Workers at a giant Indonesian gold and copper mine owned by US company Freeport-McMoRan said Friday they would not return to work, three weeks after officially ending the country's longest-ever strike.

Jayapura – The Papua office of the National Commission on Human Rights looked into 58 alleged violations of human rights in 2011, and was anticipating investigating at least that many cases in 2012.

Jakarta – Hundreds of PT Freeport Indonesia workers have returned to work after a three-month strike, but a workers' union official predicts that it will take three or four weeks before all the company's thousands of employees will get back to work.

Pressure built on an Indonesian firm on Wednesday to resolve a local dispute with workers at a Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc mine that has prompted the union to halt a return to work after a three-month strike.

Thousands of workers at Freeport mine in Indonesia have ended their three-month strike for better wages, after a signing a pay-rise deal with the company.

The union at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Grasberg mine in Indonesia has halted a return to work after a three-month strike pending the resolution of a local labour dispute, senior union official Virgo Solossa said on Tuesday.

Timika, Papua – Workers at Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc's mine in Indonesia may delay returning to work, despite a deal to end a three-month strike, in the absence of a decision on the removal of about 100 workers at a local unit, a union official said on Monday.

Timika, Papua – Thousands of Indonesian workers have returned to work at Freeport-McMoRan's largest gold and copper mine.

Banjir Ambarita – Tension was palpable in the hilly coastal district of Paniai, West Papua, more than 10 days after police raided a mountain hideout where armed separatists were believed to be staying.

On Dec. 12, police attacked a site in Eduda, Paniai, believed to be the headquarters for the local chapter of the outlawed Free Papua Organization (OPM)

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Mimika – Mimika's population is just 184,000 but it is one of the top three richest regencies in Indonesia. Millions in development funds from Jakarta have poured into it over the past decade.

Olivia Rondonuwu – Thousands of workers at Freeport-McMoRan's giant gold and copper mine in Papua will start going back to work today to end a three-month strike that shook labor relations in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – If he really wants to understand the grievances of the Papuan people, the president should set up an office there, an opposition legislator said on Thursday.

Reports are emerging this week that the helicopters from which 17 West Papuans were recently shot are those of an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold. Further, this ongoing Indonesian offensive involves counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88, which has been trained by Australia.

Alex Rayfield – Human rights defenders in Paniai report that searches were recently carried out in the Badauwo, Geko and Kinouv area of East Paniai. Shooting was also heard in the vicinity of Mt Wege.

The Australian government has confirmed that it is investigating reports that an Australian-owned mining company was involved in ongoing Indonesian military operations in Paniai, West Papua.

Timika – Workers at Papua's giant Grasberg mine operated by US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan have not returned to work, police in the Indonesian province said on Thursday, despite previous announcements that the crippling, three-month strike had ended.

We, the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS), condemn in the strongest terms the Indonesian military and police forces for barbaric attacks on the people of West Papua, particularly in the large area of Paniai since December 13.

Farouk Arnaz – An unidentified group of people set the Angkaisera police office in Yapen Waropen district Papua on fire and raised the Morning Star flag on Tuesday morning.

Alex Rayfield – Human Rights Defenders in West Papua accuse the Australian Government and an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold, of being involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai, West Papua.

Timika, Papua – A joint investigation conducted by the Papua police and the Mimika police named five Papuans from Timika on Monday as suspects for raising the Morning Star flag during the anniversary of the Free Papua Organization earlier this month.

Ismira Lutfia – In stark contrast to government figures who say Papuan unrest stems from a lack of prosperity among native inhabitants, senior Papuan church figures say the real problem is a history of injustice and the island's problematic integration into Indonesia.

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation has announced the establishment of the West Papua Decolonisation Committee.

The coalition says the Committee will petition the United Nations Decolonisation Committee for the re-inscription of West Papua in order for it to be granted the due process of decolonisation.

Alan Howe – Legendary reporter Hugh Lunn, then an Asia correspondent for Reuters, witnessed the cruel farce of the Act of Free Choice in 1969.

"There were 400 journalists covering East Timor – there were two (in Papua), myself and a Dutchman. There were no photographers. I took pictures and sent them out by hand."

Timika, Papua – Police say gunmen attacked a helicopter carrying workers from Freeport-McMoRan's massive gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia, wounding one person.

The attack occurred on Saturday as thousands of workers returned to the Grasberg mine in Papua province following a three-month strike over low wages.

An international nongovernmental organization campaigning to highlight human rights abuses in Indonesia, has called for international intervention "after receiving highly distressing accounts of indiscriminate and brutal military raids" in West Papua.

