(1 January 2023) "Press Review: Mining in the South Pacific" Vol. 14, No. 6, November - December 2022, 74 pages, available here ------------------------ Vortragshinweis: "Bougainville: ein neuer Staat ist geboren. Geschichte, Konflikte, Perspektiven". Jour Fixe des Freundeskreises des Weltkulturen Museums Frankfurt am Main, Donnerstag, 15. Juni 2023, 19 Uhr ------------------------ News Australia's foreign affairs minister warns of potential 'catastrophic conflict' in Indo-Pacific RNZ 3 Feb 2023, link ------------------------ US re-opens embassy in Solomon Islands RNZ, 2 Feb 2023, link Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Colin Beck (centre left) with US officials at the Embassy re-opening. Photo: Supplied/US Embassy ------------------------ Eleven people have been killed in two days of brutal fighting between tribes in the Kompiam area of Enga Province in Papua New Guinea RNZ/Post-Courier 26 January 2023 (photo), link, link, link ------------------------                             Governor Lukas Enembe;               Image: West Papua Today West Papua governor arrested on bribery charges RNZ 12 January 2023. link see also Asia Pacific Report, 11 Jan 2023, link ------------------------ New article by Alexandra Sakaki: Attention to the Periphery? Germany and the Pacific Island States Lettre du Centre Asie n°102, 21 December 2022, link The Frigate Bayern during the 2021 Indo-Pacific Deployment. Credits: US Navy/Haydn N. Smith ------------------------ Sitiveni Rabuka is Fiji's new prime minister RNZ 24 Dec 2022, link New chapter for Fiji after the 2022 general election: The end of 16 years of dominance of Voreqe Bainimarama? Sitiveni Rabuka to lead coalition, Radio New Zealand 21 Dec 2022, link Done deal! Coalition agreement signed - Second from left Sodelpa chief negotiator Anare Jale, People's Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka, National Federation Party leader Biman Prasad and Ro Teimumu Kepa former Sodelpa Leader, 20 December 2022; Photo: National Federation Party/RNZ ------------------------ Der Tiefseebergbau bedroht den Ozean Berlin und Paris vereinbaren deshalb eine Pause Gastkommentar von Steffi Lemke und Hervé Berville Handelsblatt vom 16.12.2022, link photo: Handelsblatt ------------------------ A new investigative report from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has exposed details of a Chinese Communist Party and Triad push for political influence in Palau 12 December 2022, link ------------------------ Independent environmental and human rights legacy impact assessment of Rio Tinto's former Panguna mine in Bougainville is due to begin; RNZ 6 Dec 2022, link ------------------------ Happy West Papua Day – and the brutal truth about where we are now COMMENTARY: By Yamin Kogoya, Asia Pacific Report, 1 Dec 2022, link ------------------------ Churches call for Pacific-wide boycott over West Papua The Pacific Conference of Churches is calling for a boycott of all Indonesian products and programmes, until Jakarta allows a visit to West Papua by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights RNZ 1 Dec 2022, link West Papua Liberation Army members outside the torched base camp of Indonesian logging company PT Bangun Katu Irian; Photo: RNZ ------------------------              Transparency International PNG Election Observation Report 2022 30 Nov 2022, link former election reports link ------------------------ Solwara I in Papua New Guinea is back! The Solwara 1 Project and related subsidiaries have now been acquired by DSMF (Deep Sea Mining Finance Limited, Isle of Man) in the course of 2019. DSMF now has full ownership of interests and rights to Solwara 1, key assets, intellectual property, and subsidiaries and is well-positioned to progress Solwara 1 into commercial production. DSMF has already secured the exploration rights to 19 prospective SMS (Seafloor Massive Sulphide) systems in PNG and 25 systems in the Kingdom of Tonga. See DSMF homepage: https://dsmf.im/ New deep sea miner wants to push ahead with Solwara I project Community leaders across Papua New Guinea call for seabed mining to be banned and all licenses cancelled; Alliance of Solwara Warriors, Media Release 15 Nov 2022, here Youth from Duke of York Island, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea protesting against deep sea mining. Credit: West Coast Development Foundation ------------------------ Human rights complaint filed over Newcrest’s plans to dump waste in Papua New Guinea Today, three organisations filed a complaint against two Australian-based mining companies, Newcrest Mining and Harmony Gold Mining, over the proposal to dump toxic mining waste into the Huon Gulf in PNG’s Morobe Province. The companies are seeking to have a Special Mining Lease approved for the project, the Wafi Golpu Mine, by 2 December 2022 - less than a month from now. Jubilee Australia 9 Nov 2022, link & link photo: Mineral Policy Institute ------------------------ New Research by ACT NOW! & JUBILEE Australia, Oct 2022, link The New Timber Barons: The Companies Logging the Rainforests of Papua New Guinea ------------------------ Joint Statement on Behalf of 50 countries in the UN General Assembly Third Committee on the Human Rights Situation in Xinjiang, China United States Mission to the United Nations 31 Oct 2022, link ------------------------ Massacre with 24 dead on Kiriwina Island north-east of Port Moresby in the remote Trobriand archipelago RNZ 28 Oct, link, & 27 Oct 2022, link ------------------------ The New Coming World Order? Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and the other newly elected members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, meet the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) large photo here ------------------------ Fiji is nowhere near a genuine democracy says Biman Prasad Radio New Zealand 14 Oct 2022, link ------------------------ US-Pacific Island Country Summit, 29 Sept 2022, link, link President Joe Biden and leaders from the Pacific Islands region pose for a photograph on the North Portico of the White House 29 September in Washington, DC. Pictured are (L-R) New Caledonia President Louis Mapou, Tonga Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano, Micronesia President David Panuelo, Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, U.S. President Joe Biden, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, Marshall Islands President David Kabua, Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, French Polynesia President Edouard Fritch and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. Photo: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / AFP; large photo here ------------------------ Human rights data for Pacific nations now available National 29 Sept 2022, link, link ------------------------ Fish dying in the Middle Fly river in PNG Post-Courier 23 Sept 2022, link ------------------------ PNG and Australian NGOs call on government to stop Wafi-Golpu mine project National 20 Sept 2022, link ------------------------ Happy independence day to Papua New Guinea for 16 September! The country's 47th year as sovereign nation ------------------------ Development in Port Moresby/PNG: Launch of K130m Paga Hill Paradise Post-Courier 9 Sept 2022, link, National (photo), link see also PNGi investigates, 25 Oct 2022, link ------------------------ UN Human Rights Office issues assessment of human rights concerns in Xinjiang, China 31 August 2022, link ------------------------                            Opening of the 11th Parliament of Papua New Guinea, 30 Aug 2022: Governor-General Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae paid tribute to Sir Julius Chan, MP as the only statesman standing out of all the pre-independence leaders (photo: Julius Chan 2021, US Embassy POM) ------------------------ Serious Human Rights Violations in Papua New Guinea Survivor in Enga’s violent sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV) attack shares horrifying experience, The National 19 August 2022, link See also: WILDFIRE - help stop sorcery accusation related violence A film by independent film-maker and academic Paul Wolffram, NZ; link & link ------------------------ Prime Minister names 33-member cabinet National, 24 August 2022, link Winners and losers of seats in parliament National, 15 August 2022, link James Marape returns as PNGs Prime Minister Post-Courier, 10 August 2022, link ------------------------ New photo galleries from New Zealand (1998), Jordan (1980), Guinea-Bissau (1983) and Thailand (1986) available here, here & here ------------------------ Frieda River Mine campaigners' human rights complaint success with OECD cf. Jubilee Australia July 2022, link ------------------------ ------------------------ "War Zone PNG", PNG National 26 July 2022, link (photo: PNG Defence Force) Commonwealth observers advise “urgent review” as many voters left out of Papua New Guinea polling; Interim statement Port Moresby 25 July 2022, link UN deeply concerned about 'heinous violence' during PNG election RNZ 22 July 2022, link National Research Institute (NRI) research fellow Dr Thomas Webster said this election was worse than the last two elections in 2012 and 2017. National 21 July 2022, link Porgera in chaos: A brutal massacre in Porgera town yesterday afternoon in which 18 innocent people were killed has rocked Enga province and shocked the nation. The 18 deaths brings to 70 the number of people killed in Porgera in the past four months; link & link photo: National 21 July 2022                        "WOMEN were raped, government and private properties torched, ballot boxes either hijacked or burnt, as the General Election 2022 (GE22) descended into more chaos and mayhem over the weekend." link photo: National 18 July 2022 ------------------------ BLUE PERIL - A visual investigation of Deep Sea Mining in the Pacific Launched at the United Nations Ocean Conference 2022 30 June 2022, link ------------------------ PNG National, 28 June 2022, link ------------------------ Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Liveability Index 2022 released: Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby is 6th least liveable city in the world Rank 167 of 172 cities (2021: 138 of 140 cities), London 23 June 2022, link ------------------------ 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva, 14 June 2022 On 14 June 2022, the Netherlands delivered a statement on behalf of 47 countries, including the Pacific states of the Marshall Islands and Palau, in the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in China, particularly in Xinjiang and calling for the release of the report on Xinjiang by the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)(link), Cuba delivered a joint statement on behalf of 69 states, including the Pacific states of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati, opposing politicization, double standards and