Mark Forbes, Jayapura – Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has called for restraint following the brutal murder of four security officers by Papuan demonstrators. He promised to respond to concerns about the giant Freeport goldmine but vowed it would remain open.

Jakarta – An alliance of NGOs has condemned Thursday's violence in Jayapura, Papua, but demanded the authorities not exact reprisals for the killing of three policemen and an Air Force officer.

Greens Senator Kerry Nettle has urged Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to press Indonesia for an end to violence in West Papua.

Senator Nettle said its time for Mr Howard and Mr Downer to do something. "The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister often boast of the close relationship we have with Indonesia," she said in a statement.

Jane Perlez, Jakarta – Indonesia's top military and police generals took control of the provincial capital of Jayapura in Papua on Friday, ordering the arrests of university students and directing the riot police to fire into the air as they patrolled the streets.

Reporter: Peter Cave

Mark Colvin: Three policemen and an Indonesian air force officer have been beaten to death, and an unknown number of demonstrators have been shot in the last 24 hours in escalating violence in Indonesia's Papua province, or as it used to be known, Irian Jaya, West Papua.

Ian Pearson MP
Minister of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 1AA

17 March 2006

Dear Mr Pearson,

We very much appreciated the opportunity of meeting you yesterday with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on West Papua.

Irwan Firdaus, Jayapura – Troops rounded up suspects Friday after mobs bludgeoned to death three police officers and a soldier during a protest to demand the shutdown of a massive US-owned gold mine in eastern Indonesia.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Istana Negara, Jakarta
Fax: 00 6221 385-5481

17 March, 2006

Dear Mr President,

We have followed with great alarm the events in Jayapura yesterday.

Jayapura – Enraged Indonesian police fired live bullets to root out about 1,000 protesters from a university in Papua after the students beat several officers to death, eyewitnesses said.

Papuans and officers of the Police Force and TNI (Armed Forces of Indonesia) have fallen victim of the Misguided Policy of the SBY/Kalla government.

Jayapura – Protesters beat three police officers to death Thursday during a violent demonstration to demand the closure of a US-owned gold mine in Indonesia's Papua province, police and witnesses said. At least 19 people were injured in clashes.

Two members of the police paramilitary unit and a regular officer were killed, said Col. Kertono Wangsadisastra.

Jakarta – Armed police clashed with rock-throwing demonstrators during a protest against the world's largest gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province leaving up to five people dead and many more injured, police and witnesses said.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Mimika Police on Wednesday arrested 15 people for an attack on the Sheraton Timika Hotel in Timika, Papua, on Tuesday, and are searching for five more suspects.

Bandung – There are currently no plans to develop a new military command in West Irian Jaya following that its separation from Papua, according to Army chief Gen. Djoko Santoso.

Speaking in Bandung on Tuesday, he said the Indonesian Military would instead maximize the role of the Cendrawasih Military Command in Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Dozens of angry Papuan activists expressed their anger over mining company PT Freeport Indonesia by storming the Sheraton Timika hotel Tuesday where several senior provincial government officials were staying.

Hyginus Hardoyo, Manokwari – Former Sorong regent Abraham Octovianus Atururi maintained his lead in the West Irian Jaya direct gubernatorial election Monday amid threats by an opponent to take the local election commission to court.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Hundreds of residents angry with the results of the gubernatorial election in Papua on Friday attacked the General Elections Commission (KPUD) office in Puncak Jaya regency.

Hyginus Hardoyo, Manokwari, West Irian Jaya – Eligible voters in West Irian Jaya crowded polling stations Saturday, ignoring threats of violence if the gubernatorial election in the disputed province went ahead.

Washington – Australia's top diplomat in the US has delivered a rousing speech in support of Indonesia and criticised the motives of fighters for the independence of Papua.

Ambassador Dennis Richardson's address yesterday to a US/Indonesia advocacy group in Washington was so supportive Indonesia's ambassador joked that he may soon be out of a job.

John Pilger – In 1993, I and four others travelled clandestinely across East Timor to gather evidence of the genocide committed by the Indonesian dictatorship.

A US State Department report alleging torture and intimidation by Indonesian security forces against Papuan separatists may add weight to the case of 43 Papuan boat people seeking asylum in Australia.

Zoe Kenny – On February 25, the five-day blockade by several hundred West Papuan villagers of the sole access road to Freeport's Grasberg mine was called off. The villagers achieved their modest goal of retaining the right (although formally illegal) to fossick among the mine's tailings to collect copper and gold remnants.

Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia faced protests from Papuan and refugee activists on a visit to Brisbane.

A group of about 20 refugee and Papuan independence activists were held back by state and federal police at a function for the ambassador at the University of Queensland.

Aboeprijadi Santoso – Papua is a synonym for a fait accompli tragedy. It is frequently forced into situations by external forces which then become immutable.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – A stone-age bow and arrow shoot-out between tribesmen and guards at the giant Freeport gold and copper mine in Papua has snowballed into a stand-off symbolising Papuans' push for independence and their belief that their province is being plundered.

