There's been another call by West Papuans for dialogue with Indonesia's government towards making the Papua region peaceful.

An official presence by Jakarta at a conference in Papua discussing peaceful solutions to the long simmering conflict in the region has been described as positive.

The over 500 participants at the Papua Land of Peace Conference at Jayapura's Cenderawasih University included religious, customary and resistance leaders from throughout Papua.

Banjir Ambarita – A strike that has crippled Freeport Indonesia's copper and gold mine in Papua is expected to continue well into its second week after talks between management and workers collapsed, union representatives said on Sunday.

Nick Chesterfied – Confirmed reports emerged on Sunday from Puncak Jaya, West Papua, that over 600 Indonesian Army (TNI) troops have been conducting daily full combat operations since July 4 in and around villages in the Tingginambut area. Troops have reportedly attacked a series of villages said to be the refuge of the West Papuan Guerrilla leader Goliat Tabuni.

Jayapura – Protesting employees and PT Freeport Indonesia management failed to reach a compromise over the strikes which had entered the fifth day, obstructing the company's mining operations.

Jakarta – A widely publicized conference aimed at seeking peace in Papua concluded on Thursday that the best way to seek long-term resolutions to problems faced by Papuans – ranging from human rights abuses to exploitation of natural resources – was to engage in an open dialog with central government officials in Jakarta.

Alex Rayfield – From the outside looking in, the latest church conflict in West Papua might look like just another example of factional Protestant politics. A little sordid perhaps, but irrelevant to all but the parties involved. Dig a little deeper, however, and one finds something far more disturbing.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Thousands of PT Freeport Indonesia workers, engaged in a work stoppage for a second day, occupied a checkpoint in Kuala Kencana.

Jayapura, West Papua – Three Indonesian soldiers were shot during a clash with unknown attackers in Kalome village, Tingginambut district, on Tuesday evening.

State news agency Antara reported that the attack occurred as a group of Indonesian Military (TNI) officers patrolled the village.

At a press conference in Jayapura, a coalition of human NGOs and Komnas HAM called for the Peace Conference now underway in Jayapura to include Freeport in its recommendations.

Jakarta – Thousands of workers of PT Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of US giant mining corporation Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., claim that the strike they began on Monday is limiting the company's production by 90 percent.

Jayapura – Some 300 indigenous Papuans from all regions in Papua and West Papua provinces are expected to join a peace conference from July 5-7 in Jayapura to seek solutions to conflicts in the region.

Samuel Wanda, Timika, Papua – About 8,000 workers at Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc's Indonesian unit kicked off a seven-day strike on Monday, a union head said, in a move that could potentially disrupt operations.

Freeport said it was not anticipating any impact on production at the mine it claims on its website contains the world's largest single gold reserve.

Jayapura – According to the police, the arrest of five activists who were attending the commemoration of 1 July, OPM Day, was because they had mobilised people but had done so without having the necessary permit.

Tom Allard – About once a month, a ship from Townsville makes the long journey to Raja Ampat, a seascape of astonishing beauty and diversity.

In the far western reaches of the island of New Guinea, where the westerly currents of the Pacific flow into the Indian Ocean, hundreds of improbable, domed limestone pinnacles rise from the sea, encircling placid, turquoise lagoons.

Jakarta – Security was heightened in the town of Kwamki Baru, Timika, on Friday after two groups of local residents were caught in brawl, putting the city in fear of further violence.

The two groups used stones and arrows in the fight, which broke out on Thursday's afternoon, tempointeraktif.com reported Friday.

Fien Jarangga & Galuh Wandita – Papuan women have been suffering terrible violence both outside and inside their homes for the past 40 years, and for most of that time, they've suffered in silence. But now a group of women has launched their own truth commission to give support to the victims and to pressure the government to change its behavior.

An announcement on Thursday about the selection of students at the state university led to a demonstration being held by students who also blocked off the Cenderawasih university campus in Waena.

Jakarta – A group of Papuans staged a protest at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) office on Monday, urging the commission to follow up on Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) findings of alleged misuse of special autonomy funds disbursed to the province.

The local branch of the union of energy and mining workers at Freeport-Indonesia announced on Friday 24 June that it had set a deadline of 4 July for its decision to organise a strike at Freeport.

Pastor Jonga: 'MRP has now become a mechanism for the government's splitting tactics.'

The controversy about the setting up of an MRP for West Papua had continued to rumble on and is likely to last for a long time. There are people who now claim that having two MRPs will threaten the existence of the indigenous Papuan people.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-117-2011

Dear friends,

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-115-2011

Dear friends,

Jayapura – Three candidate pairs running in the West Papua election walked out during the draw for their candidate ticket numbers in Manokwari on Monday to protest alleged duplicity by the election commission.

