Jayapura – Indonesian military using flame throwers are burning houses, killing people and destroying livestock and gardens in the Kurawage district in West Papua, according to the human rights group Elsham.
Fifteen Papuans had been killed and several hundred others who fled into the forest were now starving, group spokesmen said yesterday.
Singapore – The United States said on Friday it had warned Indonesia "at the highest levels" that a failure by Jakarta to cooperate in solving the murder of two American teachers would seriously affect bilateral ties.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Three residents of Kuyawage village in the Papua regency of Wamena have reportedly starved to death after fleeing their homes to avoid a sweep by the Army for those responsible for last month's raid on the arsenal of the Wamena military compound. The identities of the three people were not immediately available.
Jakarta – Papuan tribal leaders and students from Greater Jakarta urged the government on Tuesday to revoke forest concessions given to dozens of companies that have failed to preserve the environment. They argued that a lack of government control has caused illegal logging and forest fires to increase in the country's easternmost province.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Compared to Papua province's population of 2.1 million, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases in the province has reached an alarming level with a total of 1,263 people with HIV, including 539 who have contracted the fatal disease.
[The West Papuan campaign against rule by Indonesia and corporate exploitation of the territory's rich resources is one of the world's most important and least known resistance movements.
Biak – Nine hundred inhabitants in the district of Kuyawage have fled their homes and sought sanctuary in Sinak district, Puncak Jaya, because Indonesian troops are conducting operations in their area.
Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) officers troops said Friday they had shot dead two suspected separatist rebels in the jungles of Papua province.
Jakarta – As war drums beat louder in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, momentum is building at the other end of the giant archipelago for tougher action against separatists in Papua.
Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – Trouble has been brewing in Papua, located at the other extreme of the Indonesian archipelago from Aceh where war with separatist rebels is imminent, but a US-based organization believes that the government in Jakarta could reduce tension in Papua, and use it as a model for conflict prevention in other regions.
Marian Wilkinson, Washington – A group of United States senators has called on President Megawati Soekarnoputri of Indonesia to make the investigation into the killing of two Americans and the wounding of eight others near the Freeport mine in West Papua "a national priority".
Australian Parliamentarians have been told that Indonesia's troubled province of Papua is the most likely future cause of problems between Jakarta and Canberra. A group of experts has also told the MPs and Senators that the hardline tactics of the Indonesian military have made it impossible for Papuan moderates to cooperate with Indonesia.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Police named an alleged commander of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) as a key suspect in last month's armed robbery at the Wamena military district arsenal which left three men dead and dozens of rifles missing.
Michael Perry, Sydney – Tens of thousands of Papuans who fled Indonesia into neighbouring Papua New Guinea fearing abuse by the military have become a forgotten people, living in a stateless limbo for two decades, according to a new report.
Endy M. Bayuni – Anyone wondering why many Papuans are bent on seeking independence should read a newly published public opinion survey, which finds the province mired in poverty and inequality resulting from neglect and, to some extent, exploitation.
That Papua is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia is beyond dispute, but what is less known to date is the deep disparity that exists there.
Why has the government information campaign basically failed in Papua? The answers may have to do as much with the low penetration of the media among the Papuan people as with the message itself.
Netty Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Soldiers hunting down the suspects in last month's raid against the Wamena military district arsenal, clashed with suspected rebels in Koyawage forest in the Papua regency of Jayawijaya on Thursday.
Steven Gutkin, Jakarta – The United States remains ready to normalise relations with the Indonesian army, but obstacles including suspicions that soldiers were involved in the murder of two Americans are preventing full restoration of ties, the US ambassador said yesterday.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The military police unit of the Trikora Military Command overseeing Papua has arrested nine soldiers and seven civilians for their alleged involvement in the April 4 arsenal burglary in Wamena, in which two soldiers and a Free Papua Movement (OPM) rebel were killed.
M. Rizai Maslan – Although they have been convicted for the murder of the chairman of the Papaun Presidium Counicil, the convicted men are seen differently in the eyes of the chief of staff of the army, General Ryamizard Ryacudu. In his eyes, these men are heroes.
Seven of Indonesia's Kopassus special forces soldiers have been found guilty by an Indonesian court over the murder of Papuan pro independence leader They's Eluay in 2001. But the seven men face at most three and a half years in jail, and in some cases haven't even been stripped of their place in the Army.
Presenter/Interviewer: Tim Palmer, Indonesia Correspondent
An Indonesian military court has sentenced four special forces soldiers for up to three and a half years jail for the murder of Papuan pro-independence leader Theys Eluay in November 2001. Another three Kopassus soldiers are still awaiting their verdicts. Mr Eluay was killed while being driven home from a dinner hosted at the Kopassus headquarters in the Papuan capital Jayapura.
Jakarta – Human rights groups on Tuesday called for a deeper investigation into the killing of an independence leader in Indonesia's Papua province, saying the conviction and jailing of seven soldiers haven't uncovered who gave the order for the slaying.
Four Indonesian special forces soldiers who killed a Papuan provincial leader while trying to silence his calls for independence were jailed for between 36 and 42 months.
