Fiji – The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has today welcomed the recommendation set by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat's Special Sub-Committee on Regionalism (SSCR) and the Forum Officials Committee for West Papua to be one of the top priority issues of the regional agenda.

Lealaiauloto Aigaletaulealea Tauafiafi – In the 1960s, West Papuans were sacrificed in the name of Cold War politics – and the United Nations have done nothing about it according to Jennifer Robinson, a London-based human rights lawyer.

In the weekend, West Papua independence leader and international Free West Papua lobbyist, Mr Benny Wenda described the reality for his people.

Jayapura – An unidentified person burned an Indonesian flag in Mimika Baru, Timika city, Papua, on Thursday ahead of the 70th anniversary of independence.

Girish Sawlani – The Papua New Guinea Defence Force has denied reports from a senior Indonesian official that its soldiers claimed part of Indonesian territory in the bordering Papua province.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military, or TNI, says it will set up a security post in the Papuan border village of Yakyu, in Merauke district, following a report that soldiers from neighboring Papua New Guinea last week ordered residents there to lower the Indonesian flag.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Papuan independence leader Filep Karma is due to be released next week from prison, even as he resists freedom until guaranteed he can agitate for self-rule without any threat to his safety or monitoring by intelligence agencies.

Jakarta – Newly appointed Papua Police chief Paulus Waterpauw said that he would continue the legal follow up of the Tolikara incident in Papua despite an announcement that the conflicting sides had made peace.

"This [incident] must be legally processed, not just dealt with by a customary settlement," said Paulus as quoted by Antara news agency on Wednesday.

Jayapura, Jubi – – The church has demanded Papua Police to remove the Jayapura deputy police chief (Wakapolres) be fired over a raid carried out by dozens of officers around the Kingmi Church in Doyo Baru, Jayapura regency on Sunday (09/08/2015).

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) announced on Monday that it had found four human rights violations during a clash instigated by a Christian group affiliated with the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI) in Tolikara, Papua, last month.

Moyang Kasih Dewimerdeka, Jakarta – Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P Marsudi said that her Ministry is planning to streamline the process for foreign journalists wishing to report from Papua.

"We will attempt to simplify the matter as much as we can," said Retno on Monday, August 10, 2015.

Pacnews – Increased regional awareness of alleged violence and human rights violations in West Papua has convinced the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat's Specialist Sub-Committee on Regionalism (SSCR) to recommend that it becomes one of the five priority issues to be the agenda of the Pacific Forum Leaders when they meet in Papua New Guinea next month.

Jakarta – Chairman of House of Representatives Commission I overseeing foreign affairs and defense Mahfudz Siddiq has called for a probe on the alleged presence of Israeli nationals and Jewish religious insignia on houses in Tolikara, Papua.

Dear Pacific Island Forum leaders,

We are writing to you at a critical juncture for the people of West Papua and regional recognition of their struggle to end human rights violations in their land.

Jayapura – The Papuan Police questioned Evangelical Church in Indonesia (GIDI) president Dorman Wandikbo for six hours on Sunday over a fatal incident that occurred in Tolikara on July 17.

Two lawyers represented the GIDI chairman during the questioning, Sr. Adj. Comr. Nurhabri told Antara news agency on Tuesday.

Jakarta, Jubi – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said the government is adopting a persuasive approach to deal with Free Papua Movement (OPM).

Open letter to Pacific Island Forum leaders – West Papua must be raised at the 46th Pacific Islands Forum Meeting.

Dear Pacific Island Forum leaders,

We are writing to you at a critical juncture for the people of West Papua and regional recognition of their struggle to end human rights violations in their land.

Oktovianus Pogau, Jayapura – The president of the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI), Pastor Dorman Wandikmbo insists that the mushola (small mosque) that was burnt down recently in Karubaga district, Tolikara regency, Papua, was built on land owned by the GIDI.

Jayapura, Jubi – Human right activist Markus Haluk said the threat of Papuan population has became obvious. The population of indigenous Papuan begins to decrease while the number of non-Papua is drastically rising. It predicts the number of Papuan in 2030 would be 15% of total population in Papua comprising of 2,371,800 indigenous and 13,228,800 non-Papuans.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Tolikara Police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Soeroso, has been reassigned following the recent riot, which saw angry masses burn down kiosks and a musholla (small mosque), during the Idul Fitri holiday on July. 17.

The Australia West Papua Association is calling on Pacific Islands Forum leaders to address what it describes as a deteriorating human rights situation in Indonesia's Papuan provinces.

Its call comes in the lead up to the 46th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Summit to be held in Papua New Guinea in September.

Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – Giant gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia has received certainty from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry that its export permit, which ended last week, will be extended.

Greg Poulgrain, Brisbane, Australia – One main issue is still to be resolved in the hard bargaining by Freeport Indonesia regarding its contract of work. Agreements have already been reached to enhance share divestment, increase the royalties and build a new smelter, despite the temporary delay over the location.

Dear Pacific Islands Forum leaders,

On behalf of the Australia West Papua Association (Sydney), I am writing to you concerning the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua[1].

We the undersigned are part of a national solidarity network supporting a free West Papua. We publicly disassociate ourselves from the anti-Muslim and anti-refugee views of Reclaim Australia, the United Patriotic Front, Rise Up Australia and others who associate with these groups. We extend a warm welcome to Muslims and refugees, many who are also West Papuan.

Retno Ayuningtyas & Dion Bisara, Jakarta – Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan, remains hopeful to secure an export permit from the government after missing Saturday's deadline. The speed bump effectively halted the company's exports, putting its mining production at risk.

