Police are investigating an explosion at the family home of lawyer and pro-Papuan liberation activist Veronica Koman, who is widely seen by nationalists as a traitor to the country.
West Papua
Displaying 2201-2250 of 10632 Documents
November 8, 2021
November 7, 2021
Karin Goodwin – Four months before Raki Ap was born his father, a West Papuan cultural leader, anthropologist and musician, was killed. He had been arrested in November 1983 by the Indonesian military special forces and imprisoned and tortured for suspected sympathies with the Free Papua Movement, although no charges were laid.
November 6, 2021
Arjuna Pademme, Jakarta – Chairman of Papua Legislative Council's (DPRP) Special Group John NR Gobai said that the Papua provincial government must immediately respond to the situation in Intan Jaya Regency, which has returned to turmoil in the past weeks.
November 4, 2021
Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – A human rights defender in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua has called for greater protection for civilians, especially children, in conflict zones,
The call came in an open letter to President Joko Widodo issued by Theo Hasegem, executive director of the Papua Justice and Human Integrity Foundation, on Nov. 3.
West Papua independence leaders launched their 'Green State Vision' today (Nov. 4) at COP26 in Glasgow, pledging to take decisive action to address the climate emergency and impact of natural resource extraction in an independent West Papua.
West Papua indigenous independence leaders today launched "Green State Vision" at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, pledging to take decisive action to address the climate emergency and the impact of natural resource extraction in an independent West Papua.
November 2, 2021
The Indonesian government should promptly, thoroughly, independently, transparently and effectively investigate the death of one child and the injury to another after two children were shot amid a gunfight between armed groups and Indonesian security forces in Intan Jaya regency, Papua Province, said Amnesty International today.
November 1, 2021
The Australia West Papua Association has protested over the "lack of any concern" by Canberra over worsening clashes in the Indonesian military crackdown on pro-independence groups in West Papua.
Joe Collins of AWPA said in a statement today that the harsh "behaviour" of the Indonesian forces would lead to the instability that the Australian government fears.
Konradus Epa, Jakarta – More than 30 priests in Indonesia's Papua province have called for a ceasefire between security forces and separatist rebels amid ongoing clashes that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes since Oct. 28.
October 31, 2021
Church leaders in Indonesia's conflict-wracked Papua region called for calm Sunday as thousands fled to shelters after a two-year-old boy was killed in a firefight between government troops and independence-seeking rebels.
October 29, 2021
A child was killed and one wounded in Indonesia's easternmost Papua region, a security spokesman said, in a rare flare up in an old insurgency when government forces clashed with separatist insurgents.
Benny Mawel, Jayapura – The Papuan Customary Council has criticized all parties who speak on behalf of the Indigenous Papuan people and ask PT Freeport Indonesia to build a copper smelter in Papua.
The council also questions those who ask the company to prioritize Indigenous Papuans to work at Freeport's new smelter in East Java.
Abeth You, Jayapura – The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) said that the Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel who allegedly shot dead Nopelinus Sondegau, a two-year-old child, and injured a six-year-old named Yoakim Majau, did so because they were upset for failing to shoot the opponents.
October 28, 2021
Abeth You, Jayapura – The Pegunungan Bintang (Pegubin) Administration is preparing to send hundreds of displaced people of Kiwirok District, who fled after the attack on the Kiwirok's health center on Sept. 18, 2021, back to their villages.
More than 300 Kiwirok residents currently take shelter at 17 points in Oksibil City, the capital of Pegunungan Bintang.
Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – A two-year-old boy has died following an armed clash between suspected separatist rebels and soldiers in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, police said on Oct. 27.
October 27, 2021
Jayapura – Papua Legal Aid Institute has called on the Papua and West Papua administration, as well as the Indonesian Red Cross, to immediately save civilians who were displaced due to armed conflict in a number of areas in Papua.
Johnny Blades – Armed conflict in West Papua has caused an exodus of displaced people into one of the most remote parts of neighbouring Papua New Guinea.
Jakarta – An Indonesian cabinet minister is pushing for American mining giant Freeport McMoRan to be allowed to expand its copper concentrate output so as to supply a planned smelter in the easternmost region of Papua, he said on Wednesday.
