Fiji's opposition parties have rallied behind the Free West Papua Movement in a move they hope will put pressure on authorities to act.
The Opposition leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa, says the Melanesian people of West Papua have been terrorised for years and hopes for freedom have been suppressed.
An exiled West Papuan independence leader says people from a remote village near the Freeport mine have fled into mountains for fear of the Indonesian military.
Benny Wenda says Indonesian authorities have conducted mass arrests and burned down homes in the village of Utikini.
The Australia West Papua Association says there was no improvement in the human rights situation in the region in 2014, despite some governments claiming abuses against Papuans are a thing of the past. Its new report outlines events and abuses in West Papua last year.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The police in Papua have arrested two civilians suspected of murdering two personnel from the South Sumatra Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in Utikini village, Tembagapura, Mimika, Papua.
The two are also suspected of stealing weapons in the village on Jan. 1. They were identified only by the initials JW and MW.
Jakarta – The National Police Headquarters have set up a fact-finding team to investigate a shooting in Enarotali, Papua, during which four civilians were killed and dozens of others injured on Dec. 8, 2014.
Helen Davidson – Indonesian authorities have conducted mass arrests and burned down the homes of West Papuan villagers in response to the deaths of two police officers, a West Papuan independence leader in exile has claimed.
Andreas Harsono – In December, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo promised the long-suffering residents of Indonesia's easternmost area of Papua something extraordinary: The opportunity to be heard by their government.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A joint team of National Police (Polri) and Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel is pursuing an armed civilian group led by Ayub Waker suspected to be behind the recent killing of two members of a police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit and the theft of their weapons in Tembagapura, Mimika, Papua.
The spokesperson for the global Free West Papua Campaign claims up to 1000 police and military deployed to the Timika region in West Papua have tortured people in the area.
Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Indonesia's Human Rights Committee announced on Thursday that it had formed a team to investigate possible human rights abuses committed in the fatal shootings of at least five young civilians by security forces in Papua early last month.
Index: ASA 21/001/2015
Jayapura – The Papua Police have nabbed 13 members of an armed separatist group led by Ayub Waker following the deaths of two Mobile Brigade personnel and a Freeport employee in Utikini village, Mimika regency on January 1.
Jakarta – Gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia has appointed former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Maroef Sjamsuddin as its new president director to replace Rozik B. Soetjipto, who has reached retirement age.
Freeport spokesperson Daisy Primayanti said on Wednesday that Maroef, also a retired rear marshal, joined Freeport after retiring from the Air Force.
Richard C. Paddock, Banda Aceh, Indonesia – Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who played a key role in negotiating peace in Aceh after the 2004 tsunami, said he will initiate efforts to bring an end to Papua's long-running conflict with the central government.
West Papua Action Auckland is urging the government to do more to protect people from ongoing security force violence in Indonesia's Papua region.
Jayapura – The Papua Police were hunting an armed group led by Ayub Waker who is believed to be responsible for the recent fatal shootings of two Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers.
"A platoon of mobile brigade officers from the Timika detachment has been deployed to find Waker's group," Papua Police chief Isp. Gen. Yotje Mende told Antara on Saturday.
Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Police have arrested a man suspected to be behind the killings of two policemen and a security guard in Utikini, near Freeport's Grasberg mine in Papua, last week.
"We have identified the perpetrators of the killings... one of the suspects has been arrested," said Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie on Monday.
Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura, Papua – The bloodied bodies of two policemen and a security officer were found in Utikini, near the Grasberg mine in Papua, on Thursday night.
Second Brig. Riyan Hariansah and Second Brig. Adpriadi, both aged 22, and 33-year-old security guard Suko Miartono were found dead shortly after carrying out a patrol in Utikini, Tembagapura, about 9 p.m. local time.
By Made Supriatma
Police
Jakarta – A total of 53 people are being questioned over the fatal shootings of at least five young civilians by security forces in Papua earlier this month, police say, but there are doubts about the credibility and impartiality of the investigation.
Jayapura – The government announced Sunday that it would halt the establishment of new administrative regions in Papua as the current ones had yet to improve people's welfare.
Human Rights Watch says the Indonesian President's condemnation of the killing of Papuan civilians by the military has come too late.
Joko Widodo, who has been in the province for Christmas celebrations, says the incident in Paniai in which 5 protesters were killed, and 17 people – including children – were injured was deplorable.
Prashanth Parameswaran – Indonesian president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is now on a weekend visit to the restive eastern region of the province of Papua to begin to address a half-century long separatist insurgency that continues to simmer there.
Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – President Joko Widodo has told a crowd in Papua that the shooting of five young civilians in the province earlier this month is unacceptable, and that the government will soon form a fact-finding team to investigate the case.
Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo attended the national Christmas celebration in Papua on Saturday, marking the first time the country's easternmost province played host to the event.
Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Only hours before leaving Jakarta for Papua to attend national Christmas celebrations, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo summoned the leaders of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) and the Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI) to get input on what should be addressed in Papua.
The climate of fear in Papua inhibits local people from publicly discussing security force abuses. The Witness and Victim Protection Agency can help Enarotali residents who wish to give their account to do so with greater safety. – Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director
Margareth S.
Malang/Jakarta – President Joko Widodo's plan to visit Papua for Christmas has been labeled the "worst Christmas present" by a group of students protesting about the shooting of five young civilians in the province earlier this month.
Ina Parlina, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is slated to go to Papua to celebrate Christmas this year and also plans to meet local residents to hear their aspirations on various issues.
Mohammad Arief Hidayat, D.A. Pitaloka, Malang – As many as 30 Papuan students from the Papua Student Alliance (AMP) in the East Java city of Malang held a protest action in front of the Malang Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Friday December 19.
Yogya – Papua students from the Papua Student Alliance (AMP) in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held a protest action to commemorate Trikora at the zero kilometre point intersection in front of the central post office on the afternoon of Friday December 19.
The chair of the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights has blamed police abuses in Papua province on the failure of the force to "adapt" to a democratic Indonesia.
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua secretary-general says the Governors of West Papua and Papua provinces have no political power when it comes to facing Indonesia's government.
The head of the newly formed United Liberation Movement for West Papua says the nature of Indonesia's deployment of security forces to the Papua region indicates it s a war zone.
Octo Mote says current killings and human rights abuses in Papua region indicate that Indonesia still takes a hardline militaristic approach to daily issues there.
Christian children in Indonesia's most easterly province are bearing the brunt of a multi-faceted Islamisation programme that is changing the character of the formerly Christian-majority region.
A New Zealand human rights activist says there is blanket impunity for Indonesia's police and no one in a position of responsibility has ever been held to account for abuses in West Papua.
Maire Leadbeater was at a rally in Auckland today, responding to the shooting death of five school students in Papua on December the 8th.
AWPA has written to the Australian Foreign Minister urging her to raise concerns about the recent killings in West Papua.
Warren Doull – The recent massacre in Paniai, Papua has moved Indonesia further away from a 'Papua Solution.' Five protesters were killed when a combined force of Indonesian police and military opened fire on unarmed demonstrators on Dec. 8.
Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo must form a fact-finding team to investigate a bloody police crackdown on protesters in Paniai district, Papua, that saw five people killed, a prominent clergyman has said.
Jakarta – Secretary-general of the Presidium of the Papua Council (PDP) Thaha Alhamid said Christmas would serve as a good opportunity for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to discuss and find peaceful solutions to issues in Papua.
Nethy Dharma Somba and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jayapura/Jakarta – Church leaders in Papua have opposed President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's plan to visit the province for a national Christmas celebration in Jayapura on Dec. 27, citing the absence of a response by the state to Monday's Enarotali shooting incident that claimed the lives of five civilians and injured 21 others.
Nethy Darma Somba and Hasyim Widhiarto, Papua/Jakarta – Human rights activists have demanded that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo form an independent team to probe a shooting in Paniai, Papua, that claimed the lives of five civilians and injured 21.
Admin MS, Jakarta – Commemorating International Human Rights Day, peaceful actions were held in several Indonesian cities calling on the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (Jokowi-JK) to fully investigate the human rights violations that have taken place in the land of Papua.
Ben Bohane – In a gathering of West Papuan leaders in Vanuatu last week, different factions of the independence movement united to form a new body called the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).
Surabaya – Scores of Papuan students in East Java provincial capital of Surabaya held a protest action on Wednesday December 10 to express their concern over the clash between civilians and security forces in Enarotali, Papua.
Arie Sunaryo – The Indonesian military (TNI) and police (Polri) must be held accountable for the violence that has been occurring in Papua.
This statement was made by the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) during a demonstration at the Gladag traffic circle in the Central Java city of Solo on the afternoon of Wednesday December 10.
Yogyakarta – Scores of Papuan students held a demonstration at the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) traffic circle in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Tuesday afternoon, December 9.
The action took place to coincide with a visit by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo who was scheduled to give a public lecture before hundreds of UGM academics.
Bandung – Papuan students from the group Solidarity for Papua (SUP) held a protest action at the governor's office in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung on Wednesday December 10.
Andreas Gerry Tuwo, Jakarta – It turns out that the demonstrations currently taking place at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta are not just being held by labour organisations opposing the increase in the price of subsidised fuel.