We, Church leaders, human rights defenders, academics and international observers, gathered in Brussels for the International Consultation on Papua 2015 to discuss the situation of human rights in Papua.

Philip Jacobson – There's a saying in the Indonesian palm oil industry: Sumatra is yesterday, Kalimantan is today, and Papua is tomorrow. Tomorrow might well have arrived.

A new report sheds light on the industry's rapid expansion in Indonesia's easternmost region – and on the companies behind the plantation drive.

Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has urged the government to end restrictions on media access in Papua, as the world commemorates World Press Freedom Day on Sunday.

"We urge the government to open access for journalists to Papua. There is no reason to isolate it from the world," AJI head Sujarwono told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Sunday.

Jayapura, Jubi – Amidst intimidation, illegal arrests, disappearances, torture and killings in Tanah Papua resulting from tensions between the Indonesian authorities and the Papuan pro-liberation groups, churches seek justice, peace, dignity and security for the Papuans.

Jayapura, Jubi – The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) said it strongly condemned the brutal and inhuman acts carried out by security forces against students and activists who support the liberation of West Papua during the demonstration against the annexation of Papua nation into the Republic of Indonesia on 1 May.

Mass arrests are reported to have been carried out in West Papua on Friday, on the anniversary of Indonesia's annexation of the province.

The pro-independence KNPB says 12 activists were arrested outside a market in Manokwari, while 15 were arrested in Merauke. In the provincial capital, Jayapura, 30 people were arrested at rally against Indonesian rule.

London (TAPOL/Pacific Media Watch) – Dozens of demonstrators dressed in black gathered outside the Indonesian Embassy in London this week to lead the global protest against West Papua's 50-year long isolation.

The demonstration was organised by TAPOL and Survival International, supported by Amnesty UK and the Free West Papua Campaign.

International Press Freedom Day is a golden opportunity for the Indonesian government to finally end its official chokehold on foreign media access to Papua. The broad restrictions on reporting from Papua encourage security force abuses and profoundly undermine the public's right to know what's happening there. – Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director

Fifty-two years ago on 1 May in 1963, the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) transferred administration of the Dutch colony of Netherlands New Guinea to Indonesia.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Dozens of activists from different NGOs staged "a silent rally" in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon, urging President Joko Widodo to open Papua to foreign journalists, who have faced difficulty reporting on the embattled region for half a century.

Robertus Wardhy, Jayapura – Papua Police arrested three members of the outlawed Free Papua Movement organization in the country's easternmost province on Thursday, shooting a rebel commander in the legs and detaining two fighters.

Mitchell Bland – Dozens of protesters gathered at Brisbane's King George Square last night as part of a global day of action against Indonesia's media blackout of West Papua.

A group of protestors gathered outside New Zealand's parliament today calling on Indonesia to give access for media and aid groups to West Papua.

It was one of many rallies being held across the world to mark the Global Day of Action on West Papua.

Auckland (Pacific Media Watch) – The spokesperson for the main journalists union in New Zealand today criticised the Indonesian blocking of access for international journalists in the West Papua region but says he is even more concerned about the "intimidation" of local Papuan journalists.

London (Tapol/Pacific Media Watch) – The London-based human rights organisation Tapol is today launching a global appeal to President Joko Widodo for "free and open access" for international journalists, humanitarian groups and human rights observers in the Melanesian Pacific provinces of Papua and West Papua.

Protesters outside the Indonesian consulate in Darwin have called on the country to "stop murdering people".

A small group gathered for a global day of action for media access in West Papua on Wednesday with about half a dozen police present. Similar protests will take place in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, as well as internationally.

An open letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Mr Joko Widodo
President of the Republic of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat Indonesia

29 April 2015

Dear Mr President,

On Wednesday, April 29, an international group of protesters gathered at the Indonesian consulate near Central Park in New York to call for an end to restrictions on access to West Papua.

London – Dozens of demonstrators dressed in black gathered outside the Indonesian Embassy today to lead the global protest against West Papua's 50-year long isolation.

Amy McQuire – A West Papuan independence activist, who has been in exile for 12 years after escaping the Indonesian-controlled province, has called on the Australian government to look on "in [and] sympathy in pain" for his own people, who are being "killed like animals" following the execution of two Australians.

Jayapura, Jubi – Youth, Student and Papuan People Movement (GempaR) urged the Indonesian Government to open the democratic space and immediately open the access for foreign journalists in Papua.

"We urge the Indonesian Government to open space for democracy in Papua as promised," the Secretary General of GempaR, Samuel Wamsiwor told Jubi in Abepura last week.

The campaign to push West Papuan independence from Indonesia continues to spread in Africa with a Free West Papua protest being held in Nigeria.

The protest outside the Indonesian Embassy in Lagos was organised by the Pan African Consciousness Resistance and follows a surge of support from South Africa for a Free West Papua.

Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – Regardless of apparently conflicting statements from the Vanuatu government about the opening of an embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia appreciates the Pacific nation's interest in the establishment of a diplomatic mission here, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Rights monitors on Wednesday slammed police for last week's arrest of five indigenous Papuans who stand accused of treason, saying the arrests painted a bleak portrait of freedom of expression in the archipelago's easternmost province.

Lawrence Mehue, Don Flassy, Mas John, Ebieb Suebu and Banundi Ones were arrested on April 14.

Vanuatu's prime minister has downplayed the suggestion made by the foreign minister that it was poised to open an embassy in Indonesia.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi utilized the opening of the 60th Asian-African Conference Commemoration on Sunday to continue her diplomatic efforts toward Pacific nations, which will soon hold a high-ranking meeting to discuss a membership application of a West Papuan group.

The general secretary of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua has been in Solomon Islands to lobby support for his organisation's bid to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The movement has lodged its membership application to the MSG, which will be deliberated on when MSG leaders meet at their summit in Honiara in July this year.

Siteri Sauvakacolo – Opposition leader Ro Teimumu Kepa has called on all Fijians to show their support towards their Melanesian brothers and sisters from West Papua who have been suffering for the last 50 years.

Bradford Theonomi – A West Papua independence leader was in the country for the past week rallying support for his home country to be part of the Melanesia Spearhead Group (MSG).

Octovianus Mote, an exiled West Papuan who now lives in the United States, is the general secretary of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

Civil Society Organisations are outraged at the escalation of brutal attacks and arbitrary killings of West Papuan people by the Indonesian security forces, as a result of the growing support for West Papua's independence around the Pacific Region.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Police detectives have named five people as treason suspects for their alleged involvement in activities aimed at separation from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

A delegation of West Papuan representatives has been arrested after claiming they were told by an Indonesian minister that it is time for negotiation about West Papua.

Tabloid Jubi reports that the six Papuans, including members of the Papua Customary Council, or KIP, went to Jakarta and met informally with the Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu.

Linda Yulisman – With its high food self-sufficiency target, the government is considering reviving the stalled "food estate" program of the prior administration by involving private and state-owned companies.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Police investigators have named five people as suspects for allegedly taking arms against the government with an aim to separate Papua from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

The chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Victor Tutugoro, says a special summit is planned for May 21st to examine the membership bid of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

The Commander of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force is looking into an unauthorised excursion of Indonesian soldiers into the country last week.

The newspaper, The National, reports that Brigadier-General Gilbert Toropo has directed his officers at the Vanimo Forward Base to submit a report on the matter.

Jayapura, Jubi – Nearly 1,600 people in 16 districts in Papua are suffering from leprosy, said Ary Pongtiku, a consultant of Leprosy and Framboesia in Papua and West Papua in Jayapura last week.

An announcement by Indonesia's Human Rights Commission that it will recommend a pro-justicia inquiry into killings of four students in Papua last year has been described as a good first step.

West Papua must be given full membership at the Melanesian Spearhead Group, says the Pacific Freedom Forum.

"The people of West Papua have long been denied basic human rights by their own government," says PFF Chair Titi Gabi. "They are therefore justified in seeking support and assistance for those rights from outside their own borders."

Index: ASA 21/1423/2015

Amy McQuire – There is a silent genocide in his homeland of West Papua, independence leader Benny Wenda says, but it is slowly becoming difficult for the world to ignore.

"A lot more people are talking about it, a lot more people are finding out the truth," he tells New Matilda.

New video footage showing the bloody aftermath of the 'Paniai massacre' in West Papua highlights the urgent need for Indonesia to hold an independent and transparent investigation into the tragedy, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) said on Thursday.

Bradford Theonomi – Outspoken pressure group, Malaita Ma'asina Forum (MMF) has strongly urged the Democratic Coalition for Change (DCC) Government to make clear its stand on the West Papuan issue.

Jayapura, Jubi – At least 150 students and youths rallied in front of the National Human Rights Commission Papua Representative Office on Tuesday (7/4/2015) urging it to set up a team to investigate the shooting dead of four students in December.

Jakarta – The construction of the headquarters of a new military command (Kodam) in West Papua is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih chief Maj. Gen. Fransen G. Siahaan said on Tuesday.

Jayapura, Jubi – In commemorating the 12 anniversary of the Bloody Wamena Tragedy, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence on Saturday (4/4/2015) urged the government to resolve cases of human rights abuses.

Sally Andrews – As the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) prepares to discuss West Papua's latest bid for membership, the 'Papuan problem' poses a significant challenge to Melanesian states, who tread a fine line between responding to regional human rights concerns and managing relations with Indonesia.

Vanuatu's West Papua Unification Committee has dismissed the credentials of a man claiming to be a West Papuan envoy.

Paul Peter Masta claims to be the Federal Republic of West Papua's Ambassador to Papua New Guinea. He has provoked consternation from West Papua leaders based in Vanuatu for denouncing the outcome of the West Papua Forum in Port Vila last year.

Bob Dietz – With more than 50 years of restricted media access, one of the least covered armed conflicts in the world is the long-simmering struggle between Indonesia's military and the secessionist Free Papua Movement.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Agustinus Tabuni, a 24-year-old local identified as a member of an armed criminal group led by Militer Murib, was shot dead when a number of Indonesian Military and National Police personnel conducted a patrol in Kampung Jenggernok, Gome district, Puncak Jaya, around 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday.