Jayapura – Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said Sunday he planned to release a number of Papuan political activists jailed for campaigning for separation from Indonesia.

Jakarta – A 25-year-old man, Tenius Tabuni, died on Friday after being ambushed by a group of people in an extended communal conflict involving two ethnic groups in Kwamki Lama village, Papua.

The victim died from fatal injuries due to arrow shots. Four other people were also injured in a related attack and were treated at a local hospital.

The Indonesia Human Rights committee is urging Prime Minister Helen Clark to take a strong stand in support of the rights of the people of West Papua, at this year's Pacific Island Forum.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Residents of Raja Ampat district in West Papua have demanded that police investigate their claims of judicial corruption centering on a mining company continuing its operations in a protected forest despite having its permit revoked.

The Vanuatu Free West Papua Association and the leader of the opposition have asked the Foreign Minister, Joe Natuman, not to meet the Indonesian government.

Both the Association and the opposition's Ham Lini say if Mr Natuman accepts Jakarta's invitation to meet for talks, it would be a slap in the face for the people of Vanuatu.

Indonesia Human Rights Committee,
PO Box 68-419,
Auckland 1125

Hon Murray McCully,
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Parliament Buildings,
Wellington.

5 May, 2011

Dear Mr McCully,

Markus Makur, Timika – More than 500 elementary school teachers are needed in Mimika, Papua province, to prevent remote areas of the regency from lagging behind in education, Mimika Education Agency chief Ausilius You says.

Camelia Pasandaran & Nivell Rayda – A day after 18 inmates escaped while guards and their chief ran amok at a Jayapura prison on Monday, Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar pledged to conduct a full-scale inquiry into the facility's management.

Jayapura – A group of armed men lifted a siege of a gold mine in Indonesia after receiving a payoff of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of gold and 11,000 dollars, police said Thursday.

About 30 unidentified men armed with assault rifles and traditional weapons had besieged the mine near Nomouwodide village of remote Papua province for three days, police said.

Amnesty International has expressed concern that the Indonesian authorities have denied medical care to a prisoner of conscience held in Papua.

Amnesty says Filep Karma, who has been in Abepura Prison in Papua province since 2004, has been seriously ill since last August.

UA: 100/10 Index: ASA 21/004/2010
Indonesia Date: 29 April 2010

Filep Karma is in need of urgent medical care. He has been seriously ill since August 2009. A recent medical report recommended that he undergo further treatment in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. However, the prison authorities have told him they cannot fund his medical treatment

As ANZAC Day approaches and we remember all those who died and suffered in past wars we should also remember those people still suffering from conflict in our region today.

Nivell Rayda – Papuan political prisoner Filep Karma suffered for eight months with a bladder infection but in that time the only help he received was to be told by prison officers to lift his legs to ease the pain, human rights activists said on Thursday.

Jakarta – An estimated 50 people from the People's Concern for Papua Alliance demonstrated in front of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) office in Jakarta on Monday to demand the release of Boven Digul regent, Yusak Yaluwo.

The regent was arrested by the commission last Thursday in Jakarta on charges of graft resulting in Rp 49 billion in state losses.

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPPI, says there is support in Jakarta for dialogue over the key issues concerning Papua region.

Together with the Papua Peace Network LIPPI has been holding consultations in several Papuan districts about local views over how to facilitate the dialogue.

A Papua analyst says a visit to Indonesia by US President Barak Obama in June could be pivotal in preventing a further deterioration towards violent conflict in Papua region.

This comes as the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPPI, reports that 90 percent of Papuans want dialogue with Jakarta over their region's future but that the government is afraid of dialogue.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The remains of three people, who were shot and killed by an armed group in Bremele village, Mewulok district in Puncak Jaya regency, were transported to the Papuan capital Jayapura Wednesday.

The Australia West Papua Association has questioned why an Australian parliamentary delegation which is visiting Indonesia this week is not visiting Papua region.

Armando Siahaan – A violent tribal conflict between two groups in Kwamki Lama, a village in Mimika district in Papua, erupted again on Thursday, leaving three police officers injured a day after the killing of a resident.

An Australian Parliamentary delegation is visiting Indonesia (from 11 to 16 April) as part of regular official exchanges to strengthen links and engagement between the two parliaments.

Jakarta – Two people were killed when gunmen approached a group of workers in the remote Papua regency of Puncak Jaya at 11.00 a.m. on Tuesday.

The dead were identified as Hans Ling Satya and Elemus Ramanday, who are PT Modern employees, kompas.com reported.

An author of a new book about peacebuilding in Indonesia says governments like New Zealand's can and should do more to help resolve the problems of the Papua region.

The Netherlands-based advocacy group Foundation Pro Papua has written to the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs about its concern for the health of a Papuan political prisoner in Indonesia.

Tom Hyland – Indonesian Papua risks erupting in bloodshed, with huge loss of life and disastrous consequences for Indonesia and Australia, a new book warns.

The book, by respected Australian academics, says Indonesian and international leadership is essential to avert catastrophe and end almost 50 years of conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Biak Traditional Council under threat as BIN and Kopassus move to set up an alternative traditional council.