Reports from Indonesian controlled West Papua indicate that thousands of villagers in Paniai are undergoing a military siege involving horrendous destruction and violence. Homes have been torched and villages razed, while helicopters are said to be strafing the villages. There are reports of deaths, forcible evacuations and the displacement of thousands of people.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed in early October Lt. Gen. (ret.) Bambang Dharmono, former Aceh military commander and negotiator representing Indonesia for the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), to lead the Presidential Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B).

Dr. Richard Di Natale
Greens Senator for Victoria

16/12/11

Greens' spokesperson for West Papua, Senator Richard Di Natale, has called for urgent action in response to reports of conflict, deaths and displacement in the Paniai region of West Papua.

"Australia can no longer stand silent while West Papua burns," said Senator Di Natale.

Setyo Budi – After three violent months and a tough negotiation process, the Freeport strike is over. Not all the demands of the workers have been met, but union officials are cautiously happy with the deal, writes Setyo Budi

On Wednesday union heads clinched a deal with Freeport management to end the three-month long strike at West Papua's troubled Grasberg mine.

Jakarta – Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Admiral Agus Suhartono said TNI will focus on the implementation of civic mission activities by launching a "Military Enters Village" (TMMD) program in Papua and West Papua next year.

Anti-graft organization Indonesian Corruption Watch will report the subsidiary of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan to the US Department of Justice next month for involvement in a bribery case.

People in over 80 countries in every region of the world have come together to demand the release of Indonesian prisoner of conscience Filep Karma, who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for taking part in a peaceful ceremony where a Papuan regional flag was raised.

Banjir Ambarita – The Free Papua Organization says 14 of its members died when the police raided one of its sites in the district of Paniai on Tuesday.

Jakarta – PT Freeport Indonesia workers have finally agreed to end their strike after the copper and gold mining giant decided to increase their wages by up to 40 percent.

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-049-2011

Dear friends,

Banjir Ambarita – It has been revealed that the officer who died after setting himself and part of a police dormitory in Serui, Yappen Islands, Papua, on fire had a history of mental illness and had previously attempted to set fire to the provincial police headquarters, Papua Police confirmed on Wednesday.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura, Papua – Papuan police have lifted the Indonesian flag, replacing the Morning Star flag, at an office believed to be the headquarters of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) in Eduda, Paniai. The headquarters will be turned into a police office.

Jakarta – The Free Papua Movement (OPM) has said that it is waiting for instructions to strike back after claiming that three of its fighters were injured in an armed clash with the police on Tuesday.

A three-month labour strike at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Grasberg mine in Indonesia looks to be nearing the endgame, after sources said the US-based miner and a workers union were expected to sign a pay deal on Tuesday.

Ririn Radiawati Kusuma – Tony Wenas, the vice chairman of the Indonesian Mining Association, said on Sunday that he was worried a union decision to extend its three-month strike at the Freeport mine in Papua would hurt the country's investment climate.

Arientha Primanita – Coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs Djoko Suyanto on Monday denied that there are political prisoners detained in Papua as alleged by human rights organizations.

Strikers at PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua say they will remain on strike into 2012 if no agreement can be reached with management on new wages.

"At the moment the strike is still on and has been extended until Jan. 15, 2012," Freeport Indonesia employee union spokesman Juli Parorongan said on Sunday, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

New resolutions on Papua by the Australian Labor Party have been described as a shift in discourse in Canberra on issues around Indonesia's eastern region.

Resolutions adopted at the ALP national conference include calls for independent observers, media and human rights NGOs to be allowed access to Papua.

Peter Alford, Jakarta – After months of delay during which the Papuan situation has sharply deteriorated, the Yudhoyono administration's last shot at bridging the chasm between Jakarta and its troublesome eastern-most region is finally about to be fired.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The government's initiative to accelerate development in Papua and West Papua through the establishment of a special unit led by Bambang Darmono has met with resistance from some Papuans.

Amnesty International is urging the Indonesian government to respect human rights when dealing with unrest in Papua.

Agus Triyono – Papuans from the Paniai district on Wednesday reported National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for deploying 140 brigade mobile police officers to their district.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – About 500 inhabitants of Dagouto village in Paniai Regency, Papua, have opted to leave their homes and seek refuge following the deployment of 150 Mobile Brigade officers to their area, Paniai tribe council chief John Gobai said Wednesday.

Last week thousands of Papuans rallied to mark the 50th anniversary of the first raising of the Morning Star flag. Alex Rayfield reports on a growing sense of defiance across the province

Jakarta – A police officer who was assaulted by villagers in Papua died after being treated in hospital, the police said Monday, two days after two other officers were shot dead by unknown gunmen.