Andi Hajramurni and Suherdjoko, Makassar/Semarang/Jakarta – Anger at PT Freeport Indonesia continued Wednesday, with protesters demanding the closure of the company's mine in Papua over allegations Freeport was stealing the wealth of Papuans and degrading the environment.

Jakarta – Indonesian demonstrators rallied for a third consecutive day Wednesday in front of the offices of a US mining giant demanding that it cease operations in Papua province.

Indra Subagja, Jakarta – The Jakarta metropolitan police have finally released the six activists that took part in a demonstration at the offices of PT Freeport Indonesia at the Plaza 89 Building in Kuningan. They were released because police did not have sufficient grounds to charge them with being provocateurs or having intimidated security personnel.

Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – After arresting six activists during a demonstration at Plaza 89 in South Jakarta yesterday, police have renewed the hunt for activist they believe infiltrated the group of indigenous Papuans protesting against PT Freeport Indonesia.

Max Lane – The application for asylum by 43 West Papuan political activists and their families, who arrived on Australia's Cape York peninsula in January after a five-day voyage on a rickety boat, brought the political and social situation in the Indonesian province of Papua to the attention of the Australian public.

Tom Allard – The Indonesian Government is preventing human rights observers from monitoring the situation in Papua amid "worrying" reports of abuses in the troubled province, says the United Nations' special envoy on the prevention of genocide, Juan Mendez.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Ignoring Papuan protesters' demands, the government will maintain a military presence at PT Freeport Indonesia's mine in Papua.

The mine and its military guards have been at the center of a week-long protest by Papuans, who say they have benefited little from the development.

Jayapura, Papua – Protests against the mining firm, Freeport, continued in Jayapura on Tuesday, with some protesters staging an overnight sit-in at the provincial legislative compound.

Jakarta/Jayapura – Police used a water cannon and fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered in Jakarta on Monday to denounce US gold mining giant Freeport, saying its mine in Papua province had brought no benefits to local residents.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Hundreds of native Papuans are demonstrating to demand the closure of a huge mine in Indonesia's Papua province run by the US company Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc, police and witnesses said on Tuesday.

Muchamad Nafi, Jakarta – The Peoples' United Front Struggle of West Papuan proposed five demands regarding PT Freeport's continuation on their land. The proposal was read when the Front held a demonstration at the Plaza 89 building in Kuningan, South Jakarta, the office of Freeport's Rio Tinto.

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – When hundreds of illegal miners last week blocked the access road to Freeport McMoRan's gold and copper mine in Indonesia's remote Papua province, it was tempting to describe the incident as just another clash between a multinational miner and its indigenous neighbours.

Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – Apes. Perhaps this is what six demonstrators at Plaza 89 in Kuningan, South Jakarta, were thinking earlier this afternoon. Because it was precisely when the demonstration was ending that police arrested them.

Patrick Walters – Alexander Downer will meet senior Indonesian officials today in a bid to calm Jakarta's concerns over Australia's handling of 43 Papuan asylum-seekers now on Christmas Island.

There is a growing expectation in Canberra that most, if not all, of the 43 could end up staying in Australia after having their cases examined by the Department of Immigration.

Jakarta – Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protestors outside the offices of Freeport Indonesia in the capital Jakarta, as demonstrators demanded the closure of its mine in Papua.

Jakarta – With activities resuming at PT Freeport Indonesia's mine in Papua, activists called for the release of Papuan students detained for vandalizing a Jakarta high-rise that is home to the gold and copper company's Jakarta office.

Indonesia complained that Australia's processing of asylum applications for 43 Papuans on Christmas Island was "dragging".

In Canberra, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said she was unable to confirm when a decision would be made about the asylum claims.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Hundreds of protesters ended their three-day roadblock at the entrance of PT Freeport's Grasberg mine in Timika, Papua, on Saturday with a traditional outdoor peace ceremony, officials said.

Indonesia is expected to press Foreign Minister Alexander Downer for consular access to 43 Papuan asylum seekers when he visits Jakarta next week to discuss clemency for the Bali Nine and counter-terrorism.

Tom Allard and agencies – Indigenous Papuans scraping a living from the tailings at Freeport's goldmine, the world's biggest, have halted production after injuring two armed security guards and blockading a road.

Jakarta – A blockade by alleged illegal miners that has halted production at the world's largest gold and copper mine in Indonesia's Papua province has ended with an outdoor party for peace, a police spokesman said.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The government was sending hundreds of troops Friday to safeguard PT Freeport Indonesia as a roadblock continued at the mine site in Papua province, halting its production for a third consecutive day.

At a time of Globalisation and Modernisation we must also ask: To what extent will the foreign companies and the government uphold the principles of justice and equality to protect the Papuan people as owners of their traditional rights and to safeguard their prosperity.

A blockade by protesters at the giant gold mine in Indonesia's Papua province has entered its fourth day. Small-scale miners who have been prevented by police and security guards from scavanging in the mine's tailings say they are determined to keep up the blockade until their demands are met.

Jakarta – The police have vowed to tighten security at key foreign facilities in the capital following a violent attack Thursday morning at the office building where PT Freeport Indonesia is located.