NZ-Papua Training in Community Policing to Start in September

The New Zealand government has allocated Rp 20 million (US$ 2 million) in aid for the Papua Community Policing programme, according to The Jakarta Post. The funding will see NZ police run a Training for Trainers (TOT) program to work on? community-based approaches for Indonesian Police officers in Papua. The programme will run for three years, starting from September 2013. ‘There will be two NZ police officers stationed in Papua on a rotational basis, and will be helped by a number of instructors,’ NZ Ambassador to Indonesia David Taylor told The Jakarta Post, after meeting with the Papua Police chief. ‘The main purpose is to foster relations between the community and the police in Papua,’ Taylor added. The New Zealand Ambassador said, according to The Jakarta Post, that his government ‘respected the full territorial integrity of Indonesia in Papua, and would fully support the central and regional governments’ approach in prioritizing the economic aspect to address many issues in Papua. ‘All parties should sit together and negotiate to find solutions for the issues and challenges faced by Papua,” Ambassador Taylor was quoted as saying. The New Zealand Green Party has called for the programme to be stopped, claiming that Indonesia is an illegal occupier of Papua.