Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Indigenous communities from Airu Hulu village in Jayapura regency, Papua, have accused Greenpeace of "interfering" with the management of customary forests in the region and scaring off investor.
Airu youth figure Soleman Waibara said the locals had been facing difficulties in developing their forestry and farming business potential.
Fiji's Opposition Social Democratic Liberal Party said it is deeply disturbed about allegations that the Fiji First Government acted forcibly to have Indonesia admitted as an associate member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Victor Mambor Jayapura – High school student Riko Ayomi was already dying when police brought him home in Sorong, a city on the western tip of West Papua province, an eyewitness said.
Indonesia says it is not in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to undermine a push for self-determination in its Papua region.
A war of words between Fiji and Solomon Islands has broken out over Indonesia's admission, as an associate member, to the sub-regional group in 2015.
Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has said that ecological damage resulting from PT Freeport Indonesia's (PTFI) mining operations in Papua had caused Rp 185 trillion (US$12.95 billion) in state losses.
Niniek Karmini and Stephen Wright, Jakarta, Indonesia – A spokesman for the family of an indigenous Papuan teenager who died after 24 hours in Indonesian police custody said that the 17-year-old had multiple bruises and injuries on his body and that it doesn't accept the police explanation he was killed by alcohol poisoning.
Indonesia's president was greeted by protestors calling for West Papuan independence when he arrived at New Zealand's parliament this afternoon.
But the protestors were vying for airspace with a group of Indonesians who were there to cheer Joko Widodo in his flying visit. It turned into a sing-off on the steps of New Zealand's parliament.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Jayapura Police said Monday that security in the regency and in Papua in general was under control after the Jayapura Churches Association protested via letter the height of the Al-Aqsa Mosque minaret in Sentani, Jayapura regency.
A Solomon Islands academic says the leaders of Melanesian Spearhead Group member states made a mistake in granting Indonesia associate member status in the group.
The five full members of the MSG are Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the FLNKS Kanaks Movement of New Caledonia.
West Papua Action Auckland has urged the Prime Minister to raise human rights and the suffering of the people of Indonesian ruled West Papua when she meets with President Widodo on Monday. Our Melanesian neighbours in West Papua are suffering grievously and must not be overlooked for the sake of 'good relations' or markets for our goods.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit is taking place in Sydney on the 17-18 March. According to reports Australia will press its Southeast Asian neighbours about serious human rights concerns at the summit.
A member of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee has been given a ten-month jail sentence for treason by an Indonesian court.
Yanto Awerkion was arrested last May in Timika because of his involvement with a petition calling for West Papuan independence from Indonesia.
Giacomo Tognini – The next two years could prove to be transformative for Melanesia, a region of Pacific islands spanning from Papua in the west to Fiji in the east. Two votes on independence, scheduled in 2018 and 2019, could bring two new nations into the fold and shake up the politics of a region where decolonization is still a pressing matter.
Indonesia's government collected US$756 million in revenue from the Freeport gold and copper mine in Papua province last year.
The Jakarta Post reported that this was confirmed in an Indonesian House of Representatives hearing by the vice president of Freeport's Indonesian arm, Tony Wenas.
Fiji has hit back at the deputy prime minister of Solomon Islands over criticism about the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Speaking in the Solomons parliament yesterday, Manasseh Sogavare said Fiji should apologise for bringing Indonesia into the MSG.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta – Papua gubernatorial candidates have promised to prioritize programs to improve the livelihood of Papuan people.
A human rights activist has expressed frustration at omissions from reports by New Zealand diplomats about their visits to Indonesia's Papua region.
Maire Leadbeater has made a series of Official Information Act requests for reports about trips to Papua by New Zealand's Ambassador to Indonesia, Trevor Matheson and colleagues.
The West Papua National Liberation Army's central command in the Papuan Highlands has made a fresh declaration of war against Indonesian military.
Dan McGarry – In a brief message yesterday, Vanuatu Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu responded to an Indonesian spokesman's claims by Indonesia's First Secretary for Political Affairs in Australia that West Papua's 'game is up'.
Jakarta must regain authority over Papua, demands PFF, the Pacific Freedom Forum, after the latest action by "rogue" security forces.
"Free speech should not suffer because of cookies," says PFF Chair Monica Miller, referring to removal of a BBC journalist from West Papua earlier this month.
Jakarta – The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has extended the export recommendation for gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia amid sluggish progress in the negotiation of the divestment of 51 percent of the company's shares to Indonesian entities.
Indonesia's government has been helping fund the Melanesian Spearhead Group's secretariat. The secretariat, based in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, has experienced funding limitations in recent years.
The five full members – Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanaks Movement – are meant to pay annual contributions.
Rangga Prakoso, Jakarta – The Indonesian government still has not issued a new copper concentrate export permit for Freeport Indonesia – the largest gold and copper miner in the country, putting the company's next overseas shipment in a lot of doubt.
Meriba Tulo, Port Moresby – West Papua's application to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group has gained traction, with MSG leaders referring the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) request to the MSG Secretariat for deliberation.
