A Palestine solidarity advocate today appealed to New Zealanders to shed their feelings of powerlessness over the Gaza genocide and “take action” in support of an effective global strategy of boycott, divestment and sanctions.

“Many of us have become addicted to ‘doom scrolling’ — reading or watching more and more articles on what is happening in Palestine,” Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) national chair Neil Scott told supporters in Auckland’s Te Komititanga Square.

“Then becoming depressed because we have watched it month after month without feeling we can do anything about it.”

• READ MORE: Israeli attacks kill 32 Palestinians in Gaza in past 48 hours
• Weaponising antisemitism – BDS, antisemitism and the silencing of criticism of Israel
• Other Israeli war on Gaza reports

The news over the 15-month war was depressing daily as the “official” death toll in Gaza from Israel’s war in the besieged enclave topped 46,000 this week, mostly women and children, and Israeli raids on neighbouring Lebanon in breach of the ceasefire and also on Yemen continued unabated.

The medical research journal Lancet also reported yesterday that the real death toll had been underreported and it was 40 percent higher with an estimated 64,200 killed in the first nine months of the war ending June 30.

“If you’re like me, you will be scrolling around the available information sources finding out the truth about the crimes against humanity of apartheid and genocide that the Israeli military and the illegal settlers are doing,” Scott said.

“Along with this, we’re all feeling disgusted at the lack of action by the government.

“Who feels helpless about what is happening and feel as if they can’t do much about it? A common feeling,” he admitted.

Action good for health
Scott said there was evidence that taking some action was actually good for people’s mental health. Feeling helpless added to “the stress we feel”.

“There is a concept of ‘Bearing Witness’ — this is about exposing ourselves to the suffering of the Palestinians.

“It basically means being aware of those abuses. Something I think we all do.

“Then there is ‘Taking Action’ — this is about participating in a tangible way to try to help alleviate or prevent the suffering we witness the Palestinians living through.

Lancet study: Gaza toll 40% higher.     Video: TRT News

“When we do nothing in the face of the genocide we see going on in Gaza, that causes us to be stressed and be uncomfortable.

“But we, as individuals, can do something.

“All human rights activists, unless we are absolutely overwhelmed at the moment, should probably spend a couple of hours a week taking action. Not all in one go but spread throughout the week.

Using ‘doom scrolling’ energy
“We can do something with all that doom scrolling stress or energy.

“We can turn it into taking action.”

PSNA’s Neil Scott speaking at the BDS rally today.   Image: APR

Protesters have embarked on a three-week cycle addressing the global BDS Movement’s strategy of “boycott, divest and sanctions” in support of Palestine’s right to be a state while still seeking a ceasefire. Boycott was today’s theme.

Scott praised the campaign against Obela hummus products in New Zealand supermarkets, but added that there had been other successful boycotts such as over DocEdge festival trying to screen Israeli documentaries, the recent boycott of Israeli soldier Lina Lushko playing in ASB tennis classic tournament, and future academic boycotts.

Tasneem Gouda addressing the BDS rally today.   Video: APR

The rally MC, Tasneem Gouda, reminded the crowd that they had been protesting over the massacres for 66 weeks and that “the BDS movement works”.

“We have enabled one of the most popular chains to close down and to lose billions of dollars.

“And to everyone who chooses to continue buying from these brands, let me tell you that every drink, every fry that you buy has blood on it.

“It has the blood of a Palestinian child. It has the blood of a mother.

“Shame on you.”

The BDS Movement was launched by Palestinians in 2005 with more than 170 organisations backing the initiative. Coordination of the movement followed a couple of years later with a conference in Ramallah, Occupied West Bank.

Aotearoa New Zealand is part of the Asia-Pacific sector of the global movement, grouping Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.

The Malaysian government is preparing a draft resolution for the United Nations General Assembly to expel Israel over its system of apartheid and the genocide, as South Africa was suspended in 1974 (it was reinstated 20 years later following the end of apartheid).

Speakers at a Palestine solidarity rally in Auckland’s Takutai Square today hailed the strong stance of Ireland over Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza – in contrast to a weak New Zealand position – while two blocks away in Te Komititanga Square (Britomart) hundreds of revellers were celebrating St Patrick’s Day.

“The Irish have been strong supporters of Palestine because of their experience of British settler colonialism,” Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) secretary Neil Scott told the cheering protest crowd.

“The Great Potato Famine starting in 1845 killed a million Irish and caused two million more to flee and become refugees around the world.

• READ MORE: Israel’s war on Gaza live: Children, women killed in Deir el-Balah attack

“They celebrate today like Palestinians will celebrate here in Aotearoa and in Palestine once the vicious murderous yoke of Zionist domination is taken from their necks.”

The Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach), Leo Varadkar, has been in the United States for the past week and had a direct message for US President Joe Biden when they met yesterday.

