
* National Seminar Discusses "Marginalization" of Papuans; Racism Cited as An Underlying Cause

Please consider giving us a donation to help tribal peoples. A Receipt or Invoice, for TAX purposes, can be supplied, just advise us of your requirements.