Jakarta – Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy Asia director Phelim Kine has said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should issue an explicit written directive spelling out Papua's new media freedoms and the obligations of government officials and security forces to respect it, otherwise he could not turn his vision into reality.

Elodie Largenton – A French journalist who was jailed in West Papua last year for not having the correct entry permit says he doubts Indonesia will follow through with its promise to lift the region's media ban.

Indonesia's president Joko Widodo announced the end of the decades-long restriction on foreign journalists reporting on West Papua during a visit earlier this month.

Jakarta – The police in Papua have yet to identify those responsible for the shooting of a pro-independence leader in Nabire on Tuesday, but they detected a threat on migrants following the incident.

Papua Independence Movement (OPM) leader Leo Yogy was fatally shot in a raid on the resistance group's hideout.

An armed group in Indonesia's Papua province has reportedly taken two soldiers along with a teacher hostage in Enarotali in Paniai District.

According to a report gathered by Antara, the two soldiers and some civilians were shopping on a speed boat.

Jayapura, Jubi – An alleged statement by the Commander of West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), Enden Wanimbo declaring an open war against Indonesian security forces provides ammunition for those who want violence to occur in Papua, a church leader said.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Chairman of West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Victor Yeimo, said threats of an open war allegedly made by OPM leaders Enden Wanimbo and Puron Wenda were exaggerated.

Charles Kadamana – Hundreds of Solomon Islanders demonstrated their support for West Papua with an appeal for the government to consider West Papua a full member of the Melanesia Spearhead Group, during a peaceful rally last Friday.

West Papua through the United Liberation Movement for West Papua will made an application for membership when the MSG leaders meet in Honiara next month.

Robertus Wardhy, Jayapura – Five local residents have been injured and one killed during a shooting by unknown gunmen at a house in Puncak Jaya district, Paupa, on Tuesday night.

Sr. Comr. Patrige Renwarin, a spokesman for the Papua Police, told the Jakarta Globe that the shooting took place at 11 p.m. at the family home of a Papuan civilian named Jufri Tandi Payung

Tama Salim & Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo may have confidently ordered his Cabinet ministers and the security apparatus to open up Papua to foreign journalists, but his ministers appear unenthusiastic about overturning decades-long policy on restricted media access.

Jayapura – Human rights activists have opposed the presence of a military command in West Papua, later named as the Kasuari/XVIII Military Command, as it is against the Papua Special Autonomy Law, especially on regional security.

Jakarta – The executive director of Indonesian news agency Antara, Saiful Hadi, said that Indonesia should penalize journalists, including those from abroad, who broadcast biased and imbalanced news about Papua.

"We should subject journalists to a strict penalty if they broadcast news on Papua that is based on fictive information and data," he stated here on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Journalism education is important for Papuans, now that foreign journalists and international organizations have been given open access to Papua and West Papua, the Indonesian Press Council said.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno asserted that foreign journalists who wish to cover Papua should abide by the laws of Indonesia.

Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama says engagement with Indonesia is the best way to handle issues of abuse in the Indonesia region of Papua.

The Fiji Sun reports Mr Bainimarama as saying there is a lot of concern about what is happening in Papua with talks of assault and human rights abuses. But he says at the end of the day it was an issue of Indonesia's sovereignty.

Jakarta – Papuan students called on the government to withdraw all security personnel and stop the ongoing construction of military and police infrastructure in the country's easternmost province.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has supported Indonesia's bid to become an associate member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

PACNEWS reports Bainimarama confirmed that having Indonesia as an associate member made sense given the population in Papua is more than 11 million Melanesian people in Indonesia.

Jayapura, Jubi – Papuan independence activist Filep Karma who recently rejected a pardon offered by Indonesian President Joko Widodo firmly said the genture wasn't new for him.

"They (the Government of Indonesia) also knew that I have rejected a pardon once," Karma, the chairman of West Papua Political Prisoners' Forum, told Jubi on Saturday (23/5/2015).

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The situation in the Papuan town of Manokwari has remained peaceful following the recent arrests of 70 pro-independence activists grouped in the National West Papua Committee (KNPB).

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Armed separatists in Indonesia's Papua province have declared open war on the military and non-Papuan civilians, insisting that their decades-long struggle for independence is not over and denouncing as a lie President Joko Widodo's reassurances that the region is peaceful.

Jayapura – Around 700 members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) at the Papua Legislative Council (DPRD) supported on Thursday the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) by proposing that Papua become a member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Robert Isidorus, Jakarta – Three activists have been named suspects for participating in a rally on Wednesday in support of West Papuan membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Papua Police have arrested Alexander Hanekem, Nopinus Humawak and Othen Gombo, all of whom have been accused of "provoking the masses" during a rally in Manokwari, West Papua.

Jayapura, Jubi – Indonesian Police have arrested and mistreated activists of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in several locations while they were distributing leaflets calling for action, the organization said.

KNPB said police arbitrarily arrested its activists and other Papuans in Sentani, Biak and Manokwari.

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo's visit to West Papua was as ephemeral as spray – the next day there was no indication it had happened, according to a Papuan MP.

Mr Joko released five political prisoners and announced an end to a decades-long restriction on journalists reporting on West Papua during a visit earlier this month.

