Achmad Sukarsono and Jerry Norton, Jakarta – Indonesian troops fanned out through thick jungle in Papua province on Monday in search of an armed band that killed three people in the bloodiest clash involving foreigners since a long-simmering rebellion began.

Denise Leith – Kelly Kwalik of the OPM has denied that the nationalist group is responsible for the killing and wounding of Freeport employees on the company road from Tembagapura on Saturday.

[Tensions between Jakarta and Papua's independence movement have escalated following the weekend attack near the giant Freeport gold mine in Papua. Three people, including two Americans and an Indonesian, were killed when unidentified gunmen ambushed a convoy of cars.

[The Indonesian province of Papua is notoriously a black hole for information, and after the weekend's shocking attack on employees of the giant Freeport Mine, few things are clear except that three people are dead.]

Transcript:

Sydney – Papuan rights and independence activists said on Monday they believed the Indonesian military could be to blame for a weekend attack that killed three people, including two Americans, near the world's biggest gold and copper mine.

[Violence has escalated to Australia's north, in the Indonesian province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya. Over the weekend two American teachers and one Indonesian were shot dead and more than ten others were injured, in an ambush near the giant Freeport gold and copper mine.

The murder of two Americans and an Indonesian by unidentified gunmen on Saturday near PT Freeport Indonesia's huge copper and gold mine is certain to reinforce attention on the company's "environmental vandalism" and alleged complicity in human rights abuses.

[The Indonesian government has had harsh colonial policy vis-a-vis the people of West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). Whereas East Timor became a cause cilhbre, West Papua has been passed over. The United Nations is not interested. Yet the forgotten people fight on for their cultural and political identity. By our special correspondent Damien Faure.]

While civil society groups have placed their hopes in creating a zone of peace in West Papua, thousands of members of Laskar Jihad have flooded into the province in the past year, amid protests from West Papuans that this could lead to inter-religious conflict.

Marni Cordell – It's cold on the first morning of the Yumi Wantaim gathering, and we – an eclectic mix of faces, ages and colours – are huddled under a large white marquee in Pipemaker's Park in outer Melbourne. Outside, under a drizzle of rain, a fire pit is being prepared to cook sweet potato and a pig, killed for the occasion.

In a statement issued today by Messrs Willy Mandowen, Victor Kaisiepo and Clemens Runawery on behalf of the people of West Papua, the Papua Council Presidium and its interim Chairman, Mr. Tom Beanal, and Mr.

Mystery has shrouded the death in September 2001 of Willem Onde, a local OPM commander in Merauke, together with a colleague. Investigations conducted this year by the Catholic Diocese in Merauke point to the involvement of Kopassus in his murder, just two months before Theys Eluay, the pro-independence leader was put to death by Kopassus officers.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Indonesian police have drawn up plans to outlaw the main Papuan independence organisation in a crackdown on separatism aimed at preventing Papua from becoming a "second East Timor".

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura – Hundreds of former Papuan political prisoners and their relatives demanded independence from Indonesia during a peaceful protest in the provincial legislative council compound on Thursday.

[Pro-independence activists from Indonesia's Papua province, formerly known as Irian Jaya, are still agitating for a task force to investigate human rights abuses. Indonesia says human rights is improving in Papua, because of a special autonomy law. But Papuan human rights groups don't share the government's optimism.

Kel Dummett – Everywhere you go in Papua the message is the same – Merdeka! Merdeka! Freedom! Freedom! This is particularly true today, the anniversary of the 1967 Act of Free Choice, which led to Indonesia's annexation of the former Dutch colony.

Army Chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu has urged the people of Papua to help the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) quell separatism in the resource-rich province.

Ryacudu made the statement Thursday in an address read out at a ceremony by the province's military chief Major General Mahidin Simbolon.

Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces chief said yesterday that the soldier thought to be directly responsible for the mysterious death of an independence leader in Indonesia's Papua province had been arrested.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – West Papua's separatist presidium fears it will be declared illegal and its members arrested under a new operation ordered by the region's police chief.

An Indonesian army officer suspected of involvement in last year's murder of a Papuan independence leader said the man had died suddenly while being questioned by soldiers, his lawyer said.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hartomo said that Theys [Hiyo Eluay] died suddenly, maybe because of shock, while his subordinates were questioning him in his car," said lawyer Ruhut Sitompul.

Police in Indonesia's Papua province say they plan to crack down on separatist activists in the resource-rich region if dialogue fails.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The trial of nine members of the Army's special force (Kopassus) accused of killing Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay will likely face further delay because the military police cannot guarantee they can hand over the results of their investigation to military prosecutors next month.

All international calls to a human rights group in the Indonesian province of Papua have been blocked by Telecom Indonesia.

Telecom Indonesia has confirmed all international calls to and from the Elsham Organisation have been blocked temporarily.

The Indonesian Government has denied reports that the extremist Islamic Laskar Jihad army is operating in it's province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya. It's been been investigating claims that the Islamic militants, who were involved in inter-religious violence in the Maluku Islands, had infiltrated Papua, but found no evidence to support the claims.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The nine military suspects in the murder of pro-independence Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay should be tried in civilian court, instead of a military tribunal, analyst Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and noted rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis said on Friday.

Novan Iman Santosa and Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – Not a single eyewitness against nine suspects for the murder of Papuan pro-independence leader Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluay witnessed the murder, defense lawyer Warsito Sanyoto said on Tuesday.

