manukoreri.net -> Independent Grassroots Human Security & Human Rights Activism, Media and Advocacy for Melanesia

Welcome to Manukoreri.net

Posted on March 12th, 2008 by Nick.
Categories: home.

Greetings! My name is Nick Chesterfield. I am a grassroots security analyst and activist who stands up for the rights of Indigenous Peoples across the Asia-Pacific Region, specifically focusing on Melanesian issues.

BREAKING NEWS July 19, 2008: Over the last week in PNG, several platoons of Indonesian Military have crossed into Papua New Guinea and conducted highly provocative and violent actions in many places along the border. Our local networks fear that this part of a campaign of destabilisation and intimidation that is preceding a TNI backed economic control action.

FOR LATEST INFORMATION ABOUT UPHEAVALS IN WEST PAPUA, PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINKS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE TO THE RELEVANT PAGES. PLEASE NOTE ALL INFORMATION ON THE SITUATION ON WEST PAPUA IS COPYLEFT, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE IT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT, THOUGH ATTRIBUTION TO MANUKORERI.NET WOULD BE APPRECIATED. I ALSO NEED TO FUND THIS WORK SOMEHOW, SO DONATIONS WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. BIG BLUE DONATE BUTTON DOWN THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: WHILST I AM POSTING UPDATES ON THE SITUATION IN WEST PAPUA, AND I AM IN COMMUNICATON WITH WEST PAPUAN FIGURES FROM MAY SECTORS ACROSS WEST PAPUA, I AM ACTING ONLY IN A CAPACITY AS AN INDEPENDENT MEDIA ADVISOR TO THE WEST PAPUA MOVEMENT, AND FULFILLING MY ROLE AS A CONDUIT TO INTERNATIONAL MEDIA. I AM NOT BEING PAID FOR THIS, NOR AM I SEEKING ANY POSITION OUT OF THIS, NOR AM I SEEKING TO PROMOTE ONE GROUP OF WEST PAPUANS OVER ANOTHER. I AM DOING THIS BECAUSE PEOPLE THAT I CARE FOR, IE WEST PAPUANS, ARE UTILISING AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXERCISE SELF DETERMINATION IN THEIR LIVES. I AM ONLY UTILISING THIS SITE AS I HAVE CONTROL OVER ITS SECURITY. THANKS AND PLEASE READ ON, OR PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINKS ON THE RIGHT TO FIND THE INFO YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT I CANNOT COVER ALL ASPECTS OF WEST PAPUA. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.FREEWESTPAPUA.COM, WWW.FREEWESTPAPUA.ORG, AND WWW. KOTEKA.NET

Manukoreri.net is here to showcase some of my past and present work in the region; connect people with some of the worthy crew I work with; and for regular updates on issues I am involved in. It is also to allow me to demonstrate some of my experience and skills that may be attractive for your organisation or network on a reasonable consultancy basis. (more in the “What I can do for your Organisation” section below).

If you need to know anything at all about me in the public domain, please just google me, and you should get a rough idea of what I do

This site is dynamic.

So what is Manukoreri?

Manukoreri is an amalgam name that symbolises the connection of my heritage and way of life to the struggle for indigenous liberation and resepect, especially in the Melanesian region. Manu comes from a highly honoured name given to me in ceremony by Elders of the Guugu-Yalanji Baama of the jungle of Far North “Queensland”. The full name - Bubumanu - means “the neck of the land”. As in messenger, the pathway of nourishment and conduit between head and heart. It is a name I wear with pride.

Koreri, of course, is a Biak name for the law belonging to the Morning Star. The Morning Star is the most sacred symbol for all Melanesians, one that unites us all in a common identity, our ancestors. It is a story that unites our Land as it was before the waters rose only 8000 years ago, a very sacred story. It tells the stories of our songlines and helps us navigate. It guides our messengers and our travellers. It allowed our fishermen to come home from hundreds of kilometres out to sea. It enabled our ancestors to populate the ocean of peace - The Pacific.