While he was complimentary about Biden and his administration, Varadkar also told the US president about Dublin’s wish for an immediate ceasefire.

“You know my view that we need to have a ceasefire as soon as possible to get food and medicine in and the hostages out,” he told reporters after the meeting.

Permanent ceasefire call
While Varadkar has called for a permanent ceasefire, Biden wants a temporary one of at least six weeks as part of a hostage deal.

This exchange followed a plea in an RTÉ interview by former Irish president Mary Robinson, speaking urgently as chair of The Elders group of former statespeople.

She said: “We need a ceasefire and we need the opening up of Gaza with every avenue . . . for aid to get in.”

Acknowledging Ireland’s initiatives over Gaza, including strong speeches by Irish MEPs in the European Parliament, PSNA’s Scott spoke about today’s rally being part of Israeli Apartheid Week called by the global BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.

“Back in the day, NZ voted for the Apartheid Convention, so we have obligations under that law. But to date – nothing.

“So who has written reports and documented Israeli apartheid? Here are some of the reports overtime,” he said, citing at least 10 global reports damning Israeli apartheid.

Two of the first reports mentioned were from Israeli NGOs, the 2020 Yesh Din report entitled “The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the crime of apartheid” and B’Tselem the following year with “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid”.

The most recent reports have come in 2022 from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Council report of the special rapporteur.

“Report after report. Report after report . . .”, said Scott.

“To date, our successive [NZ] governments have refused to condemn Israeli apartheid – a crime against humanity.”

He condemned officials at the Auckland office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) for refusing on Friday to accept a Palestinian solidarity deputation and statement for Chief Executive Chris Seed and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters.

Terror business network
Another speaker, Billy Hania, an Aotearoa Palestinian advocate, talked about the importance of supporting the BDS movement and boycotts, which had been vitally important in ending apartheid in South Africa, and he cited several Israeli companies and affiliates operating in New Zealand.

“The list goes on. When the government acts on behalf of business that causes death and harm to our people in Palestine,” he said.

“It’s a terror network of politics and business and that must be opposed.

“You must be vocal and it’s okay to say that we live here on a land that has been colonised and we support with our money and taxes a government that condones terrorism.

“And that’s how it is. You should not be ashamed of saying that or scared of saying that because these are the facts.

“When we invest in an Israeli company in our Super Fund that rains white phosphorus up to the minute it burns our children to the bone, that is terror.”

12 killed in attack
Al Jazeera reports that Israeli attacks on Deir el-Balah in central Gaza have killed at least 12 people and wounded many more, including children, according to videos and witnesses.

Meanwhile, 13 aid trucks have arrived safely in Jabaliya and Gaza City, the first convoys carrying food and supplies to have travelled from the south to the north of the enclave without incident in four months.

At least 31,645 Palestinians have been killed and 73,676 wounded by Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry has reported.

Power has transitioned from Vanuatu’s government to the opposition in Parliament during the Fifth Extraordinary Session convened to debate a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Sato Kilman.

The opposition held 26 MPs against the government’s 24 with only two government MPs, — Esmon Saimon from the Vanua’aku Pati (VP) representing Malekula, and Wesley Rasu from Malo constituency — present during the extraordinary session on Monday.

The remaining 22 government MPs boycotted the session, denying a quorum.

• READ MORE: Other Vanuatu politics reports

Parliamentary Speaker Seoule Simeon suspended the session until this Friday for the no-confidence motion debate and the election of a new prime minister.

Kilman lost two ministers within a single week — Minister of Sports and National United Party (NUP) John Still Tari Qetu and Minister of Trade, Commerce Samson Samsen (MP for Santo).

Samsen’s presence with the opposition in Parliament confirmed previous allegations of his defection.

The two ministerial positions are now vacant due to the resignations, and an attempt to replace Qetu with Bruno Leingkone, president of NUP and MP of Ambrym constituency, lasted only two days before his seat was declared vacant by the Speaker due to three consecutive absences.

Challenged in court
Leingkone challenged this decision in court but the Supreme Court ruled against him.

The Supreme Court also dismissed Leingkone’s application to stay the Speaker’s announcement on the vacation of his seat. He indicated yesterday that he would appeal against the judgment of the Supreme Court.

With these defections and the vacation of Leingkone’s seat, Kilman lost support within a week, reducing government MPs to 23 compared to the previous 25, while the opposition increased from 25 to 26 MPs.

The opposition now holds an absolute majority of 26 out of 51 MPs. Additionally, a motion to suspend the current Deputy Speaker, Gracia Shadrack, is expected to further reduce Kilman’s support due to the threatening statement he made during a parliamentary session.