interference in China´s internal affairs (link). Almost the same procedure as at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2021 (see below). States of the world and the human rights situation in China 2022 Source: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Map of the Month June 2022, link, large map here ------------------------ Papua New Guinea´s Sir Peter Barter, 82 from Madang dies after long illness 22 June 2022, link, link and link ------------------------ Death of Roger Moody, 74, mining activist, London 20 June 2022 As Richard Solly in the London Mining Network Newsletter writes: "We are also sad to announce the sudden and unexpected death (though this time peacefully, and at home) of Roger Moody, a long-time researcher and campaigner on the mining industry and the rights of Indigenous Peoples, one of the founders of London Mining Network and a very dear friend to a number of us, including me. We pay tribute to these dedicated individuals by re-dedicating ourselves to the struggle for justice and the defence of the Earth."   ------------------------ New discussion paper of The Australia Institute proves: “The owners of Australia’s industry are not Australian. Australians own a tiny fraction of the Australian corporate sector and seem to be deluded as to the extent of foreign ownership”; a “classic colonial culture industry” (Conclusions p. 36). “BHP is described as the “big Australian” but, at 94 per cent foreign owned and 82 per cent American owned, it would be better described as the “big American”. Australian ownership is a measly 6 per cent." The “mining industry is found to be 90 per cent foreign owned”. (p. 1) Australian equity in the LNG industry is 4.3 per cent (list of mining companies, p. 13, here) David Richardson: Foreign investment in Australia. Australian big business is not Australian at all. Canberra June 2022, link ------------------------ The first autobahn in Papua New Guinea (Lae-Nadzab road, <40 km) photo: National 9 June 2022, link ------------------------ Canberra called on to rein in mining companies eyeing Bougainville RNZ on 1 June 2022, link People panning for gold along the Kawerong river in Panguna, Bougainville; photo: Dina Rui/Jubilee Australia New Report by Jubilee Australia: Scramble for Resources – The International Race for Bougainville's Mineral Wealth, link ------------------------                                 PNG election 2022    for the 11th Parliament   since independence 1975 Nomination day, National 19 May 2022, link 22 provinces (governors) and 96 Members of Parliament (MPs) source: National 19 May 2022, link ------------------------ Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says resetting China–Australia relations requires 'concrete action'; RNZ 4 June 2022, link Wang Lutong, Twitter 31 May 2022 China's whirlwind Pacific tour a slight success with several bilateral agreements signed Analysis by RNZ 1 June 2022, link, 3 June 2022, link China, Pacific islands unable to reach consensus on security pact RNZ 30 May 2022, link Quad summit: The China factor at the heart of the meeting (L-R) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for photo before the QUAD leaders meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on May 24, 2022. Photo: MASANORI GENKO; RNZ 24 May 2022, link Spiegel Online: Wettlauf mit den USA. China will Einfluss im Südpazifik ausweiten 25. Mai 2022, link Grafik: Spiegel Online China seeking wide-ranging Pacific deal, Reuters 25 May 2022, link High-level visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the Pacific RNZ 24 May 2022, link Solomon´s leader confirms security pact with China RNZ 30 March 2022, link New China-Solomon Islands Security Agreement? link, link Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare (right) with Li Ming, China's first ambassador to the Solomon Islands. Photo: George Herming - Gov. Communications Unit RNZ 25 March 2022 ------------------------ On the death of Ben Micah: Admission and contrition By Keith Jackson, PNG Attitude, 17 March 2022, link ------------------------ US$9 billion P’nyang gas project signed between the State PNG and the project developer ExxonMobil; 24 Feb 2022, link, link Photo: National 24 Feb 2022 Map showing the P’nyang gas project in Western province; source: Oil & Gas Journal 16 May 2021 ------------------------ New study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute 15 Feb 2022, link ------------------------ Panguna mine; Photo: RNZ/Johnny Blades Deal to re-open Bougainville's Panguna mine, momentous Interview with Kevin McQuillan about the significance of the decision RNZ on 18 Feb 2022, link Panguna share value doubles overnight Post-Courier 14 Feb. 2022, link Bougainville: Panguna mine to reopen National 11 Feb. 2022, link ------------------------ Sepik River communities file human rights complaint against Frieda mine project National 22 Dec 2021, link and  RNZ 9 Dec 2021, link Frieda River heading north to join the Sepik River. Photo: Facebook - SEPIK Capital, PNG - Wewak Urban Local Level Government   ------------------------ New report by AidWatch, Jubilee Australia and the Paga Hill community “The story of Paga Hill should be seen as a ‘cautionary tale’ for others to be prepared for forced development in Papua New Guinea and be one step ahead of what’s coming.” National 13 Dec 2021 link & report link ------------------------ Australian Police and Defence Force as well as PNG Police personnel sent