Susan Taylor, Bernadette Christina & Fergus Jensen, Toronto/Jakarta – Shares of diversified miner and energy producer Freeport-McMoRan sank for a second session on Friday, as uncertainty around Indonesian mining contracts added to worries about spending plans, high debt and falling commodity prices.

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – Human rights activists have called on the government and the National Police to carry out a transparent investigation into a fatal clash that occurred in Tolikara, Papua, last week.

Ganug Nugroho Adi, Surakarta, Central Java – Despite a peace agreement after an incident in Tolikara, Papua, thousands of Muslims from various groups in Surakarta, Central Java, staged a rally on Friday to protest the violence.

Faiz Nashrillah, Jakarta – Chairman of human rights watchdog group Setara Institute Hendardi, said on Saturday, July 25, 2015, that the roots of Tolikara incident are injustice and continued discrimination.

Ina Parlina and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura – In an effort to further establish peace after last week's Tolikara incident in Papua, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo hosted religious leaders from the regency and the province for a meeting at the State Palace on Friday.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – The Persatuan Islam (Persis) Muslim group, which has a stronghold in West Java, has assured the safety of churches in the province following the Tolikara tragedy in Papua.

Persis West Java chapter vice secretary Dadang Fahmi urged every Persis member across the country to do the same thing.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The National Police have named two suspects related to the recent fatal clash in Tolikara, Papua.

"[The two are] from the GIDI [Evangelical Church of Indonesia]," National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said at the State Palace complex, adding that the initials of the two suspects were HK and JW.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Ina Parlina, Jayapura/Jakarta – Muslim and Christian communities in Tolikara, Papua, reached a peace agreement on Wednesday following last week's riot in which angered masses burned down several kiosks and the fire spread to a musholla (small mosque).

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-090-2015

Dear Friends,

Teropong Senayan – The razing of an Islamic prayer room in the Tolikara district of Papua was carried out by a group pursuing the agenda of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) to re-implant its ideology in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Police on Wednesday were set to charge several suspects linked to the torching of a mosque in Papua's Tolikara district last week as officials rushed to contain the fallout of the incident and prevent violence from spreading elsewhere.

State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso says that the riot in Tolikara, Papua was aimed at attacking President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

"Those people took advantage of the incident to attack Pak Jokowi, attack the government, attack me as the head of BIN and attack the national police chief. This is becoming commonplace", he said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on July 22.

Jakarta – Indonesia's newly inaugurated intelligence chief, Sutiyoso, has dismissed criticism that his agency failed to prevent a small-scale sectarian incident in Tolikara district, Papua last week in which a mosque was torched.

Felix Utama Kosasih, Jayapura – Amid the festivities surrounding the Eid al-Fitr celebration in Indonesia, the peace and happiness characteristic of the holiday was broken by an attack in Tolikara, a regency in the island of Papua.

Security across the country has been raised as provocative messages spread online in the aftermath of the burning down of a small mosque in Karubaga, in Papua's Tolikara district last week.

Several firebrand clerics have even been calling on Muslims to wage jihad against Christians in Papua, and at least one church in Central Java has already received threats.

Oktovianus Pogau, Tolikara – The president of the Indonesian Evangelical Church (Gereja Injili di Indonesia, GIDI), Reverend Dorman Wandikmbo insists that the letter issued by the regional GIDI in the Tolikara highland district of Papua that has been circulating in the mass media and social networks is forgery or hoax.

Putri Adityowati, Cunding Levi, Jakarta – The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is currently investigating the perpetrators behind letters from the Gereja Injili di Indonesia (GIDI), which inflicted riot in Karubaga, Tolikara, Papua.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Indonesian Fellowship of Churches and Evangelical institutions (PGLII) has condemned the destruction and arson attack on an Islamic house of prayer (mushola) on Friday, along with kiosks and homes in Tolikara district, Papua.

Dini Pramita, Jakarta – President of the Evangelical Church in Inonesia (GIDI), Rev. Dorman Wandikmbo, said the unrest was initially caused by the police shooting indiscriminately at residents who asked Muslims practice Eid prayers without loudspeakers.

Unhappy with the drastic response, some people vented their anger by burning kiosks, which are located not far from the mosque.

Jakarta – The burning down of a small mosque in Karubaga, in Papua's Tolikara district on Friday, just as local Muslims prepared for Idul Fitri prayers, was an accident – with perpetrators merely targeting food stalls nearby, President Joko Widodo's chief of staff has said.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – At least 75 diocesan priests from five dioceses in the West Papua region have voiced concern over the treatment of the Papuan people that has spurred various acts of violence in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.

Sapariah Saturi and Agapitus Batbual – A coalition of Indonesian civil society groups that attended the first intergovernmental working group on a proposed UN binding treaty on business and human rights raised concerns about alleged abuses surrounding a controversial food and energy megaproject planned for the Papuan district of Merauke.

The West Papuan political prisoner Filep Karma says his personal preference is that the leader for his people's self-determination movement be based within West Papua.

The nobel peace prize nominee is currently serving a 15-year jail sentence in Abepura prison in Indonesia's Papua province for charges related to raising the Papuan nationalist Morning Star Flag.

Jakarta – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said that Papua continues to lag behind in maternal health compared to other areas across Indonesia despite significant improvements in the country's health outcomes over the years.

In Papua, 16 percent of women begin childbearing between the ages of 15-19, or twice as high as the national figure.

Helen Davidson, Darwin – A group of West Papua activists has been evicted from the grounds of the Northern Territory Parliament House in Darwin after they erected a hut as an "embassy" and spent two days protesting against Indonesian human rights abuse.