Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – Amid concerns of a negative impact on the local economy, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has eased its stance over requirements for copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia to obtain an export permit extension.

Victor Mambor, Jakarta, Jubi – Legislator Tantowi Yahya reminded the Indonesian Government to not underestimate the Papua issue and it has always been a burning topic among the Pacific countries under the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Robert Isidorus, Jakarta – At least 10 rebels from the separatist group Free Papua Organization, or OPM, operating in the remote highlands of the restive province of Papua have surrendered to Indonesian security officials, a local government official told media on Tuesday (26/1).

Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Jubi – Papuans want dialogue between with Jakarta and this has been constantly echoed in recent years, but there has been no response from Jakarta.

The Executive Secretary of the People's Network, Septer Manufandu, head of representative office Komnas HAM Papua, Frits Remanded, coordinator of the Papua Peace Network (JDP)

Church leaders in West Papua appear concerned about religious extremism in the region.

Father Neles Tebay of the West Papuan Catholic Justice and Peace Secretariat says all mainstream churches in Indonesia's Papua region, including Christian and Muslim faiths, are pushing for local police to keep a watch on fundamentalist groups.

Jayapura – U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Roberth O Blake held a meeting with Papuan church leaders here on Saturday.

No reporters were allowed to cover the meeting such as one the ambassador had earlier with leaders of local non-governmental organizations.

The chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group has offered to facilitate a meeting between the Indonesian government and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

West Papua has seen a low-level separatist war since Jakarta took over the former Dutch colony in the 1960s.

Phelim Kine – There are new hazards for foreign journalists attempting to report from Indonesia's restive easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua (generally referred to as "Papua"): visa denial and blacklisting. Just ask Bangkok-based France 24 TV correspondent Cyril Payen.

Tama Salim, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs plans to set up a working committee with the objective of "assisting" Attorney General Office (AGO) prosecutors in their investigation of the high-profile Freeport conspiracy case.

Indonesia's government is unhappy with the price on offer for shares in Freeport Indonesia, which operates a massive mine complex in Papua.

West Papuans have long expressed frustration about the environmental destruction caused by the Freeport mine operations in Mimika regency.

More details have emerged about the visit to West Papua by the US Ambassador to Indonesia, including American concern about destruction of rainforest in the region.

Papuan activists met with Ambassador Robert Blake in Jayapura on Tuesday to discuss issues such as human rights.

Anton Hermansyah, Business – PT Freeport Indonesia has failed to fulfill its planned smelter construction progress and thus the US gold and copper mining giant must keep paying 5 percent export duties and fines, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said has said.

Ayomi Amindoni – House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing the energy sector has described a share value that PT Freeport Indonesia offered to the Indonesian government as unrealistic.

Fresh from a trip to West Papua, the United States Ambassador to Indonesia reportedly expressed concern about human rights abuses in the country's remote, eastern region.

Robert Isidorus, Jayapura – Papuan activists met with US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake in the provincial capital on Tuesday to discuss human rights, politics and US-owned Freeport Indonesia.

Tama Salim and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – Following the resignation of PT Freeport Indonesia (Freeport) president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fahri Hamzah plans to set up an inquiry to investigate irregularities in the local subsidiary of the giant US gold and copper mining firm.

Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Jubi – Papua legislator Rube Magai said a visit by US ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake to Papua should not only involve sight-seeing but also focus on resolving the conflict.

He said the United States should not only think about its own interests, but also participate in pushing for an end to the conflict in Papua.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is set to hold a limited Cabinet meeting to review land-use rights in Papua at his office on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Also to be discussed at the meeting is the acceleration of the development of the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE), a program that is part of the food sovereignty agenda formulated by Jokowi's administration.

Their leader Jacob Rumbiak arrived in Honiara on Friday to further discuss the intention with local supporters.

A member of the Solomon Islands Solidarity Group for West Papua Lily Chekana told the Sunday Star an office space was already allocated for West Papua.

Deborah Cassrels – Under cover of darkness, 43 West Papuan asylum-seekers clambered aboard a dugout canoe at midnight. The cue to flee Indonesian persecution in the province of West Papua in January 2006 was urgent.

Tika Primandari, Jakarta – Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir denied that the Foreign Ministry has imposed a ban against foreign journalists from entering Papua to cover human rights cases.

According to Fachir, journalists can enter Papua regardless of reporting material. "There is no ban," said Fachir on Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Jubi – Vanuatu based West Papua National Coalition for Liberation Acting Chairman Andy Ayamiseba has welcomed the latest initiative by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo calling for dialogue or negotiations with all sides of the conflict which has lasted to the present day in Papua.

Reports from Indonesia's Papua province say extra police have been deployed to a part of Puncak Jaya regency where three officers were killed in an attack late last month.

Tabloid Jubi reports that about 150 police personnel were deployed to hunt for the perpetrators of the attack on the Sinak Police Headquarters.

Edo Karensa, Jakarta – Media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders has condemned the Indonesian government for imposing a ban on a French journalist after releasing a documentary on the conflict in Papua.

The group called on President Joko Widodo to honor his promise of opening up the restive province to foreign media.

The chairperson of the Melanesian Spearhead Group Manasseh Sogavare is calling on Indonesia to commission a fact finding mission to discuss the situation in West Papua with members of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the Indonesian government's refusal to let French journalist Cyril Payen visit Indonesia following the documentary he made about West Papua, the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea, that France 24 broadcast last October. RSF points out that Indonesian President Joko Widodo promised to allow foreign reporters to visit West Papua.