to Honiara Only six buildings still standing in Honiara's Chinatown. Photo: RNZ 26 Nov 21, Georgina Kekea    Analyses (DevPolicy Blog) by Transform Aqorau, link, Stephen Howes, link and Terence Wood, link 24 Nov 2021: Anti-government riots in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands cf. RNZ link, ABC link, Twitter link Photo: Georgina Kekea on Twitter ------------------------ Buchtipp 2021 Title of the original American edition: Making China Modern: From the Great Qing to Xi Jinping Harvard University Press London 2019 ------------------------ New survey reveals rampant levels of corruption in the Pacific Photo: Transparency International What the TI Global Corruption Barometer found in the Pacific:             - Corruption is frequently a problem in both government and business             - Many government-business relationships lack integrity             - Corrupt officials often go unpunished             - Corruption in public services is common             - Uneven access to public services drives corruption             - Political integrity is low, particularly around elections             - Sexual extortion - or sextortion - is a very concerning issue             - People support their Governments' anti corruption efforts             - Citizens believe they can help stop corruption see news RNZ 17 Nov 2021 link and TI report link ------------------------ People at the Waigani bus stop area in Port Moresby on Monday. Most of them ignored the Covid-19 health measures such as wearing a face mask. – Nationalpic by JOEL HAMARI Papua New Guinea: Covid-19 and "the silent dead" news story: National 7 Oct 2021, link  ------------------------ Bougainville public service to run independently of PNG Bougainville's public service is now to officially operate independently of Papua New Guinea's.This follows the formal transfer of the remaining powers and functions of the Department of the Autonomous Bougainville Government from the PNG national government; National 9 Aug 2021, link ------------------------ Repression not the answer to Fiji´s political dilemma Opinion by Steven Ratuva, Radio New Zealand, 2 Aug 2021, link ------------------------ Human Rights Law Centre, 21 July 2021: Bougainville communities secure commitment from Rio Tinto to assess environmental and human rights impacts of former mine; link see also news Radio New Zealand, link Panguna tailings wasteland; photo: HRLC ------------------------ Indonesian lawmakers pass controversial bill to reshape West Papua Johnny Blades, Radio New Zealand 16 July 2021, link A demonstration by West Papuans against the Indonesian government's plans for Special Autonomy provisions for their region, Manokwari, 15 July 2021 Photo: RNZ ------------------------ 2027 target date for Bougainville independence Bougainville's leaders have accepted a deadline of no later than 2027 to gain independence from Papua New Guinea, RNZ 8 July 2021, link PNG's prime minister James Marape (right) shakes hands with Ishmael Toroama, the president of the autonomous region of Bougainville, 5 February 2021. Photo: RNZ 16.04.2021, PNG PM Media ------------------------ Australian gold project Simberi reports failure at tailings pipeline (deep sea tailings placement, DSTP) in New Ireland, PNG National 2 July 2021, link ------------------------ Westpapuan Freeport eyes copper project in PNG National 2 July 2021, link ------------------------ Environmental groups, scientists call for ban on deep sea mining Hundreds of scientists, and coalitions of churches, environmentalists, and NGOs are part of a widespread outcry calling for a ban on deep sea mining, RNZ 2 July 2021, link Victor Pickering, a Greenpeace activist from Fiji, in front of the Maersk Launcher, a ship chartered by DeepGreen. Photo: Supplied / Greenpeace Deep sea mining by 2023 gets green light in Pacific The International Seabed Authority has two years to finalise regulations governing the controversial industry; see The Guardian, 30 June 2021, link; statement by Deep Sea Conservation Coalition link and WWF 29 June 2021 link, PANG, Fiji 1 July 2021 link Illustration © WWF ------------------------ Scientists from across the world call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining.  Signed by 317 marine science & policy experts from 44 countries, 24 June 2021, link ------------------------ 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva, 22 June 2021 While a group of 44 European and Western countries (including the Pacific states of the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau) expressed concern about China´s human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong (link), 69 developing countries led by Belarus, including the Pacific states of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Tonga, sided with Beijing and rejected interference in China´s internal affairs (link). States of the world and the human rights situation in China 2021 Source: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Map of the Month July 2021, link, large map here ------------------------ G7 in Africa Süddeutsche Zeitung 14.6.2021 ------------------------ Pacific Plunder The extraction of valuable resources from across the Pacific has made companies billions but comes at a sometimes catastrophic cost Who profits from the mass extraction of the region's natural resources? A series from Guardian Australia since 30 May 2021, link A rusted truck remains at a Panguna mine in