The AWPA condemns the arrests of 65 KNPB and student activists in Sentani and 4 in Nabire on the 13 June.

Journalists have been intimidated and threatened while covering an election in the Mamberamo Raya regency of Indonesia's Papua province.

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has expressed the government's commitment to ensuring openness and transparency in resolving human rights abuse cases in Papua.

Local media (suarapapua.com) has reported the arrests of up to 31 KNPB activists in Jayapura on Friday the 10 June. Those arrested were simply handing out leaflets informing the public about an upcoming rally to be held on the 15 June.

The New Zealand Government must address the issue of escalating political repression in West Papua. In the last month over two thousand people have been arrested merely for taking part in peaceful protest action.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) condemns ongoing violations of the rights of West Papuans to freedom of expression and calls for an end to Indonesia's attacks against Papuan protesters.

The office of the United Nations Secretary-General denies that he met with a representative of West Papua at the World Humanitarian Summit.

Stephanie Zillman – The Indonesian Consul to Darwin Andre Siregar has denied he pressured the owner of a wall to paint over a mural which features the West Papuan flag, but said he had reported its existence to Jakarta.

A large anti-independence rally has been held by transmigrants in the capital of Indonesia's Papua province, Jayapura.

The demonstrators, who numbered over a thousand, were mainly non-Papuans who carried Indonesian flags as they called for authorities to ban groups pushing for an independence referendum.

Indonesia's consul in Darwin has denied awareness of any "external pressure" put on the owners of a building housing a mural supporting West Papua to paint it over. Andre Siregar on Monday tweeted "I am unaware of any external pressure. Good neighbours & friends are always open to discussions".

Jayapura, Jubi – Third Deputy Chairman of Papua Legislative Council, Yanni suggested that outsiders or foreign countries were behind calls for Papuan independence. Further she warned about the game played by foreign parties by providing support to organizations voicing independence for Papua.

Stephanie Zillman – The artists who painted a mural depicting the West Papuan " Morning Star" flag on a wall in Darwin's CBD has been asked by the property owners to paint over it as a "matter of urgency" following the application of "external pressures".

Jakarta – Thousands of protesters gathered at the Trikora Field in Abepura, Papua, Thursday (02/06), demanding the disbandment of West Papua National Committee (KNPB), an arm of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), arguing that both organizations contravene state ideology Pancasila and are illegal under Indonesia's 1945 Constitution.

Jakarta – The alleged leader of a Papuan armed separatist group has been arrested after sustaining a shot to the leg, a police spokesman said on Wednesday (01/06).

Fourty-year-old Kelenak Telenggen was arrested earlier on Tuesday in a rented room in Wamena. He is facing accusations of leading a string of attacks on security officers and civilians over the past two years,

Over the past few days, around 600 West Papuan people have been reportedly arrested simply for peacefully demonstrating to call upon the Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Summit to support West Papuan self-determination.

Victor Mambor, Jayapura – After officers broke up demonstrations and detained scores of protesters, police in eastern Indonesia's Papua and West Papua provinces said Tuesday they would prevent pro-independence activists from rallying again.

Jakarta – Indonesian police briefly detained hundreds of pro-independence demonstrators in Papua on Tuesday, the latest round-up of protesters in the insurgency-hit eastern region.

There have been more demonstrations in Indonesia's Papua region today, in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

Over a thousand demonstrators gathered in the Papua provincial capital Jayapura to express their support for the Liberation Movement and its bid for full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

A prominent West Papua independence activist is calling on Papua New Guinea's prime minister to extend his invitation to all West Papuans to him.

Peter O'Neill has spoken of the need to speak out about human rights abuses in neighbouring Indonesian territory, and last week told a radio talkback programme that West Papuans are welcome in PNG.

The secretary-general of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua says he was given no explanation why he was barred from entering Papua New Guinea.

Secretary general Octo Mote was travelling to Port Moresby to assist the Vanuatu and Solomon Islands governments in their representations on West Papua at the African, Carribean and Pacific summit this week.

Indonesian police have arrested scores of West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat) members around Papua on May 30, as Papuan civil society is gearing up for a day a mass mobilizations to sustain pressure brought on by the massive May 3 rallies, where Indonesian security forces beat hundreds of people and arrested close to 2300 people.

Dozens of members of the West Papua National Committee, or KNPB, have been arrested by Indonesian police in Papua province.

Up to 51 KNPB members were reportedly taken into custody by police in Jayapura and Sentani yesterday for organising new demonstrations in the region.

Jayapura – The blockading of the campus of Cenderawasih University in Waena, Abepura Jayapura, Papua, from Monday to Thursday by its students has resulted in a strike by its 615 lecturers and 321 administrative employees.

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – The Papua provincial administration may find it hard to wrest full control over Indonesia's easternmost province as the central government has refused to amend Law No. 21/2001 on Papua Special Autonomy. The law has been deemed by some to be ineffective in improving the welfare of Papuans.

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Papua itu Kita, LBH Jakarta, SKP-HAM Sulawesi Tengah, SETARA Institute, IKOHI, AJAR, LBH Pers, LBH Semarang, LBH Bandung, Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Imparsial, SIMPONI (Sindikat Musik Penghuni Bumi), CEDAW Working Group Indonesia (CWGI), Yayasan Satu Keadilan, Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (YLBHI), Purple Code Coll

Adam Boland, Pasifik News – Indonesia is unlikely to ever allow the people of West Papua another referendum on independence, according to a leading expert on the region.