Indonesia says the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's bid to be a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead group has reached a dead end.
MSG leaders meeting in Port Moresby this week referred the Movement's application to the group's secretariat for processing under new membership guidelines.
Leaders of Melanesian Spearhead Group countries have referred a West Papuan application for full membership in the group to its secretariat for processing.
Len Garae – The four West Papuan official representatives of United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) led by Chairman Benny Wenda, have been provided with historic VIP welcome by the Melanesian Spearhead Group host, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, Peter O'Neil on arrival at Port Moresby last weekend.
Indonesia has warned Melanesian Spearhead Group member states against meddling in other countries' affairs.
The warning was delivered by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's Director General of Asia-Pacific and African Affairs, Desra Percaya, at this week's MSG leaders summit.
The West Papua National Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of an Indonesian soldier in Papua province yesterday.
The shooting took place at a market in Sinak in Papua's Puncak Jaya regency.
Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Zely Ariane, an editor at the Tabloid Jubi newspaper in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua, gets frustrated each time an acquaintance travels there and asks to meet up on short notice. None of them, it seems, realizes just how vast the region is.
A measles and malnutrition crisis has killed at least 72 people, mostly children, in Indonesia's remote province of Papua, home to the world's biggest gold mine.
As Rebecca Henschke and Hedyer Affan report, the crisis has put the spotlight on a region closed off to journalists for decades and revealed serious government failings.
Damien Kingsbury, Jakarta, Jubi/Crikey – West Papua has shown once again that freedom of speech is only for those who follow the rules.
Jakarta – Armed separatists shot dead an Indonesian soldier on Monday during a gunfight at a market place in the remote easternmost province of Papua, a military spokesman said.
The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner says his office has been invited by Indonesia's government to visit Papua region, or West Papua.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein yesterday concluded a three day-visit to Indonesia where he had discussions with President Joko Widodo and top officials, human rights institutions as well as religious leaders.
Sheany, Jakarta – The United Nations high commissioner for human rights said on Wednesday (07/02) that he will send a mission to Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, following reports of abuses against its indigenous population.
Krithika Varagur, Jakarta – Twin crises of measles and malnutrition have recently afflicted Indonesia's easternmost province, Papua, inciting foreign and media scrutiny as well as internal review from the Indonesian government.
Authorities in Indonesia have issued four new palm oil permits in its Papua provinces despite a moratorium on palm oil expansion declared by president Joko Widodo in 2016.
Tabloid Jubi reported the permits cover a combined area larger than 400 square kilometres. It said major parts of these areas were still covered in pristine rainforests.
After the BBC's Indonesia editor was expelled from the country's easternmost Papua region last weekend over a tweet, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) again urges the Indonesian authorities to allow journalists to report freely in the troubled region, which continues to be an information black hole.
AWPA hopes the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretary General, Dame Meg Taylor who is in Canberra this week will raise the human rights situation in West Papua with Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
Andreas Harsono – Last week, Indonesian authorities arrested a BBC correspondent for tweets she made while reporting from Papua. The journalist, Rebecca Henschke, was questioned for a total of 17 hours by immigration and military officials before being freed.
Indonesia's government representatives say the deadly measles outbreak in Papua province has been brought under control.
The outbreak killed scores of children in remote Asmat district of Papua province in parallel with soraing malnutrition.
Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Indonesian paramilitary police fatally shot a woman in what they said was a clash with stone-throwing villagers in the troubled Papua region, but a relative of the victim disputed their account of events.
Jakarta – Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, said that the expulsion of BBC journalists and contributors who were doing coverage about health crisis in Asmat, Papua, was an attack on press freedom.
They are Rebecca Henschke, an Australian journalist, and two contributors, Dwiki and Affan, Indonesian citizens.
The executive of the Vanuatu based United Liberation Movement of West Papua says it is confident the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea will vote for West Papua to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group at its meeting in Port Moresby next week.
Jakarta – A foreign journalist covering the health crisis in Asmat, Papua, was forced to leave the region after the Indonesian Military (TNI) objected to a series of tweets she had posted about the health emergency in the remote regency.
Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has criticized the government for banning three BBC Indonesia journalists from reporting on a measles and malnutrition outbreak in Papua because of the tweets posted by one of them.
Adam Harvey – An Australian journalist has been expelled from the Indonesian province of Papua after her tweets angered the military.
Authorities said BBC Indonesia bureau chief Rebecca Henschke was escorted out of the province after her social media posts "hurt the feelings of soldiers".
Jayapura, Jubi – Special Autonomy (Otsus) Papua will be ended in 2021, but one of the mandates of Special Autonomy Law, namely the formation of local parties, has not been implemented.
Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Military chief Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto on Thursday (01/02) said a devastating measles outbreak that affected 600 children in Asmat, Papua, has ended, though health services will still be provided to anyone afflicted with the infection.
An Indonesia-based human rights researcher says malnutrition is widespread throughout Papua as imported foods have shattered traditional diets.
West Papuans had long lived off traditional Melanesian staple foods such as sago, sweet potato and traditional pork, but these had been increasingly replaced by rice and instant noodles.