Tom Allard – Indonesia's government plans to create a vast agricultural estate in the restive province of West Papua, sparking fears of environmental destruction and a return of mass migration policies that have antagonised the indigenous population.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta has thrown his weight behind a plan to set up a food estate in Merauke, Papua province, a plan many environmental groups see as a setback.

Gusti said the project should first develop 366,612 hectares of ailing forested land of while waiting for assessments on the planned 1.6 million hectares.

Reports from the Indonesian province of Papua say four men have gone on trial in Jayapura in connection with an event last May when the banned Morning Star separatist flag was unfurled.

According to the Bintang Papua newspaper, the incident, which the Indonesian authorities regard as an act of rebellion punishable with jail time, happened at Kapeso airfield.

A number of NGOs have raised concern over the Indonesian government's plan to develop a massive food estate in Papua province.

The government hopes the 1.6 million hectare Integrated Food and Energy Estate in Merauke will turn Indonesia into one of the world's biggest food producers, growing rice, sugar cane, soybeans and maize.

Sunanda Creagh, Jakarta – Indonesia would have to clear about 700,000 hectares of forest, an area 10 times the size of Singapore, if it proceeds with plans for a vast agricultural estate in Papua province, an activist group said on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military is considering sending thousands of extra troops to restive Papua province where it stands accused of widespread human rights abuses, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Lidya is 12 years old but unlike most girls her age, she only weighs 9 kilograms, suffers from leprosy and spends most of her time in bed.

Since she fell off her bicycle and broke her right ankle six months ago, her condition has worsened. Lidya has been diagnosed with malnutrition and has had to leave school due to her poor health.

Jayapura – Soldiers were involved in an exchange of fire with alleged Free Papua Organization members in Mulia, Puncak Jaya district, on Monday evening.

Jayapura – The police apprehended 15 activists from the West Papua National Committee protesting outside Waena Expo complex in Jayapura on Monday.

Deputy chief of Jayapura Police, Adj. Comr. Amazona Pelamonia, said the protesters had requested a permit to stage a protest related to US President Barack Obama's visit but their speeches had called for a referendum instead.

Jakarta – Around 35 representatives of students and civil society groups from Papua demonstrated on Wednesday March 17 in front of the United States Embassy and the State Palace in Central Jakarta.

The International Crisis Group published a report on March 11, Indonesia: Radicalization and Dialogue in Papua, which purports to depict the growing radicalization of some Papuan groups and consequent increases in violence there.

A number of media articles have mistakenly implied that the International Crisis Group (ICG) report Radicalisation and Dialogue in Papua has blamed so called "Separatists" for the attacks around Freeport.

In fact, all the report does is give a number of possible scenarios.

Jakarta/Brussels – A substantive dialogue between the Indonesian government and Papuan leaders could help stem political radicalisation in the country's easternmost province.

Timika – The number of security personnel stationed at the working area of PT Freeport Indonesia has been reduced from 1,576 to 886, a police officer said Monday night.

The decision was made in a meeting between the police, military offices and the management of PT Freeport. The minimized team includes 607 members of police corps and being military members.

A leading conflict prevention group on Thursday urged the Indonesian government and separatists in the resource-rich province of Papua to enter negotiations to settle their differences.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Papua People's Assembly on Monday issued a ruling stating that only native Papuans could run for the posts of regent or mayor in the province.

The new requirement is stipulated in a 2009 provincial decree and has received support from the Papuan administration office and the Papuan and West Papuan Legislative Councils.

The Australian-based West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation says Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, should show his goodwill to Australia and the international community by allowing more outside contact with the Papua region.

Sydney – Australia West Papua Association representative Joe Collins has rejected a Sydney-based Lowy Institute paper that argues that the trust of Australians in Indonesia is low.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A planned large-scale food production system in Merauke, Papua province, aimed at improving national food sustainability, could prove detrimental for locals, an activist says.

Jayapura – Regional Representatives Council member Sophie Maipauw wants the Indonesian government to help with the implementation of autonomy in West Papua with the immediate issue 19 government regulations.

Jakarta – One of Timika's native tribes, Amungme, filed a civil lawsuit with the South Jakarta District Court on Monday, against PT Freeport Indonesia for allegedly taking over their customary land for their main pit without paying compensation, the tribe's lawyer said.

The Lowy Institute's latest paper (Indonesia and Australia: time for a step change) on Australian Indonesian relations describes the relationship as being "not on a firm footing".

It says that although "Government-to-government ties have been strengthening "public attitudes on both sides are doing badly" and "the Australian public's trust in Indonesia is low".

The Vanuatu Free West Papua Association has held a peaceful demonstration in Port Vila in support of West Papua's independence from Indonesia.

The march proceeded through the capital's main street to the head office of the National Council of the Chiefs where demonstrators handed over a petition reiterating support for West Papuan self-determination efforts.

Ricky Binihi – West Papuans highly value their relationship with Vanuatu because of its former traditional staunch position on their plight.

The Australia West Papua Association in Sydney has written an open letter to Prime Minister Rudd asking that he raise the human rights situation in West Papua with the Indonesian President.