Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Papua province now reaches 1,398 and has sparked concern among Papuans and local health officials.
Of the total, 912 people have been diagnosed HIV-positive and 486 have developed AIDS.
Counting continues after Indonesia's national elections in the world's third largest democracy. The remote province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, was the first place to vote in the Indonesian archipelago, which covers three time zones. However, Papua's remoteness has thrown up some challenges for local authorities.
Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Police here said on Sunday that they had shot dead a suspected separatist in the troubled province of Papua for allegedly trying to discourage people from voting in the legislative election on Monday, while a policeman and an activist were reportedly missing.
Sentani – Less than three years after special forces troops killed his father, restive Papua's most prominent independence leader at the time, Boy Eluay wants to be an Indonesian politician.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A key witness to the 2002 ambush in Papua that left two Americans and one Indonesian dead has changed his testimony that Army soldiers were responsible for the incident.
Jakarta – Prosecutors have indicted two senior police officers on charges of allowing their men to torture hundreds of people in the eastern province of Papua, officials said on Thursday.
Jakarta – A human rights group in Papua province said Thursday it was being sued by Indonesia's powerful military for alleging that troops carried out an ambush which killed two Americans in August 2002.
The following letter was sent today to Minister of State Douglas Alexander
29 March 2005
The Rt Hon. Douglas Alexander MP
Minister of State, Foreign Office
King George's Street
London SW1A 0AA
Dear Mr Alexander,
Military Build Up in West Papua
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Political campaigning for the 2004 general elections in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, is apparently not as lively as before, in 1999, as can be seen from the reduction in the number of those attending outdoor campaign rallies.
A leading Indonesia analyst says Jakarta has grossly mishandled the troubled province of Papua, and now seems to be stepping back to watch it disintegrate.
Presenter/Interviewer: Graeme Dobell
Speakers: Sidney Jones, the Southeast Asia director, the International Crisis Group
For the first time since it was called into the case, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is believed to be following several promising leads in the investigation into the slaying of two American teachers near the Papua mining town of Tembagapura in August 2002.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The whole of Papua society could unite in a movement to secede from the Republic of Indonesia if the government insisted on splitting the province, a religious leader warned.
Jakarta – Government troops have shot dead a separatist leader in Indonesia's eastern most province of Papua, a military spokesman said on Saturday.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua governor JP Solossa has expressed his fear of a possible delay of several days in the legislative elections scheduled for April 5 for technical, geographical and logistical reasons.
Tom Benedetti – A storm is quietly but rapidly gaining force in an overlooked corner of the world. Papua (formerly West Papua or Irian Jaya) is being ravaged in an escalating program of repression by the Indonesian military.
Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – US officials believe local army commanders ordered an ambush that killed two American teachers near a gold mine in a case that has held up resumption of normal US-Indonesia military ties, two American officials told The Associated Press.
Tim Shorrock – August 31, 2002, began as a day like any other in the lives of Patsy and Rick Spier. They were teaching school in West Papua, Indonesia, the latest posting in a series of international teaching jobs far away from their home in Denver.
Neles Tebay – When the territory of Papua was under Dutch rule, the population was almost exclusively Papuan, made up of some 252 ethnic groups. Since Indonesia took over the territory in 1963, however, the composition of the population has altered due to the influx of Indonesian migrants.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Papuan tribal leaders rejected what they called an unsatisfactory investigation into the murder of proindependence Papuan leader Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluway, and called for the United Nations to set up an independent team to conduct an objective and thorough inquiry into the case.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A seminar featuring respected intellectuals, analysts and religious leaders has urged the government to lift Presidential Instruction No. 1/2003 on the formation of two new provinces in Papua, and consistently enforce Law No.
21/2001 on special autonomy for the resource-rich province to help solve the increasingly complex issues.
Semarang – Four university students of Papuan origin, detained by Central Java police for having raised the separatist "morning star" flag on December 3, 2003, have been set free.
Their release had to do with the expiry of their detention term, namely 60 days. But they were still required to report to the police periodically.
Jayapura – Anticipating security disturbances in the lead up to the 2004 general elections, the TNI (armed forces) will increase surveillance in areas which are considered to be susceptible to disturbances by the Free Papua Organisation or the Papua National Liberation Army (OPM/TPN). There will not be any increase in troop numbers but routine patrols will be increased.
Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno stated that so far the government did not have any plans to raise the status of civil order in Papua formerly Irian Jaya to civil emergency. There was not enough reason to impose such a status in that province.
Currently more than 2.2 tons a year of hazardous and toxic (B3) wastes are exported to developing countries, including Indonesia. Indonesia as a country of archipelago is regarded as one of countries that apply lenient standards of environmental management particularly of B3 wastes.
Jakarta – Kontras National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, Elsham Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy and National Solidarity for Papua formerly Irian Jaya (SNUP) lodged strong protests against plans made in a closed meeting held between People's Representatives Council (DPR) Commission I and the armed forces commander to impose civilian emergency s
Yogyakarta – The government said it has no plan to raise a civil emergency status on Papua, despite constant security problems in the country's easternmost province.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Saturday that any plan to declare civil emergency status for Papua needed to be considered thoroughly.
