Farouk Arnaz – Measures taken to disperse the pro-independence Papuan Peoples' Congress in Jayapura last month were within the bounds of regulations governing the use of force, the National Police chief said on Monday.

Banjir Ambarita, Farouk Arnaz & Ronna Nirmala, Jayapura – Seven soldiers have been detained by the military police on suspicion of abusing 12 people at a public meeting in Papua's Jayawijaya district, in the latest allegation of rights abuses by the armed forces there.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The government has recommended circumcision for people in Papua over the past two years as a new approach to curbing rapid increases in, cases of HIV/AIDS infection.

Jakarta – Another shooting occurred on Monday as a Freeport-owned car was attacked by unknown assailants in Mimika. Police officer First Brig. Marselinus was reportedly shot in the head and sent to a Freeport hospital in Mimika, Papua.

The Indonesian government must immediately act on the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission's (Komnas HAM) findings that human rights violations were committed by Indonesian security forces at the Third Papuan Peoples' Congress on Oct. 19, Amnesty International says.

The Indonesian government must immediately act on the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission's (Komnas HAM) findings that human rights violations were committed by Indonesian security forces at the Third Papuan Peoples' Congress on 19 October 2011.

National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo says they are auditing the "pocket money" received from American mining giant Freeport-McMoRan's Indonesian unit to help provide security at the Grasberg mine in Papua.

Despite the ongoing audit, Timur told Detik.com that "there is no violation."

Jakarta – Critics have urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to immediately probe mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia's security funds allocated to the Papua Police despite assurances from the company that the money is legal.

Camelia Pasandaran – Striking workers employed by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold's subsidiary in Papua have dropped their minimum wage increase demands from $7.50 to $4 an hour, the All Indonesian Workers Union said on Monday.

Gunmen opened fire near Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg gold and copper mine in Papua on Monday, injuring a police officer in the latest in a string of attacks.

Jakarta – National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo defended the police's actions against the participants of the third Papuan Peoples Congress, saying that the police had acted within the law.

He explained that the police had no choice but to dismiss the congress because it was considered as an act of treason.

Twelve civilians in Kurulu, Jayawijaya are thought to have been tortured by members of the security forces on 2 November 2011 in violation of legal procedures., said Matius Murib, the deputy chairman of Komnas HAM Papua branch, in a statement to Bintang Papua.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The presence of large firms in Papua alongside Freeport could exacerbate conflict in the region if locals are not given the chance to take up economic opportunities, activists warned the government in a press conference on Sunday.

Jakarta – National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution refused to provide commentary regarding the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) latest finding that there had been serious violations during the Papuan People congress crackdown in Abepura, which claimed the lives of six people.

Jakarta – The government must first withdraw its military and police personnel from Papua if it really wants peace talks to start, says the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Nivell Rayda & Samantha Michaels – In the highlands of Mimika district in Papua, where temperatures can easily drop to a chilly 10 degrees Celsius, thousands of Freeport workers hold fast to their demands against the owner of one of the world's largest open gold and copper mines.

Setyo Budi – The Indonesian Police cancelled a plan to forcibly break up a blockade at Freeport's Grasberg mine on 1 November after striking workers brought their wives and children to the strike site.

Timika, Papua – Police failed to lift road blockades stopping fuel and food reaching Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's mining operations in Indonesia's Papua region, after clashes with striking miners and local tribesmen on Friday.

Camelia Pasandaran – The National Commission on Human Rights on Friday released a report detailing alleged human rights violations carried out by Indonesian security forces during a raid on a separatist rally near Jayapura on Oct 19.

Jakarta – With both the US and Australian governments recently expressing support for Indonesia's handling of Papua, the government will likely stick to its guns and continue to emphasize security and military approaches, despite rhetoric that it would adopt a more comprehensive approach.

Jakarta – The Indonesian police and military continue to apply persuasive approaches in handling all sorts of conflicts and problems in restive Papua, a senior police officer said here Thursday.

Jakarta – Papuan people refuse to argue with Jakarta over the Papua issue, demanding only that the central government respect their dignity as fellow humans, a senior researcher says.

Geneva – Following last month's violent dispersal by Indonesian security forces of the Third Papuan Peoples' Congress in Jayapura, Indonesia has been confronted with the full scale of human rights problems in Papua by the new report Human Rights in Papua 2010/2011.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) reported on Thursday that it had found that 96 out of 387 participants at the third Papuan Peoples Congress had been assaulted by police officers.

Below is a statement from New Zealand human rights, development and peace organisations about the use excessive use of force and human rights violations perpetrated by Indonesian police and military personnel breaking up the Third Papuan People's Congress in Jayapura, West Papua, on 19 October 2011.

