The Vanuatu government has withdrawn from a Melanesian Spearhead Group Foreign Ministers delegation to Indonesia to discuss and visit West Papua.

Papua – A member of an armed group, which is believed to have threatened security forces between miles 45 and 50 at PT Freeport Indonesia's mining area on Thursday, was shot and killed by a joint team of Indonesian Military (TNI) and police personnel, who also seized an M-16 assault rifle and its magazine.

Victor Mambor, Jayapura, 10/01 (Jubi) – A delegation of foreign ministers from Melanesia Spearhead Group (MSG) member states will reportedly be visiting Indonesia in the next few days. The visit should have taken place last year.

Further information on UA: 237/12 Index: ASA 21/002/2014 Indonesia Date: 9 January 2014

Malukan prisoners of conscience, Johan Teterissa and Johni Sinay, have been ill-treated by security personnel in Batu prison, Central Java. Both men are now at risk of further ill-treatment.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – An unidentified armed group fatally gunned down an ojek driver in the Wuyuneri hamlet, located in the Puncak Jaya district of Papua, on Tuesday morning.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – A group of armed men attacked a police station in the Kurik district of Papua's Puncak Jaya regency on Saturday, taking hold a number of guns and ammunition from the site.

Sydney – The indigenous struggle for liberation in West Papua on the western half of the island of New Guinea in the south-west Pacific, with the loss of thousands of lives, is far from ending.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – A group of gunmen fired on a convoy of trailer trucks owned by US mining giant Freeport Indonesia in Timika, Papua on Friday.

The trucks were driving from Timika to Tembagapura. During the convoy's journey, a group of shooters opened fire from both sides of the road, but the trucks continued onward.

The Asian Human Rights Commission is adding its voice to concerns at the death of West Papua separatist militia leader, Danny Kogoya.

A West Papuan activist in Papua New Guinea's Vanimo says they are still to resolve a dispute with Indonesian authorities over the body of a former Papuan military commander, Danny Kogoya.

Mr Kogoya, who had been a regional commander in the separatist militia, the OPM, lost a leg in an attack by Indonesian security forces in Jayapura more than a year ago.

Jayapura – The Free Papua Organisation (OPM) through Secretary General Anton Tabuni has refuted a statement by Puncak Jaya Regent Henock Ibo in relation to 100 OPM members under the leadership of National Liberation Army (TPN) commander Goliath Tabuni who came down from the mountains to rejoin society.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-157-2013

Dear friends,

Alison Bevege – He was just a little kid, maybe six years old. Walking through the garden with his mother and two teenage aunties. Then the Indonesian soldiers came.

"My mum was in front, leading me in the middle and my aunties behind," said Benny Wenda, now 39. "My mum knows they will rape and she tries to defend."

Jayapura – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Papua says violence against journalists doubled in 2013 from the previous year.

AJI Papua chairman Victor Mambor said in Jayapura on Sunday that the trend of this year's violence against journalists' was similar to that which had happened in the period of 2010-2012.

Jayapura – Throughout the year 2013, in the records Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Jayapura city occurred 20 cases of intimidation and violence against journalists in Papua. The number of these cases showed a significant increase from the year 2012 which amounted to only 12 cases. Of the 20 cases, 4 cases occurred in West Papua and Papua 16 cases occurred.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The Papuan government has prepared Rp 380 billion ($31 million) to build houses and train and educate hundreds of members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) who opt to reconcile with the government and put down their arms.

[An interview with Jeremy Bally, Pedalling for Papua campaigner, published by the Asian Human Rights Commission.]

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The head of Papua's Puncak Jaya district claimed on Thursday that the majority of the members of the local Free Papua Movement (OPM) faction – known as the National Liberation Army and led by Goliath Tabuni – have decided to leave the group and return to their villages.

The Australian president of the International Commission of Jurists is calling for the Indonesian Government to hold an inquiry into the massacre on the West Papuan island of Biak 15 years ago.

In July 1998, Indonesian soldiers launched a dawn attack on Papuans who had staged a peaceful demonstration, calling for independence.

A Canadian man who cycled around the world to raise awareness of human rights abuses in West Papua says Indonesian media outlets have insulted him by distorting comments he made about prisoners' conditions.

Jeremy Bally completed his 12,000 kilometre cycling trip this month and is soon to fly out of Jakarta to return home.

Liam Cochrane – Free Papua Movement (OPM) military commander Danny Kogoya has died in Papua New Guinea, his family says.

Mr Kogoya was shot by Indonesian security forces during an arrest last year and later had his leg amputated while in custody. He was released, but then threatened with re-arrest and had been hiding in north-west PNG.

Raras Cahyafitri, Sorong, West Papua – Resource-rich areas in eastern Indonesia, particularly Maluku and Papua, are expected to produce more oil and gas and contribute to the national output next year despite some hurdles including hard terrain and lack of infrastructure.

The family of a one-legged West Papuan rebel who died in Papua New Guinea at the weekend has accused the Indonesian consulate of interfering with his planned autopsy.

Marni Cordell – Two high-profile lawyers involved in a "citizens' tribunal" that found Indonesian security forces tortured and killed unarmed civilians in West Papua 15 years ago have questioned what the Australian government knew about the incident.