The leader of the opposition bloc, MP Charlot Salwai (a former prime minister), told a press conference that Shadrack had publicly threatened to burn down the Parliament House on 16 August 2023 during the Third Extraordinary Session when the Speaker refused to grant permission for Leingkone to vote virtually while he was hospitalised in South Korea.

The opposition said Shadrack’s action had put in question the safety of Parliament and its workers.

MP Salwai expressed confidence in the opposition’s 26 solid votes to remove Kilman as PM.

Kilman had been elected as Prime Minister on September 4, 2023, during a motion of no confidence against then PM Ishmael Kalsakau, just 10 months into his term.

Kalsakau’s removal was secured with an absolute majority of 26 votes out of 51 MPs present, a definition set by the Vanuatu High Court of Appeal upon the application of the current PM.

Kilman is now expected to face the same fate on Friday, as the opposition maintains its support of 26 votes.

Republished from the Vanuatu Daily Post with permission.

The leaders of five Melanesian nations have agreed to write to French President Emmanuel Macron “expressing their strong opposition” to the results of the third New Caledonia referendum.

In December 2021, more than 96 percent of people voted against full sovereignty, but the pro-independence movement FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) has refused to recognise the result because of a boycott by the Kanak population over the impact of the covid pandemic on the referendum campaign.

Since then, the FLNKS has been seeking international support for its view that the referendum result was not a legitimate outcome.

• READ MORE:  Sad Regenvanu condemns MSG for ‘failing’ people of West Papua
• Wenda welcomes MSG call for UN visit and fights on for full membership
• OPM accuses Melanesian group of taking Jakarta’s ‘blood money’ at expense of West Papuan justice
• Wenda calls on MSG for urgent action to back pledge over human rights
• MSG throws away golden chance to reset peace and justice for West Papua
• MSG leaders defer Papua membership decision to Pacific Islands Forum
• Flashback: Fiji, PNG lead betrayal, but still West Papuans triumph (in 2015)
• Other MSG reports

The Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders — Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the FLNKS — met in Port Vila last week for the 22nd edition of the Leader’s Summit, where they said “the MSG does not recognise the results of the third referendum on the basis of the PIF’s Observer Report”.

FLNKS spokesperson Victor Tutugoro told RNZ Pacific the pro-independence group had continued to protest against the outcome of the December 2021 referendum.

“We contest the referendum because it was held during the circumstances that was not healthy for us. For example, we went through covid, we lost many members of our families [because of the pandemic],” Tutugoro said.

“We will continue to protest at the ICJ (International Court of Justice) level and at the national level. We expect the MSG to help us fight to get the United Nations to debate the cause of the Kanaks.”

The leaders have agreed that “New Caledonia’s inclusion on the UN List of decolonisation territories is protected and maintained”.

The MSG leaders have also directed the UN permanent representative to “examine and provide advice” so they can seek an opinion from the ICJ “on the results of the third referendum conducted in December 2021”.

They have also requested that the UN provide a report on the “credibility of the election process, and mandated the MSG UN permanent representatives, working with the MSG Secretariat and the FLNKS, “to pursue options on the legality of the 3rd referendum”.

Support for West Papua
New Caledonia’s pro-independence FLNKS movement also said it would continue to back the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Tutugoro told the 22nd MSG Leader’s Summit in Port Vila that FLNKS had always supported West Papua’s move to join the MSG family.

He said by becoming a full member of the sub-regional group, FLNKS was able to benefit from international support to counterbalance the weight of France in its struggle for self-determination.

He said the FLNKS hoped the ULMWP would have the same opportunity and in time it could be included on the UN’s list of non-self-governing territories.

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

In solidarity with West Papua, the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) has called for a boycott of all Indonesian products and programmess by the Indonesian government.

The Fiji-based PCC said this should be done until Indonesia facilitated a visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate alleged human rights abuses in West Papua, which included torture, extrajudicial killings, and systemic police and military violence.

General secretary Reverend James Bhagwan said the call for a boycott came in response to the lack of political will by the Indonesian government to honour its commitment to the visit, which had been made four years ago.

• READ MORE: Happy West Papua Day – and the brutal truth about where we are now
• Pacific marks 61st year flying of Papua’s banned Morning Star flag
• The Morning Star flag background
• Revelations on the murky fate of flag ‘treason’ prisoners in West Papua
• Oceania Indigenous ‘guardians’ call for self-determination on West Papua day
• Other West Papua reports

“Our Pacific church leaders are deeply concerned that the urge by our Pacific Island states through the Pacific Islands Forum has been ignored,” he said.

“We are also concerned that Indonesia is using ‘cheque-book diplomacy’ to silence some Pacific states on this issue. Our only option in the face of this to apply our own financial pressure to this cause.

“We know that the Pacific is a market for Indonesian products and we hope that this mobilisation of consumers will show that Pacific people stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers of Tanah Papua.”

