The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces General Endriartono Sutarto, the commander of KOSTRAD Lt.General Hadi Waluyo, and spokesman for the Armed Forces, Brig.General Hotmangaridja Panjaitan recently declared that the Indonesian Army will shortly establish 22 new Territorial Commands throughout Indonesia, including a new Korem (Resort Command) to be located in Merauke, as well as

Jakarta – Indonesian House of Parliament Technical Delegation for Inter-parliamentarian Bilateral Cooperation warned the government to take serious preventive actions towards the separatist tendencies in the Province of Papua.

Jayapura – Major-General Nurdin Zainal, commander of the Trikora/XVII division, has announced that Kostrad, the Army Strategic Command will set up a base in Timika District, Papua in the very near future.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A 23-member delegation from the Papua provincial legislative council is protesting the installment of the controversial West Irian Jaya council.

Greg Poulgrain – The Indonesian military is planning to increase troop numbers in restive Papua province by an additional 15,000 personnel from Kostrad, the Strategic Reserve Command.

Kostrad Commander Lieutenant-General Hadi Waluyo announced the increase last Wednesday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Army plans to set up a new division of elite troops and station it in the country's westernmost province of Papua, where rebel groups have been fighting a low intensity guerrilla war for the independence of the mineral-rich region for decades.

These days, most Australians are well and truly aware of the suffering that the people of East Timor went through before they finally gained their independence from Indonesia back in 1999. Much of the repression and violence in that conflict, of course, was attributed to militia groups formed and backed by the Indonesian military.

Brendan Nicholson – Indonesian troops in West Papua used resources earmarked for humanitarian aid and development in the province for an offensive against rebels of the Free Papua Movement, SBS's Dateline has claimed.

The attack in Timika in August 2002 not only wounded Patsy Spiers, it also killed Rick Spiers, her beloved husband of 20 years. But the former teacher who taught at the American school in Tembagapura, West Papua, does not want to dwell on tragedy.

The identity of the gunman at Mile 62 is still a mystery. Indonesian Police do not have any evidence with which to arrest the FBI's suspect.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The provincial offices of the General Elections Commission (KPUD) in Papua said they were unprepared to organize the direct elections for regional heads in June due to limited preparation time.

Jayapura – The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has reached an alarming level in the nation's easternmost province of Papua.

As of December 31, 1,749 people have been recorded as HIV positive, 696 of whom have developed AIDS. Of those 696 people, 232 have died of an AIDS-defining illness, according to the Papua Health Office.

The Indonesian government is considering splitting the province currently known as Papua into five new provinces, in what is seen by many to be another weapon in its fight against Papua's separatist movement.

Washington – Researchers and advocates today called on US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to consider new evidence of Indonesian involvement in an August 2002 attack on US citizens within the Freeport mining project area in Timika, West Papua, Indonesia, before releasing International Military Education and Training (IMET) military aid to the Indonesian military (TNI).

We have just received a tragic message from a Papuan contact (copied below), letting us know that three more Papuans have died in just one of the many refugee camps in the jungles of West Papua near the town of Wunin: a 45 year old woman called Nomanugwe, a 50 year old man called Nununggen... and a 2 year old little Papuan girl whose name was Nona.

Jakarta – The idea of dividing West Papua into five provinces has been mooted again. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is reported to have welcomed the proposal which was raised by Papuan governor J.P. Solossa and a number of Papuan groups.

It's realisation however mush be trough the agreement of the soon to be formed Papuan People's Council (MRP).

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Dissatisfied with the disbursement of its share of the royalties paid by mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia, the Papua administration has accused the central government of "dishonesty" regarding the amount of royalties it receives from Freeport.

Laksamana.Net – The government has reportedly accepted a proposal to divide resource-rich and rebellious Papua province into five provinces by 2009, despite the Constitutional Court's recent annulment of a controversial law dividing it into three provinces.

Reported by: Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman, MA, President of West Papuan Baptist Church

A. The burning of School and District buildings

Chitra Ramaswamy – Human rights activists and church organisations predict that, without international attention and intervention, West Papua is in danger of becoming the next East Timor.

Jayapura – Papua police have arrested seven suspected Papuan rebels in the past five days in Tolikara regency, some 700 kilometers southwest of Jayapura, the Papuan capital.

Since August 2004, the Indonesian army has been conducting military operations in Puncak Jaya, in the Central Highlands of West Papua. According to reports from the area, crack troops of the Indonesian armed forces, KOPASSUS, as well Mobile Brigade (Brimob) troops of the Indonesian Police have been used in the operations.

On 20 January, Filip Karma, a West Papuan, went on trial in Jayapura for rebellion. He is charged with seeking to separate Papua from the Indonesian state for which he faces a possible life sentence or a 20-year sentence, under Article 106 of the Criminal Code.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Papuan leaders urged the central government to cancel a plan for direct elections in the newly created, but controversial West Irian Jaya province, as they believe it could cause serious conflict in the resource-rich area.

Our correspondent from Mbaliem (Wamena) reported today of a military brutality against civilians in Wunin District, Wurineri Village, Tolikara Regency, Jayawijaya, West Papua by The Indonesian military.