"The defendants were proven guilty of jointly engaging in mistreatment that led to the death of Theys Hiyo Eluay," said Judge Colonel Yamini in a military court.
Wamena – With the apparent approval of the governor of Papua, Yab Solosa, a joint military unit composed of Kopassus, Kostrad 413 and Rapid Reaction Force troops took action in the direction of the District of Kuyawage, west of Wamena, and burnt down the homes of inhabitants, as well as schools, medical centres and teachers' homes.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Yapenas Murib, 35, one of four civilians suspected of involvement in the theft of arms at the a military district headquarters in Wamena on March 4, died on Tuesday.
Jakarta – Amnesty International said on Tuesday that Indonesian troops had reportedly tortured villagers and torched homes during a hunt for separatist rebels in Papua province.
Wamena – According to a report from ELSHAM's contact post in Wamena, a detainee named Yapenas Murib, from Ilekma who was arrested a few days ago died in military custody at the military command, Kodim 1702 on Tuesday, 5am.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Home affairs minister Hari Sabarno has added to the confusion surrounding the partition of the autonomous province of Papua into three provinces – Papua, Central Irian Jaya, and West Irian Jaya.
Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) has arrested a man suspected of involvement in last week's raid on an armoury in Papua province, a district commander said on Saturday.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has found strong indications of the involvement of its own members in a recent burglary at the Wamena military district's arsenal that left three dead, including two Army soldiers.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – After four days of an operation to recover 29 stolen rifles and the rebels who allegedly stole them, combat soldiers from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) recovered nine of the rifles, six of which they located on the Wamena military district compound, the very place from where they went missing.
Hans Gebze is a West Papuan student based in Yogyakarta. He has been involved in political struggle since before 1998. He is a secretary-general of the Alliance of Papuan Students (AMP). Gebze spoke to Green Left Weekly's Max Lane about the West Papuan people's struggle for freedom.
Dean Yates, Jakarta – A decision by Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to split restive Papua into three provinces has created serious tension and could spark violence, a respected think tank said on Wednesday.
Nethy Dharma Somba and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta/Jayapura – Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu ordered the military in Papua to quell the Free Papua Movement (OPM), which was blamed for a deadly burglary at the Jayawijaya military district arsenal early on Friday.
Jakarta – Suspected rebels trying to steal weapons during a night raid on a military post exchanged fire with government troops early yesterday, killing two soldiers in Indonesia's remote Papua province, the military said.
The gunbattle also killed one man, who villagers later identified as a rebel, said Papuan military chief Brigadier-General Nurdin Zainal.
Surabaya – The team of lawyers for the seven members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) accused of killing pro-independence Papua figure Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluway, have appealed to judges to be fair in imposing punishment on their clients. One of the lawyers, Mario Bernardo, said he suspected political pressure had led to the trial.
Jakarta – Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels shot dead two soldiers during an attempt early Friday to steal weapons from a military post in Papua province, the military said.
Indonesia has expressed alarm at the opening of a Papuan People's office in Vanuatu.
The Indonesian embassy in Canberra has issued a statement saying it may review diplomatic ties with Vanuatu.
It says it learned from credible sources the office was set up in the capital Port Vila last week. Indonesia has asked the government of Vanuatu for an explanation.
The First Commission of the Papuan Legislative Assembly and human rights activists in Papua have expressed alarm about plans to send one thousand more soldiers to Papua.
Police in the Indonesian province of Papua say the accidental discovery of a cache of illegal explosives has led to fears of covert militia activity in the region. Police say tribal leaders in the coastal town of Sorong, where police have arrested a local businessman and Islamic politician, have raised the concerns.
Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) would not ask US gold and copper mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia to provide financial contributions to its soldiers.
Alan Boyd, Sydney – A diplomatic offensive by Indonesia appears to have succeeded in bumping West Papua off the global human-rights agenda, and has probably set the stage for a bloody military solution.
The acknowledgement by Freeport McMoran (partly owned by Rio Tinto, the world's largest mining transnational) that it pays money to the armed forces (TNI) for security in its area of operation, confirms suspicions about the close ties between the armed forces and the police and transnational corporations.
Jakarta – Describing their clients as national heroes, attorneys for seven Indonesian soldiers on trial for the killing of a leading politician in independence- minded Papua province, said their clients were innocent and charges against them should be dropped.
Jayapura – Trikora military commander Major-General Mahidin Simbolon had strongly denied rumours (the word he used was 'rumor') that the armed forces has received US$5.6 million from PT. Freeport for guarding the mining company's operations.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Soetarto said on Friday some 600 troops stationed at the Freeport mine in Papua to protect the company's assets receive daily allowances and lunches from the United States-based company.
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The head of Indonesia's military, General Endriartono Sutarto, said he "didn't know" that an American mining company last year paid the military about $US5.6 million to protect its mine where 15 people were shot in an ambush.
Jakarta – The US Freeport company paid the Indonesian military (TNI) about US$5.6 million last year to protect employees of its giant copper and gold mine in Papua province, according to a report released Thursday.