On Thursday, the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) held a flag-raising ceremony to mark 61 years since the Morning Star, the West Papuan national flag, was first raised.

Women, girls suffered
FWCC coordinator Shamima Ali said as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, FWCC remembered the people of West Papua, particularly women and girls, who suffered due to the increased militarisation of the province by the Indonesian government.

“We also remember those women, girls, men and children who have died and those who are still suffering from state violence perpetrated on them and the violence and struggle within their own religious, cultural and societal settings,” she said.

Ali said Pacific islanders should not be quiet about the issue.

“Fiji has been too silent on the issue of West Papua and the ignorance needs to stop,” she said.

“Keeping quiet is not the answer when our own people are suffering.”

Shayal Devi is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

The Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman has confirmed he will attend the next sitting of an extra-ordinary Parliament session on Friday to face a motion of no-confidence in his leadership.

Loughman and 20 MPs loyal to his government boycotted Parliament yesterday, forcing an adjournment to Friday — because of a lack of a quorum — effectively thwarting the opposition’s attempt to move the motion against him.

In response to the boycott opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu said Loughman was only delaying the inevitable.

• READ MORE: Other Vanuatu politics reports

“We think it’s just a power grab, it’s a last ditch attempt to try in stay in power beyond this week because the numbers have shifted,” Regenvanu said.

Regenvanu also said a request, from the Council of Ministers, conveyed by the Prime Minister over the weekend to the Head of State, calling for the dissolution of Parliament was equally futile.

RNZ Pacific’s reporter in Vanuatu, Hilaire Bule, reported yesterday afternoon that the Head of State, Nikenike Vurobaravu, has now declined the request for a dissolution of Parliament, effectively setting the scene for a showdown in Parliament on Friday.

Bob Loughman said he is prepared to defend himself on the floor.

“We will be there during which time I will have the opportunity to respond to allegations raised against me and I am very confident that the allegations raised against me are baseless,” he said.

Part of Loughman’s confidence also stems from the make up of the 17 government MPs who crossed the floor to join the opposition.

The only complete political party grouping to shift is a handful of MPs from the Reunification Movement for Change Party led by former prime minister Charlot Salwai.

The rest of the MPs to cross over have done so as individuals leaving their party members still aligned with the government, many of them in ministerial roles.

“That to me will continue to provide instability because you cannot satisfy all of the members at any one time,” Loughman said.

“My view is rather than going to other motions coming in the next one-and-a-half-years (the next election will be in 2024) that it would be in the best interest of this country to go for a fresh election,” he said.

But Regenvanu said deliberations among the MPs that had helped shift the balance of power in the House were already well advanced.

“We expect that we will be able to form government on Friday quite peacefully and efficiently and we are currently finalising the policy platform for the new government for the remaining 18 months or so of the legislature,” Regenvanu said.

Both leaders had messages for Vanuatu citizens in the country and around the world watching the political developments unfold.

Regenvanu called for calm and urged citizens to respect the democratic process.

“We have the interest of the people at heart and we are making the changes for the better (sic) of the public,” Regenvanu said.

Prime Minister Loughman also reiterated that the motion of no confidence was a normal parliamentary process but he urged the public to ensure their leaders were making these moves for the right reasons.

“What concerns me though is members, individual members of Parliament moving across from one side of the house to the other for their personal interests as compared to national interests,” Loughman said.

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

New Caledonia’s pro-independence Palika party has joined the Caledonian Union in rejecting talks in Paris announced by the French Interior Ministry.

The ministry called a meeting of the signatories to the 1998 Noumea Accord for September as France plans to draw up a new statute for New Caledonia after last December’s boycotted referendum saw a majority of voters opt to remain French.

Palika spokesperson Charles Washetine said the French state had abandoned any notion of “impartiality” and wants to impose such talks amid pressure from the political right.

• READ MORE: Other Kanak independence reports

The head of the Caledonian Union, Daniel Goa, said his side would not go to Paris, describing the proposed talks as a sham and adding that if any talks were to go ahead, they would have to be held in New Caledonia and about ways to give the territory its sovereignty.

He also said any talks would be bilateral ones between his side and Paris, meaning that they would not involve New Caledonia’s anti-independence parties.

Noumea trip cancelled
The Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had earlier announced a visit to Noumea before the end of next week, but the trip has reportedly been cancelled.

His ministry said he would visit New Caledonia after the Paris talks planned for September.

The anti-independence camp welcomed Darmanin’s proposed talks to conclude the process set out in the Noumea Accord.

New Caledonia has been on the UN Decolonisation List since 1986 and despite the referendum outcome, the Kanaks’ right to self-determination remains an inalienable international right.

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

Angry voters in East Sepik and Hela have destroyed ballot boxes and set fire to ballot papers after finding that their names were not on the common roll in Papua New Guinea’s general election.

No reports were received of people or election officials being hurt in the violence.

