APSNet for 20061009
Austral Peace and Security Network (APSNet)
Twice weekly report from the Nautilus Institute at RMIT, Australia.
Monday 9 October 2006
- PM Condemns N Korea Nuclear Test
- Bring Troops Home from Iraq Now: Poll
- A New Diplomacy over Papua
- Indonesia: Acquittal Bolsters Impunity for Munir’s Murder
- Charges over Timor Violence
- Climate Change: Shock Report
- Pope Urges Australians: Confront Aboriginal Pain
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PM Condemns N Korea Nuclear Test, Australian, 2006-10-09
Australia plans to lobby the UN Security Council to take “swift and effective” action against North Korea. “We will * advocate a UN Security Council regime against the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) that includes targeted financial and travel sanctions, other trade restrictions and/or aviation restrictions”, Mr Howard said.
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N Korea Conducts Nuclear Bomb Test, Australian, 2006-10-09
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Weapons of Mass Destruction, Nuclear Weapons Testing, GlobalSecurity.org [Regularly updated]
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Weapons of Mass Destruction, Chik-tong, P’unggye-yok, (Kilju / Kilchu / Kisshu / Gilju) GlobalSecurity.org [Regularly updated]
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North Korea: Profile, Nuclear Threat Initiative, 2006-09-21
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Coordinates of the site of North Korean nuclear test, 40.81′ N, 129.10′ E [Google Earth]*
* Google Earth (free download) required.
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Bring Troops Home from Iraq Now: Poll, Michelle Grattan, Age, 2006-10-09
Nearly six in ten people say Australia should withdraw troops from Iraq, as Labor surges ahead of the Government on primary votes in the ACNielsen/Age poll.
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A New Diplomacy over Papua, Paul Kelly, Australian, 2006-10-07
The Howard Government must rethink its policy towards Papua to prevent tensions or even hostilities with Indonesia. This warning comes in a paper from the Lowy Institute that finds the Papuan debate in Australia is characterised by “utopian thinking, dangerous demands and misguided analysis”. These have the potential to damage Papua, threaten Australia-Indonesia relations and undermine Australia’s security.
Pitfalls of Papua, Understanding the Conflict and Its Place in Australia-Indonesia Relations, Rodd McGibbon, Lowy Institute Paper No. 13, October 2006 [PDF]
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Fijian Nationalists Call for Papuan Independence, RNZI, 2006-10-08
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Indonesia: Acquittal Bolsters Impunity for Munir’s Murder, Press Release: Human Rights Watch, 2006-10-07
The Indonesian Supreme Court’s acquittal of the only person convicted for the murder of leading human rights activist Munir Said Thalib highlights the failure of the Indonesian justice system to combat impunity, Human Rights Watch said today. The Supreme Court decision on October 3 to overturn the conviction means that no one has been convicted for the killing, despite compelling evidence of a conspiracy.
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Indonesia: Impunity Must Be Brought to an End – All Conflicts Must Be Resolved By Peaceful Means, United Evangelical Mission – Communion of Churches in three Continents/Diakonie/Watch Indonesia!, Aide-Mémoire to 2nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council 18 September – 6 October 2006, 2006-09-10 [PDF]
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Charges over Timor Violence, Tom Hyland, Age, 2006-10-08
A UN inquiry into the violence in East Timor this year is set to name up to 100 people, including senior political and security force figures, in scathing findings that recommend some should face criminal charges. The report is believed to expose a total collapse of government control, with no one in charge of key institutions by the time the shooting started. The report should be tabled this week.
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Climate Change: Shock Report, Rosslyn Beeby, Canberra Times, 2006-10-09
Leading aid agencies are calling for an urgent review of Australia’s immigration program, warning millions of people in the Asia-Pacific region will be left homeless by climate change in the next 40 years. According to a CSIRO report, commissioned by the national Climate Change and Development Roundtable, more than 150,000 million people in the Asia-Pacific region would be displaced by rising sea levels by 2050.
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Climate Change in the Asia Pacific Region (Executive Summary), CSIRO, 2006-09-27 [PDF]
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Climate Change in the Asia Pacific Region (Full Report), CSIRO, 2006-09-27 [PDF]
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Pope Urges Australians: Confront Aboriginal Pain, Carmel Egan, Age, 2006-10-08
In a powerful speech delivered by his representative at a gathering of Aboriginal Catholics in Alice Springs, the pontiff warned that no one could be exempt from reconciliation if Australia was to achieve a harmonious future. His words come after Prime Minister John Howard identified the stand against the “black armband view” of Australian history as the most important of the causes close to his heart.