An Indonesian organisation, the AIDS Prevention Commission, says that over ten percent of the population of the Papua town of Wamena is infected with HIV/AIDS.

The Highlands town with a population of almost 49-thousand has now reached 5,100 cases of HIV/AIDS, which the Jayawijaya-based Commission attributes largely to rampant prostitution.

The country could gain significant economic benefits if it supports West Papua's submission for membership in one of the regional's powerful body, the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Robert Isidorus, Jayapura – Police in West Papua detained 70 activists rallying in support of West Papuan membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) on Wednesday.

Dozens of protestors, including students and members of pro-independence group the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), took to the streets of provincial capital Manokwari.

The West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda says he has no idea why he was blocked from traveling to the United States last week.

Mr Wenda was hoping to travel from London, where he lives in exile, to Los Angeles for a speaker's tour of California and Hawai'i.

Jakarta – House speaker Setya Novanto has welcomed the government's decision to open access to Papua for foreign media.

"The House viewed that the government's policy to give freedom to foreign journalists to enter Papua is a positive move to give information to the global community, " he said at the House complex in his speech to open the House 4th session for 2014-2015 on Monday.

Jayapura, Jubi – At around 11:50 Papua time, police disbanded a gathering of activists at the secretariat of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) and Regional People Parliament (PRD) in Merauke, an activist said.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Students and People Movement (GempaR) urged President Joko Widodo to keep his promise to solve the conflict in Papua.

The spokesperson for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua says he's not concerned about Indonesia's bid to become an associate of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The foreign ministers of the MSG are scheduled to meet on Thursday, where the ULM's application for full MSG membership is likely to come up.

The West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda says he has no idea why he was blocked from travelling to the United States last week.

Mr Wenda was hoping to travel from London, where he lives in exile, to Los Angeles for a speaker's tour of California and Hawai'i at the invitation of Free West Papua groups in the US.

About 150 people turned out at a protest in Fiji's capital, Suva, on Friday to call for West Papua's inclusion in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The MSG foreign ministers will meet on Thursday, when the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application to become a member will be considered.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) of Papua said President Joko Widodo's decision to lift the ban on foreign press I Papua was the right decision and should not be questioned.

Jakarta – After giving amnesty to five political prisoners in Papua recently, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo plans to free 90 more political prisoners in the country's easternmost, resource-rich province.

At 14:00, 13 May 2015 the United States (US) office of homeland security stopped West Papuan Independence leader Mr Benny Wenda from boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Los Angeles.

After check-in staff found an alert on their passport system, Mr Wenda was questioned by an official from the US Homeland Securities bureau office at London's Heathrow Airport.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has renewed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Republic of West Papua (FRWP), pledging support for the cause of West Papuan self-determination.

Marie Dhumieres – It could be a game-changing step for West Papua. That is, if it gets implemented and foreign journalists are any good at their jobs.

"Starting from today, foreign journalists are allowed to and can visit Papua as freely as they can any other part of Indonesia," Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said last weekend.

Members of the civil society organization under the umbrella body of Solomon Islands in Solidarity for West Papua gathered in numbers on Thursday to renew their call on the Solomon Islands Government to support the bid for West Papua to gain full membership in MSG.

London – In his visit to Papua last weekend, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo granted clemency to five Papuan political prisoners and announced that foreign journalists were no longer restricted from entering Papua.

Jakarta – A House of Representatives lawmaker says President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to revoke tight requirements applied to foreign journalists wanting to report on Papua is a reactive move.

Dylan Amirio, Jakarta – In response to a move by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to remove barriers to access for foreign journalists seeking to report in Papua, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker says that journalists aiming to use this right must also be aware of the legal limitations.

Ina Parlina, Port Moresby – Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister Peter O'Neill expressed support on Tuesday for Indonesia's inclusion as an "associate member" of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), deeming the plan as representative of a "unique understanding" between the two countries.

An outspoken Papua New Guinea MP says the Melanesian Spearhead Group has failed its original mandate and should be disbanded.

Gary Juffa, who is the Governor of Oro Province, says that the MSG's leadership does not act in a way that represents Melanesian voices.

Jayapura, Jubi – Indonesian President Joko Widodo's visit to Papua from 9-10 May included a stop at Pasar Pharaa, traditional market, at Sentani, the launch of the Institute of Public Administration (IPDN)'s new building, a visit to Holtekamp Bridge, the launch of public insurance cards and the granting of pardon for five Papuan political prisoners.

The Australia West Papua Association in Sydney has written to the MSG leaders on the issue of West Papua (letter below).

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr.

Port Moresby (PNG Today/NBC/PNG Loop/Pacific Media Watch) – Seven protesters were arrested and detained for staging a "mini gathering" during the arrival of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Papua New Guinea yesterday.

The thorny issue of West Papua has stirred controversy during a state visit by Indonesia's President, Joko Widodo, to Papua New Guinea.

Mr Widodo left Port Moresby today after a two-day visit which saw allegations of media gagging and the arbitrary arrest of protesting West Papuan independence activists.

Following Indonesian leader Joko Widodo's move to free five political prisoners and lift media curbs in Papua, DW speaks to Gregory Poling about why so little progress has been made in solving the decades-long conflict.