Polling started on Monday and will run through to Friday in all 22 provinces.

• READ MORE: Six charged with money laundering over K1.3 million in suitcase as PNG votes
• PNG leader Marape confirms son arrested over money in suitcase
• PNG security detain man with K1.56m in suitcase as elections begin
• ‘Nothing to do with me’: PNG leader distances himself from suitcase of cash
• Other PNG elections reports

Despite an assurance by the Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai that more than five million eligible voters would cast the ballots, many voters have been turned away because their names are not on the common roll, while in other locations there are not enough ballot papers for the number of eligible voters.

In Hela, nine ballot boxes were destroyed in various polling stations by angry voters while in Morobe, 300 ballot papers went up in flames by disappointed eligible voters who could not cast their votes because they were not registered on the common roll.

When responding to rumours of hijacking of ballot boxes, Hela provincial police commander Senior Inspector Robin Bore confirmed that ballot boxes were burnt and destroyed by voters on Monday morning.

He said the boxes destroyed were in Komo (4), North Koroba (2), South Koroba (1), Hulia (1) and Tari Pori local level government (1) while polling continued in the other parts of the province.

Polling boycotted
In Morobe, frustrated voters from Wampar urban local level government in Huon Gulf district boycotted polling on Monday and ordered the burning of about 300 ballot papers in the presence of police and Electoral Commission officials.

Huon Gulf returning officer Daniel Wasinak said eligible voters were frustrated that they were not registered on the common roll and they could not cast their votes.

He said about 700 ballot papers were designated for the ward, with two polling places identified.

First polling place is the Igam market just outside the PNG Defence Force Igam Barracks gate while another polling place was inside the army barracks for soldiers and their families.

In Wewak, East Sepik, polling at ward 12 Wewak Urban was suspended, again when names of eligible voters. This time PNG Defence Force soldiers from Moem Barracks could not find their names on the electoral roll.

Polling in Moem Barracks started at 11am with officers opening up the boxes but polling was halted for over two hours and cancelled at 2pm when soldiers argued that if their names were not on the roll, no one would vote, including their wives and children who were registered on the roll.

Polling was suspended indefinitely.

Voters devastated
At another polling station, also in Wewak, hundreds of voters who turned up at the polling booths yesterday were left devastated that they could not vote because they were not registered on the electoral roll.

Many of these voters were not first-time voters as they had voted in previous elections.

Long time families and residents of Makun and Malasi, including the Sauns, Koskys, Bangus and Silings are among those who have not found their names on the electoral roll.

In Aitape-Lumi, West Sepik Province, polling will commence when fuel and candidate lists are made available to the election officials on the ground.

Aitape-Lumi returning officer John Awas said polling has been deferred to whenever polling materials and fuel were made available.

He further confirmed that polling teams were yet to be deployed to their respective polling areas in the district.

Polling deferred
“Aitape-Lumi has deferred polling because payment for fuel to the local suppliers were not received and the suppliers would not give us fuel on credit either to enable us to move around and insert polling teams to their assigned location,” Awas said.

Meanwhile, candidates for several seats in Hela have warned that counting would not be allowed until they sorted out the disputed ballot boxes on record.

Candidate Francis Potape said there were two deaths from fighting at polling stations and six ballot boxes were allegedly hijacked at Takali.

He said yesterday that helicopters were still picking up people who were still polling in places only accessible by air.

Republished with permission.

Tuvalu’s foreign minister and Nobel peace prize nominee Simon Kofe has withdrawn from a UN Ocean Conference in Portugal in protest against China’s decision to block Taiwanese participants in the island nation’s delegation.

Kofe was due to be the highest-ranking government representative from Tuvalu to attend the global forum.

He was en route to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, for the summit that aims to scale up protection for the world’s oceans, but made a decision to not participate after China’s actions.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific Ocean environment reports

He arrived in Brisbane on Monday night instead of Lisbon.

The UN Oceans Conference is hosted by the governments of Kenya and Portugal and around two dozen heads of state and governments are expected to attend the event taking place from June 27 to July 1.

Representatives from 193 countries will also be joining the conference, including 938 civil society groups, 75 foundations, and 74 universities.

Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Meanwhile, Kofe has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

He made headlines at last year’s COP 26 summit, when he addressed the summit while standing knee-deep in the ocean to highlight rising sea levels.

Kofe said he was surprised at the nomination but at the same time honoured to be considered.

He said the main message of the clip, which had gone viral online, was to recognise the plight of Pacific Island nations like Tuvalu in their fight against climate change.

Sir David Attenborough, the World Health Organisation, and Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Greta Thunberg, and Pope Francis are among the other nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. An earlier version of this report said that the entire Tuvalu government had withdrawn from the UN Ocean Conference after China blocked three Taiwanese delegates. Simon Kofe is the highest ranked Tuvalu official not attending the event following China’s move.

