APSNet 1 December 2010

1. General targets war between military and media
2. Minister attacks defence
3. Australian help might be required in a war, says Rudd
4. Cables reveal doubts about Pakistani nuclear security
5. Indonesia’s billion-dollar forest deal is at risk
6. Riots after Solomons ex-rebel jailed
7. Indonesia: “Christianisation” and Intolerance
8. Four injured, one dead in Abepura shooting

1. General targets war between military and media, Dan Oakes, SMH, 2010-11-26

The relationship between the government, the Defence Force and journalists is “broken”, resulting in distorted and dumbed-down reporting of the war in Afghanistan, according to a former army chief. Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy says the relationship is defined by mistrust and antagonism and needs to be overhauled.

• Mendicants and manipulators: the ADF, the media and the reporting of Australia’s war in Afghanistan, Kevin Foster, Austral Policy Forum 09-18A, 2009-09-10
• Tom Hyland speech at the launch of the Australian Forces Abroad Briefing Books, Nautilus Institute at RMIT, 2009-07-29

2. Minister attacks defence, Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-11-27

Defence Minister Stephen Smith has demanded better communication and accountability from defence bureaucrats. In an unusually frank and hard-hitting speech to senior defence officials, Mr Smith said major projects were being poorly handled and that government was being deprived of vital information by the sprawling organisation.

• Projects of concern – Update, Media Release, Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith MIN36/10, 2010-11-26

3. Australian help might be required in a war, says Rudd, SMH, 2010-11-29

The Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, has left open the possibility of Australia coming to the support of South Korea in the event of war with North Korea. Mr Rudd said North Korea’s ”spate of irresponsible actions” culminating with its artillery barrage on South Korean islands last week meant Australia was watching the position ”with razor-sharp eyes”.

• Australia observes United States-Republic of Korea Naval exercise, Media Release, Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, MIN37/10, 2010-11-29
• Korean impasse needs a game-changer, Hamish McDonald, SMH, 2010-11-27
• Talk best path to avoid a war between North and South Korea, Peter Hayes, Herald Sun, 2010-11-25

4. Cables reveal doubts about Pakistani nuclear security, Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, 20101-11-29

The papers leaked by WikiLeaks reveal U.S. concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear program, and its attempt to get Islamabad to give it its enriched uranium for safekeeping. Leaked classified U.S. diplomatic documents reveal strong doubts that Pakistan can keep nuclear fuel and expertise out of the hands of terrorists, alarmingly illustrated by a report that Pakistani nuclear workers have been kidnapped by Islamic extremists and not heard from again.

• Pakistan confirms Wikileaks claim of US nuclear appeals, BBC News, 2010-11-29

5. Indonesia’s billion-dollar forest deal is at risk, Aubrey Belford, NYT, 2010-11-29

Indonesia has been a key testing ground of U.N.-backed efforts to use international funding to pay developing countries to curb forest destruction, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. But a report by Greenpeace last week accused Indonesian government ministries of planning for massive land clearance, despite signing a $1 billion REDD agreement with Norway earlier this year.

• REDD Alert – Protection Money, Greenpeace, November 2010, [PDF, 2.44MB]
• Making REDD work for illegal loggers, Reuters, Environment Forum, 2010-11-26
• REDD+ in Indonesia: Response to the Global Challenge of Climate Change, Eka Melisa, Jakarta Globe, 2010-11-28
• McREDD: How McKinsey ‘cost-curves’ are distorting REDD, Nathaniel Dyer and Simon Counsell, Rainforest Foundation UK, Climate and Forests Policy Brief, November 2010, [PDF, 27.8MB]

6. Riots after Solomons ex-rebel jailed, Daniel Flitton and Charles Prestidge-King, Age, 2010-12-01

Riots and stone throwing broke out last night in the Solomon Islands after Jimmy “Rasta” Lusibaea, an ex-militant turned government minister, was imprisoned for crimes committed during ethnic violence in the early 2000s. The sentence throws the fragile government of Prime Minister Danny Philip into doubt, with Lusibaea to lose the seat in parliament he won in August elections.

7. Indonesia: “Christianisation” and Intolerance, ICG, 2010-11-24

Religious tolerance in Indonesia has come under increasing strain in recent years, particularly where hardline Islamists and Christian evangelicals compete for the same ground. Islamists use “Christianisation” – a term that generally refers both to Christian efforts to convert Muslims and the alleged growing influence of Christianity in Muslim-majority Indonesia – as a justification for mass mobilisation and vigilante attacks. 

8. Four injured, one dead in Abepura shooting, Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta Post, 2010-11-29

A man was shot dead and four others, including a child, were injured by unidentified armed men on Sunday in Nafri village, Abepura, outside the Papuan capital. The incident took place about four kilometers outside Jayapura. Police said they were examining the bullets recovered from the scene, and investigating whether the incident involved the Free Papua Movement (OPM). The OPM is often blamed in shooting incidents where the perpetrators are not known.

• One killed as Seven Indonesians shot in Nafri, West Papua, Paula Makabory, Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights, Infoshop NEWS, 2010-12-01

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