Jayapura – Prisoners who have been convicted for the Abepura Clash and are now serving sentences in Abepura Prison held a press conference on Thursday.

Cunding Levi, Jayapura – many as 23 defendants and convicts of the case on March 16 in Abepura, Papua, disputed that the clash was coordinated by the People's Front of Struggle (Pepera) of West Papua.

"Some (people) use our name when committing an anarchistic act," said Selpius Boby, Secretary General of West Papua Pepera in Jayapura.

The Australia West Papua Association spokesperson Joe Collins expressed grave concerns at the new security treaty with Indonesia.

AWPA is concerned that there is too much secrecy surrounding this security treaty. We do not know the full terms of this agreement or what the government is committing us to.

Andra Jackson – Australia was "killing off" democracy in Papua with its impending treaty with Indonesia, a Papuan leader has said in Melbourne.

Having conceded to Indonesian demands, the Howard Government has squandered an unprecedented opportunity to push for overdue reform in West Papua.

The proposed security agreement is nothing more than a cynical handshake with the Indonesian military, a recognised source of instability within our region.

The wife of an American man murdered in Indonesia's troubled Papua province four years ago says she's satisfied justice has been done in the trial which ended this week. Patsy Spier lost her husband Ricky and two close friends in the 2002 attack. The highly politicised case raised questions over the possible involvement of Indonesia's military.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – A Papuan separatist received a life sentence on Tuesday and six others were handed shorter jail terms for the murder of two Americans and an Indonesian four years ago near a massive US-operated mining complex.

Hamish McDonald – With the near Pacific going pear-shaped on just about every front for Canberra, let us take a look at the crisis that kicked off the year, the Indonesian province of Papua.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Seven Papuans arrested over the 2002 killings of two Americans and their Indonesian colleague in Papua declined to enter a plea of not guilty Tuesday, saying they were victims of a political deal between Jakarta and Washington.

Markus Makur, Timika – Hundreds of people rallied in Timika, Papua, on Monday in opposition to the trial in Jakarta of seven Papuans charged with the 2002 murders of two American teachers and an Indonesian colleague employed by PT Freeport Indonesia.

Jayapura – Development planning in the province of Papua is not being handled well even though the province has huge sums of money, in the form of general allocations as well as special autonomy funds from the central government.

There's a call for the Pacific Islands Forum to send a fact finding mission to Indonesia's Papua province.

In the communique at this week's summit, Pacific leaders welcomed progress towards autonomy in Papua but raised concerns at violence and called for the root causes of conflict to be addressed by peaceful means.

The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) calls on the Pacific Islands Forum leaders to grant observer status to West Papua at its upcoming meeting in Fiji.

AWPA congratulates the Forum leaders for granting observer status to Tokelau at last years Forum, to join New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the newly independent nation of East Timor.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Four years on, the special autonomy that costs more than Rp 5 trillion (about US$555 million) annually, has brought about little progress in Indonesia's eastern-most territory, analysts say.

Jakarta/Timika – Relatives of seven Papuans on trial for the 2002 killings of two Americans and one Indonesian demanded a fair trial in Papua on Friday as the defendants continued to boycott the session in a Jakarta court.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – After being denied government assistance, dozens of Papuans went on a rampage Friday, burning government offices and clashing with police officers.

Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court on Wednesday handed down a five-year prison term to Sem and Wandik, the latest defendants to be convicted for their involvement in a bloody clash last March which killed five security personnel during a protest against the Freeport gold mine.

Markus Makur, Timika – Papua Police apprehended 47 traditional gold miners Friday for their alleged involvement in a blockade against work at the Freeport gold mine in Timika. The miners obstructed the road leading to the mine.

Cath Hart – Labor has thrown its support behind Coalition moves to ensure the asylum system is not manipulated for international political purposes.

Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke yesterday offered support to the Government after revelations in The Australian last week that a group of 43 Papuans had manipulated the system.

Nograhany Widhi, Jakarta – Feeling that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the families of the defendants in the Abepura case have lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM). They claim that there are three new pieces of evidence linked to the case that has already become a focus of attention in the international community.

Morgan Mellish – On the main road into Jayapura, a large two-storey building is being erected – the bureaucrats of Papua's provincial capital are upgrading themselves to better lodgings.

For decades, Indonesia's central government neglected Papua. Now, a lot of funds are flowing into the country's second-poorest province. But not much is reaching the people.

Dennis Shanahan and Stephen Fitzpatrick – Papuan asylum-seekers face tougher scrutiny in Australia over fears that political activists are manipulating the system to guarantee successful applications for asylum that are damaging relations with Indonesia.

Reporter: Geoff Thompson

A group of Papuan separatists says it is planning another exodus of asylum seekers to Australia, to follow the 42 who were given temporary shelter earlier this year. Transcript.

Reporter: Gillian Bradford

Eleanor Hall: The lawyer representing many of the Papuans who've been given protection in Australia, says the public should not lose sympathy for them just because their bid to come here was highly organised.

