Archive _{- April 1999}

FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu (April 27, 1999 – Radio Australia/PIDP/CPIS)---The 12-member Tuvalu Parliament has elected Ionatana Ionatana, former Minister of Education, the Polynesian nation’s new Prime Minister.

Ionatana ‘s new Cabinet lineup includes Lagitupu Tuilimu as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Samuelu Teo as Minister of Works and Communications, Faimalaga Luka as Minister of Natural Resources and Home Affairs, and Teagai Esekia as Minister of Health and Education.

New Prime Minister Ionatana replaces Bikenibeu Paeniu, who was ousted from office earlier this month after a vote of no confidence.

The vote against Paeniu was supported by members of his own cabinet after accusations of misconduct in his personal life and for failing to complete government programs as promised when he came to office.

FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW April 29, 1999

By Dan Murphy in Timika and Jayapura

The women from the church brought traffic to a halt on the dusty streets of Timika, chanting hymns against the demon rum, breaking into warehouses and confiscating cases of beer and homemade liquor. They then turned their attention to the mostly military-run saloons and brothels of the Irian Jaya frontier town near the world's largest copper and gold mine, breaking down their doors and ordering the establishments closed. Soldiers, mostly from Java, stood by and watched.

This was more than just a temperance or anti-vice movement. It was a measure of the newfound political freedom that the indigenous people of Irian Jaya -- a Melanesian ethnic group -- have won since the fall of President Suharto. The military, which has killed hundreds during Indonesia's 37-year rule, has been reined in and the two local newspapers have enjoyed greater freedom.

Weeks later, Yosepha Alomang-...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (April 27, 1999 - Jakarta Post)---Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid has confirmed the impossibility of dividing Irian Jaya and Maluku into several provincial administrations before the June 7 general election.

"The expansion program will be based on laws which have yet to be made. It is impossible to carry (the division) out before the elections, because the House of Representatives, which is in recess until June 11, will not be able to process them.

"The House cannot deliberate the draft if we submit it now," he said, after meeting with governors, regents and mayors across the country on Monday.

Syarwan's statement modified an announcement by Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Feisal Tanjung on the government plan to split the two regions into additional provinces.

Following a meeting with his ministers last Thursday, Feisal said the plan would be carried out before the elections. Irian Jaya was to be...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (April 24, 1999 - Post-Courier)---Air Niugini is heading back to Japan, with charter flights to start in August.

Public Enterprises and Communications Minister Dr. Fabian Pok announced the move yesterday, signaling his desire that the Tourism Promotion Authority should take the lead in promoting PNG as a tourism destination.

Previous charters by Air Niugini were successful revenue raisers and brought 9,000 Japanese tourists to PNG, he said.

The minister said an air link between the two countries was in line with the government’s policy to encourage commence, trade, investment and other areas of cooperation between PNG and Asia-Pacific countries.

Air Niugini began operating scheduled services to Osaka in July 1997, after the signing of an Air Niugini agreement between the two governments in March 1997. However, with the general world recession, the Asian financial crisis last year and the downturn in PNG’s economy, Air...