Bougainville, which recently voted for independence  from Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Illya Gridneff/AAP A global audit of Pacific resource extraction undertaken by the Guardian’s Pacific Project has revealed that: China dominates resource extraction in the region, taking just over half the total tonnes of the minerals, timber and fish exported. In some industries, Pacific communities see less than 12% of the final value of the resources being extracted, with little paid in royalties or reinvested in the countries which own the resources. Despite their collective natural resource wealth, GDP per capita remains low for many Pacific Island states. The extraction each year of billions of dollars worth of minerals, oil, gas and timber – US$11.8bn in 2019 - is causing environmental devastation, poisoning rivers and forests, and degrading food security. The scale of these extractive industries is also having significant social and health impacts on Pacific people. A logging truck heads through the village of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, en route to the Vanimo Forest Products log camp where the logs will be loaded onto a ship for export to China. Photograph: Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images ------------------------ 23 July 2021: Samoa court declares FAST party new government; link More than 100 days since the 9 April election Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, the daughter of Samoa's first prime minister, becomes the country's first woman in the role. Political and Constitutional Crisis in Samoa: Samoa incumbent leader rejects first female Prime Minister's swearing in as 'treason' Reports by Radio New Zealand link Photo: RNZ/Vinay Ranchhod, RNZ 27 May 2021 ------------------------ Fiji´s 1987 coup: from trauma to cohesion By Shailendra Singh, DevPolicy Blog on 25 May 2021, link ------------------------ Titelstory der Nürnberger Nachrichten vom 22. Mai 2021: link Kolonialismus: Wie Neuendettelsauer Missionare Neuguinea ausbeuteten ------------------------ Sachbuch & Literaturtipp Mai 2021 Das Luf-Boot vor der Handelsstation von Hernsheim & Co. auf Matupi, 1903. Foto: Richard Parkinson/Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Götz Aly: Das Prachtboot. Wie Deutsche die Kunstschätze der Südsee raubten. link zum Verlag SPIEGEL-Online Interview mit Götz Aly: Kolonialverbrechen in der Südsee "Die Deutschen zerstörten ein Paradies - und behaupten bis heute das Gegenteil" 8. Mai 2021, link Artikel Süddeutsche Zeitung: Das unmögliche Exponat. 10. Mai 2021, link s.a Artikel in der Neuen Züricher Zeitung vom 19. Mai 2021, link & Katharina Döbler: Dein ist das Reich. Ein ungewöhnlicher Familienroman über ein verschwiegenes Kapitel deutscher Geschichte: die Beziehung zwischen christlichem Sendungsbewusstsein, Kolonialismus und Rassismus. Rezension von Jörg Häntzschel in Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 3. Juli 2021, link ------------------------ Papua New Guinea´s founding father Sir Michael Somare died Friday, 26 February 2021 Image: National 2 March 2021, link `Papa blo kantri´ Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare in Madang 2012 (photo: Roland Seib) Obituaries on the death of Sir Michael by Ron May (ANU), link and Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific Journalist, link PNG’s first prime minister, Michael Somare, and first Governor-General, John Guise, Independence Day ceremony, 1975 (photo:Denis Williams/PNG Post Courier) ------------------------ PNG: Government accepts new gold and copper mine Illustration: National 28 Feb. 2021, link ------------------------ Bougainville president meets rebel king in reconciliation RNZ 26 Jan. 2021, link 'King' Noah Musingku meets Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama at Tonu, 22 January 2021. Photo: Anthony Kaybing / ABG ------------------------ Since 13 November 2020: Power struggle for the post of prime minister in Papua New Guinea 16 December 2020: A sigh of relief, full story RNZ 17 Dec. 2020, link Photo: National 17 Dec. 2020, link Image: PNG National 11 Dec. 2020, link ------------------------ (17. Nov. 2020) Website der AG Tiefseebergbau ist online:  www.stoptiefseebergbau.de ------------------------ (2 Nov. 2020) Neues Positionspapier des AK Rohstoffe: Krisenverschärfendes Handeln stoppen - Rohstoffwende umsetzen, link ------------------------ Walking into Nogoli, PNG Highlands © James McIlraith/University of Otago New Report from ACT NOW!, Jubilee Australia and the Oakland Institute:  Calls for a Dramatic Change from Extraction to Inclusion for Real Development in Papua New Guinea, Oct. 2020, link ------------------------ Ishmael Toroama declared president-elect of Bougainville, PNG RNZ 23 Sept. 2020, link ------------------------ (1 Sept 2020) new report: Intern. Cyber Policy Centre & Australian Strategic Policy Institute: The Chinese Communist Party´s coercive diplomacy, link ------------------------ (17 August 2020) East Sepik people have rejected the Frieda River copper/gold project according to Governor Allan Bird; link ------------------------ (6 August 2020) The Oxygen Project - STOP DEEP SEABED MINING! Legendary eco-activists Jane Fonda and Sylvia Earle, along with Phillipe Cousteau, Julien Lennon, and other conservationists star in this emotional video asking us to help stop a destructive new industry: Deep Seabed Mining; link ------------------------ (25 July 2020) Article by