Jakarta, Indonesia – Up in the remote mountains of West Papua, Indonesia, a road winds along steep cliffs, tall trees, and security checkpoints to the world's richest copper and gold mine. More than four thousand meters above sea level, the mine is said to be so high that its mining trucks must be tracked via satellite, as clouds typically cloak them from view.

Farouk Arnaz & Ronna Nirmala – The National Police said on Monday that it handed out punishments to a total of 17 officers for last month's deadly crackdown on the Third Papuan People's Congress but refrained from firing or demoting any of their own.

The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Foreign Minister
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Dear Minister Rudd,

Re: Promoting respect for human rights in Papua

AWPA has written to the Kevin Rudd concerning West Papua national flag day (letter below).

Jakarta – Police are still processing the cases of five Papuans charged with attacking the legitimate government at the 3rd Papua People's Congress on October 19, 2011.

Leah Hyslop – Issued at the request of Indonesian authorities, in relation to charges of arson and murder which he vehemently denies, the Interpol "red notice" means that Wenda can be arrested in, and possibly extradited from, any one of the crime-fighting agency's 190 member states.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Controversy has again erupted over security arrangements for copper and gold miner Freeport Indonesia, this time amid reports that armed American guards are operating around the Grasberg mine in Papua.

Jakarta – The National Police reiterated that they had sanctioned seven officers deemed to have violated codes of ethics while overseeing the third Papua Congress in Abepura, Papua, in October.

Farouk Arnaz – The national police internal supervisory commission has found that officers used extreme measures during the disbanding of the Papuan People's Congress in Abepura, Papua on Oct. 19.

Karlis Salna – Human rights groups have called for Australian monitors to be allowed into Papua amid reports people are fleeing parts of the Indonesian province due to fears of another violent crackdown on pro-independence rallies planned for next week.

Laura Jones – An independence campaigner wanted by Interpol last night said he still feels safe in his Oxford home.

Benny Wenda, 36, of Marston Road, is the subject of a red notice issued by the international police organisation which states he is wanted by the CID of Papua Regional Police who accuse him of murder and arson.

Jakarta – An international human rights watchdog has slammed the National Police for giving light punishment to police officers involved in the bloody Papuan Congress, calling it a "failure of human rights accountability".

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – In a major embarrassment for Indonesian authorities, police have been forced to release 12 innocent men just 24 hours after National Police announced they had made a major breakthrough in the war against the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

Puncak Jaya Police shot and killed one man, also presumably innocent, during a raid on Wednesday.

Danny ShawHome – A tribal leader from an Indonesian province who has been granted asylum in the UK has been named on an Interpol wanted list, the BBC has learned.

Benny Wenda, who is 36 and living in Oxford, leads a movement for the independence of West Papua.

Owen Bowcott – An Interpol red notice has been issued for the arrest of the Oxford-based leader of an Asian separatist movement, triggering allegations of political abuse of the international police alert system.

Agus Triyono & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – While experts and activists agree that mutual dialogue is the only way to solve problems of growing separatist sentiment and lack of economic development in Papua, finding the right people to talk to is a different matter altogether.

Jakarta – Papua Acting Governor Syamsul Arief Rivai has denied allegations the province's special autonomy had failed to bring progress for its people.

Ishomuddin, Edi Faisol, Jakarta – The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) as well as public and religious leaders yesterday urged the government to stop violence in Papua.

"We've six resolutions that we will convey to the government. The violence issue in Papua is urgent and must be resolved through a dialogue," said Komnas chief Ifdhal Kasim.

Farouk Arnaz – After a series of violent attacks in the restive region of Papua, the National Police announced on Thursday that they have arrested 12 men believed to be members of the separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM).

These written warnings are a slap on the wrist. They do not provide accountability for the deaths of three people, or for the use of excessive and unnecessary force against a peaceful gathering. – Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Director for the Asia-Pacific

Jim Elmslie – NM has kept a close eye on West Papua as pressure in the breakaway Indonesian province builds. Long-time Papua watcher Jim Elmslie explains why the situation has escalated – and may get worse in coming months

Banjir Ambarita – Two people were injured on Tuesday in the latest ambush on a vehicle on the road leading to Freeport Indonesia's mining concession in Papua.

The incident occurred at 12:37 p.m. local time when a bus carrying military and police personnel was fired on by unknown gunmen at the Mile 51 point of the road leading to the Grasberg mine.

Jayapura, Papua – Chief of Staff of the Cendrawasih Military Command Brigadier General Indra Hidayat said National Defense Forces (TNI) personnel were in Papua for peaceful purposes.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Bambang Muryanto, Jayapura/Yogyakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI), lawmakers and experts all agree that Jakarta must directly talk with Papuans who have separatist aspirations to immediately end conflict in the province as the international community continues to urge Indonesia to respect human rights there.