Victor Mamborm, Jayapura, Jubi – About 150 police personnel were deployed to hunt for the perpetrators of the attack on the Sinak Police Headquarters at Puncak Jaya Regency, Papua, which killed three officers. No one has been arrested as of Thursday.

One of the Pacific's smaller island states, Vanuatu stands taller than the larger nations with its consistent, principled stand on social justice, parliamentary democracy and corruption.

Where other countries have fallen short, Vanuatu has punched well above its weight, holding its leaders to account and going beyond its borders to call on foreign leaders act justly.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Hundreds of villagers in Mamberamo Raya in Papua have fled into the woods to live as they fear the Indonesian Military (TNI) will blame them for the death of an officer last year, a regional lawmaker said on Thursday.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-003-2016

Dear Friends,

A prominent West Papua independence activist has questioned the credibility of the head of Indonesia's police over claims made against him that were later retracted.

Last week, Badrodin Haiti was reported by media of accusing Benny Wenda, who lives in exile in Britain, of organising an attack against Indonesian police officers in West Papua.

Victor Mambor, Wamena, Jubi – President Joko Widodo's visit to Papua in late December 2015 failed to address the issue of human rights violations, rights activist and religious leader Pastor Jhon Djonga said.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The community in Sinak district has declared its opposition to the presence of the National Liberation Army/Free Papua Movement (TPN/OPM), a Papuan separatist group, and will impose customary sanctions against residents who are found accommodating or harboring the rebels.

Jakarta – Papua has lodged the most regional head election dispute claims with the Constitutional Court, a court official has said.

Benny Mawel, Abepura – Protestant and Catholic leaders in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua have denounced a series of killings that occurred last month and have urged an end to the violence in the troubled region.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The government said on Monday that it would prioritize a soft approach in addressing separatism, including by engaging in negotiation and dialogue, as well as the possibility of granting clemency and unconditional release to political prisoners.

However, it added that it may still take a hard approach met with resistance.

Jakarta – The approach adopted by State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Sutiyoso to handle the Din Minimi-led armed rebel group in Aceh could be implemented in Papua, University of Indonesias political observer, Arbi Sanit, stated here, Tuesday.

"This is the first time that the state is adopting a peaceful approach and dialog to counter separatism in the country," he pointed out.

Dear everyone,

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Police say they have identified two suspected members of the group that attacked a police station in Papua's Puncak district on Dec. 27, killing three officers and wounding one.

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo witnessed the first sunrise of 2016 at the Waiwo Beach dock in Raja Ampat, West Papua, on Friday.

Antara news agency reported that Jokowi walked out onto the dock at about 6:15 a.m. local time before the sun had completely risen. Seeing the beauty of Raja Ampat, Jokowi said that he wanted more tourists to visit Indonesia.

Godwin Ligo – "Christian churches are the conscience of the nation, and therefore have the duty to be the voice of the voiceless and must continue to stand in solidarity with our Melanesian brothers and sisters in West Papua who are still under oppression, and are still living in the current environment which can only be described as one of institutionalized enslavement and suppression of human

Jayapura, Papua – Armed groups in the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua have stolen 32 firearms of different types from the police in 2014 and 2015, a senior police officer stated.

Agus Salim, Wamena, Papua – The Indonesia government is open to holding a dialog with anyone in the context of development, including in Papua, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated here on Wednesday.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Governor Lukas Enembe is expecting the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police to capture the perpetrators who shot and killed three police officers at the Sinak Police station in Puncak, Papua.

"This is an armed crime. I hope the TNI and police are able to arrest the perpetrators," Enembe emphasized on Tuesday.

Angelina Anjar Sawitri, Jakarta – The Legal Aid Institute (LBH) of Jakarta and Human Rights Violation Victims Solidarity (SKP-HAM) of Papua has asked President Joko Widodo to open a dialogue with the Papuan. Director of LBH Jakarta, Alghiffari Aqsa, urged the dialogue, following the bloody attack on Sinak Police, last Sunday.

Jakarta – The Papua Police have set up a joint team comprising police and military personnel to pursue perpetrators of an armed attack that killed three police officers at the Sinak Police headquarters in Puncak regency, Papua.

Angelina Anjar Sawitri, Jakarta – Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Hidayat Nur Wahid, expressed his concern about gunmen attack in Sinak Police Base in Puncak, Papua, on Sunday.

"Security threat in Indonesia is not limited to radicalism; separatism is also real and it is a threat," said Hidayat Monday, December 28.

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Three police officers in the restive province of Papua were killed by suspected separatists on Sunday evening after armed men attacked their precinct, the National Police confirmed.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said the Sinak subdistrict precinct in Papua's Puncak district was attacked by a barrage of gunfire at 8.45 p.m. on Sunday.

A group of armed men attacked Sinak Police subprecinct in Puncak regency, Papua, on Sunday night, killing three police officers.

Meanwhile, an aircraft carrying Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw was reportedly shot at on Monday. The Twin Otter plane, owned by Trigana Air, was returning to Jayawijaya regency from Puncak.

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla has directed the security agencies to take stern measures against those involved in the attack on the Sinak police precinct in the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua.

"We must uphold the law everywhere in Indonesia. Anyone found guilty must face the strong arm of the law," he said here on Monday.