Australian officials are doing what they can to secure the release of five Australians held in West Papua since last September, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – As he approached Merauke's airport from the sky that fateful Friday, William Scott-Bloxam began to realise there could be consequences for his quickly planned week

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Five middle-aged Australians trapped in Papua for more than eight months after arriving without visas have become the unwitting victims of Indonesian hostility abo

Steve Holland – Five Australians stranded in Indonesia for almost nine months believe the Australian government is not doing enough to secure their release.

Nurfika Osman & Christian Motte – The Puncak Jaya home of the Democratic Party's chairman in Papua was fired upon over the weekend, but it was unclear whether the attack was politic

Indonesia has sent crack paramilitary police to retake a remote jungle airstrip seized by armed separatists in eastern Papua province.

Christian Motte, Jayapura – Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen.

Timika, Papua – Papuan police have increased security measures ahead of the upcoming presidential elections to ensure against any possible disruption to the nationwide vote by armed gro

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-047-2009

Dear friends,

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation says a visit by Indonesia's Ambassador is unlikely to sway Vanuatu's support for West Papuan self-determination.

West Papua advocates have been urging the United States to apply meaningful pressure on Indonesia for internationally-facilitated dialogue between Jakarta and Papuan leaders.

Jakarta – Agus Ohee, a resident of Harapan village, Jayapura regency, Papua, who was shot by local police during an attempted arrest, died in Sentani hospital on Wednesday morning.

Jakarta – A Papuan separatist group held a local police officer hostage for seven hours after confiscating his revolver, local police said Sunday.

Jakarta – Tension gripped the Papua regency of Jayapura on Wednesday when dozens of soldiers staged a rare protest, which soon turned violent.

Christian Motte & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jayapura – Hundreds of soldiers went after senior officers on Wednesday and damaged their battalion headquarters in Papua after the famil

Jakarta – Indonesian Military commander Gen.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Five Australians who illegally entered Indonesian territory through an airport in Merauke, Papua, in September last year have been banned from leaving the

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is extremely worried for the safety of a team of journalists in Indonesia, who tonight are reported to be in hiding in Jayapura, Papua

Christian Motte & Nurfika Osman – Papua authorities have decided to close down an immigration post at Skouw-Wutung on the country's border with Papua New Guinea, due to the province

Two US organizations concerned about human rights in West Papua today urged the US government "to apply meaningful pressure on the Indonesian government and its security forces...

In the lead-up to the elections, Papua was hit by terror. The OPM was accused of involvement, but its leaders behind bars deny it.

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Recent bomb attacks linked to the legislative elections in troubled Papua province may have been orchestrated by a single group, police said Friday.

The Indonesia office of the International Committee of the Red Cross says the request by Jakarta for it to leave the Papua region is not linked to visits by its officials to separatists

In a response to American Samoa's congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has signalled her support for greater autonomy for the Indonesian region

Lawyers for West Papuan activist Buchtar Tabuni claim he has been assaulted by Indonesian police and three public prosecutors.

Sunanda Creagh, Jakarta – Indonesia has ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to leave the politically sensitive Papua region after its officials visited separatis

Christian Motte – Police in Papua Province have arrested seven people in connection with the attack on the Abepura Police station in the provincial capital of Jayapura on the eve of the

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The National Police is intensifying the search for those responsible for a string of violent events that rocked Papua around election day.

Sydney – The Australia West Papua Association, Sydney, has asked Australia's Foreign minister Stephen Smith to raise what it says is the continuing deteriorating situation in West Papua

Nethy Dharma Somba and Angel Flassy, Jayapura – Churches and civil society groups asked security authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the series of attacks and burning

The Union of Papuan Baptist Churches has added its voice to claims that the Indonesian military is engineering attacks in the province and blaming them on Papuan separatists.

AWPA is calling on the Australian Foreign minister to raise the continuing deteriorating situation in West Papua with the Indonesian President and urge him in particular to control the

Papua New Guinea's Police Commissioner says the situation remains tense in an area on the common border of Indonesia and PNG where reports say eleven people have been killed in fighting

Erwida Maulia and Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – National Police Chief Gen.

Lora Lini – The decision of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to look over to South East Asia is not just to strengthen diplomatic relations with the region but a door for Vanuatu to und

Jakarta – National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said in Jakarta on Monday that police had arrested a man believed to be the mastermind of the attack on a police precinct in Abep

Christian Motte – Police in Papua Province on Friday blamed the separatist Free Papua Movement, or OPM, for a series of attacks over the past few days, after finding a flier from the gr

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Hundreds of Papuan students in Yogyakarta ran amok at the provincial general elections commission (KPUD) office after they could not find their voting booth

Human rights organizations have urged the US government and Congress to investigate and act on the continued violations of human rights in West Papua.

Jakarta Post, Papua/Jakarta – Papua was on high alert Thursday as a range of incidents, including attacks on police stations, claimed 11 lives to mar voting day in the country's eastern

Abepura – Indonesian police shot a man dead Thursday when about 100 people armed with arrows and bombs attacked a police post in Papua province as the country held general elections, po

Matt Brown – Human rights activists say a 10-year-old boy was among nine Melanesians shot after Indonesian paramilitary police broke up a pro-independence protest in Papua.

The Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) Victoria is calling on the Australian Government to make an urgent diplomatic representation to its Indonesian counterpart over escalating vi

At a time when the international media is focusing on today's Indonesian elections, little attention had been paid to the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua.

Kontras regrets the occurrence of several incidents of violence prior to the elections in Papua which have spread a sense of anxiety among Papuan people.

Jakarta – Poverty, poor education, and a lack of health care continue to plague Papua eight years after centralized control gave way to regional autonomy in the province.

Jayapura – Papua Police have detained three activists of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), for their allegedly subversive activities.

As the situation deteriorates further in West Papua with more arrests and the shooting of protesters, the Australia West Papua Association calls on the Australian Government to send obs

Election tensions in the Indonesian province of Papua have boiled-over, with reports that police shot and injured 11 people at a pro-independence rally on Monday.

AI Index: ASA 21/012/2009