London – On June 16, protesters disrupted Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's meeting with British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair. Waving placards, posters and a grave stone for the murdered Papuan leader Theys Eluay, protesters blocked the entrance to Downing Street to draw attention to the Indonesian military's human rights abuses in West Papua.

Indonesia's military has ruled that the killing of seperatist leader Theys Eluay in the restive Indonesian province of Papua was not politically motivated.

Indonesia – Seven students grouped in the West Papuan Students' National Front (FNMP) gave up their hunger strike on Saturday due to health concerns, but vowed to boycott the 2004 general election in the troubled province should the government fail to reveal the truth behind the killing of separatist Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay and hold a referendum on self-determination.

Some 40 protesters have picketed Indonesia's parliament, calling on the government to launch an independent investigation into the murder of Papuan pro-independence leader, Theys Eluay.

The demonstrators, some of whom wore the province's traditional dress, demanded the government form an international investigation commission.

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura – With new powers under the special autonomy laws, the provincial legislature in Irian Jaya (Papua) has dropped all fees for elementary and high school students as of the 2002/2003 academic year to give children more of an opportunity to receive a quality education.

Craig Skehan – At least four boatloads of Muslim migrants – including many members of the militant Laskar Jihad – had arrived during the past week in the restive Indonesian province of West Papua, independence activists said yesterday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Investigation into the killing of Papuan pro-independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay last year points at the possible involvement of high ranking officers, National Military Police Chief Maj. Gen. Sulaiman A.B. said on Monday.

Simon Montlake Tanahmerah – From the mangrove-fringed shore, the waters of Bintuni Bay look deceptively calm. Only a metal platform a few miles offshore hints at the riches beneath this remote bay in eastern Indonesia.

Jakarta – Excessive logging has pushed to near extinction at least 51 isolated tribes living as nomads in Waropen, Papua, the country's eastern most province.

Head of the Papua Social Welfare Office Onnes Rumandei said in Jayapura on Thursday that forests, which had long been the habitat for these tribes, were vanishing due to excessive logging by forest concessionaires.

The commemoration of the forced integration of West Papua (formerly known as Irian Jaya, now Papua) with Indonesia on May 1 was marked by peaceful protests by pro-independence supporters across West Papua's major towns.

Tiarma Siboro and Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – The National Military Police Headquarters has put a key witness in the November 2001 murder of Papua Presidium Council leader Theys Hiyo Eluay under its protection following an alleged murder attempt against him last Friday, an officer said on Monday.

Simon Montlake, Jayapura – When a tall, stocky Army officer came to his home last October with a dinner invitation, Willy Mandowen was reluctant to accept.

Jayapura – The Irian Jaya Provincial Police on Saturday handed over 19 pieces of evidence concerning the murder of pro-independence Papuan leader Dortheys Hiyo Eluway to the Military Police.

Three army officers have been detained as suspects in connection with the killing.

Timothy Mapes, Jakarta – The Indonesian military's controversial behavior in resource-rich Papua province could threaten the country's political unity and one of its biggest planned foreign investments.

Jakarta – Religious leaders in Indonesia's Papua province have met regional authorities to discuss the entry of a militant Islamic militia into the mainly Christian province, an official said Thursday.

Geneva – The World Council of Churches (WCC) has called for an independent inquiry to look into the killing of an independence leader in the Indonesian region of Irian Jaya.

Martin Doolard, of the Geneva-based WCC, told the UN Human Rights Commission that most people in Irian Jaya viewed the death of Eluay as a deliberate act of the state authorities to silence him.

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura – The students of state-run Cenderawasih University in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, lodged a petition on Tuesday that the United States of America be held responsible for the prevalent human rights abuses in province since the territory's integration into Indonesia in 1963.

R.K. Nugroho, Jayapura – Despite Washington's official stance on Papua, visiting US Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce met with officials of the pro-independence Papua Presidium Council (PDP) and visited the grave of former PDP chairman Theys Hiyo Eluway in the Irian Jaya provincial capital of Jayapura on Monday.

Jakarta – Three Indonesian army officers have been detained as suspects in the murder of Papuan separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, the military police chief said Tuesday.

"Three officers of the Indonesian armed forces, all of whom are members of the Tribuana Task Force, have been detained in connection with the death of Theys Eluay," Major General A.B. Sulaiman told AFP.

Prangtip Daorueng, Jakarta – The arrival of an Islamic militia group in Indonesia's restive province of West Papua is sowing fear among residents about sectarian conflict like that seen in other provinces before – and community leaders want its members out sooner than later.

R.K. Nugroho and Sri Wahyuni, Jayapura/Yogyakarta – Separatist leaders have rejected the presence of the Java-based Laskar Jihad militant group in the troubled province of Papua, which they said had sparked disquiet among local people.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An Army general revealed on Wednesday that members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) believed to be involved in the killing of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay would probably be charged with insubordination.

Geneva – Amnesty International accused Indonesian forces on Wednesday of grave human rights violations in Papua, where the murder of the province's top independence leader last year remains unresolved.

At Ipenburg – There was always something ambiguous about Theys Hiyo Eluay. He became a focal point in the struggle for Papuan independence. But he was also seen as close to top army and police commanders, and the Kopassus special forces were his friends.