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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Jayapura District Court had to postpone the Abepura case trial yet again Friday after the prosecution failed to present the remaining seven defendants to be tried for their involvement in the deadly March 16 clash with police.
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.
West Papuan student detainees boycott court process as protestors brace for military action
West Papuan church and community leaders have joined with women's and grassroots organisations to hold an all night vigil and blockade of the Abepura prison where students accused of killing members of Indonesia's security forces are being held.
Mark Forbes, Indonesia – Papuan activists charged over the murder of four Indonesian police and one intelligence officer boycotted their trial yesterday after being assaulted by police as they were being returned to prison.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The remaining seven defendants being tried for their involvement in a deadly clash with police on March 16 in Abepura, Papua, refused to appear in court Wednesday after one of them was beaten up by a police officer Monday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
Istana Negara,
Jalan Merdeka 3,
Jakarta, Indonesia
31 August 2006
Dear President Yudhoyono,
I am writing to you with great concern for the safety of Nelson Ipan Kornelius Rumbiak, who is 20 years old.
The trial of seven Papuans charged with the killing of two American nationals and one Indonesian is likely to continue without the defendants and their lawyers, after the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday ruled against defendants' arguments that the case should be tried in Papua.
Kris Fathoni W, Jakarta – After holding a long-march from the State Palace, West Papuan protesters demonstrated at the Central Jakarta State Court demanding that the defendants in the 2002 Timika shooting case be released.
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – The number of illiterate people in Tangerang regency has jumped dramatically within the past two years, an education official claims.
Education agency head Muhyi Syarifudin said the agency had measured a rapid increase in illiterate people from 2,673 in 2004 to 190,123 this year.
Arfi Bambani Amri, Jakarta – Around 50 people from the West Papua Peoples United Struggle Front (Pepera) demonstrated in front of the US Embassy on Monday August 28 calling for the defendants in the Timika shooting case to be unconditionally released.
Jayapura – Police in Papua have issued an arrest warrant for Jefri Pagawak, a local activist wanted for allegedly masterminding violent demonstrations throughout the province.
The order came after Jefri eluded police who tried to arrest him in Timika on Tuesday night.
An explosive report in today's issue of The Bulletin has vindicated a field investigation into the activities of the Indonesian military (TNI) in the Papua New Guinea - West Papuan border region. This investigation was undertaken by fieldworkers from May 14 to 14 June 2006 on behalf of the Free West Papua campaign in Australia.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The level of human rights violations in Papua has increased in recent years, according to one observer, who asked the international community to do more for the province.