Vanuatu’s Speaker was forced to suspend a special parliamentary sitting today after the opposition and several government MPs did not turn up.

They were protesting against the government’s plans to push through major constitutional amendments.

Speaker Seoule Simeon adjourned the session due to a lack of quorum until next Friday.

• LISTEN: Opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu talks to Pacific Waves
• READ MORE: Other Vanuatu political crisis reports

Prime Minister Bob Loughman’s government needs the support of 34 MPs out of 52 to make changes to the country’s constitution.

But Loughman’s side was short by 3 MPs after the boycott by 7 MPs from the Reunion of Movement for Change party, led by former prime minister Charlot Salwai.

Opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu confirmed this morning the government had repealed “certain items” from the 16 proposed overnight after objections.

Two ‘disturbing proposals’
But Regenvanu said: “There are two very disturbing and dangerous proposals in these Parliamentary amendments which directly attack good governance in the country.”

The two changes include introducing a term of five years for the office of Chief Justice, and a change to the process for the appointment of the Ombudsman.

Regenvanu said previously the Ombudsman was appointed by the President after consultation with the prime minister, the speaker, leaders of political parties, presidents of the council of chiefs and provincial councils, chairman of the Public Service Commission and the Judicial Services Commission.

However, the amendment will only require the president to make the appointment after consulting the prime minister.

Regenvanu has confirmed the opposition will also not attend the Parliament session next Friday.

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

New Caledonia’s pro-independence umbrella organisation says it does not recognise the legitimacy and validity of the third and final referendum on independence from France.

The statement by the organisation grouping seven parties and unions — the Strategic Independence Committee of Non-Particioation (CSIMP) — is the first since 96.5 percent of voters rejected independence from France on Sunday.

Sunday’s vote was boycotted because of France’s refusal to postpone it until next year to consider the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population.

• READ MORE: New Caledonia votes to stay with France, but it’s a hollow victory that will only ratchet up tensions
• Why New Caledonia’s final independence vote could lead to instability and tarnish France’s image in the region
• Why the Australia-France submarine deal collapse was predictable
• Betrayal of Kanaky decolonisation by Paris risks return to dark days

The statement said the referendum was not in the spirit of the 1998 Noumea Accord and the United Nations resolutions on the territory’s decolonisation.

It said the path of dialogue had been broken by the stubbornness of the French government, which was unable to reconcile its geostrategic interests in the Pacific with its obligation to decolonise New Caledonia.

The statement said President Emmanuel Macron’s speech to validate the result bestowed no honour on France.

It said the calendar drawn up by Overseas Minister Sebastien Lecornu for post-referendum talks had been turned upside down.

The pro-independence side said the 18-month transition period for a new New Caledonia statute could not begin with a French government at the end of its mandate.

The CSIMP represents the Front de Libération National Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS), Parti Travailliste (PT), Nationalistes du MNSK, Dynamique Unitaire Sud (DUS), Union Syndicale des Travailleurs Kanak et Exploités (USTKE), Confédération Nationale des Travailleurs du Pacifique (CNTP) and the Front de Luttes Sociales (FLS).

MSG doubts referendum’s legitimacy
Melanesian countries said the outcome of New Caledonia’s independence referendum could not be taken as the legitimate wish of the “silent majority”.

Following a call for abstention, only 43 percent of voters went to the polls, with turnout as low as 0.6 percent in some mainly Kanak areas.

The Secretariat of the Melanesian Spearhead Group said it firmly supported a call by New Caledonia’s FLNKS for the United Nations to declare Sunday’s result null and void.

Last week, the secretariat called on MSG member states not to recognise the impending referendum after France refused to postpone it.

Forum calls for consideration of Kanak stance
The Pacific Islands Forum said the non-participation stance of New Caledonia’s pro-independence camp in Sunday’s referendum should be taken into the “contextual consideration” and analysis of the result.

The forum’s Ministerial Committee observed the plebiscite, which was the third and last under the Noumea Accord.

It said it was pleased with the overall arrangements made for polling day, which it said was peaceful, orderly and well organised.

Its statement said the spirit in which the referendum was conducted weighs heavily on the Noumea Accord and New Caledonia’s self-determination process.

It added that civic participation was an integral component of any democracy and critical to the interpretation and implications of Sunday’s poll.

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

A leading anti-independence politician in New Caledonia, Sonia Backes, has rejected calls for the referendum on independence from France to be postponed, saying it should be held as planned.

Pro-independence politicians have asked Paris to postpone the vote — due on December 12 — until next year because of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population.

About 10,000 mainly Kanak people have been infected since early September and more than 200 patients have died.

• READ MORE: Other articles on the New Caledonian independence referendum

In a letter to her rivals, Backes, who is the president of the Southern Province government, said campaigning should resume as vaccinations are being ramped up, and soon 80 percent of those over 12 would be vaccinated.

She said it was the pro-independence side, which in April unanimously wanted to have this third referendum, when there could have been the option of negotiating a way forward instead of seeking a divisive vote.

Backes said talk of a boycott was misplaced because there was no basis for such a stance, wondering how the United Nations and the observers would be able to understand such a move.

She said waiting for an outcome of the vote stops all initiative, hampers economic development and discourages people who wanted to have a perspective and a future.

French Overseas Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who met New Caledonian leaders in Noumea last weekend, wants to maintain the December date he set in June.

He said only an out-of-control pandemic could justify a postponement.

In 2018 and 2020, a majority voted against independence, but the winning margin shrank from 56.7 percent to 53.3 percent.

250 extra French police
France has flown a batch of 250 police reinforcements to New Caledonia as part of preparations for the independence referendum.

The officers, who are fully vaccinated, were received by the French High Commissioner Patrice Faure and General Jean-Marc Descoux, who oversees security for the referendum process.

Minister Lecornu said a total of 2000 police would be brought in for the plebiscite, marking a substantial strengthening of the force compared to the previous two referendums in 2018 and 2020.

He said in a great democracy there could be no feeling of insecurity.

After the 2018 plebiscite, rioting south of Noumea closed the main road, which police managed to reopen after two days.

Lecornu, who ended a two-week visit to New Caledonia on Monday, confirmed Paris wanted the referendum to be held well before the French presidential election due in April.

According to the Noumea Accord, the third and last vote must be held within two years of the previous vote.

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

Benny Wenda was granted political asylum in the United Kingdom 16 years ago – following an escape from custody while on trial in West Papua.

In exile, he has led the campaign for the self-determination that his countrymen say they have lacked since Indonesia gained internationally-recognised control of West Papua through a disputed referendum vote 50 years ago.

WATCH VIDEO: SBS Skype interview with Benny Wenda

Wenda told SBS News from London, that he is calling for a mass boycott of Indonesia’s upcoming elections to again bring attention to a decades long independence struggle.

“This is a critical time for our people because the election for a colonial occupied force is not legitimate,” Wenda said.

“From now on we will not take part in Indonesian elections because we are not Indonesian.”

“We are Melanesian. We are the Pacific islanders… People are fed up – enough is enough,”he said.

Indonesian elections
On April 17 – more than 190 million registered Indonesian voters will go to the polls for presidential and general elections.

Favoured incumbent President Joko Widodo is being challenged by former military general Prabowo Subianto.

Subianto is also the son-in-law of long-time former President Suharto – who led Indonesia for three decades.

Southeast Asia analyst Damien Kingsbury said both candidates have adopted “nationalist” sentiments in their campaign so far.

“There are both populists that are operating on a populist agenda,” he said.

“Jokowi is trying to broaden his appeal out to the middle ground of Indonesian voters. Prabowo is appealing much more to a base.”

Professor Kingsbury said despite making up some recent ground, Subianto is well behind President Widodo in most polling.

“The polls have been showing that Jokowi is running at around the 50 percent mark in terms of popularity,” he said.

“Prabowo is running at around the 30 percent mark with a significant number of undecided voters.”

This is the second time the two rivals will face off after President Widodo defeated Subianto in elections five years ago.

According to the West Papua National Committee, hundreds of thousands of West Papuans boycotted those elections in 2014.

West Papuan militants back boycott
Indonesia’s control of West Papua has long been a flash-point for ongoing low level conflict between Indonesian forces and Indigenous Papuan militants.

Indonesia recently deployed 600 soldiers to protect the building of a major highway in West Papua, in response to the killings of 19 Indonesian road workers. The road project was a signature promise that President Joko Widodo made to the region.

In following clashes with militants, Indonesia’s military said three of its soldiers were killed along with up to 10 rebels.

But despite this escalation, Professor Kingsbury said West Papua had essentially been a “non-issue” in the election campaign.

“Both candidates believe that that Melanesian West Papuans should accept they are Indonesian.” he said.

“[They believe] the separatist movement [in West Papua] is essentially a criminal organisation.”

In a statement seen by SBS News, the West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB-OPM) declared its intention to support the push to boycott 2019 elections.

“The TPNPB-OPM never recognised the existence of the Colonial Government of the Republic of Indonesia in Papuans Customary Lands,” the statement reads.

• Read the full report, watch the video at SBS
• Indonesia bans foreign media from covering elections in West Papua
• Other West Papuan coverage

Scores of students from the Student Struggle Centre for National Liberation (Pembebasan) and the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) have called on the public to boycott or spoil votes in the legislative and presidential elections next month.

The students, who said they were part of the 2019 Election Boycott Committee (Komite Boikot Pemilu, KBP), held the protest action at the Dr Johanes Leimena statue traffic circle in the city of Ambon, Maluku, last week.