Tom Benedetti – A storm is quietly but rapidly gaining force in an overlooked corner of the world. Papua (formerly West Papua or Irian Jaya) is being ravaged in an escalating program of repression by the Indonesian military.
Charles Foster – It was predictable and depressing. Every year on December 1, West Papuan tribesmen, wearing penis gourds and cowrie necklaces, try to raise the Morning Star flag that signifies their independence from Indonesia. And every year the Indonesian police and army, commanded by men who won their spurs in East Timor, beat them and shoot them.
Jayapura – The Papua Police are preparing two-third of its personnel to guard the upcoming elections, a senior officer at the police headquarters said on Wednesday.
Jayapura – The plan by the People's Consultative Assembly Commission I urging the government and related partners to conduct a military operation in Papua for the sake of safeguarding the general elections has been opposed by a number of parties.
Makassar – The South Sulawesi High Prosecutor's Office said on Tuesday it had completed the case files of two police officers charged with human rights abuses in Papua province a month ago.
Prosecutors could not present the dossiers to an ad hoc court in Makassar, South Sulawesi, because the National Police had yet to hand over the two suspects to them for trial.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has started investigating alleged gross abuses in the Papua province last year and in 2001 and plans to summon 75 local witnesses to give testimony.
Led by Komnas HAM chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, the commission's investigation teams have been in the province since January 12.
The Wamena District Court sentenced on Thursday two more civilians to 20 years in prison each for their roles in breaking into a military arsenal in Wamena last year and stealing rifles and ammunition.
Kel Dummett – For the many human rights organizations and individual activists around the world concerned about ongoing human rights violations in the province of Papua, the announcement (The Jakarta Post, January 10, 2003) that an ad hoc team with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will probe alleged gross violations of human rights in Papua, is great news.
Jason MacLeod – On December 3, Indonesian security forces detained four West Papuan students for their part, two days earlier, in releasing West Papuan flags – known as the Morning Star – attached to balloons in the central Java town of Semarang.
Jakarta – A number of non-governmental organizations here on Tuesday called on the government to hold a national dialogue to end conflicts in eastern Papua province.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – An ad hoc team with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will probe alleged gross violations of human rights in the province of Papua.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Following a public meeting held by the Papua provincial legislative council in December last year, the council will convey the outcome of it to President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta.
Jayapura – Two years after the implementation of the Law on Special Autonomy in West Papua, the level of human rights violations remains high. There has been no commitment from any parties to apply the Law on Special Autonomy consistently. Rather, this law is seen as disrupting the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
Peter King – Ever since East Timor was "lost" in September 1999 the Indonesian military (TNI) have shown strong determination to hold the line against what they see as the next most credible threat of "separatism" in outlying provinces, the independence movement in (West) Papua/Irian Jaya.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Indonesia may lose Papua and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam due to the possibility of a foreign conspiracy aimed at destroying the Unitary Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), the Army's chief of staff has said.
Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said on Monday that Indonesia was facing the possibility of losing both provinces due to threats from modern warfare.
Jakarta – The Indonesian authorities said yesterday that the FBI had cleared the army of being involved in the killing of two Americans in Papua last year. However, the American Embassy declined to confirm the claim by military police chief A.B. Sulaiman.
Jayapura – The relocation of 13 inmates – convicted of involvement in the 2000 riot in Papua, in which at least 26 people were killed – from their prison in Wamena town, to a prison in East Java has been delayed due to security reasons.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan people concluded a two-day meeting here on Tuesday, recommending that the central government speed up the establishment of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) as mandated by the special autonomy law, and revoke controversial Law No. 45/1999 on the partition of the territory into three smaller provinces.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Nearly 1,000 Papuans from all walks of life began a two-day meeting sponsored by the local legislative council on Monday to seek a solution to the central government's controversial decision to split Papua into three provinces.
Tim Johnston, Jakarta – A report from an American university has accused Indonesia of crimes against humanity for its actions in the troubled eastern province of Papua, and has suggested that Jakarta may also be guilty of genocide.
David Usborne, New York – Sitting in the Deluxe Cafe on Broadway just south of Columbia University on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, John Rumbiak is far from his native land. Home is West Papua, a province of Indonesia the size of France which has suffered violence for nearly forty years.
Jason MacLeod – Abdul Teng is in his element. Teng is here to talk about his home, Gag Island in violence-ridden West Papua, the scene of a four-decade-long struggle for independence. The 56-square kilometre island is located 150km north-west of Sorong, one of hundreds of islets that make up the Raja Ampat Archipelago.
Nethy Darma Somba, Timika – A group of former East Timorese militiamen postponed a plan on Tuesday to open a branch office of their pro-integration Red-and-White Defenders Front (FPMP) in Papua province, following strong objections from the local people.
Jason MacLeod – On Wednesday 3rd of December Indonesian security forces detained four West Papuan students in relation to a nonviolent action two days earlier.