Michael Bachelard – Australia will begin work on selling military hardware to Indonesia as Defence Minister Stephen Smith says he has "no concerns" about alleged human rights abuses by

Michael Bachelard, Indonesia – Hillary Clinton has defended the Obama administration's decision to provide air-to-surface missiles to the Indonesian military despite its record of human

Ismira Lutfia – Four A-29 Super Tucano fighter planes arrived at East Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Base on Saturday in the first wave of new "counter-insurgency" turboprop fighters pur

The Human Rights Law Centre is trying to pressure the Federal Government to act on allegations of torture and killings by an Australian-trained counter-terrorism group.

Canberra called on Wednesday for an Indonesian inquiry into the killing of a Papuan independence leader but could not say whether Australian-trained counter-terrorism police were involv

James Balowski, Jakarta – The killing of a leading pro-independence activist in West Papua during a raid reportedly led by members of the Australian-funded and -trained counter-terrori

Residents of the Asmat district in Papua have organized a blockade of the local airstrip there, calling for compensation owed for land used in an expansion of the facility, an air trans

Lindsay Murdoch and Michael Bachelard – Indonesia will send its front-line Sukhoi jet fighters to take part in Australia's largest air combat exercise this month, signalling a new era o

Denpasar – US navy warship USS Benfold will conduct an exercise with two Indonesian navy warships in Bali waters, according to the chief of the naval base in Bali, Col I Wayan Suarjaya.

Indonesian and Australian leaders have signed deals on defence cooperation this week and Australia has given Indonesia four refurbished heavy transport aircraft.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday proposed joint military disaster exercises with Australia and the United States in a sign of easing concerns in Jakarta over Ame

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith signed deals on defense cooperation in Darwin, Australia, on Monday, includ

A member of a notorious Indonesian military special forces unit linked to human rights violations in East Timor and West Papua has trained with the New Zealand Defence Force, it's been

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee was shocked to learn that the New Zealand Defence Force hosted a Kopassus officer, Major Edwin Sumanta at its six month Staff and Command training c

London – Today UK human rights campaigners called for an immediate ban on all arms sales to Indonesia, following Wednesday's brutal rampage by Indonesian security forces in the troubled

The Free West Papua Campaign has condemned Britain's renewal of selling weaponry to Indonesia as "one of the worst outcomes imaginable," while the UK seeks arms exports opportunities fo

A press release from the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) jointly signed by 89 other organisations.

Mathieu Rabechault, Nusa Dua, Bali – US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his Indonesian counterpart on Sunday will discuss the two countries' growing military ties after more than a d

The Green Party is calling on the Government to abandon plans to strengthen ties with Indonesia's military.

Jakarta – Indonesia is set to boost military ties with Germany, France and Spain, deputy defense minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said in Jakarta on Saturday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Army Special Forces (Kopassus) is currently conducting a two-week joint training exercise with the Australian Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) in the Pulau S

In light of the leaked Kopassus documents AWPA is calling on the Australian Government to rethink its policy of ties between the Australian military and the Indonesian Special Force Gro

Jakarta – The government is being urged to prioritize dialogue over a militaristic approach in resolving the Papua problem.

Ambon, Maluku – An Indonesian-Australian Naval joint patrol exercise (Ausindo II) will be closed here on Wednesday (April 27), a spokesman has said.

Jakarta – Around 700 soldiers from the Indonesian and US armed forces will take part in the "Garuda Shield" training, an annual 12-day peacekeeping training camp, starting June 1 this y

David Brown – Prince Andrew, the Duke of York was criticised for "opening doors for arms dealers" yesterday, while senior business and political figures gave their backing to his role a

The recently released cables by WikiLeaks in relation to West Papuan human rights confirm what NGOs have been telling their governments and the media for years – that it is the Indonesi

IHRC has written to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, and to Minister of Defence Hon Wayne Mapp to urge them to act over the West Papua torture scandal, a high profile issue

Secret files show Kopassus, Indonesia's special forces, targets Papuan churches, civilians

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The restoration of cooperation between the Indonesian Army's Special Forces and the US military is already in the implementation phase and will not b

Prime Minister Gillard should demand that recent cases of torture by Indonesian security forces are credibly investigated, not swept under the carpet.

Washington – The United States on Friday praised Indonesia as upfront in its investigation of torture of Papuan detainees and said it would not affect a resumption of military ties.

Ismira Lutfia & AFP, Jakarta – Some Papuan activists have called on foreign governments to cease cooperation with the Indonesian military as evidence of torture has come to light, b

Jakarta – The Australian government has again been urged to sever ties with the Indonesian Military following joint exercises between elite units from both countries in Bali.

Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission has criticised Australian training for the controversial Special Forces unit, Kopassus.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith has defended Australia's involvement in a joint training exercise with Indonesia's controversial special forces Kopassus.

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

Bali – Soldiers from the Indonesian Military's controversial Special Forces and the Australian Army's Special Air Service held joint antiterror operations at Bali's Ngurah Rai Internati

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

Vivi Widyawati, Jakarta – Around 800 demonstrators from the National Movement for the Cancellation of Basic Electricity Rate Hikes and the Reduction of Prices held a protest action at t

Jakarta – The Indonesian Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) will conduct a joint exercise with its Australian counterpart SAS next month, Kopassus Commander, Maj. Gen.

Dian Trisnanti, Jakarta – Under the theme "Unite against capitalism and the regime that supports it, build a united national labour movement that is progressive, militant, democratic an

Donny Syofyan, Padang – During his visit to Indonesia, US Secretary of Defense Robert M.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Indonesia – Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro denied on Tuesday that the US government had negotiated with Indonesia over the removal of members of the Army

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta - The families of people allegedly killed by the Army's Kopassus special forces plan to march on the US Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday to demand answers for why the

Suciwati, Jakarta – In announcing this week that the United States would lift a 12-year-long ban on providing military assistance and training to Indonesia's special forces unit, Defens

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – One of the deputy chairmen of House of Representatives Commission I on Defense and Foreign Affairs criticized United States Secretary of Defense Robert

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta - Thursday's announcement of revived defense ties between the US military and Indonesia's special forces could prove premature as critics denounced the

Human rights bodies in the country said Friday the US should not lift its ban on ties with the Indonesian Army Special Forces (Kopassus) as it had not reformed, a claim refuted by the m

Human rights groups reacted angrily on Friday to the US military's resumption of ties with Indonesian special forces accused of ongoing human rights violations in the young democracy.