battleground – Asia Pacific Report https://asiapacificreport.nz Independent Asia Pacific news and analysis Sun, 07 Aug 2022 00:08:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Solomon Islands marking 80 years of WWII Battle of Guadalcanal https://asiapacificreport.nz/2022/08/07/solomon-islands-marking-80-years-of-wwii-battle-of-guadalcanal/ Sat, 06 Aug 2022 21:57:30 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=77440 RNZ Pacific

Senior government and military leaders from the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Japan are in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.

Minister of Defence Peeni Henare is leading the New Zealand delegation along with Secretary of Defence Andrew Bridgman and the Commander of the Joint Forces Rear Admiral James Gilmour.

The New Zealand High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Jonathan Schwass, said New Zealanders from the army, air force and navy “served with distinction in the Solomon Islands between 1942 and 1945”.

“As WWII starts to slip beyond living memory, it is important that we continue to honour people of all nationalities who served and who died here,” he said.

Schwass said the remembrance ceremonies being organised this weekend showed that they were not forgotten.

A series of commemoration events start today.

Schwass said they were a reminder that the ties between New Zealand and Solomon Islands went back far into the past.

Solomon Scouts and CoastWatchers Trust chair Sir Bruce Saunders said filming the stories of those who served the US Marine Forces when they landed on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 was under way.

He said Solomon Islands students did not know their own history and he hoped to change that.

Marines rest in the field on Guadalcanal.
Marines rest in the field on Guadalcanal. Image: WikiCommons/RNZ

More than 25,000 soldiers died in the battle including dozens of Solomon Islanders.

Sir Bruce said the stories of their grandfathers and their role in saving their country needed to be passed down.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

US Marines leave NZ for Guadalcanal 1943
Next Stop Advanced Base … US Marines leaving New Zealand for Guadalcanal. Sergeant James A. Mundell wrote: “No band plays as these Marines board their war-bound transport.” 30 June 1943. Image: Nga Taonga/RNZ
]]> Papuan armed resistance insists talks with Jakarta must be mediated by UN https://asiapacificreport.nz/2021/06/02/papuan-armed-resistance-insists-talks-with-jakarta-must-be-mediated-by-un/ https://asiapacificreport.nz/2021/06/02/papuan-armed-resistance-insists-talks-with-jakarta-must-be-mediated-by-un/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2021 06:56:03 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=58585

Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM) spokesperson Sebby Sambom says the armed resistance force is not prepared to hold a dialogue with or pursue diplomacy with the Indonesian government unless it is mediated by the United Nations.

“We, the TPNPB under the leadership of General Goliath Tabuni reject [a bipartite] dialogue with Jakarta,” said Sambom, reports CNN Indonesia.

However, the armed resistance is urging the Indonesian government to hold tripartite negotiations with the TPNPB-OPM Tabuni leadership and all components of the Papuan liberation movement who have been resisting Jakarta rule.

This dialogue, he said, must be mediated by a third party, and the third party must come from the United Nations.

“We don’t have an agenda for a dialogue, but our agenda is tripartite negotiations, namely negotiations mediated by a UN organisational body,” he said.

“So a Jakarta-Papua dialogue will not be realised, if the main actor is not involved,” he explained.

Earlier, the TPNPB-OPM designated Puncak Ilaga, Papua, as a battleground against joint forces from the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police). It designated this region because it was far away from civilian settlements and would not endanger Papuan civilians.

Negotiations rather than war
On the other hand, the TNI was not concerned about the designation of Puncak Ilaga as a battleground to fight the OPM.

However, Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member from Papua, Filep Wamafma, is asking that the Indonesian government endeavour to open diplomatic communications with the TPNPB-OPM rather than conducting an open war in Ilaga.

“I hope that there will be political diplomacy between the TNI, Polri and the OPM in order to reach the best solution, to safeguard civilians,” Wamafma told CNN Indonesian.

CNN Indonesia has attempted to contact Join Regional Defence Command III spokesperson Colonel Czi IGN Suriastawa and Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD by text message and telephone about the offer to mediate with the involvement of the UN.

Neither Suriastawa nor Mahfud had responded when this article was published.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Jubir OPM Mau Ambil Jalur Diplomasi dengan RI Asal Ada PBB”.

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