Police Minister Anne Tolley and Defence Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman have a rare opportunity this week to gain first-hand knowledge about Indonesian police and military activities in West Papua.
West Papua is all but closed to international journalists and other independent observers so police and military atrocities don't make our headlines.
Raras Cahyafitri and Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta – Less than three months before the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is due to leave office, it sealed a strategic deal on Friday with the local unit of US giant miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc., which ensured the company would continue to operate after its license expires in 2021.
The West Papuan political prisoners known as the Jayapura Five have been released after serving almost three years in jail in Indonesia.
Among the five is Forkorus Yaboisembut, the President of the organisation that calls itself the Federal Republic of West Papua.
Max Horder – Home to 3.5 million people, daily life in West Papua is characterised by widespread violence, intimidation and political suppression. On July 9, a boycott against the Indonesian presidential election was organised by activists – 14 of whom were reportedly tortured by the military and now reside in prison.
Jayapura – Newly appointed Papua Police chief Yotje Mende said he would take stern action against armed criminals in the province because their actions threaten the stability of the nation-state.
The organisation called the Federal Republic of West Papua is urging the Pacific Islands Forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group to address ongoing abuses in Indonesia's Papua region.
We, the undersigned organizations, are concerned about the serious and ongoing violations of Human Rights that are taking place with impunity in the easternmost provinces of Indonesia Papua and West Papua. The violations of Human Rights have been well-documentedi and have been brought to the attention of Indonesia during the second round of the UPR process.
Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – One person was killed and two were injured when a 10-car convoy traveling in a remote area of Papua's highlands was ambushed by armed attackers on Wednesday afternoon.
According to reports from police and a local resident, the attackers intercepted the convoy, which was carrying food from Wamena to Mulia, in Donggobak village.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla garnered 96,780 votes, in comparison to the 69,220 votes rivals Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa gained in the provincial capital of Papua, Jayapura, in the July 9 presidential election.
[In-depth Investigation from West Papua Media team, our stringers in Jayapura and local sources.]
Admin MS, Yogyakarta – Insisting that the annexation of West Papua into the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) through the 1969 referendum (Pepera) was done undemocratically and was a gross human rights violation, the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) has held peaceful actions in several university cities in Java.
An academic specialising in West Papua says Indonesian presidential candidate Joko Widodo is likely to be more Papua friendly than his opponent Prabowo Subianto.
Indonesia is holding its elections today amid calls from West Papuan leaders for Papuans to boycott the elections in protest.
Sally Whyte – Tomorrow's Indonesian election will be especially tense in West Papua, where activist groups are calling for a boycott of the poll, and some have been arrested by the Indonesian military.
Rebecca Lake, Jakarta – England could hardly be any further from the Indonesian province of West Papua but for the exiled leader of the Free West Papua movement, Benny Wenda, the people in his homeland absorb almost all of his energy and thoughts – now more than ever.
Katherine Gregory – Free West Papua protestors have demonstrated outside the Indonesian consulate in Darwin as the Northern Territory's Indonesian community went to the polls.
The group, Territorians for a Free West Papua, says it was protesting in support of Papuans fighting for their independence from 51 years of Indonesian rule.
The security forces in West Papua have raised the security level in the territory to "Siaga Satu" (full alert) leading up to the presidential election on the 9 July, Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua said in Jayapura on Sunday.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – With just three days left before the presidential election, the Regional Military Command (Kodam) XVII/Cendrawasih in Papua has raised the province's security level to "Siaga Satu" (full alert) as an armed civilian group has urged a boycott of the upcoming election.
The National Committee for West Papua, the KNPB, is saying that another seven of its activists were captured by the Indonesian military on Friday.
The Papua separatist group, the National Committee for West Papua, or the KNPB, has reported that six of its members were arrested, beaten and taken to the Jayapura Police Station onn Thursday.
The KNPB claims the six were arrested because they were distributing leaflets calling on West Papuans to boycott next week's presidential election.
Two New Zealanders have been awarded the 2014 John Rumbiak Human Rights Defenders Award for their work pushing for improved human rights in Indonesia's Papua region.
The KNPB has reported that a six of their activists were arrested, beaten and taken to the Jayapura Police Station yesterday afternoon, 3 July. The six activists are Ono Balingga, Hakul Kobak, Yandri Heselo, Gesman Tabuni, Ronal Wenda. The name of the sixth activist is not known at this stage.
Timika – Police are searching for people who distributed leaflets urging voters to boycott the July 9 presidential election and demand a referendum.
"A group led by Teni Kwalik is behind it because he made a statement calling for the boycott of the presidential election," Mimika Police Deputy Chief Commissioner Wirasto Adi Nugroho said on Tuesday (1/7) in Timika, Papua.
Port Moresby – The Government of Vanuatu will continue raising the issue on West Papua to the UN.
The Vanuatu Prime Minister Joe Natuman says the government is still looking at pushing the West Papua issue at the United Nations level.
His comment comes as the Melanesian Spearhead Group resolved to seek a more proactive approach alongside Indonesia to help address the development needs of West Papuans.
