Indonesia's Ambassador to Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand, Tantowi Yahya, says protesters supporting West Papua independence should have sought a government permit of approval to stage the action.

A small, but vocal, group of protesters gathered this morning outside the Sheraton Aggies Resort in Apia, venue of the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting, to raise awareness about the pligh

Elizabeth Ah-Hi, Apia – The Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Dame Meg Taylor, has promised protesters that their voice on West Papua will be heard by the leaders attendin

Demonstrators are staging another protest this afternoon outside the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Apia, in support of West Papuan independence.

West Papua advocacy groups based in Australia and New Zealand have urged the Pacific Islands Forum to act decisively on Papua.

West Papua Action Auckland calls on Pacific Island Forum leaders to take action on West Papua next week.

Auckland – The Australia West Papua Association has urged leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum to continue their support of West Papua.

AWPA has written an open letter to the PIF leaders (letter below media release).

Pacific churches have come out in support of West Papuan self-determination while endorsing the referenda planned for New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea's Bougainville.

A campaigner for West Papua says the New Zealand government should be speaking out about the treatment of pro-independence demonstrators by Indonesian police.

Indonesia's new ambassador to New Zealand says issues of importance to Pacific Island countries are his country's concerns too.

A former Vanuatu prime minister, Barak Sope, says he is confident West Papua will become independent from Indonesia.

Indonesia has disputed reports that this month's African, Caribbean and Pacific meeting featured discussion about West Papua.

A coalition of Pacific Island nations has delivered an emphatic call to the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states to back West Papuan self-determination.

Grant Wyeth – Preparations are being made in the Solomon Islands for the mid-year transfer of power from the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) intervention force

The Solomon Islands government says its strong stance on issues relating to West Papua is separate from proposed policing co-operation with Indonesia.

Indonesia is hosting this week's meetings of police ministers and commissioners from member countries of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Jayapura, Jubi – Opposition leader Ro Teimumu Kepa has invited all men and women of all ages in Fiji to take concrete steps to accelerate the achievement of gender parity.

A Papua New Guinea man says he and several countrymen were subject to unfair incarceration in West Papua by Indonesian authorities.

A West Papuan English teacher, who escaped persecution to an Australian island in the Torres Strait, claims he was deported to Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby.

More than 1000 West Papuan refugees from Indonesia living in Papua New Guinea's Western Province will be granted citizenship.

A Pacific Islands Forum team is to join monitors of the Indonesian regional elections which start tomorrow.

The chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, today starts a tour of the member states' capitals.

Len Garae – The Chairman of Vanuatu Free West Papua Organisation, Pastor Allan Nafuki, has expressed utter disappointment at leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group for not fulfilling their promi

Differences in approach between Indonesian and West Papuan representatives reached a head at Melanesian Spearhead Group meetings in Vanuatu last week.

Len Garae – The Melanesian Spearhead Group Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting at the Secretariat in Port Vila this week has not dealt with Indonesia's Associate Membership of MSG or West Papua's Ob

Nauru's government has confirmed that an Indonesian government delegation visited the country this month.

Dan McGarry – Vanuatu Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, was cheered by approximately 50 leaders of West Papua who are currently in Port Vila, when he assured them his Government's position on West Pa

Eddie Osifelo – Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has include Micronesia, Polynesia, and African countries to fight against human rights violations in West

Papua New Guinea's opposition leader says his country and Australia need to play a greater role in responding to human rights abuses in neighbouring West Papua.

A former Vanuatu prime minister Barak Sope wants Vanuatu to become a member of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation to counter Indonesia's influence.

A Melanesian Spearhead Group committee is meeting in Port Vila to consider guidelines around membership in the regional organisation.

Ben Bilua – The Leader of Free West Papua Movement in Solomon Islands has called on political parties to leave West Papua issue alone.

The Solomon Islands government says it's not in a position to respond to a warning from Indonesia's government not to speak out about West Papua.

Leader of the Australian West Papua Association (Sydney) (AWPA), Joe Collins, has spoken out against reports that Jakarta has requested Australia to pass on a message to the Solomon Islands to refr

During her visit to Indonesia, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Indonesia's Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu discussed efforts to deepen military relations at the 2+2 meeting held in Bali last F

Indonesia's Defence Minister has urged Australia to rebuke Pacific Island states who raise issues relating to West Papua in global fora.

There are questions over the effectiveness of a push by Indonesia to have Australia lean on Pacific countries to not talk about West Papua.

Aditya Mardiastuti, Nusa Dua – Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has emphasised that the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) cannot be challenged.

West Papua specialist Dr Cammi Webb-Gannon said the unprecedented level of discussion about West Papuan self-determination and human rights at the recent UN General Assembly reflected a new momentu

An academic specialising in West Papua says Pacific Islands peoples are taking the lead on issues of decolonisation within the region.

Suva – The request made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to Indonesia to formally respond to allegations of racial violence and discrimination against Papuans

Godwin Ligo – Vanuatu Prime Minister has reiterated the government and the country's stand for the independence of West Papua and New Caledonia, as unchanged.

Len Garae – Whether Papua New Guinea and Fiji attend the next Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders' Summit in Port Vila or not, come the second or third week of December, the Leaders of New Caledonia

Tonga's prime minister Akilisi Pohiva has told parliament that leadership without morality is due to fail.

Godwin Ligo – The Melanesian Wantok Summit organized by Vanuatu Free West Papua Association (VFWPA) and supported by the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Association (PIANGO) to coinci

A former prime minister of Vanuatu says the Melanesian Spearhead Group is becoming ineffective because of games being played by Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday brushed off concerns that Indonesia had insulted no fewer than six Pacific Island heads of state, following a viral video of a junior diplomat trashing their allega

Jakarta, Jubi – The Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) condemned the statement by Pacific countries' leaders for what it called their meddling in Indonesia's affairs over West Pa

Godwin Ligo – The Vanuatu West Papua Association is hosting a "Wantok Summit" for Free West Papua Civil Society Organization support group in the Melanesian region of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kana