The image above shows the connection clearly. It is of our land before the waters seperated us, and shows the key sacred dreaming of our one land. One People, One Land, One Soul.
Manukoreri is about bringing that all back together, to enjoy peace and prosperity with sustainability and respect for the Land from which we come.

—————–

“….Nick Chesterfield, among the most energetic activists for the West Papua cause and a regular commentator on Papua in Australia’s mainstream media.”

September 2006, Rodd McGibbon, Deputy Director, Office of National Assessments

What I do

I have been a regional human rights activist in the Asia-Pacific region since 1996, and have been closely involved with Human rights and human security issues directly involving Australia’s nearest neighbour, the island of New Guinea, since 1999.

I have gained extensive experience since this time in active human rights service, and in the process I have formed and maintained a large network of useful allies and sympathisers in all areas of human rights, refugee protection, peacekeeping, environmental protection, fisheries, aid monitoring, national parliaments, government, military, security, and intelligence. More to the point, I have an unparalleled grassroots base within my areas of interest and operation. These contacts, and friends, span the entire Pacific region, and globally.
In 2005 I was involved in setting up a national activist network on West Papua, and was formerly involved with liaising with the West Papua National Authoriy, a forerunner to the current West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation.

During this time, I conducted numerous support campaigns and grew my network considerably around the region. At the end of 2005, I conducted a mission to investigate allegations of security disturbances and human rights abuses by Indonesian military linked logging companies. The reality was far more disturbing, and the findings were published as “Terror-razing the Forest”. This created quite a stir around the Pacific, and it opened up a lot of further opportunities for research, and information networks.

Of course during this time, I was also co-ordinating the Australian and Torres Strait response to the arrival of 43 key West Papuan activists hunted by the Indonesian government to safety in Australia, with a major naval and military search. My role was as a senior adviser, and also I was responsible for identifying key allies within government(s) that enabled the asylum seekers to safely land in Australia. I was personally responsible for key government, military, search and rescue, and media liaison, and was able to make the situation play out exactly according to our obligations under international law. I still keep a good rapport with the many useful contact that were made during this time, especially in the media.

In the months subsequent to this, I was apporoached by many media organisations to enable them access to otherwise closed places, and to get material on issues that were regionally significant and of high media interest. I was working as a fixer and contact co-ordinator on these projects, and provided support and monitoring until the job was done.

A full list of prior appointments (where appropriate) is available to those that require my services.

May 2006 saw me undertake an Emergency protection and monitoring mission, and was involved in securing a large group of extreme at-risk refugees from kidnapping. I was responsible for some unprecedented security action within PNG against Indonesian agents, and many other quite daunting tasks tht were completed with full safety and security. For full details, please check out the Reports section.

Due to these missions, and my prior work, my networks are able to complete similar tasks in areas that are ignored by almost every other international NGO, with the honourble exception of those I already work with.
Please browse the site, my reports and my links to see how you can help the region or how I can help you help the region.

What I can do for your organisation.

(under construction)

For a detailed resume please contact me directly at manukoreri(at)riseup.net.

For those who require it for more secure work, where appropriate, a confidential cleared active history profile is available too. Please contact via Hushmail for this, and I will have to establish bona fides before this is supplied. Extensive references for prior work in this field are available to appropriate organisations.

To send me a secure email, please click here and follow the links to Hushmail Express to send mail to manukoreri(at)hush.ai

I am currently attempting to locate suitable donors to assist me in my work throughout 2008. Projected humanitarian and research operations this year will necessitate finding over A$100,000 minimum, and I am additionally looking for some very modest income support to enable me do this work most effectively.

I am now recruiting support and experienced and committed personnel for a regional human security monitoring mission in early to mid 2008. Please contact me for further details, and stay posted on this site. Public announcement will be forthcoming.
You can help me in this. Critically, you can support the sustainability of my work by funding a regular commitment, whatever you can afford, by subscribing to my work via Paypal, simply by clicking here.

Help support my regional security work by making a one off donation through PayPal - it is fast, free and secure.