October 26, 2021
An environmental NGO has hailed a West Papua district head's decision to recognise customary land rights.
The head of Sorong Regency, Johnny Kamuru, has issued a decree on recognising rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Gelek Malak Kalawilis Pasa over land and forest in Sayosa sub district.
Lodi Aprianto – A protest action by Papuan students in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar ended in chaos after members of an ormas (social or mass organisations) forcibly broke up the demonstration. Rappocini deputy sectoral police chief Deputy Police Commissioner Widodo was injured by a rock during the incident.
October 25, 2021
Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura – Lawmaker of Papua Legislative Council John NR Gobai said that forest products and other natural resources in Papua were mostly controlled by investors, who have permits from the central government, instead of Indigenous People. To date, Indigenous Papuans are still marginalized in natural resource management.
October 23, 2021
Jakarta – The government has released its 2021 Performance Report. The report however, does not contain an evaluation of the handling of conflicts which have occurred in Papua.
Yet, of late, there have been frequent armed conflicts between armed criminal groups (KKB) and the Indonesian military resulting in not a few lives being lost on both sides.
October 22, 2021
Susan Price – About 200 Indonesian military personnel are taking part in a joint training exercise with 150 Australian troops in the Northern Territory. Meanwhile, in West Papua, thousands of civilians are fleeing Indonesian military operations in the Maybrat region.
October 21, 2021
Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura – Papuan Customary Council secretary John NR Gobai has urged the Papua Legislative Council to investigate the disappearance of Sem Kobogau, 51, a man declared missing after being taken by a number of soldiers on Oct. 5, 2021.
Gobai demanded the Papua Legislative Council to talk with all related parties to help investigate the case.
Up to 200 Indonesian military personal are taking part in a joint military exercise with Australian troops in the NT.
Meanwhile in West Papua, thousands of civilians flee Indonesian military operations in the Maybrat region.
Rangga PAJ, Rahmad Nasution, Jakarta – A report book documenting the commitment and achievements of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in accelerating regional development in the provinces of Papua and West Papua was released by the Presidential Office (KSP) on Wednesday.
October 20, 2021
Benny Mawel, Jayapura – Declared on Oct. 19, 2011, during the Third Papuan People's Congress at Zakheus Square in Abepura, the so-called West Papua Federal Republic (NFRPB) celebrated its 10th anniversary of declaration on Tuesday.
October 19, 2021
Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura – Sorong regent Johny Kamuru has issued Decree No. 593.2/KEP.345/IX/2021 to recognize the land rights of the Gelek Malak Kalawilis Pasa, one of the clans of the Moi Tribe in Sayosa District, Sorong Regency. The decree acknowledges that the clan's customary land and forests cover an area of 3,247 hectares.
October 18, 2021
Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura – Papuan Legislative Council member Yonas Alfon Nusi urged the Indonesian government and PT Freeport Indonesia to explain to the Papuan people the reason behind its plan to build a copper smelter in Gresik Regency, East Java, instead of in Papua.
Olivia Tasevski – When Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, became Indonesia's president in 2014, he pledged to improve social services in the restive Indonesian province of West Papua, where a pro-independence movement has been brewing since the 1960s. At the time, Jokowi claimed that once these improvements occurred, "the political tension [in West Papua] will drop."
October 15, 2021
Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura – Lawmaker of the Papua's Legislative Council's Politics, Law, and Human Rights Commission Laurenzus Kadepa reveals that 8,300 former employees of mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia, who were arbitrarily laid off some years ago as part of the company's efficiency drive, is still fighting for their rights.
October 14, 2021
Arjuna Pademme, Jayapura – The involvement of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the food estate program initiated by the government last year was feared to enable potential human rights violations, Rights NGO Imparsial director Gufron Mabruri said in an online discussion on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.
October 13, 2021
Jayapura – The International Coalition for Papua (ICP) has released its latest report on human rights violations in Papua between July and September 2021.
