Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says the government needs to evaluate its military operations in Papua, as more soldiers and civilians are

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, Sydney, Australia 2088

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The military denied allegations that a woman and three children were shot and wounded during operations to combat suspected separatists in Papua's Puncak Jay

Jayapura – Five soldiers were wounded in a gunfight with a group of armed people in Puncak Jaya, Papua, on Tuesday.

Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) has named him the 2011 recipient of the John Rumbiak Human Rights Defenders Award.

Striking workers at Freeport-McMoran's gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province have returned to work after their union said the firm agreed to its demands in the latest round

In recent weeks, highly regarded West Papuan non-governmental and religious organizations which promote respect for human rights have spoken out forcefully regarding the deteriorating h

Organizations based in more than a dozen countries today issued a statement of support for West Papuan organizations appealing for justice and human rights.

Alfian Kartono, Timika, Indonesia – A few clicks on the keyboard of his computer was enough to get Simon Windesi and his friends riled up about the low wages their employer, a global mi

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-121-2011

Dear friends,

Lauren Zumbach – A major military operation has been launched in West Papua following the ambush of an Indonesian military patrol last week, reports said on Tuesday.

Declaration on peace In Papua

With thanks to Almighty God,

Banjir Ambarita – Raja Ampat Police on Monday denied reports that legal advocate Johnson Panjaitan has been held hostage as a result of a dispute between two mining companies in West Pa

There's been another call by West Papuans for dialogue with Indonesia's government towards making the Papua region peaceful.

An official presence by Jakarta at a conference in Papua discussing peaceful solutions to the long simmering conflict in the region has been described as positive.

Banjir Ambarita – A strike that has crippled Freeport Indonesia's copper and gold mine in Papua is expected to continue well into its second week after talks between management and work

Nick Chesterfied – Confirmed reports emerged on Sunday from Puncak Jaya, West Papua, that over 600 Indonesian Army (TNI) troops have been conducting daily full combat operations since J

Jayapura – Protesting employees and PT Freeport Indonesia management failed to reach a compromise over the strikes which had entered the fifth day, obstructing the company's mining oper

Jakarta – A widely publicized conference aimed at seeking peace in Papua concluded on Thursday that the best way to seek long-term resolutions to problems faced by Papuans – ranging fro

Alex Rayfield – From the outside looking in, the latest church conflict in West Papua might look like just another example of factional Protestant politics.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Thousands of PT Freeport Indonesia workers, engaged in a work stoppage for a second day, occupied a checkpoint in Kuala Kencana.

Jayapura, West Papua – Three Indonesian soldiers were shot during a clash with unknown attackers in Kalome village, Tingginambut district, on Tuesday evening.

At a press conference in Jayapura, a coalition of human NGOs and Komnas HAM called for the Peace Conference now underway in Jayapura to include Freeport in its recommendations.

Jakarta – Thousands of workers of PT Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of US giant mining corporation Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., claim that the strike they began on Monda

Jayapura – Some 300 indigenous Papuans from all regions in Papua and West Papua provinces are expected to join a peace conference from July 5-7 in Jayapura to seek solutions to conflict

Samuel Wanda, Timika, Papua – About 8,000 workers at Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc's Indonesian unit kicked off a seven-day strike on Monday, a union head said, in a move that

Jayapura – According to the police, the arrest of five activists who were attending the commemoration of 1 July, OPM Day, was because they had mobilised people but had done so without h

Tom Allard – About once a month, a ship from Townsville makes the long journey to Raja Ampat, a seascape of astonishing beauty and diversity.

Jakarta – Security was heightened in the town of Kwamki Baru, Timika, on Friday after two groups of local residents were caught in brawl, putting the city in fear of further violence.

Fien Jarangga & Galuh Wandita – Papuan women have been suffering terrible violence both outside and inside their homes for the past 40 years, and for most of that time, they've suff

An announcement on Thursday about the selection of students at the state university led to a demonstration being held by students who also blocked off the Cenderawasih university campus

Jakarta – A group of Papuans staged a protest at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) office on Monday, urging the commission to follow up on Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) findings

The local branch of the union of energy and mining workers at Freeport-Indonesia announced on Friday 24 June that it had set a deadline of 4 July for its decision to organise a strike a

Pastor Jonga: 'MRP has now become a mechanism for the government's splitting tactics.'

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-117-2011

Dear friends,

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-115-2011

Dear friends,

Jayapura – Three candidate pairs running in the West Papua election walked out during the draw for their candidate ticket numbers in Manokwari on Monday to protest alleged duplicity by

Jason MacLeod – "You can mess with the police," said the Indonesian soldiers, "but if you try it with us, you're dead."

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Since the enactment of Law No. 21/2001 on Papuan Special Autonomy 10 years ago, the law has been obstructed by state officials.

AMPTPI, the Association of Students from the Central Highlands, has urged the DPRP to summon the police chief in Papua to ask him about how the investigation into shooting in Moanemani,

The chairman of Commission A of DPRP.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan people want only one People's Assembly (MRP) for the entirety of native Papuan land because they fear that separate MRPs will lead to disparity in

Acts of violence and terror that have been perpetrated against human rights defenders as well as against journalists have led to a sense of deep concern among human rights NGOs and reli

Yones Douw, a human rights activist in the Indonesian province of Papua, was beaten by military officers on 15 June and has been denied medical treatment.

Nethy Dharma Somba – West Papua Governor Abraham O Atururi swore in the new board members of the province's Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) on Wednesday, amid criticism that it violated

Camelia Pasandaran – Witnesses for a former deputy gubernatorial candidate in Papua told the Constitutional Court on Tuesday that his disqualification from the 2005 poll was against the

Index: ASA 21/012/2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – The food estate policy that has encouraged foreign investment in agriculture may not prevent potential food crises, activists say.

AWPA has written to the Pacific Islands Forum leaders urging them to discuss the human rights situation in West Papua at their summit in Auckland in September (letter below).

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The dominant security and military approaches to addressing problems in Papua have slowed development and have given way to human rights violations, a study