Geneva – The Faith Based Network on West Papua (FBN), Franciscans International (FI), and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released the report "Human Rights in Papua 2010/2011" on 2 November 2011.

Trade unionists from around the world including Australia are in Jakarta, to try to resolve the bitter dispute at the Freeport mine in the Indonesian province of Papua.

The dispute flared last month, leaving several people dead after clashes between striking miners and Indonesian security forces.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – "There is no alternative to our reliance on the Indonesian Military [TNI] and police", Freeport chairman James Moffett wrote to the New York Times in 2005. All issues related to security support, Moffett said, were "ordinary business activities."

John McBeth, Jakarta – He is a mechanic with a single name and a mysterious past, but the man called Sudiro is almost single-handedly leading the eight-week-long strike that has played havoc with the operations of the world's richest copper and gold mine in the central highlands of Papua, Indonesia.

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Mining company PT Freeport Indonesia claims that funds given to security personnel guarding project sites in Papua are allowed under a multi-national pact.

Jakarta – The central government and representatives from Papuan organizations must involve mediators before engaging in further talks to resolve a string of conflicts in the easternmost region, activists say.

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Police announced on Tuesday that nine municipal and district police chiefs across Papua were rotated, but denied the move was a response to allegations of a heavy-handed crackdown against pro-independence protesters.

Elisabeth Oktofani – Unions both local and international have voiced support for their colleagues in Papua and defended wage demands by striking Freeport miners as justified, considering the mine's remote location.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) has reported payments of security funds by PT Freeport Indonesia to the police from 2001 to 2010 totaling around US$79.1 million.

Jakarta – Human rights watchdog Imparsial has criticized President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his slow response to the Papua conflict, highlighted by the fact he has yet to install a development acceleration unit chief.

Banjir Ambarita – The separatist group that claimed responsibility for the shooting death of a subdistrict police chief in Papua has been identified by authorities as "Kodap X," a group believed to consist of some 60 members.

Banjir Ambarita, Ezra Sihite & Ririn Radiawati Kusuma – Police have set a deadline of today for thousands of striking workers at Freeport-McMoRan's giant gold and copper mine in Papua to confine their action to a specific area.

Renewed demonstrations are being held in Jayapura today demanding Indonesia take formal and legal responsibility for ongoing human rights abuses in Papua region.

These are the first large gatherings since the Third Papuan People's Congress two weeks ago in the capital of Papua province.

Jayapura – Renewed demonstrations are being held in Jayapura today demanding Indonesia take formal and legal responsibility for ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua, most recently the brutal attack on the Third Papuan People's Congress (KP3) on October 19.

Ririn Radiawati Kusuma – The government is sending the deputy minister for mineral resources to Papua with orders to get the Freeport mine operating again before dealing with the demands of striking workers or calls to renegotiate the company's terms of operations.

The union representing striking Freeport Indonesia mine workers in Timika, Papua, is claiming that a number of police armored vehicles and heavy loaders were on their way to break up the labor action.

Rizky Amelia & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The recent admission by the National Police chief that the police were receiving money from Freeport Indonesia has prompted everyone from lawmakers to activists to demand investigations into where the money went and what exactly the miner was buying.

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has demanded that the government change its security approach in dealing with Papua, and initiate dialogues.

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said in Jakarta on Sunday that the security approach had only resulted in violence and the criminalizing of Papuans.

Jakarta – Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to investigate reported millions of US dollars of grants from gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia to the National Police.

Jakarta – As violence escalates in Papua, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is ready to deploy his special team on Papua, established on Sept. 20, according to an aide on Saturday.

Agus Triyono & Banjir Ambarita – Rights activists announced on Friday that an investigation has led them to believe that police have involved themselves too deeply in labor disputes at the Freeport mine in Papua and tended to take the company's side.

Unknown assailants fired shots at two police trucks that were traveling near Freeport McMoRan's gold and copper mine in Timika, Papua, on Saturday. No injuries were reported in the incident, according to Metro TV.

Jakarta – Former state secretary under former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Bondan Gunawan, says he believes the daily allowances that PT Freeport Indonesia gives to the police have an indirect effect on the conflict in Papua.

A New Zealand opposition MP wants Kiwi police to leave the Indonesian province of Papua. They are there to train their local counterparts in the principles of community policing.

Papuans peacefully calling for independence does not justify a deadly crackdown. President Yudhoyono has an opportunity to show Papuans that he's concerned about their rights by seriously investigating these deaths. – Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch