A series of concerts around the globe to assist the persecuted people of West Papua is being held on Saturday with the Coronation Hotel in West Ipswich playing its part.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is very disappointed at the Indonesian government's irresponsible denial of human rights violations in Papua and West Papua province.

Danaella Wivell – The plight of West Papua to gain independence from Indonesia is spreading to Cairns.

The Indonesian province, about 250km north of Australia, was handed from the Dutch to the Indonesians in 1969. About 500,000 West Papuans have died at the hands of soldiers since then.

The opposition SODELPA party in Fiji says it's disappointed by the United Nations decision to reject a petition from the people of West Papua calling for an act of self determination.

An international law specialist says it's not a question of if but when West Papuans will be granted a genuine act of self-determination.

The United Nations is being urged to review the process which transferred sovereignty over Papua from the Dutch to Indonesia in the 1960s.

Indonesia has disputed the veracity of a West Papuan petition to the United Nations seeking self-determination.

The Papuan pro-independence leader Benny Wenda emerged in New York last week on the margins of the UN General Assembly, announcing he was delivering the petition.

John McBeth, Jakarta – As much as it will spark development in one of Indonesia's most remote regions, Papuan leaders are growing increasingly concerned over the social impact of the new Trans-Papua Highway that will open highland tribal areas for the first time.

The West Papuan people's petition is no hoax: it is the voice of our people – signed by the majority of West Papuans. The real hoax is Indonesia's justification for its occupation of West Papua

Rafael Ramirez, the chair of the UN decolonisation committee, says it will not accept a petition signed by 1.8 million West Papuans.

The United Nations decolonisation committee says it will not accept a petition signed by 1.8 million West Papuans calling for an independence vote.

Pacific Media Centre – West Papua has experienced a "significant aggravation" of the human rights situation in the past two years compared to previous years, says a new report from more than 40 faith-based and civil rights organisations.

"Reports by local human rights defenders describe an alarming shrinking of democratic space," says the report.

Tama Salim, Marguerite Afra Sapiie and Nethy Dharma Somba, United Nations/Jakarta/Jayapura – The United Nations shot down on Thursday rumors that a petition calling for a Papuan referendum had been submitted to its Special Committee on Decolonization, with the committee's chairman saying he had had no contact whatsoever with the Papuan separatist issue.

Samantha Hawley, Indonesia – The head of the United Nation's decolonisation committee has rejected reports of a secret petition demanding a free vote for independence in West Papua.

Exiled West Papuan independence campaigner Benny Wenda had told the press 1.8 million West Papuans had signed the secret petition that was passed between homes and villages across provinces.

Jakarta – Chairman of the United Nations' special committee on decolonization, Rafael Ramirez, said on Thursday (28/09) that he has not received a petition from exiled Free West Papua leader Benny Wenda demanding independence from Indonesia, despite a report this week in the British newspaper The Guardian saying it had been submitted to the UN.

Wilda Asmarini, Susan Taylor, Jakarta/Toronto – Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world's second-largest publicly traded copper company, strongly disagrees with a proposed divestment plan by the government of Indonesia, according to a company letter reviewed by Reuters on Friday.

West Papua Action Auckland says the new [New Zealand] Government must respond to the historic West Papuan plea for self-determination support at the UN.

Johnny Blades – It's become an annual stoush in New York. Pacific leaders call for an investigation into killings and various alleged human rights abuses against West Papuans by Indonesian security forces.

The long-running complaint that Papuans were denied a legitimate self-determination process in the 1960s is also raised.

A petition with the signatures of 1.8 million West Papuans in Indonesia has been presented to the United Nations in New York demanding an internationally supervised vote on independence.

The exiled West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda presented the document to the C24, the special committee on decolonisation on Tuesday.

Timothy Fernandez – A secret petition demanding a new independence referendum for West Papua is presented to the United Nations after being signed by 1.8 million West Papuans.

The Indonesian Government banned the petition in the provinces of West Papua and Papua, threatening that those who signed it will be arrested and face jail.

Indonesia has denied allegations regarding West Papua made by Pacific leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York.

It has lashed out at the leaders of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu who called for an investigation into alleged killings, torture, abduction and human rights abuses against indigenous West Papuans by Indonesian security forces.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – Thirty eight residents in Semenage district, Yahukimo, Papua, were reported to have died during the May-August period due to sickness and poor access to healthcare services.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Ronald Sajensolar, a driver of a patrol car, sustained injuries to his cheek and shoulders from shards of a broken window, after the car he was traveling in was shot at by unknown assailants at Mile 60 in the mining area of PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua on Monday.

The prime minister of Vanuatu has accused world leaders at the UN of turning a deaf ear to more than half a century of atrocities committed by Indonesia on the people of West Papua.

Pacific Media Watch – On the eve of New Zealand's 2017 general election, Pacific Media Watch reports on whether West Papua features in the human rights and foreign affairs policies and stances of the country's five major parties.

One of the founders of the West Papuan independence movement, Nicolaas Jouwe, has died in Jakarta at the age of 93.

Jouwe was a member of the New Guinea Council, the legislature established in 1961 by the Netherlands in its former territory of West New Guinea. He was the highest ranking Papuan in the colony as the Dutch were preparing it for independence.

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation says its decolonisation aspirations are focussed on action at the United Nations.