Jakarta – The government's lack of supervision has knocked special autonomy in Papua and West Papua off track, leaving residents in the midst of poverty and a conflict that is seemingly never ending, experts say.

John McBeth – A three month-long strike has paralyzed Freeport Indonesia's giant copper and gold mine in the Central Highlands of Papua. It has so far cost the company and the Indonesian government an estimated US$1.3 billion (S$1.7 billion) in lost revenues.

Ulma Haryanto – Ten years ago today, a law was passed that was supposed to accelerate development in the nation's impoverished easternmost province and, consequently, address the simmering unrest there.

But few would argue that Papua is better off a decade after the passage of the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy for Papua.

Thousands of West Papuans have marched on the provincial capital of Jayapura demanding a referendum to declare independence from Indonesia, activists say.

Evi Mariani, Washington, DC – US President Barack Obama is expected to raise human rights issues in Indonesia's Papua during his second visit to Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy and a key US ally in the increasingly strategic region.

Manokwari – Shouts of "Papuan is independent" enlivened a peaceful protest action at the West Papua Provincial House of Representatives (DPRPB) on Thursday November 17.

Thousands of protesters took to the street and marched from Jl. Pahlawan Sanggeng to Jl. Yos Sudarso and then to Jl. Merdeka before eventually conveying their demands on the grounds of the DPRPB.

Timika – Police say gunmen killed a mining company guard and wounded two policemen in a patrol car near the large Freeport-McMoRan gold mine in eastern Indonesia.

Jacqui Baker, John Monash Scholar & Research Fellow, Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention at University of Wollongong – President Barack Obama is being urged to raise human rights abuses with the Indonesian President during his visit to Bali.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – A former Papuan political prisoner claimed on Thursday that he and several others were assaulted and spat on by a senior police officer following last month's crackdown on a pro-independence rally in the province.

Jakarta – The United Nations has declared that Indonesia's detention of Papuan human rights advocate Filep Karma is an infringement of international law, New York human rights group Freedom Now says.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Tifa Asrianti, Jayapura/Jakarta – As the government drags its feet amid peace talks with Papua residents, two more shootings took place in the country's troubled, easternmost region.

The first occurred on Wednesday on Tembagapura-Timika Road, Mile 51, in Timika at 12:24 p.m. local time, injuring two workers of mining company PT Freeport Indonesia.

Esther Samboh, Nusa Dua, Bali – The government claims a compromise has nearly been reached between a striking workers union and the management of a local unit of US gold and copper mining giant Freeport McMoran.

Mark Colvin: As president Obama shifts his country's strategic focus towards our region, US eyes may eventually fall on the situation in West Papua.

Unlike Papua New Guinea, the western part of our nearest neighbour has never had independence. Instead, it shifted in the sixties from Dutch colonial rule to become the property of Indonesia.

Jakarta – The Papua Parliamentary Caucus called out to Papuans studying in Java, Bali, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Kalimantan to stay calm following the circulation of threatening text messages.

In response to a petition filed by Freedom Now and Hogan Lovells LLP, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued its opinion that the Government of Indonesia is in violation of international law by detaining Filep Karma. The Working Group calls on the Government of Indonesia to immediately release the human rights advocate.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Police said on Wednesday that a clash with a small armed group in a gold mine during the weekend was believed to have left one person dead, but activists claim the death toll could be as high as eight.

Jakarta – A member of the House of Representatives accused the government of conducting illegal military operations in poverty-stricken Papua, which has seen a spike in violence involving security officials.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) states that mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia (FI) has often incited tension and violence in Papua.

Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said the Papua issue would not be discussed at the 19th ASEAN Summit and the 6th East Asia Summit, due to it being an internal issue that is to be resolved internally.

Michael Holtz, Papua – Indonesia, hosting President Barack Obama and other world leaders this week, has earned praise for democratic reforms achieved since longtime dictator Suharto was ousted a decade ago. A man serving 15 years in prison for raising a flag wants the dignitaries in Bali to know how far the nation still has to go.

Chronology of the Congress

A. Opening of the Third Papuan Congress

Karlis Salna – Human rights groups have called for Australia and the United States to use meetings at the East Asia Summit in Bali to press Indonesia into addressing concerns of ongoing abuse and violence in Papua.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar/Jakarta – Amid growing protests over the government's apparent inability to resolve unrest in Papua, the National Police have carried out raids against Papuan students across the country.

Jerry Omona, Papua – Thousands of Papuans demonstrated in the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura today demanding that a referendum or an act of self-determination be held immediately.

The protesters held a long-march from Abepura city towards Imbi Park in Jayapura, a distance of around 10-13 kilometers.

Nurlina Umasugi, Jayapura – Thousands of Papuans from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) held a 15 kilometer march on Monday afternoon to demand a referendum for the Papuan people.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – Thousands of Papuans from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) demonstrated in front of the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) building in the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura today. The protesters demanded an end to violence in Papua.