I. Summary

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Thousands of people fleeing a crackdown on Papuan separatists are now facing food shortages.

The crisis is hitting refugees in Yamo district, Puncak Jaya regency, Papua, after Indonesian Military and police attacks on Free Papua Movement (FPM) rebels in the area.

Jayapura – Four refugees who were among thousands fleeing their village have reportedly died of illness.

The residents fled to Ilamburawi village in Yamo district, Puncak Jaya regency, on Jan. 16 following a security personnel manhunt for rebels who had earlier hoisted a separatist flag on Mount Kimibaga.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – An increasing amount of blood donated at the Jayapura Red Cross' transfusion unit in Papua is being found to be contaminated with HIV, an official said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer must seek answers from Indonesia about reports that one person has been shot dead and thousands of others have been displaced by military and police operations in West Papua, the Australian Greens said today.

Reporter: Jennifer Macey

Emma Alberici: Church leaders in Indonesia's Papua Province are reporting that 5,000 people have been driven from their villages by Indonesian security forces.

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee is calling on the New Zealand Government to offer to facilitate dialogue between West Papuan representatives and the Government of Indonesia. New Zealand should also call on Indonesia to open up West Papua to the entry of human rights monitors and international media.

By S. Eben Kirksey and Andreas Harsono

According to reports from the Puncak Jaya region of West Papua, several thousand extra troops from the Indonesian Army (TNI) have been deployed to the region this month in response to flag-raising incidents and the killing of two army officers on 9 December.

There have been fresh warnings of an Indonesian military build-up in the Punjak Jaya region of Papua province.

The Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman, who heads the Communion of Baptist churches in Papua, holds grave concerns for the civilian population over reports that more troops are moving in amid a recent series of tensions into Bolakme, West of Wamena near Mulia.

Port Moresby – A flag-raising campaign in Indonesian Papua's Highlands could escalate into open conflict between tribal warriors and Indonesian troops, human rights advocates warn.

Free Papua Movement (OPM) activists of the Goliat Tabuni tribes in the Punjak Jaya region have been raising the banned Morning Star flag in acts of defiance against Indonesian rule.

Jayapura – Suspected Free Papua Movement (OPM) rebels on Wednesday seized a rifle from a police officer patrolling near the Kurilik police post, some 300 meters from the town of Mulia in Puncak Jaya.

Jakarta – Tens of youths from Papua demonstrated in front of the Gedung Plaza 89 in Kuningan, South Jakarta, where PT Freeport Indonesia's Jakarta office is located on Wednesday to demand the closure of the company's operations in Timika.

The youths from the West Papua People's Struggle Unity Front (Front Pepera PB) carried posters and banners containing their demands.

Jakarta – Two people including an Indonesian military officer were killed in a clash between security forces and separatists in the remote eastern province of Papua, a military official said on Saturday.

Jakarta – Hundreds of Papuans gathered Friday in eastern Indonesia to mark the anniversary of their "declaration of independence" amid tight security, a customary council member said.

New Zealand's Peace Movement Aotoearoa says grassroots support for West Papua's right to self-determination is growing. The Movement has today marked West Papua Independence Day by flying the West Papuan Morning Star flag in a demonstration outside parliament in Wellington.

Markus Makur, Timika – Hundreds of Amungme and Kamoro tribespeople in Mimika, Papua, held a protest Tuesday to demand giant gold mining company PT Freeport Indonesia give them its old machinery, vehicles and scrap materials.

The protesters marched to Freeport's office in Kuala Kencana to speak with company management about the request.

Lloyd Jones, Port Moresby – A flag banned from being raised in Indonesia flew in Port Moresby today as activists called on Australia and other nations to support the province of Papua's independence from Jakarta.

Morgan Mellish, Timika – In the estuary where the Ajkwa and Otomona rivers flow into the Arafura Sea off the coast of West Papua, a new island has formed in recent years. It is about 10 metres high, one kilometre wide and covered in mangroves.

Police fired warning shots to disperse hundreds of Papuans who protested outside the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby to demand recognition as Australian citizens.

Evi Mariani, Brussels/Belgium – Indonesian and European human rights activists attending a recent conference in Belgium expressed concern at the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s plan to deploy at least 35,000 soldiers along the border between West Papua and Papua New Guinea.

Guy Warrington – "Of course the police are just as good at torturing as the army. Some of the cruder forms [include] putting a table leg onto the foot of somebody and then somebody heavily dancing on the table, which can be extremely painful. So, I mean torture is routine."

Adam Henry – The enigmatic Jakarta Lobby is "... an informal group of like-minded people who regard Indonesia as a special case". It is not a clandestine conspiracy, but an alliance of elites although some would deny the group's very existence.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A noted Papuan figure criticized the Indonesian government on Tuesday, saying it was only interested in the province's natural resources, not its people, but praised former president Abdurrahman Wahid.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Murdered Papuan independence figure Theys Hiyo Eluay was a hero who struggled peacefully to uphold democracy in Indonesia, former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said at the leaders' grave in Sentani on Monday.

John McBeth – Ms Patsy Spier sat through every hearing these past five months, quietly taking notes with the help of a translator and, just as quietly, returning to her mid-city hotel. For her, the seven Papuans in the dock were on trial for the murder of her husband, pure and simple. Nothing else mattered.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.