Franco Zocca from 2012 about Belden Namah, currently Papua New Guinea´s opposition leader in the national parliament: Life excursus of Mr Belden Namah, here ------------------------ (25 June 2020) New paper: Pacific Network on Globalization & Ozeanien-Dialog Rough Seas: Looming Dangers of the Blue Economy, link ------------------------ New photo gallery New Zealand available here ------------------------ New Report Highlights Deep Sea Nodule Mining Danger to Pacific Ocean and Island Nations Deep Sea Mining Campaign, 20 May 2020, link Image: WILLYAM ------------------------ Inside Indonesia's Secret War for West Papua Just north of Australia a secret war is being fought. West Papuan independence  fighters and Indonesian security forces are involved in a protracted and bloody battle over the issue of Papuan independence. ABC Foreign Correspondent 12 May 2020; link; Background: The battle for West Papuan independence has intensified; Post-Courier link Ronny Kareni, West Papuan Musician and Activist, Canberra ------------------------ Arbeitskreis Rohstoffe: 12 Argumente für eine Rohstoffwende, 5. Mai 2020, link ------------------------ "Save the Sepik" `Project Sepik´ calls for PNG Government to halt Frieda mining project Frieda River heading north to join the Sepik River. Photo: Facebook - Sepik Capital, PNG - Wewak Urban Local Level Government; RNZ 9 April 2020 link ------------------------ Literaturtipp: "Die zornige Stimme der Internierten in Australien" (SZ) "Woher komme ich? Aus dem Land der Flüsse, dem Land der Wasserfälle, dem Land der uralten Gesänge, dem Land der Berge. (...) Aus einem kleinen Dorf inmitten eines Kastanienwalds." (291) Original title: "No Friend but the Mountains. Writing from Manus Prison". Sydney 2018 zum Hintergrund: link Rezension von Jan Bielicki, Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 3. Feb. 2019, link   see also J.M. Coetzee, New York Review of Books 26 Sept. 2019, link ------------------------ 23-year old Geraldine Damana and her baby Joylin, outside their home inside the Panguna mine pit; photo: HRLC New report by Human Rights Law Centre: After the mine. Living with Rio Tinto´s deadly legacy.   April 2020, link ------------------------ Death toll from Papua 2019 protest month put at 59, RNZ 6 March 2020, link Protest march in Jayapura, West Papua against racism towards Papuans in Indonesia 19 Aug 2019 photo: RNZ 6 March 2020 ------------------------ 19 Feb 2020 new report by the London Mining Network: Cut and run: How Britain´s top mining companies have wrecked ecosystems without being held to account, link Neue Studie der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik zur Strategischen Rivalität zwischen USA und China, Feb. 2020, link Documentary: Malaysian Logging Colonialism in Papua New Guinea UK based Sarawak Report by journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown, 7 Jan 2020, link ------------------------ Interview mit der Deutschen Welle: Chinas "Umarmung" der Pazifikinseln beunruhigt Westen Pekings verstärktes Engagement in der Südsee ist bislang nur wirtschaftlich. Aber militärisch-strategische Absichten werden vermutet, Sicherheitspolitiker in der Nachbarschaft sind alarmiert. Sogar Berlin hat reagiert. 2. Dezember 2019, link ------------------------ Bougainville independence referendum: Bougainville referendum report gives historical perspective Radio New Zealand/RNZ 12 June 2020, link Final Bougainville referendum report presented to PNG RNZ 5 June 2020, link In photos: Bougainville chooses independence, as Papua New Guinea makes pitch. RNZ 20 December 2019, link The Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC) returned the referendum writ with the results to the Governor General at Government House in Port Moresby RNZ 13 Dec 2019, Photo: Facebook/BRC Bougainville voted yes to becoming the world´s newest nation. Now begins the gold rush. ABC-PNG correspondent Natalie Whiting on 13 December 2019, link 11 December 2019: Bougainville - A new sovereign state is born Bougainville flag flies high in Panguna Photo: RNZ Pacific 21 Nov 2019 Johnny Blades A 97.7 percent majority has voted for independence in Bougainville´s historic referendum. Over 85 percent of those enrolled having voted. Consultations with the Papua New Guinea government will follow. The chairperson of the Bougainville Referendum Commission, former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern, paid tribute to the people for their enthusiastic and peaceful participation. The leader of the Australian  Observation Mission, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, said, the referendum process was "free, fair and credible". link People of Bougainville celebrating the outcome of the referendum in Buka on Wednesday, Photo: The New York Times 11 Dec 2019, Courtesy of Serahphina Aupong/UN in PNG via AP Bougainville people take their flag with them to vote for the referendum. Photo: RNZ 7 Dec 2019, Johnny Blades Photo essay: Bougainville´s historic independence referendum, RNZ 6 Dec 2019 link Bougainville referendum inspires hope, RNZ 28 Nov 2019 link 23 Nov - 7 Dec 2019 Polling period for the referendum on Bougainville´s independence from Papua New Guinea PNG leaders caution ahead of Bougainville vote, RNZ 22 Nov 2019, link Bougainvilleans check the voter roll ahead of their region´s independence referendum; Photo: RNZ 7 Nov 2019, Bougainville Referendum Commission "Whatever we think about whether independence for Bougainville