Articles Search

By Lindsay Murdoch Herald Correspondent In Jayapura

JAYAPURA, Papua, Indonesia (May 31, 2000 – Sydney Morning Herald)---Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Mr. Alwi Shihab, has accused unnamed Australian non-government organizations of inciting violence in its troubled province of Papua.

But there are no Australian non-government organizations (NGOs) operating in the vast and remote Indonesian province, where demands for independence are growing.

The Indonesian Observer quoted Mr. Shihab as saying that "Indonesia's foreign policy places Australia as an external factor that endangers its national integrity, especially in Papua."

He said: "Australia endangers our national integrity through upheaval ... provoked by Australian NGOs ..."

Mr. John Rumbiak, the head of the province's main human rights group, ELS-HAM, said Mr. Shihab's comments indicated that Jakarta wanted to destabilize an independence congress being held in the capital, Jayapura, this week...

By Lindablue F. Romero Staff Reporter

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (May 31, 2000 – Saipan Tribune)---The Tanapag Health Clinic has temporarily stopped the screening of village residents in connection with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination following the departure of four U.S.-based doctors.

"We were supposed to be done with the medical testing by then but there were more people who came to the clinic than we have initially expected," said Dr. Richard Brostrom, chief of the medical team.

Three doctors from the U.S. Department of Public Health and one physician from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry assisted the Department of Public Health for three weeks in screening the Tanapag residents.

Dr. Brostrom said the clinic will be closed for a week and will resume operations on June 5 when a new physician, Dr. Robert Johnson from ATSDR, arrives to assist in the health evaluation. The arrival of a new doctor on the island was...

HONOLULU, Hawai‘i (May 31, 2000 – Hawai‘i Public Radio)---An article in the scientific journal ‘Nature’ says Pacific leatherback sea turtles are much closer to extinction than previously believed.

The article was written by scientists from Drexel University in Pennsylvania and the Center for Marine Conservation, a Washington-based group.

The article says there may be only 5,000 Pacific leatherback sea turtles left.

That’s far less than the federal government’s population estimate of 85,000.

The scientists say the turtles are being killed accidentally by fishermen using long liners and gillnets.

The center and other environmental groups sued the Federal government last year for not protecting the turtles.

A Federal judge then closed off thousands of square miles of Pacific to Hawai‘i-based long liners to protect the turtles.

By Rowena Singh

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (May 31, 2000 – SPC)---"Women's and men's knowledge, attitudes and behavior play an essential role in harmonious family life, reproductive health and decision-making," says Mrs. Dharma Chandra, from the University of the South Pacific (USP)'s Population Studies Program.

"In most developing countries, participation of men in reproductive health in either direct or indirect ways is limited. Reproductive health components, such as family planning, safe motherhood, prenatal and postnatal care and child rearing, are seen as women's responsibilities," Mrs. Chandra added.

There is a large gap between the population rise in the Pacific region, and the availability of services and resources to meet the demands of an increased population. Total population in the region has risen to approximately 7.4 million. Though numbers and growth rates vary from country to country, most are finding it difficult to provide resources demanded by...