“Golput [defacing ballot papers] is the most sensible choice. And this is our position in the 2019 pemilu”, said Abner Holago, one of the speakers at the action.

READ MORE: Papuans plan to boycott Indonesian elections, say independence activists

According to Holago, electoral participation levels have steadily declined between 1999 and 2014 by as much as 70.9 percent. Part of the reason for this decline is blamed on “administrative disorganisation”.

“This is a warning that progressively more people who are entitled to vote are not participating in the pemilu. From one year to the next more people don’t believe in [the elections], are disappointed with and sick of the country’s political system”, he said.

During the action the protesters made six demands including calling for people not to vote in the 2019 elections, to fight against militarism, to build an alternative political force, the withdrawal of the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (National Police) from the land of Papua, an end the theft of farmer’s land and for the ratification of the draft law on the elimination of sexual violence.

Background
Golput (Golongan Putih, White Group): The term first emerged as a campaign by students in the 1971 elections and derives its name from marking the white section of the ballot paper rather than a party symbol or candidate’s picture thereby making the vote invalid.

In recent years the term has broadened to include not just intentionally casting an invalid vote but also vote abstention.

Under new electoral laws introduced in 2003, golput, defacing a ballot paper or simply not voting is no longer an electoral offence.

Although it is widely believed that publicly advocating golput is illegal, unless money or other enticements are offered simply campaigning for or encouraging others not to vote is not in fact a crime.

Translated by James Balowski for Indoleft News. The original title of the article was “Mahasiswa Papua Demo di Ambon, Ajak Masyarakat Golput”.

Students at the two leading universities in Papua New Guinea – the national University of PNG in the capital Port Moresby and Unitech in the second city of Lae – have been protesting and boycotting classes for two weeks.

They are demanding that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill stand down and allow investigations into allegations of corruption proceed without hindrance.

According tothe Electoral Office’s media officer, Alphonse Muapi, the Lae Election Office did not see seek head office approval before conducting a vote over the boycott of classes at Unitech.

Muapi said the Electoral Office could not conduct a referendum because its regulations did not recognise the university Students’ Representative Council (SRC).

“Due to this referendum conducted at Unitech, it has left the Electoral Commission in a very awkward position as we are not sure how to address the referendum which should have taken place before a boycott can commence,” Muapi said.

Protesting Students from the  University of Papua New Guinea and the University of Technology  have  continued boycotting classes today, with further threats of a mass withdrawal.

The Electoral Office had rejected a similar request for a ballot by the University of PNG SRC.

They say they will withdraw from studies but have given 24 hours to the administration for the reimbursement of their semester 2 school fees and return tickets back to their province.

This followed another call from the Vice-Chancellor yesterday at 4pm for the students to return to class today.

• Students reach out to public in ‘awareness’ day
• Unitech boycotts classes, Tabar slams
• UPNG students’ actions
• Take your petition to the PM, says Parkop
• UPNG warns student planned protest ballot ‘bordering on contempt’
• UPNG students shrug off threats

By Scott Waide in Lae

An overwhelming majority of students at Papua New Guinea’s University of Technology in Lae has voted to boycott classes from tomorrow amid demands that Prime Minister Peter O’Neill step aside and for the police commissioner to reopen the Fraud Squad office, reports EMTV.

A referendum was conducted on Friday.

Electoral Commission officers counted the votes and later announced that 2059 students had voted “yes” while 296 voted against the boycott.

Forums have been ongoing but the Students Representative Council’s (SRC) constitution does not allow the students to progress to a boycott without a referendum.

While the students’ voice has been loud, the SRC has raised concerns over the silence of unions, workers and non-government organisations who have in previous years held governments to account.

Earlier, in a separate interview, Vice-Chancellor Dr Albert Schram said the university administration had not been closed and after two days of forum, normal operations would resume.

He said normal university functions would continue if there was a yes vote for the boycott.

UPNG students ordered back
At the national University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby, reports Adelaide Kari, the Senate, the supreme body comprising the vice-chancellor and heads of departments for all schools at UPNG, held a special meeting on Friday.

Among the 5 resolutions of the meeting was a call for normal classes to resume tomorrow.

However, the students have vowed to continue the boycott.

Earlier on Friday, the National Academic Staff Association ccomprising all academic staff from UPNG issued a statement supported the boycott.

NASA president Emmanuel Gorea said his colleagues supported the stand the students were taking and called on the Prime Minister and the government of PNG to receive the student’s petition.

However, he said that they would cater for students through remedial classes to cover the loss of learning.

Scott Waide and Adelaide Kari are EMTV reporters.

• UPNG students burn 800 newspapers in protest
  
• PNG media council calls for ‘respect’ for role of journalist