Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The newly elected members of the Papuan People's Council (MRP) took office on Monday in a ceremony that was notable for the heavy police presence.

Alastair Thompson – Timor-Leste Foreign Minister & 1996 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jose Ramos-Horta knows more than most about independence struggles against Indonesian control.

In an effort to accommodate fundamental rights for natives, the Indonesian government set up a people's assembly in the easternmost province Papua on Monday even though protesters say t

Yogyakarta – Today, Monday 31/10 One hundred Papuan Students who called themselves the Alliance of Papuan Students (AMP) Jogjakarta took part in a long march [in central Java] to protes

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The central government's plan to appoint all 42 members of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) is against the law, undemocratic, and will create a puppet g

Lloyd Jones – Hundreds of people have rallied in Port Moresby to urge Pacific leaders meeting there to take West Papua's case for independence from Indonesia to the United Nations.

In Papua New Guinea, hundreds of people have rallied in the capital Port Moresby to call for independence for the Indonesian province of Papua.

A rally will be held in the PNG capital Port Moresby tomorrow to highlight the push for independence in the Indonesian province of Papua.

The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) believes it is now time for West Papua to be granted observer status at the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum in PNG.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A Dutch parliamentarian called on the international community to stop questioning the status of Papua as the territory's incorporation into Indonesia under

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has sent an urgent fax to newly elected Prime Minister Rt Hon Helen Clark urging her to ensure that West Papua is highlighted at this year's Pacific

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government has delayed indefinitely the establishment of the much-awaited Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), blaming a dispute among local religious leaders an

Pradana Boy ZTF, Malang – The factors that have caused Papuans' desire to be free from Indonesia cannot easily be determined.

City Councillors took part in a protest on the steps of Oxford Town Hall to pledge their support for West Papuans fighting for freedom from Indonesian occupation.

Melanesian Solidarity National Facilitating Committee for Free West Papua, Papua New Guinea is calling on the Senior Official currently meeting in Suva, Fiji to put West Papua as a sepa

A delegation of Papuan church ministers is flying out to America this week to lobby the United States Congress to investigate Indonesia's legal claim over their province.

Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas has joined calls for the UN to hold an independence referendum in West Papua after the Green Party adopted a policy motion condemning the UN-sponsored 'sham

36th Pacific Islands Forum, Papua New Guinea, 25-27 October 2005

Netty Dharma Somba, Jakarta, Jayapura – The ongoing formation of Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) has drawn strong opposition from Papuan tribal leaders and churchmen, who feel disappoint

Indonesia's defence minister, Juwono Sudarsono, has denied media reports that Indonesia's National Defence Forces have deployed a large number of military personnel to Papua province.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government promised on Monday to install the members of the much-awaited Papua People's Assembly (MRP) early next month and to refrain from making any strat

A Swiss journalist who witnessed the Abepura incident in 2000 in Indonesia's Papua province says a police commissioner acquitted of charges in connection to the incident was responsible

Washington – Thirty-five members of the US Congress have called on Indonesia to lift travel restrictions to West Papua and halt the military buildup in the province where a rebellion ha

Australia West Papua Association (Melbourne) welcomes the National Party's Resolution No.

The UK-based Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) has denounced last week's ruling by an Indonesian Human Rights Court that ended up acquitting two senior police office

Jakarta – The acquittal of two senior police officers from all charges of gross human rights violations in Abepura, Papua province, drew public condemnation on Friday.

Jayapura – Seventeen activists grouped in the Papuan Solidarity for Abepura group continued their hunger strike on Wednesday as part of the efforts to seek justice for the victims of th

Today's acquittal of two senior Indonesian police officers, accused of allowing the killing of three Papuan students and the torture of over a hundred others, is a worrying illustration

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A group of prominent figures established a forum on Tuesday to increase public participation in the efforts to resolve the problems of Papua, which ha

Alan Ramsey – Stuart Rees is the director of Sydney University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Students and residents claiming to be from the Papua Solidarity for the Abepura Incident staged a protest in Jayapura on Monday, demanding the death penalty for two police officers char

Tony Hotland and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has warned the government to take all possible measures to block a US Congress bill that questions the s

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia's military will be looking to reap even more riches from rebellious Papua province now that it has been forced to withdraw thousands of troops from

Jakarta – The Indonesian army will send an additional three battalions of troops to Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has raised her concern over the alleged arrival of troops in the trouble

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – After the Helsinki peace deal that brought peace to Aceh, the central government has been urged to focus more on resolving the problems in Papua.

Carmel Budiardjo, London – The historic agreement concluded this week between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been widely welcomed, both in Indonesia and

Tom Allard – The Indonesian military has murdered independence activists, raped women and razed villages in Papua, a report by University of Sydney researchers alleges.

Ivy Susanti, Jakarta – Indonesia expressed displeasure over a report from a group of Australian researchers, who accuse the Indonesian Military (TNI) of committing genocide in Papua, an

The Indonesian military has been blamed for systematic violence, including rape, arson and torture, in the province of West Papua, according to a new report by Australian researchers.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – At least 10,000 Papuans stormed into the office of the Papua provincial legislative council in Jayapura on Friday, demanding the government to review its

Hon Alexander Downer MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

11 August 2005

Dear Mr. Downer,

Jakarta – Controversy over the issue of special autonomy for Papua has shifted to allegations of the misuse of Rp 5.6 trillion (US$577.3 million) in the government's autonomy fund alloc

Washington – As a peace deal nears in a 29-year war in Aceh, US lawmakers are seeking support for an independence movement in another Indonesian province: West Papua, also the site of a

The Secretary of State
The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Dear Madam Secretary:

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – United Nations and rudimentary SOS flags were unfurled during a ceremony commemorating International Indigenous Day on Tuesday morning in Jayapura.

Tiarma Siboro and ID Nugroho, Jakarta/Surabaya – Top members of the Papuan Tribal Council (DAP) met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Friday and asked the government to immediately hol

August 15th, 2005 may possibly – hopefully – be recorded as a day of peace in Indonesian history books.

Fred Dove (Presenter): In the far corner of South East Asia the island of New Guinea is divided into West Papua and Papua New Guinea.

Jakarta – A United States Congressman assured Indonesia on Thursday of his country's support for the territorial integrity of this country, which has been plagued by secessionist moveme