The military presence in Indonesia's troubled region of Papua was necessary to prevent a slide into tribal warfare, Jakarta's defence minister said, amid allegations the army has abused indigenous Papuans.

Jakarta – The military presence in Indonesia's troubled region of Papua is necessary to prevent a slide into tribal warfare, Jakarta's defence minister said on Monday amid allegations the army abused indigenous Papuans.

The 3rd Annual National gathering for the Australian Coalition of West Papua Support Groups affirmed the right of the people of West Papua to Self-determination and decolonisation.

Morgan Mellish, Jayapura – A group of 40 international donor organisations, including the Australian government and the World Bank, flew to the troubled Indonesian province of Papua this week to meet recently elected governor Barnabas Suebu.

Neles Tebay, Rome – The International Crisis Group (ICG) published early this month its report on Papua titled Papua: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

Natalie O'Brien – Indonesia is not surprised at revelations the 43 Papuan refugees who caused a diplomatic incident when they arrived in Australia by boat in January had been hand-picked in a well-orchestrated plot to cause a rift between the two countries.

Ari Saputra, Jakarta – Dozens of West Papuans demonstrated in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday September 26 demanding that Reverend Ishak Onawame, a defendant in the shooting case near PT Freeport Indonesia be released.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jayapura – Computing science student Johannes Kurisi was shot in the back almost a week ago during an apparent Papuan gang conflict, but he and the friends tending to him in a Jayapura hospital don't expect the assailants to be caught.

Eleanor Hall: Two weeks ago Australia was bemused by the story of a Channel Seven crew's misadventure in the Indonesian province of Papua in search of a story about supposed cannibalism. The crew was deported for travelling to Papua without permits.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jayapura – The plot finally coalesced after years in and out of filthy Indonesian jail cells: equip a small outrigger for the long trip from Papua to Australia, fill it with people selected expressly for their likelihood of winning asylum and wait for the political fallout.

Vanuatu's prime minister has confirmed his country will raise the issue of Papua at next month's Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Fiji. Ham Lini says Vanuatu intends to continue its long tradition of supporting Papua's push for self-determination.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jayapura – Indonesian police have been driven by revenge and their own personal interests in a series of show trials over the deaths of four police and an air force sergeant in May (sic) riots, a new report claims.

Isaac Nicholas – The media delegation accompanying Barnabus Suebu, the Governor of Papua province in Indonesia, was chased away in a confrontation with the West Papua community at their 8 Mile settlement on Monday.

Andra Jackson – Thirty-seven years ago former Papuan politicians Clemens Runawery and Wim Zonggonau boarded a plane on an urgent mission that might have changed the political fate of their now Indonesian-ruled province.

The 3rd Annual National gathering for the Australian Coalition of West Papua Support Groups affirms the right of the people of West Papua to Self-determination [1] and Decolonization. The gathering condemns the colonial abuse, exploitation and state-sponsored crimes against humanity still being committed by Indonesian military, police and now militia forces.

Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court sentenced Friday three of the last seven defendants on trial for their involvement in the deadly Abepura clash to four and five years in prison.

Pontianak (Agencies) – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia Saturday expressed its concern about the expel of five Australian journalists from Papua when they were carried out their jobs in the province.

Jakarta – Six of the seven Papuans detained for allegedly killing two US nationals and an Indonesian near the PT Freeport gold mine in Timika, Papua, have gone on a hunger strike to protest their trial.

Ayapura – The Jayapura District Court on Thursday sentenced two of seven remaining defendants to five years in prison for their part in a fatal clash with police on March 16 in Abepura.

The clash took place during a protest against mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia. Four police officers and a member of the Air Force died in the violence.

Jayapura – Five Australian TV journalists were being deported from Indonesia on Thursday after traveling to restive Papua province on tourist visas, police and witnesses said.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Six of the seven Papuan men standing trial for allegedly killing two Americans and one Indonesian in 2002 objected to testimony by US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Tuesday.

The agents, Ronald C. Eowan and Paul Ryan Mayers, helped arrest the seven suspects, including alleged ringleader Antonius Wamang, in Timika, Papua, in January.

John McBeth, Timika – For centuries, Papua's warlike mountain tribesmen have used bows and arrows, spears and knives to settle their differences over women and pigs – and not necessarily in that order of priority.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Papuans claim that Indonesian riot police have used an ongoing tribal warfare in eastern Papua to kill at least three Papuan villagers.

Two tribes armed with spears, bows and arrows and traditional machetes have been warring since last Thursday in Kwambi Lama, a village close to the giant Freeport copper mine.

Hamish McDonald – Political leaders in Canberra and Port Moresby want the voices of a diplomatically awkward rebellion buried in East Awin, Papua New Guinea, a settlement in a vast and sparsely populated landscape of rivers, swamps and forest.

Timika – An unidentified group of people shot Sunday a security car of PT Freeport Indonesia, the giant gold and copper mine, in the country's easternmost province, a police officer said.

Jakarta – Hundreds of Indonesian police are trying to prevent further fighting between two warring Papuan tribes after three people were killed, and more than a dozen injured in remote Papua, police said.