The Vanuatu Prime Minister Joe Natuman says the onus is on Indonesia to allow West Papuan groups to partake in a more inclusive application to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
At last week's MSG summit in Port Moresby MSG leaders resolved to seek a more proactive approach alongside Indonesia to help address the development needs of West Papuans.
The Australia West Papua Association says a rally of independence supporters in Jayapura yesterday was peaceful and not attended by Indonesian security forces.
The 1st July is a very important day in the West Papuan struggle for self-determination and independence. On 1st of July in 1971, West Papuan leaders Brig. Gen. Seth Rumkorem and Jacob Prai (exiled in Sweden) made a proclamation of independence.
A human rights advocacy group is calling for a new Indonesian government to end human rights abuses by previous governments, and bring those responsible to account.
The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, or ETAN, says the government in power following next weeks election in Indonesia should rein in military activity in West Papua.
Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders say they want to take a more proactive approach alongside Indonesia to help address the development needs of West Papuans.
The leaders have just concluded their summit in Port Moresby where issues regarding the indigenous Melanesians of Indonesia's Papua region featured prominently on the agenda.
The Free West Papua Campaign says Dutch New Guinea veterans are angry they have been stopped from carrying the West Papuan Morning Star flag during a a march this week in The Hague.
Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders meeting in Port Moresby have indicated that the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation's bid to join the group will have to return to the drawing board.
Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Police said that two firearms, some traditional weapons and a thousand rounds of ammunition seized in a Jayapura raid had been smuggled in from Papua New Guinea and was destined for anti-Jakarta groups in Puncak Jaya.
Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders meeting this week in the Papua New Guinea capital are expected to formulate a decision on a West Papuan bid to join the grouping.
The leaders have been briefed on the outcomes of the MSG Foreign Ministers delegation to Indonesia's Papua region in January.
Port Moresby, PNG – The Free West Papua Campaign PNG chapter is appealing to the members of Parliament for the West Papua's membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
Siteri Sauvakacolo – The Indonesian embassy in Fiji says no one has the right to interfere in matters relating to West Papua.
Responding to questions from this newspaper yesterday, it stated the embassy's stance on the issue of West Papua was that it was "entirely an internal matter of Indonesia".
A new office for the self-declared Federal Republic of West Papua has been opened in Australia.
The organisation calling itself the Federal Republic of West Papua is today opening an office in Melbourne.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the organisation, Jacob Rumbiak, says the new office in Melbourne's Docklands business district will help build relations between West Papua, Indonesia and Australia.
Councilor Amanda Stone from the Yarra City Council is cutting the ribbon on the Federal Republic of West Papua's new office in Docklands (Melbourne) on Monday 23 June 2014. This is despite the Lombok Treaty, signed by Australia and Indonesia in 2006, which outlaws any demonstration of the Indonesian colony's independence.
Kursi Istana, Jayapura – Human rights activists and organisations have launched the Movement Against Forgetting in Papua. The activists are calling on the Papuan people not to vote for a presidential candidate that has a track record of human rights violations.
Tevita Vuibau – Churches in Fiji and the region are throwing their voices behind self determination for West Papua. Their support comes as the PIDF hosts Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at its second summit in Nadi this week.
Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would explain his policies on Papua during his visit to Fiji, where he will attend a meeting of Pacific Island leaders, some of whom have been critical of Jakarta's handling of Papua.
There are renewed calls for United Nations monitors to be allowed in to Indonesia's troubled Papua provinces, to verify what human rights groups describe as gross violations.
Rights groups from around the world are meeting at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, trying to turn the spotlight on the region.
Jakarta – US Ambassador Robert Blake has highlighted growing cooperation between the US government and its counterparts in Indonesia, including local administrations and civil society organizations in Papua, during his trip to Papua and West Papua from June 8-13.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Another shooting incident occurred in Jayapura, Papua, on Saturday, highlighting the fragile security situation in the region, which was recently gripped by a shooting incident in Skouw-Wutung that led to the ongoing closure of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border.
Churches in the Solomon Islands have agreed to actively support the struggle for political independence of the people of West Papua.
The call comes a week before Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attends the Pacific Islands Development Forum Summit in Denarau, Fiji.
The United Nations Human Rights Council's current session has heard concerns that freedom of expression and peaceful assembly continue to deteriorate in Indonesia's Papua region.
Harry Pearl, Jakarta – New Zealand's ambassador to Indonesia, in response to allegations that his country had a hidden motive behind a police training project in eastern Indonesia, says New Zealand has only ever worked at the request of the Indonesian government.
The journalist who revealed Indonesia's move to pull out of a New Zealand-funded police training programme in West Papua says he believes political sensitivity is behind the decision.
Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – Indonesian officials keep sending mixed messages regarding the contract renegotiation with Freeport Indonesia – with a minister saying it is imperative to give the local unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold some sense of security, while an official said the matter was the authority of the next government.
Harry Pearl & Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Indonesia has axed a multimillion dollar police training program in West Papua because police intelligence reports suggested there were "hidden motives" behind the New Zealand-funded program.