Jayapura – US ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel reiterated his country's full support for Papua as part of the integrated nation of the Republic of Indonesia and for the implementati

Wasior, West Papua – The remote Indonesian town of Wasior was a scene of devastation on Wednesday, with bodies lying unclaimed in the debris of flash floods that killed at least 86 peop

Nivell Rayda & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – As calls for independence in Papua and West Papua intensify, leaders in the restive provinces have rejected the possibility of talks wit

A spokesman for Vanuatu's Prime Minister Edward Natapei has confirmed he did not raise the issue of the status of Indonesia's Papua last week while attending the United Nations General

Timika – One man was killed and at least three injured on Monday in a clash between Indonesian police and dozens of locals over a security check dispute in the restive province of Papua

In the past week, two local newspapers in Jayapura have published reports claiming that a number of countries have expressed their support for a referendum to be held in West Papua.

The United States has called for Indonesia to move forward on autonomy in its Papua region and insisted it would not overlook human rights as it seeks broader relations with Jakarta.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives urged the government on Tuesday to establish information commission offices across Indonesia in efforts to preserve national unity.

Just weeks after it was revealed that members of the Indonesian counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 was accused of the torture of activists in Maluku, the Australian SAS has conducted

Camelia Pasandaran & Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has dispatched his three coordinating ministers and their officials on a quick trip to Papua as part

American Samoa's US congressman, Faleomavaega Eni Faleomavaega says the Pacific should not turn its back on the Indonesian region of Papua.

Jayapura – A new detachment of 140 Mobile Brigade personnel from Bogor, West Java, has been dispatched to Puncak Jaya.

Serious concerns have been raised in the United States about the treatment of West Papuans under Indonesian rule.

Geoffrey Bell – New Zealand needs to follow the "Bougainville solution" and facilitate peaceful dialogue between representatives of Indonesia and West Papua instead of supporting the st

Jayapura – Eleven Mobile Brigade personnel blamed for a recent deadly incident in Manokwari have been handed sanctions.

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Papuans told the US Congress at a hearing on Wednesday of the struggle to have their rights acknowledged by the Indonesian government.

Shaun Tandon, Washington – The United States called Wednesday for Indonesia to move forward on autonomy in its Papua region and insisted it would not overlook human rights as it seeks b

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The United States Congress on Wednesday held an open hearing on Indonesia's alleged military abuses in Papua as well as the harsh economic, health and social con

Nivell Rayda, Banjir Ambarita & AFP, Jakarta – The United States on Wednesday urged Indonesia to move forward on autonomy for Papua but warned it would not overlook cases of injusti

Today there are rallies at US Embassies in West Papua, Jakarta, Melbourne and Perth, reminding US Senators in a Congressional Hearing in Washington of Indonesia's atrocious human rights

Ismira Lutfia & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The government is being far too harsh in its handling of the low-level insurgency in Papua, a former minister says.

This week the House subcommittee on Asia will hold hearing on West Papua (Wed, September 22, 3 pm, 2172 Rayburn House Office Bldg., broadcast online via WEBCAST link at

A Papuan political prisoner in Jayapura's Abepura prison says ongoing international pressure is essential to force Indonesia to address human rights abuses.

Nivell Rayda & Banjir Ambarita, Jakarta – Human rights groups in West Papua are calling on the national rights commission to investigate last Wednesday's shooting deaths of two civi

A Papuan political prisoner in Jayapura's Abepura prison says Indonesia's government is afraid of what he might do if he's released.

Markus Makur, Timika – The Timika church in Mimika, Papua, has voiced its opposition of the province's planned oil palm plantation project, arguing that it would damage the environment

Jakarta – Papua Police are questioning seven Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel in relation with a clash between police and local residents in in the West Papua capital of Manokwari on W

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Two people are dead after a traffic accident triggered a riot on Wednesday at a police station in Manokwari, West Papua.

Timika, Indonesia – Indonesian police opened fire and killed two men and injured a woman as a dispute over a traffic accident spun out of control in the restive province of West Papua,

Banjir Ambarita, Jakarta – The military deployed soldiers across Manokwari, West Papua, on Thursday as thousands of residents stayed on the streets to protest the killing of two men by

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

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Detachment 88 has a legitimate role in countering separatism and will remain in Papua, where a long-simmering independence campaign has been running, the unit's co

There are questions over the benefits of New Zealand's police training programme in Indonesia's Papua and West Papua provinces.

Adianto P.

Dev Nadkarni – John Otto Ondawame, Vice President of the West Papua National Council for Liberation, was a deeply disappointed man at the end the 41st Pacific Islands Forum summit in Po

There's no sign that Indonesia's government will release any more political prisoners in Papua region despite a large campaign pressing the President on the issue.

Indonesia's government has been accused of clamping down on the most prestigious and well-established NGOs operating in the Papua region following its decision to ban another leading ag

Indonesia's government has been accused of running a campaign to limit global awareness of Papua following its decision to ban another leading international NGO from working there.

The West Papua Advocacy Team says ordinary Papuans stand to lose considerable benefits after another leading NGO was banned from working in Indonesia's easternmost region.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-128-2010

Dear friends,

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The incumbent head of Boven Digoel district in Papua is leading the early vote count in his bid for re-election, despite being detained in a Jakarta cell on

Activists have described the need for dialogue between the central government and Papuans as "urgent" and "critical" if Jakarta hopes to save the country's easternmost provinces from po

Maire Leadbeater – New Zealand's diplomacy with respect to Indonesian-controlled West Papua, especially in light of its aid to the Indonesian military and to the police in West Papua, h

The two sentiments that define the political impasse in Papua are frustration on the part of many Papuans that "special autonomy" has meant so little, and exasperation on the part of ma

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The government must rethink its relationship with Papua as soon as possible if it wants to avoid further civil violence and more adamant calls for independence,

In the past decade, the combined population of Papua and West Papua has grown 64 percent, making them the provinces with the fastest population growth in Indonesia.

An Australia-based Papua specialist says it remains to be seen whether an increase in state funding for Indonesia's Papua region will have any benefit for indigenous people.

The New Zealand Police says that its community police training-the-trainers in Indonesia's Papua region is making a positive impact.

Jayapura – Local church leaders have called for an independent investigation of a series of church shootings in Puncak Jaya, Papua, that started in 2004.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President
Republic of Indonesia
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta Pusat 10110 Indonesia
Via Fax, E-mail

August 16, 2010