They said members of a campaign team for one candidate were also on the election commission and election supervisory committee.

Jason MacLeod – "You can mess with the police," said the Indonesian soldiers, "but if you try it with us, you're dead."

According to witnesses that was what was said to Yones Douw, a 42-year-old Papuan human rights defender as he was beaten with lumps of wood by soldiers from Kodim 1705, Nabire's District Military Command in the Indonesian province of Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Since the enactment of Law No. 21/2001 on Papuan Special Autonomy 10 years ago, the law has been obstructed by state officials.

Many people believe that the central government was never serious about building relationships and developing Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua.

AMPTPI, the Association of Students from the Central Highlands, has urged the DPRP to summon the police chief in Papua to ask him about how the investigation into shooting in Moanemani, the district of Dogiyai is proceeding.

The chairman of Commission A of DPRP. Ruben Magai has warned that the destruction of Papuan resources is being intensified by the activities of a number of senior officials in the Land of Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan people want only one People's Assembly (MRP) for the entirety of native Papuan land because they fear that separate MRPs will lead to disparity in policy and decision making with regard to the protection of the basic rights of indigenous Papuans, a local community figure said.

Acts of violence and terror that have been perpetrated against human rights defenders as well as against journalists have led to a sense of deep concern among human rights NGOs and religious organisations which are members of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in the Land of Papua The following NGOs held a press conference in Jayapura on Friday 17 June, to convey their problems

Yones Douw, a human rights activist in the Indonesian province of Papua, was beaten by military officers on 15 June and has been denied medical treatment. He fears for his health and safety, as he has previously been detained and assaulted as a result of his human rights activities.

Nethy Dharma Somba – West Papua Governor Abraham O Atururi swore in the new board members of the province's Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) on Wednesday, amid criticism that it violated a consensus that there should be only one assembly in Papua.

Camelia Pasandaran – Witnesses for a former deputy gubernatorial candidate in Papua told the Constitutional Court on Tuesday that his disqualification from the 2005 poll was against the law.

Index: ASA 21/012/2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – The food estate policy that has encouraged foreign investment in agriculture may not prevent potential food crises, activists say.

AWPA has written to the Pacific Islands Forum leaders urging them to discuss the human rights situation in West Papua at their summit in Auckland in September (letter below).

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The dominant security and military approaches to addressing problems in Papua have slowed development and have given way to human rights violations, a study reports.

Manokwari – Hundreds of people rallied on Friday, under the banner of the West Papua National Authority (WPNA) calling for the release of all Papuan political prisoners.

The Alliance of Churches in the Land of Papua, PGGP, has called on the government to revise the work contract concluded with the mining company, Freeport.

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
PO Box 28, Spit Junction
Sydney, Australia 2088

7 June 2011

Re West Papua and Pacific Islands Forum

Dear Prime Minister,

Jakarta - Papua's economy contracted by 8.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011, compared with the figure from the same period last year.

The economic downturn affected a wide range of sectors, including the processing industry, trade, hotels and restaurants, transportation, communication, mining and services.

Jakarta – The government is still dealing with problems by military means (securitisation, use of extraordinary means in the name of security) in attempting to overcome problems in Papua. But instead of resolving the Papua problem, securitisation is instead the trigger for even more widespread human rights violations.

NII actions were clearly subversive but were not handled with violence as was happening in Papua.

Arientha Primanita – There can be no development in Papua unless it is demilitarized, human rights watchdog Imparsial said on Tuesday as it launched a new report on the impact of the military presence in the restive province.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Dorkas Dwaramuri has been elected chairwoman of the Papua People's Council (MRP) for the period 2011-2016 – she was the first woman ever appointed to the position.

1. Introduction

A member of a high-profile Indonesian football team, Persipura Jayapura, is demanding answers for what he says was an unprovoked attack by a knife-wielding soldier on Wednesday night.

Banjir Ambarita – The military in Papua has denied that an officer stabbed a civilian, leading to his death, on board a passenger ship heading from Nabire to Manokwari on Sunday.

The dead man's mother, however, claims the officer stabbed him during an argument, causing him to fall overboard.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A fight involving Indonesian Military (TNI) forces allegedly killed a civilian, according to reports. The victim was identified as Derek Adii, 26, from Manokwari regency, West Papua.

According to information from the Justice and Peace Secretariat of the Kingmi Church, Papua, a man called Derek Adii who had just completed his application for appointment as a civil servant in the sub-district of Deiyai, was maltreated by six members of the armed forces in the Nabire port area on Saturday 14 May. He was beaten and stabbed and died as a result.