Nivell Rayda – Jeremy Bally was pedaling his bike across Vancouver, British Columbia, when he was struck with an awe-inspiring idea: he would cycle the globe – 12,000 kilometers in all – to raise awareness about the situation in Papua, Indonesia.

Matt Peacock – Indonesia is facing calls to investigate the killing, raping, and torture of more than 150 civilians on the West Papuan island of Biak 15 years ago.

Jeremy Bally, 26, an environmental activist from Canada, visited Abepura Penitentiary in Jayapura, on Monday, to meet Papuan political prisoners and detainees.

Bally's visit was aimed at distributing 40 postcards from activists in seven countries to show their support of their struggle.

Canadian activist Jeremy Bally has concluded his 12,000 kilometer, 7 country international bicycling and performance tour in West Papua, delivering letters collected from around the world to political prisoners in Abepura Prison.

Jayapura – Papua is taking steps to combat violence against women and children as concerns grow about the level of domestic abuse. According the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), Papua province recorded 1,360 cases of gender-based violence per 10,000 women in 2012.

Banjir Ambarita – A police officer was found laying in a pool of blood in Keerom, Papua, after the man's fellow officers accidentally left the officer behind when pulling out of a restive village on Friday.

Marni Cordell – Scores of unarmed civilians were tortured and killed and their bodies dumped at sea in a massacre by Indonesian security forces in West Papua 15 years ago, a "citizens' tribunal" held in Sydney has found.

The imprisonment of seven men in Sorong, Papua on 4 December 2013 highlights the ongoing criminalization of peaceful political activism in the region. Amnesty International considers the seven men to be prisoners of conscience - imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights – and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – A bus carrying Merauke Military Commander Brig. Gen. Bambang Haryanto and other military officers was fired upon by unidentified assailants near Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine in Mimika regency, Papua, on Thursday.

Papua Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistio Pudjo confirmed the attack and said no one had been injured.

Two vehicles operating at copper and gold producer PT Freeport Indonesia's (PTFI) mine were targeted in shootings on Sunday and Monday in Timika, Papua. No casualties were reported in the incidents.

Keerom – Refugees who have returned to Indonesia's Papua province from exile in neighbouring Papua New Guinea (PNG) are disillusioned with their new lives. Provincial officials pledged money, jobs and homes in 2009, but four years later, although some of the former refugees have homes, few have found steady work.

On her trip to Indonesia to try and smooth relations with Jakarta over the spying scandal, our foreign minister should also be raising the crackdown on the recent peaceful rallies in West Papua with the Indonesian Government.

Keerom – Indigenous people in Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province, struggle for employment because most jobs in the gold-rich region go to migrants despite government efforts to tackle growing income inequality. Service industry jobs in the provincial capital, Jayapura, are taken mostly by non-indigenous Papuans, who make up half the province's 2.8 million people.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Army has been given six months to complete the construction of 14 roads stretching more than 900 kilometers in Papua and West Papua provinces.

Protestors against Indonesian rule in West Papua have gathered outside New Zealand's parliament and raised the Morning Star flag.

They were marking the 52nd anniversary of the West Papuan declaration of independence. New Zealand Green Party MP, Catherine Delahunty, says the New Zealand government should be doing more to help West Papuans.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The Indonesian Military has denied reports it was involved in a deadly raid on a village on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Free Papua Organization, or OPM, a separatist group established on Dec. 1, 1963.

Marni Cordell – At least one person was killed and others injured when Indonesian police opened fire and beat activists during a demonstration in the West Papuan capital of Jayapura last week, according to a witness.

The most senior commander in the OPM rebel force in Indonesia's Papua region is in Vanuatu to thank that country for its support for the indigenous people's push for independence.

Commmander Richard Joweni slipped surreptitiously out of Indonesia, through Papua New Guinea to reach Vanuatu.

Around 300 demonstrators from the Papua Student Alliance (AMP) gathered in front of the Negara Grahadi building in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on December 2 demanding that the Indonesian government give them the freedom to determine their own future as a democratic solution for the people of West Papua.

The Green Party is calling on the Government to cancel police and military ties with the Indonesian regime in West Papua on a day of international action in support of West Papuan independence from Indonesia.

Liam Fox, PNG – The governor of Port Moresby has raised the flag of the West Papuan independence movement, despite a request by Papua New Guinea's prime minister not to do so.

Marni Cordell – Three organisers of a pro-West Papua rally in Port Moresby have been taken into custody, with the governor of the Papua New Guinean capital accusing the country's government of bowing to pressure from neighbour Indonesia.

Jayapura – The XVII/Cenderawasih Military Command (Kodam) chief Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua said Friday that both military and police would hunt for those who shot a soldier in Ilu market, Puncak Jaya regency, in Papua.

Indonesia's National Police Chief General Sutarman says the country's police will take stern measures against those wanting to separate Papua from Indonesia.

General Sutarman told local media that police will take firm action against groups or individuals wanting to separate Papua from Indonesia because Papua is part of Indonesia.

Marni Cordell – The West Papuan activist Benny Wenda has said immigration officers in Papua New Guinea threatened to have him arrested along with an Australian lawyer for "engaging in political activities" and breaching their visa conditions.

A day before the 48th anniversary of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), an outlawed militant separatist organization, a member of the group was killed in an exchange of gunfire between fighters and police in Papua's Jayapura district.