Andra Jackson – The leader of the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers on Christmas Island has made a direct appeal to the Australian public for protection.

Jakarta – Indonesian police have finished their investigation into eight suspects accused in the 2002 slayings of two American teachers in Papua province and handed over their charge sh

Ratna Nuraini, Jakarta – TNI (Indonesian military) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has revealed that there has been no increase in security disturbances in Papua.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – PT Freeport Indonesia should increase the revenue it shares with the government from its Papua mines amid lucrative prices of copper and gold, Vice Presi

Peter Short, Perth – "The voice of West Papua must be heard, it has been silenced for 45 years", West Papua solidarity activist Ned Byrne told a crowd of 140 people who packed into Frem

Sarah Stephen – Greens Senator Kerry Nettle received a warm welcome when she finally managed to get to Christmas Island on January 28-30 to visit the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers and a

Paul Kingsnorth – "Tomorrow," said Galile, "I will take you to the Bird of Paradise. We know where they live. You will hear them, and maybe see them too. They are very beautiful."

Indonesia has ramped up pressure on the Howard government not to grant asylum to 43 Papuan boat people, with a senior minister denying that human rights abuses are systemic in the troub

Jakarta – Indonesia will maintain a ban on foreign media reporting from its easternmost province of Papua to prevent an escalation of tension in the restive region, Minister of Defense

Nancy-Amelia Collins, Jakarta – The Indonesian defense minister has acknowledged that some military and police personnel have committed rights abuses in the eastern province of Papua.

Greg Roberts – The number of people crossing illegally from the Indonesian province of West Papua into Australia may be much greater than was thought.

Jakarta – Indonesia on Sunday challenged Australia to prove that 43 boat people from troubled Papua province seeking asylum from Canberra are really fleeing persecution.

Yogyakarta- Dozens of students from West Papua demonstrated at the intersection in front of the Yogyakarta central post office on Friday February 3.

Tom Allard – Indonesia has stepped up its campaign for Australia to return 43 Papuan asylum seekers, with its new ambassador warning that relations will be strained if they are granted

Sydney – Refugees who landed in Australia after a five-day sea voyage had been jailed and tortured in Indonesia, an Australian lawmaker said Friday, as Jakarta's ambassador warned of st

Indonesia's new Ambassador to Canberra says relations between Australia and Indonesia will certainly be affected if Australia grants refugee status to more than 40 asylum seekers from t

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A dysentery outbreak has killed dozens of local residents in the remote Papuan regency of Puncak Jaya in the past two months, a reverend said Thursday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Papua People's Council (MRP) is stepping up its opposition to Jakarta's policy to split Papua, saying a recent survey found most people object to the p

Australians protested around the country last week in solidarity with the 43 West Papuan refugees who have been detained by the federal government on Christmas Island.

Kerryn Williams – The arrival on Australian shores of 43 West Papuan refugees on January 18 has put the spotlight on the long suffering – and determined resistance – of the people of We

Sarah Stephen – One of the passengers aboard the outrigger canoe that landed on Cape York peninsula on January 18 was a five-year-old child.

Sarah Stephen – Among the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers who were transferred to Christmas Island on January 18 are four family groups.

West Papuan asylum seekers on Christmas Island have told Greens senator Kerry Nettle their families have been terrorised by Indonesian security forces since their journey to Australia.

Greg Poulgrain – Ten US members of Congress have described the arrival on Australian shores by canoe two weeks ago of 43 asylum seekers from West Papua as a flight to freedom.

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – Since his government last year brought about what looks like the end of the separatist conflict in Indonesia's tsunami-wracked Aceh province, President Susilo Ba

Tom Allard – The Indonesian military is using the same tactics of terror in West Papua that were employed during its bloody reign in East Timor, and Australia should step in to mediate

Australian refugee advocates say they are alarmed by the Indonesian Government making a direct request to Prime Minister John Howard for the return of 43 Papuans.

M.

Jayapura – A man was arrested by Jayapura Police officers Saturday, allegedly for hoisting the outlawed Morning Star flag, the symbol of the Papuan independence struggle.

Russell Skelton – Australia and Indonesia are headed for a diplomatic crisis over the fate of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers whose claims of persecution now appear likely to be recognise

The Hon John Howard MP
Prime Minister of Australia
C/o Australian High Commission UK
Strand London WC2B 4LA

27 January 2006

Dear Prime Minister Howard,

A group of Papuan asylum seekers being held in immigration detention on Australia's remote Christmas Island is expected to meet their lawyers for the first time this weekend.

Washington, D.C. – The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F.

Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Suite MF 40 Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

25 January 2006

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee is calling on the Australian Prime Minister and Immigration Minister to release the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers detained on Christmas Island.

Ivy Susanti, Jakarta – The Indonesian government urged the group of 43 Papuans seeking asylum in Australia to return home, and pledged that there would be no punishment.

Reporter: Hamish Fitzsimmons

Sarah Stephen – On January 18, 43 West Papuans stepped onto Australian soil at Mapoon on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula.

Andra Jackson – A Catholic bishop has warned that Indonesian authorities are "trying to get to" the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers on Christmas Island.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Protesters stormed the Papua legislative council building Monday, demanding Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers be withdrawn from the province.

Gunawan Mashar, Makassar - Scores of West Papuan students in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar have also held an action demanding the release of the Timika detainees.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Papua People's Council (MRP) has formed four teams to gauge public opinion in West Irian Jaya about the controversial proposal to form the area into a

Jakarta – Police in Indonesia's Papua on Monday denied allegations that four students were shot dead in a revenge attack linked to a group of separatist refugees fleeing from the provin

Jakarta – About 200 protesters stormed Parliament in Indonesia's restive Papua province on Monday to demand the withdrawal of troops from the region, witnesses said.

Calls are growing for Australia's immigration department to grant immediate protection visas to 43 Papuan asylum seekers who arrived in far north Australia last week.

Nova Maulani, Jakarta - A solidarity action over the Freeport tragedy has ended up at the US Embassy.

Nova Maulani, Jakarta - Flavours of West Papua dominated a demonstration in Jakarta by people from Indonesia's eastern-most province.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Relatives of a Papuan protester killed by security authorities in Paniai regency two days ago demanded on Saturday that Trikora Military Commander Maj.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Unidentified security officers opened fire on a group of protesters outside a police station in Paniai regency in restive Papua province on Friday, killin

The Federal Government says it has asked Indonesia for official clarification of reports of a shooting in which one person was killed and two injured, in the troubled province of Papua.