Ridwan Max Sidjabat and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura – Papua's provincial leaders have expressed concern over a rumor that the central government will include West Irian Jaya province on the list of more than 95 regions that will hold direct elections of regional heads this year.

Andre Vltchek – Mr. Peter M Baki has been interviewed while attending UNESCO EFA (Education for all) Forum for the Pacific, held in the city of Nadi in Fiji. Interview was conducted on the 21st October 2004.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Two Papua opposition leaders went on trial separately on Wednesday at the Jayapura District Court for treason.

Prosecutor Maskel Rambolangi said defendant Yusak Pakage, 26, led a ceremony to commemorate the self-declared Papua independence day on December 1 last year.

Matthew Moore and Karuni Rompies – They look like barbeque chips or mulga roots and exude a comforting smell drifting between fresh timber and flowers. Burn them and they produce rich smoke said to warm the lungs and drive out asthma. Distil them and they'll produce oil so potent it can perfume a beard for weeks.

Christine Susanna Tjhin, Jakarta – President Susilo's decision to spend Christmas in Papua (Dec. 26, 2004) may well be a very sympathetic yearly ritual. And the recently signed presidential regulation on the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) has been considered by many as one of the wonderful Christmas gifts all Papuans could get.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Following the issuance of a presidential decree on the Papua People's Council (MRP), the Papua provincial government is now preparing the establishment of a team that will discuss MRP election.

A boycott of today's Christmas visit to the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua is an embarrassing rebuke to newly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Two years ago, whilst West Papuan tribal leader and independence activist, Benny Wenda, was being tortured in an Indonesian prison cell, Oxford MP Andrew Smith was sitting at the Cabinet table in 10, Downing Street with Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as the Labour Government's then Secretary of State for Work & Pensions.

Monica Sloan – Oxford MP Andrew Smith has met a West Papuan tribal leader who fled torture to highlight the oppression of Papuans by Indonesia.

Benny Wenda, 29, was held and tortured in 2002 by Indonesian forces – which are occupying the territory – until he escaped with his wife Maria and two young daughters and fled to England.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – At least 23 people had starved to death in the remote Papuan highlands after fleeing a massive Indonesian military operation, church leaders claimed last night.

They pleaded for urgent action to end a crisis which began when the military stepped up its hunt for leaders of separatist rebel group, the Free Papua Movement or OPM.

Darmawan Sepriyossa, Cunding Levi, TNR – A team of eight men had apparently come and gone with the wind. They arrived in Papua "stealthily". On Sunday a fortnight ago, boarding a chartered Airfast flight, they landed at the Moses Kilangin Airport, Timika, Papua. No official reception awaited them. In fact, even the local administration had no previous knowledge of their arrival.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Police personnel will not hesitate to arrest any parties who attempt to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the proclamation of the West Melanesian State, a top police officer in Papua warned on Monday. The anniversary celebration falls on December 14.

Kanis Dursin, Jakarta – The 150 or so people in the room suddenly burst into laughter when one of the speakers conveyed what he said was an appeal from Papuan girls.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Leading Papuan figures said the establishment of West Irian Jaya province as a province from Papua was still the subject of heated controversy despite the Constitutional Court's ruling upholding the split.

Jayapura – At least 5,000 people in Indonesia's West Papua province face hunger and starvation after fleeing a military offensive against separatists, church leaders in the region said.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Papua will probably return its special autonomy status to Jakarta and, instead, demand for a self-determination ballot for the province's future, if the government decides to establish Papuan People's Assemblies in Papua and West Irian Jaya, Papuan leaders say.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Violence erupted in the capital of Indonesia's troubled province of West Papua on Wednesday as security forces moved to break up a flag-raising ceremony by independence supporters who had gathered to celebrate West Papua Day, according to a Sydney-based human rights monitor.

Agencies – Police personnel clashed on Wednesday with pro-independence Papuans in Trikora field, Jayapura, after the independence supporters hoisted in the area the Bintang Kejora flag, the symbol of the Papua independence movement. Several people were injured after the clash, but no fatalities were reported in the incident.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes it, may be contributing to the extinction of some of Papua's 250 tribes. With a population of 2.4 million, 15,000 people in the province have developed the disease, while 660,000 are HIV positive.

Violence has flared in the capital of Indonesia's troubled province of West Papua as security forces moved to break up a flag-raising ceremony by independence supporters, a Sydney-based human rights monitor said today.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The establishment of West Papua province could remain a stumbling block in the relations between the central government and Papuans, if it is not resolved in a way that both sides agree upon.

[The following Press Release by the Jakarta-based NGO, SNUP (National Solidarity for Papua), was issued on 22 November last year. It provides a much Clearer picture of events in Puncak Jaya, West Papua from September to November 2004 than previously obtained, and is therefore being translated in its entirety - February 15, 2005.]

Jakarta – Even though the Indonesian province of Papua sits on the sprawling nation's remote, far-eastern frontier, it has been placed squarely on the frontlines of the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Greg Poulgrain – Thousands of people were starving after they were driven from their villages by Indonesian forces and militia groups, a Papuan leader claimed yesterday.

Jayapura – The governor of West Papua, Jaap Salossa, has forbidden people from commemorating December 1 as Papua's independence day as well as hoisting the morning star flag or other symbols which are incompatible with official state symbols of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.