is a good or bad thing, the more important principle is that we work to honour UN-ratified peace agreements. If our region fails to do that, if the UN Security Council fails to, we will find it more difficult to reach peace agreements to end future wars." John Braithwaite and Miranda Forsyth, 28 Sept 2017, Blog   ------------------------ Chinese-owned Ramu Nickel mine in PNG shut down after toxic slurry spill Photo: RNZ 24 Oct. 2019 Facebook Elisha Wesley Mizeu; See ABC report 25 Oct 2019 link ------------------------ Akilisi Pohiva´s son wins by-election, RNZ 28 Nov 2019 link Pacific leaders pay tribute to Akilisi Pohiva, link 12 Sept 2019, Akilisi Pohiva, the leading figure of Tonga´s pro-democracy movement and twofold prime minister died today at the age of 78; RNZ link Keith Locke (former NZ Green MP): A democratic giant of Tonga – a tribute link photo: Akilisi Pohiva, at the 2019 Pacific Islands Forum summit in Tuvalu. Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana ------------------------ Das moderne Weltsystem - Zum Tode von Immanuel Wallerstein. Ein Nachruf. SZ vom 3. Sept. 2019, link ------------------------ PNG´s Resource Curse: Double or Nothing Revisited Paul Flanagan, PNG Economics, 12 June 2019, link ------------------------ Old Apia Courthouse completely demolished photo: Areta Areta, Samoa Observer 6 June 2020, link Demolition of historical courthouse in Samoa begins Link: RNZ 19 May 2020 New Zealand, British, Australian and French servicemen raise the Union Jack at the Apia courthouse in August 1914 Photo: nzhistory.govt.nz 117 year-old German colonial courthouse in Apia will be pulled down, Samoan PM Photo: Roland Seib, 2011; RNZ report 8 June 2019 link ------------------------ New Papua New Guinea prime minister calls for unity James Marape, left, being sworn in as prime minister of PNG by the governor general  Sir Robert Dadae, 30 May 2019.  Photo: PNG prime minister´s office media; link RNZ report Marape promises to rebuild country in first address to PNG, link RNZ 6 June 2019 ------------------------ Chinese President Xi Jinping and officials meet with Papua New Guinea´s Prime Minister Peter O´Neill and ministerial colleagues at the 2nd global Belt & Road Forum in Beijing, 25 April 2019; Photo: Xinhua/Yan Yan ------------------------ On the death of Bill Standish, Australian National University, Canberra Dr Bill Standish, 14.6.1944 - 31.3.2019, remembered as a fearless commentator and expert analyst of PNG politics. An excellent colleague. During my PhD research in 1988, I shared a room with Bill at the ANU for three months. Link: Liam Fox on Pacific Beat, 15 April 2019 ------------------------ Video Tipp: Lost in Dhaka, March 2019 link ------------------------ Book review: In defence of `Silent Invasion´ The book that launched a thousand rants by Kevin Carrico Policy Forum of the Asia & The Pacific Policy Society, 1 March 2019, link ------------------------ New study by Jubilee Australia, 14 June 2019, link: The Frieda River Mine and the Threat to the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea for more information link: Save the Sepik river and its people Continued: news archive ------------------------ Selection of publications Rezension: Mark Moran and Jodie Curth-Bibb (eds.): Too Close to Ignore: Australia's Borderland with Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Jahrbuch für Europäische Überseegeschichte, Band 20, Sept. 2022, hier Map: Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; large map here             Book review: Graeme Smith / Terence Wesley-Smith (eds): The China Alternative. Changing Regional Order in the Pacific Islands August 2022, link            Neue Publikation vom Dez. 2020, link Aufsatz: „Goldrausch in der Tiefsee – was ist dran?“, hier Rezension: Nicole Haley and Kerry Zubrinich: 2017 Papua New Guinea General Elections. Election Observation Report. Asien 2020, hier Review: Siobhan McDonnell, Matthew Allen and Colin Filer (eds.): Kastom, Property and Ideology. Land Transformations in Melanesia. Catalyst 2019, available here Rezensionen: Anthony Regan: The Bougainville Referendum. Law, Administration and Politics sowie Ben Bohane: The Bougainville referendum and beyond. Online-Publikation 22. Nov. 2019, 5 Seiten, verfügbar hier Photo: Roland Seib „Zeitenwende im Pazifik: Der Aufstieg Chinas“. Blickwechsel für das China-Programm der Stiftung Asienhaus, Köln 1. August 2019, 9 Seiten, link Map: Mercator Institute for China Studies, deutsche  Karte, Map in english „Zeitenwende im Pazifik: Der Aufstieg Chinas und das Projekt Neue Seidenstraße“. Online Publikation, 29. April 2019, 12 Seiten, verfügbar hier Chinese President Xi Jinping hosts a collective meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Pacific leaders from Niue, Cook Islands, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji before the APEC summit in Port Moresby, 16 November 2018 (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) Armed clan near Komo, Hela Province, Papua New Guinea. Photo: Michael Main, The Monthly, May 2018    "Das Goldene Zeitalter der Gasförderung? Der Ressourcenfluch und die Folgen in Papua-Neuguinea" Ozeanien-Dialog, März 2019, hier Photo: Christina Hill Rezension: Jubilee Australia: Christina Hill and Luke Fletcher (eds): Growing Bougainville´s Future: Choices for an Island and its peoples. 17. Januar 2019, hier Kommentar zur Studie von Fair Oceans und Brot für die Welt: Solwara 1: Bergbau am Meeresboden vor Papua-Neuguinea. Hintergründe, Folgen, Widerstand. 