Dyna Rochmyaningsih – Seventeen years ago, botanist Miriam van Heist of Wageningen University and a team of local collaborators set out to explore plant diversity in the Foja Mountains in Western New Guinea. It was an uncharted realm: Of the 487 species they found, nearly one-third had never been described anywhere.
Theo Kelen, Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court is still waiting for the medical examination result of Victor Yeimo to determine his trial schedule. Yeimo, the international spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee who is arrested for alleged treason during a protest against racism in 2019, is currently undergoing treatment for tuberculosis at the Dok 2 Hospital.
October 12, 2021
Hengky Yeimo, Jayapura – The executive director of the Institute for Research, Assessment, and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH) Manokwari, Yan Christian Warinussy, says that during the 25 years of the LP3BH's establishment, his party has not found any real efforts by the Indonesian government to address the two root causes of Papua's problems, which are, the disputes over political
Atamus Kepno, Jayapura – Cenderawasih University (Uncen) students are urging the government through the Papua police to immediately release West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson Victor F. Yeimo and student activist Frans Wasini.
Victor Mambor, Jayapura – Upon receiving a report on a missing person named Sem Kobagau, reportedly arrested by four members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency, the Cenderawasih Military Command XVII starts investigating the allegation.
October 11, 2021
A new United Nations report has detailed the harassment and surveillance of West Papuan human rights defenders at the hands of the Indonesian state.
The report, jointly compiled by the UN Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), records attacks on human rights defenders in 45 countries, including Indonesia.
Jakarta – Nine months since the Indonesian government ran the COVID-19 vaccination program, the vaccination rate in Papua Province is lowest, a recent national count says.
October 8, 2021
Yance Wenda, Sentani – Papuan People Assembly's (MRP) member of the Women Workgroup Orpa Nari has warned security forces not to restrict Papuan women from selling noken – Papua's multifunctional woven bag – and other accessories with the Morning Star design in the 20th National Games (PON XX) venue in Papua.
October 6, 2021
Agus Pabika, Jayapura – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to Papua to officially open the National Games (PON XX) and officiate a number of infrastructure projects are ceremonial and will not provide any benefits to the ordinary Papuan people when cases of human rights violations are left unresolved.
Antara, Jakarta – The Youth and Sports Minister (Menpora), Zainudin Amali, asserted that the XX Papua National Sports Week (PON Papua) will continue to run as scheduled albeit a number of athletes and officials tested positive for COVID-19.
Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – At least six people were killed and thousands forced to flee during clashes between two indigenous groups in Indonesia's Papua province sparked by allegations of witchcraft, police said Oct. 6.
Violence flared between members of the Kimyal and Yali tribes in Dekai, the capital of Yahukimo district, on Oct. 3.
The interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) has accused Indonesia of holding its 20th National Games "on the bones of my people".
"While we mourn for three years of Indonesian military operations, these games are a dance on top of our graves, on top of our suffering, on top of our cries," Benny Wenda said today in a statement.
October 5, 2021
Hans Nicholas Jong, Sorong, West Papua – With its lush rainforests and long stretches of beaches, Waimon, a coastal village in Indonesia's West Papua province, seems like an idyllic place.
But some residents consider it a hostile, almost inhospitable place due to its remoteness and the heavy rains that can make traveling by boat a deadly prospect.
Yamin Kogoya – Two Melanesian state leaders addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on West Papua last week.
During the 76th UNGA, both Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, James Marape, and Vanuatu's Prime Minister, Bob Loughman, expressed concern about human rights issues in West Papua.
October 4, 2021
Victor Mambor, Jayapura – A major national sports event opened in Papua at the weekend, with officials hoping it will showcase the Indonesian government's commitment to developing the province and reassure the public that the region is safe despite an active and escalating pro-independence insurgency.
Andita Rahma, Jakarta – A riot broke out in Yahukimo of Papua on Sunday, October 3, killing six residents and leaving 41 others injured. The clashes between residents started at around 12:45 Eastern Indonesian Time (WIT).
October 3, 2021
A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil, Jakarta – After a year's delay due to the pandemic, the 20th National Games (PON) started in Papua over the weekend under heavy security – the first major sporting event in the restive easternmost region of Indonesia and despite virus concerns.