Jakarta – Demonstrators wearing traditional Papuan tribal dress marched Saturday to protest an Indonesian government plan to divide Papua into three provinces.
More than 100 protesters chanted "Free Papua from legal and illegal military operations" at the rally in Jakarta, about 3,600 kilometers west of the province.
Jakarta – Supporters and opponents of the creation of Central Irian Jaya province barbecued two pigs in a traditional ceremony on Thursday in the town of Timika, Papua province, to mark a peace agreement among them.
Max Lane, Jakarta – There was little doubt about what feelings dwell in the heart of Negro Alpius Kogoyo, head of the Lani tribe of Mimika and commander of the Peoples Opposed to the Division of Papua.
["The United Nations and the Indonesian Takeover of West Papua, 1962-1969: The anatomy of betrayal" by John Saltford. Review by Julian Evans.]
Just a few days after the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) announced plans to form new battalions in Papua, a prominent environmentalist has warned that illegal logging mafias are joining forces with crooked officials to plunder the province's rainforests.
Dr Laurence Sullivan is a British lawyer who's been working on Indonesia's current Special Autonomy Law for the restive, but resource-rich province of Papua. He says the Indonesian Government's failure so far to grant promised autonomy to Papua is actually helping the independence movement, and undermining the unity of the Indonesian state.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A seven-member team from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has begun to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in the province of Papua.
Jakarta – Indonesia said on Wednesday it might ban foreign tourists from visiting restive Papua, where four people have been killed and dozens wounded in recent clashes over government plans to divide the province.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) team is scheduled to arrive here on Monday to investigate reports of human rights abuses in the troubled province of Papua.
The team will gather data and information in Wamena, Wasior and Timika, where non-governmental organizations have accused security personnel of human rights violations.
Jakarta – Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda has stated that the government is continuing to monitor the possibility of support from a number of countries in the Asia Pacific region for a group of people in Papua who have ideas of Papuan independence, separating from the Republic of Indonesia.
Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – An expert warned on Monday of more troubles as a result of the government's failure to involve local participation in its plan to divide Papua into three provinces.
Sociologist Daniel Dhakidae suggested that the government be prepared to revise the plan or even drop it as opposition to the partition was quite serious.
Dean Yates, Hebuba – Against the backdrop of mist-shrouded mountains and a new brick church, tribesmen in Indonesia's restive Papua province grabbed their bows and began firing arrows into more than 100 pigs tied to stakes. The dying pigs howled and thrashed madly.
Dean Yates, Wamena – It was a typical Sunday in a village not far from the highland town of Wamena in Indonesia's restive Papua province.
Jakarta – A pro-independence activist Saturday denounced a government plan to quell separatist sentiment in Indonesia's easternmost province by setting up a local legislature, saying the body would be unrepresentative and lack strong political powers.
Jakarta – Indonesia will deploy 2,000 more troops in its easternmost province of Papua after recent anti-government protests left five people dead.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura/Jakarta – Ahead of a planned tribal celebration for peace, the situation in Timika, the capital of Mimika regency, abruptly turned tense on Monday following the killing of two migrant people on Sunday evening.
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The government again made clear on Monday its determination to prevent an overly powerful Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), throwing into question the status of the province's special autonomy.
Pro-independence groups in Papua have issued an urgent call for immediate assistance from Australia to help stop escalating violence in the Indonesian province. A total of six people have been killed in the past week in fighting between supporters and opponents of a plan by Jakarta to divide the province into three.
Kurniawan Hari and Syaiful Amin, Jakarta/Yogyakarta – The controversial division of Papua, which sparked deadly violence in Mimika regency last week, has been blamed on the political elite in Jakarta, particularly those in the two largest parties, and the Indonesian Military (TNI).
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The deadly clashes between opponents and supporters of the creation of Central Irian Jaya province has come to an uneasy truce, after it turned into a tribal war upon the local "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" principle.
The premature declaration of Central Irian Jaya province by six regents together with the speaker of the regional parliament on Saturday has given rise to suspicion that the division of Papua is driven by the desire to dominate the natural resources and political allegiances of the area.
Muridan S. Widjojo, Jakarta – The public has again apparently been taken by surprise by the popular uprising in Papua, this time in Timika. The clashes were triggered by the declaration of the Central Irian Jaya province by Jakarta elites.
Papua/Jakarta – Police in Timika, Papua have detained as a suspect, a man identified only as LS and questioned seven others for alleged roles in bloody clashes over the controversial creation of Central Irian Jaya province last week.
Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – In the aftermath of the violent clashes between Papua citizens as a result of the creation of the new province of Central Irian Jaya, Papua students in Yogyakarta have called for the [decision to] divide up the province of Papua be immediately annulled.