12. Oktober 2018. hier Rezension: Jubilee Australia 2018: Double or nothing. The broken economic promises of PNG LNG und On shaky ground. PNG LNG and the consequences of  development failure, 6. September 2018, hier Review: Alex Golub: Leviathans at the Gold Mine. Creating Indigenous and Corporate Actors in Papua New Guinea. Catalyst, Vol. 48, 2018, here Vortrag Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum Köln, 26. Februar 2018, 34 Folien hier Pressespiegel "Tiefseebergbau in den internationalen Medien 2015 - 2017". Zusammenstellung für die Stiftung Asienhaus, Köln, online seit 19.1.2018, link Rezension: Jack Corbett: Being Political. Leadership and Democracy in the Pacific Islands. Asien 2017, hier The Observation Report of Transparency International Papua New Guinea" makes it clear that the 2017 elections were flawed to an unforgivable extent. We as a nation have allowed far too many of our people to be robbed of a basic right: the right to influence the result of an election." (p. iii) 10 November 2017, link Vortrag Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt/M., 17. Oktober 2017, 29 Folien hier "Wettlauf um die Meeresschätze im Pazifik: Fakten und Thesen zum Tiefseebergbau". Vortrag Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt/M., 4. Juni 2017, 36 Folien hier Rezension: Klaus Neumann: Across the Seas. Australia´s Response to Refugees. A History. Collingwood/Victoria 2015. Anthropos 111.2016, hier           "Das Paradox vom Wohlstand ohne Entwicklung: Papua-Neuguinea und der Bergbau". Blickwechsel der Stiftung Asienhaus, Köln, September 2016, link Rezension: Kristian Lasslett: State Crime on the Margins of Empire. Rio Tinto, the War on Bougainville and Resistance to Mining. März 2016, hier Plundering Nature? Deep Sea Mining - An Incalculable Risk. Powerpoint Presentation für die Stiftung Asienhaus, Köln 3.3.2016, deutsche Fassung: Raubbau in den letzten Nischen: Tiefseebergbau - ein unkalkulierbares Risiko, link                        Rezension: Stuart Kirsch: Mining Capitalism. The Relationship between Corporations and Their Critics, April 2015, 4 S., hier   Fact Sheet im Rahmen des Projektes "Rohstoffreichtum in Asien: Hemmnis oder Chance für nachhaltige Entwicklung?" der Stiftung Asienhaus, Köln 4.3.2015, link Rezension: Nick Schwarz (ed.): The Politics of Give and Take. The 2012 Papua New Guinea National Election. Anthropos, 2014, link              Review: Thomas Webster and Linda Duncan (eds.): Papua New Guinea´s Development Performance 1975 - 2008. Catalyst, Vol. 44, 2014, available here Review: Peter Larmour: Interpreting Corruption. Culture and Politics in the Pacific Islands. Anthropos, 109.2014              "Der Drache im »Hinterhof«: Umbrüche und Konflikte im Südpazifik". Nov. 2013, link Rezension: Kathy Marks: Lost Paradise. From Mutiny on the Bounty to a Modern-Day Legacy of Sexual Mayhem, the Dark Secrets of Pitcairn Island Revealed. Rundbrief, Nr. 91, März 2013. Rezension: Anthony Regan: Light Intervention. Lessons from Bougainville. Rundbrief, Nr. 87, Februar 2012               Review: Arthur Knoll & Hermann Hiery (eds.): The German Colonial Experience 1884 - 1914. Anthropos, 106.2011 Rezension: Franco Zocca (ed.): Sanguma in Paradise: Sorcery, Witchcraft and Christianity in Papua New Guinea. Paideuma, 2010, hier "Schmutziges Gold. In den Bergwerken von Papua-Neuguinea bleiben die Menschenrechte auf der Strecke". Welt-sichten, Nr. 5, Mai 2010. „Bulletin“ der Deutsch- Pazifischen Gesellschaft e.V., München, Nr. G-220, März 2010 Rezension: Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland (Hrsg.): Wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Rechte in West-Papua. Soziale Realität und politische Perspektiven. Jahrbuch für Europäische Überseegeschichte, 2009, hier           Peace Research Institute Frankfurt published in 2009, 38 pages, link die deutsche Version, link         veröffentlicht in 2009 Verlagsinformationen hier Zusammenfassung: "Staats- und  Ver- waltungsreform in Räumen begrenzter Staatlichkeit: der Fall Papua-Neuguinea”. Nov. 2008, 33 Seiten, verfügbar hier Summary: "State-Building and Public  Sector Reform in Fragile States: the Case of Papua New Guinea", 2012, 19 pages, here          "Länderprofil Papua-Neuguinea" 2007, 12 Seiten, hier          Pazifik-Netzwerk e.V. 2005 Titelbild: Mathias Kauage: Bougainville Crisis 2000 Acryl auf Leinwand "Kriminalität in Papua-Neuguinea. Eine Annäherung an gesellschaftliche Verhältnisse".  journal-ethnologie.de Nr. 6/2007 link         "Plundering the Nation´s Wealth? Mining and Development in Papua New Guinea" 2005, 22 pages, here         "Zur Renaissance tribaler Konflikte: Schwacher Staat und ethnische Fragmentierung in Papua-Neuguinea"   2002, link         "Big-men, Korruption und 'bad governance': Politische Instabilität und Staatsversagen in Papua-Neuguinea", 2000, 50 Seiten, hier         Melanesian Institute, Goroka 2000 Book cover: Parliament of Papua New Guinea         "Papua-Neuguinea: Eine aktuelle Landeskunde" 1994, 22 Seiten, hier         Institut für Asienkunde, Hamburg 1994 Zusammenfassung: „Der Entwicklungsweg Papua-Neuguineas 1884 - 1990. Weltwirtschaftliche Integration und Peripherisierung“, hier         Deutsches Übersee-Institut, Hamburg 1990 Book cover: Carved wooden mask of a mythical ancestor with a pig between the teeth of the northeast coast of New Guinea; possession of the Hamburg Museum für Völkerkunde