Len GaraeWest – Papuan Leaders, through the Vanuatu Free West Papua Association in Port Vila, have rejected the Indonesian government's statement against the Prime Minister of the Solomons, Manasseh Sogavare as a blunt lie.

Turkey – UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon has been presented with the West Papua Fact Finding Mission Report titled "We Will Lose Everything" by PIANGO's executive director, Emele Duituturaga.

Duituturaga presented the report to Ban Ki Moon during day two of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. The report was received by the assistant Secretary General.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua claims Indonesia is paranoid about regional efforts to seek accurate information regarding Papua region.

The chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group has defended his criticism of Indonesia over its alleged failure to engage with the region over West Papua.

Manasseh Sogavare, who is also Solomon Islands Prime Minister, recently claimed that Indonesia joined the MSG for the purpose of protecting its own interests, rather than discussing human rights in West Papua.

The official transmigration programme is not active anymore in Papua region, according to an Indonesian government official.

Transmigration is the relocation of people from crowded parts of Indonesia to more sparsely-populated regions of the republic like Papua, the easternmost province bordering Papua New Guinea.

The Indonesian government has denied suggestions that it's not open to communication regarding West Papua.

This follows criticism from the chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sovavare, over Indonesia's failure to respond to requests from the MSG for dialogue over concerns about rights abuses in Papua.

Alin Almanar, Jakarta – The Indonesian government is optimistic about settling at least 12 cases of human rights abuses in the far eastern province of Papua by the end of this year, a senior minister said on Wednesday (18/05).

Granting of full membership status to the United Liberation Movement of West Papua in the Melanesian Spearhead Group is justifiable as Indonesia had sought membership of the regional bloc to only protect its own interest, says Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of the Solomon Islands.

Indonesia has no desire to engage in dialogue about the serious human rights issues in West Papua.

A West Papuan theologian and activist says Papuan nationalist aspirations are a direct consequence of how the Indonesian state has treated his people.

Reverend Dr Benny Giay said West Papuans have never felt a part of Indonesian society, due to state policy towards them since the former dutch New Guinea was incorporated into the republic in the 1960s.

The Solomon Islands prime minister has reiterated his support for full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group for the United Liberation Movement of West Papua.

Thompson Marango – Vanuatu Foreign Minister, Bruno Leingkon, has called for unity within countries and people who are in support of West Papua's right to self determination.

Leingkon was one of the two Vanuatu Government Minister's including Minister of Lands, Ralph Regenvanu who attended the International Parliamentarians for West Papua meeting in United Kingdom recently.

Arnold Belau, Jayapura – As many as 101 Mobile Brigade (Brimob, paramilitary police) personnel from the East Java regional police (Polda) were sent to West Papua on Monday May 16. The blue-beret troops were deployed with the primary duty of protecting the Freeport gold mine from all types of disturbances.

An Indonesian government delegation has travelled to Britain to talk about West Papua to local MPs and church leaders. The Coordinating Minister for Politics, Luhut Pandjaitan, led the delegation.

Shail Shah – Almost 2,000 West Papuans were arrested by Indonesian authorities in early May, after demonstrations were held to commemorate the 1963 annexation of the territory and to demand independence.

The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu say they will support the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's bid for full membership to the Melanesian Spearhead Group at the organisation's upcoming summit in Papua New Guinea next month.

The chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Manasseh Sogavare, says the regional body is pushing for an urgent intervention by the United Nations in West Papua.

Mr Sogavare, who is the prime minister of Solomon Islands, has also declared his country's support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's bid to be a full member of the MSG.

A church leader from Indonesia's Papua region who is in New Zealand raising awareness about conditions in his homeland says West Papua is a global humanitarian issue.

The chairman of the Papuan Baptist Church Alliance, Reverend Socratez Yoman says abuses against West Papuans by Indonesian security forces have not abated since his last visit to New Zealand ten years ago.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua has opened its new office in Wamena, Indonesia.

The chairman of the Papuan Baptist Church Alliance says five decades of Indonesian rule has failed to dilute West Papuan nationalist sentiment.

The International Parliamentarians for West Papua has called for an internationally-supervised vote on independence in West Papua and is preparing to build pressure on Indonesia over the issue.

Transcript

The International Parliamentarians for West Papua has called for an internationally-supervised vote on independence in West Papua

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on Indonesia's authorities to stop violating the rights of journalists in West Papua, where the Jayapura police prevented reporters from covering a peaceful demonstration in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua on May 2 – the eve of World Press Freedom Day.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Indonesia's authorities to stop violating the rights of journalists in West Papua, where the Jayapura police prevented reporters from covering a peaceful demonstration in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua on 2 May, the eve of World Press Freedom Day.

A member of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua has dismissed claims by Indonesia that its deliberations on Papuan self-determination are a 'publicity stunt'.

The Vanuatu government minister Ralph Regenvanu was one of dozens of MPs and leaders from the wider Pacific, Europe and Britain, who attended last week's IPWP summit in London.

More mass demonstrations are expected in Indonesia's Papua region amid growing international interest in West Papuan self-determination aspirations.

Last week's demonstrations in cities across Papua region and other Indonesian cities came three weeks after similar public mobilisations, and resulted in mass arrests.

Marguerite Afra Sapiie – Former president of Timor Leste Jose Ramos-Horta has expressed optimism that the Indonesian government will settle cases of human rights abuses in Papua, saying that officials should prioritize peaceful dialogue.