The Coalition is one of the key groups within the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, which is pushing for internationally-facilitated negotiation with Indonesia over Papua's political status.

Cermin Bangsa, Jayapura – Chairman of Nahdatul Ulama (NU) of Papua Province DR H Tonny Wanggai believes that the establishment of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) is a final or undisputed agreement of the best sons and daughters of Papua together with youth from various regions in Indonesia.

A member of the Papua Provincial Legislative Assembly says the Special Autonomy Law provides for a human rights court in Papua and should be pursued.

Laurenzus Kadepa, who is also part of the Legislative Council on Political, Legal and Human Rights, is among those pushing for the establishment of such a court.

There's more fallout from a confrontation between media and Indonesian officials at the Pacific Island Forum Leaders summit in Samoa's capital last week after the topic of West Papua was brought up.

A protest supporting West Papua's independence was staged during the summit outside the Forum's venue which upset Jakarta.

Sela Jane Hopgood reports.

Transcript

Honiara, Jubi – The Solomon Islands has successfully moved a new agenda to include human rights on any agreement Pacific Island Countries signed with Indonesia during the recent Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting.

Sela Jane Hopgood – A confrontation between media and Indonesian officials in Samoa last week has highlighted the depth of feelings in the region about West Papua.

Pacific Islanders are increasingly speaking out over their concern about reports of human rights abuses in Indonesia's Papua region, and the cause of West Papuan self-determination aspirations.

Human Rights Watch in Indonesia has expressed disappointment at a lenient punishment for four police officers involved in the killing of a West Papuan last month.

28-year-old Yulianus Pigai died and and up to 16 others were injured when police opened fire to disperse an angry crowd in the Deiyai regency of Papua province.

The Indonesian Ambassador for New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga says journalists are failing to cover Indonesia's attempts to address human rights violations in West Papua.

Andreas Harsono – "The life of a native Papuan is worth only an apology. This is the law in Indonesia."

That lament, posted on Facebook by Papuan newspaper editor Victor Mambor, expresses the dismay felt by many Papuans at the official response to the latest police killing of an ethnic Papuan youth.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Dozens of people claiming to be residents of remote villages in Papua rallied at Cenderawasih University in Jayapura on Monday, where almost 2,000 applicants took a written test to become professional supervisors in the Villagers Empowerment and Development Program.

Indonesian officials have been criticised for the manner of their condemnation of a West Papua protest during the Pacific Forum summit in Apia.

A protest in support of West Papua's independence movement was held outside the venue of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders summit in Samoa's capital last week.

Jayapura, Jubi – The verdict of Deiyai shootings' trial by the Police Commission of Police's Code of Ethics (KKEPP) against nine members of the Police or Brimob responsible for the shooting on August 1, 2017 in Oneibo, Tigi District, Deiyai, is criticized by Papuan Customary Council (DAP).

Nabire, Jubi – A high school student in Nabire suffered a head injury and bleeding, allegedly due to a rattan blow by one of the Nabire police's force.

Theresia Sufam, Bogor, West Java – Scientists from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences' (LIPI) Biology Research Center and the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) have joined hands to explore the biodiversity of forests across Indonesia during this year's Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) expedition.

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.

Joyetter Feagaimaali'i-Luamanu – A senior staff member of Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Franz Albert Joku, has rubbished the peaceful protest highlighting the plight of West Papua at the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, this week.

Jakarta – The government has requested that gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of United States-based Freeport McMoRan.inc, sell its shares to Indonesian state-owned enterprises after the company agreed to divest 51 percent of its shares.

An Indonesian official says human rights abuses are no longer happening in West Papua like they used to.

Franzalbert Joku from the Ministry for Political, Judicial and Security in Indonesia is at the 48th Pacific Islands Leaders Forum in Samoa.

"I'm saying it's not happening to the scale like in the 60s, 70s, 80s and even as late as the 90s."

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 attending the 48th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting this week.

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 plight of West Papua and its people.

Protest organiser Jerome Mika said the protest was to ensure Pacific leaders did not ignore the issue of West Papua.

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

Police disbanded about thirty protestors demonstrating outside the meeting venue in Samoa's capital this morning. The protest organiser Jerome Mika said he had to contact the police commissioner about demonstrating again.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua says it's not interested in one-on-one dialogue with Indonesia's government.

Various Papuan civil society, church and customary leaders met with Indonesia's president Joko Widodo last month about establishing dialogue over problems in Papua.

West Papuan independence campaigners are to petition the United Nations in New York later this month with signatures of people inside the Indonesian province. They say obtaining those endorsements has come at great risk to all involved.

There are signs of a significant peace dialogue opening up between Indonesia's government and West Papuans.

Various Papuan civil society, church and customary leaders met with Indonesia's president Joko Widodo last month about establishing dialogue over problems in Papua.

Huia Welton – Unions representing 320,000 Kiwi workers have strongly endorsed the right of the people of West Papua to self-determination.

The call comes as Pacific Island heads of state meet in Apia for the annual Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting.

Jakarta – Freeport McMoran (FCX) has stated that it still controls Grasberg mine in Papau, even after the company divested 51 percent of its shares in its subsidiary, PT Freeport Indonesia, as required by Indonesian law.

"FCX will continue to take control over the operation and management of PTFI," said FCX in its statement last week.