Neles Tebay, Pontifical University of Urbaniana, Rome – The controversial plan to divide Papua into three provinces was delayed on the heels of the fatal clashes following the announcement of the Central Irian Jaya province in Timika.
Jakarta/Papua/Denpasar – Experts have finally begun to step up criticism of the government for violating its own laws on Papua, saying that it would only spark further legal uncertainty and become a divisive issue for the people, especially the residents of Papua.
The Indonesian government has suspended plans to divide the province of Papua into three, after days of sustained street fighting. But Jakarta says it has not abandoned its plan to divide the resource-rich province, to improve administration. There are fears the real agenda is to undermine the long-running separatist movement.
Presenter/Interviewer: Sonya De Masi
Jakarta – Chief of the National Defence Force (TNI) General Endriartono Sutarto has said his side will not yet launch a military operation in anticipation of possible security disturbances by an armed separatist group in Papua.
The death toll in several days of clashes in Indonesia's Papua province has risen to four, police said after the unrest prompted the central government to shelve controversial plans to split the province into three.
One man wounded early Wednesday has died in hospital, said Abdul Gani, a senior police officer in the town of Timika.
Peter Cave: Despite claims that Indonesian forces have cracked down on Radical Islamists in the Indonesian province of West Papua, the separatist movement there says Laskar Jihad is still active and being supported by local Indonesian military.
Jayapura/Jakarta – Pressure mounted on Tuesday for the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri to retract its decision to partition Papua into three provinces, following deadly clashes between opponents and supporters of the move.
Police reinforcements were being flown to the town of Timika in Indonesia's Papua province following three days of street clashes in which three people died and dozens were injured.
Jakarta – Following fatal clashes between opponents and supporters of the establishment of Central Irian Jaya province, the government has come under pressure for its decision to partition the country's easternmost province, Papua.
The death toll from three days of clashes in Indonesia's Papua province has risen to three and more than 50 have been injured, hospital staff said.
Jakarta – The Indonesian government has cited the armed separatist movement in Papua as one of three threats against the perpetuation of the nation's existence within the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI). Therefore the government will soon [take action to] incapacitate the separatist movement in the province of Papua, or where ever such movements exist.
Timika – Two people have been killed and 18 wounded as rivals clashed with arrows and stones over the creation of a new province on Indonesia's remote Papua island, witnesses and police said on Monday.
Buried somewhere in the lengthy, state-of-the-nation speech by the President, made on August 15 to the House of Representatives, was a casual reference to the situation in Papua.
Jakarta, Kompas – Even though Aceh problem has yet to be resolved, the Indonesian military (TNI) is now categorising the province of Papua as a trouble spot [because of efforts] to separate the province from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A solidarity group for Papua demanded on Tuesday that the central government call off its plan to divide the province and keep its promise by immediately establishing the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP).
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Indonesia integrated Papua into its sovereign territory 40 years ago, but most Papuans are still living in a state of poverty in remote areas, even though the province is rich in natural resources.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The troubled province of Papua was granted special autonomy in 2001 with around Rp 1.2 trillion disbursed last year to smooth its implementation, but life remains unchanged among the impoverished people there.
Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has formed a Human Rights Investigation Team in [West] Papua. The team, which made up four members, is headed Saafroeddin Bahar, will begin work next August to investigate a number of reports which have been received by Komnas HAM of suspected cases of human rights violations in Papua.
Jakarta/Wamena – At least two of nine soldiers, charged with involvement in April's deadly raid on the Wamena military district arsenal in the troubled province of Papua, are threatened with the death penalty.
Dean Yates, Jakarta – FBI agents have taken evidence from last year's killing of two American schoolteachers in Indonesia's rebellious Papua province back to the United States, just as US lawmakers turn up the heat over the murders.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Hundreds of people staged a rally in the Papua capital of Jayapura on Tuesday to protest the annual progress report presented by Governor Jaap Salossa, citing alleged fraud and irregularities in the report.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The central government moved closer to creating a West Irian Jaya province in Papua on Monday, despite lingering controversies over the plan to split the troubled region into three – Papua, West Irian Jaya and Central Irian Jaya.
Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Papuans are growing increasingly concerned that the Indonesian military – boosted by its apparent success against rebels in Aceh – will crack down on Papua's independence movement.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The central government is accused of a lack of resolve in enforcing the special autonomy law for the troubled province of Papua, which was implemented two years ago to appease separatist groups.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Unlike the conflict-plagued province of Aceh, the central government does not have any immediate plans to impose martial law to wipe out the independence rebels in Papua, but is hoping for a peaceful solution instead, the chief security minister said here on Wednesday.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono renewed the government's warning against separatists in the province of Papua on Tuesday. He said separatists would face tougher action from security forces should they go ahead with their secessionist campaign.