West Papuans are facing the start of 2021 with sorrowful news about the death of Mispo Gwijangge, a victim of accusations and torture over alleged crimes he did not commit.

Some human rights advocates and lawyers, including Amnesty International Indonesia, have expressed their condolences for his death in Wamena on January 6, reports Tabloid Jubi.

Jayapura – Several people from villages in Biak and Supiori, Papua, were reportedly arrested between January 4-7 by a joint unit of TNI (Indonesian military) and Indonesian police (Polri) without arrest warrants.

Ronna Nirmala and Imran Vittachi, Jakarta and Washington – Separatist rebels set fire to an airplane operated by an American-Christian humanitarian organization and shot a helicopter contracted by a U.S.-Indonesian mining company in separate attacks in Indonesia's Papua province, security officials said Thursday.

Yesterday in an interview, General Hendropriyono, a retired Kopassus general and former head of the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency declares his proposal to forcibly remove 2 million Papuans from their homeland and replace them with Indonesians.

Jakarta – The non-government organisation (NGO) Green Papua claims that 654,561 Papuans have signed a petition opposing the extension of Special Autonomy (Otsus) for Papua.

Green Papua Chairperson Yohanes Giyai said that the petition is evidence that the Papuan people reject the Indonesian government's plan to extend Papuan Special Autonomy which will expire this year.

[Special report by Victor Mambor in Jayapura – first of a three-part investigation into the Pastor Yeremia Zanambani assassination.]

Jakarta – Opposition by Tambrauw regency residents in West Papua province against the establishment of the Tambrauw 1810 District Military Command (Kodim) has attracted support from a number of different parties.

Benny Mawel, Jayapura – The enforcement of human rights and the resolution of various cases of human rights violations in Papua in 2020 has worsened, say advocates.

Indonesia is being urged to immediately ratify the Rome Statute so that various cases of human rights violations in Papua can be tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

Benny Mawel, Jayapura – "Merry Christmas, 25 December 2020," says the graffiti displayed in the yard of the Nduga student dormitory in the study city of Jayapura.

Hundreds of eyes stared at the writing, then they moved forward lighting Christmas candles.

"We want Christmas light," said Arim Tabuni, a senior student who attended the joint event.

Jakarta – Pastors in Papua asked bishops in Indonesia to break their silence over the violence in the region. Church leaders must push for dialogue and reconciliation in order to end the conflict.

Klas Lundstrom – Fly River, western Papua New Guinea. The chocolate brown water not only bears its colour due to high concentration levels of humus, it is also the result of centuries of floating timber transports and decades of spilled waste from the Ok Tedi mine mill, situated near the river's source.

Military Police have named nine soldiers suspects in a case pertaining to the killing of two Hitadipa villagers in Intan Jaya regency, Papua.

The soldiers are suspected of torturing two civilians identified as Luther Zanambani and Apinus Zanambani to death and burning their bodies to hide their crime, Military Police commander Let. Gen. Dodik Widjanarko said.

On Christmas Eve, the body of Catholic seminarian Zhage Sil, was found in a ditch in Jayapura, in the Indonesian province of Papua. According to the local police, the perpetrators of the crime are still unknown.

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is urging the Attorney General and the Judge Advocate General to immediately to push for the shooting cases in Intan Jaya, Papua, to be heard in civilian courts.

The commander of the Indonesian Army Military Police (Danpuspomad), Lieutenant-General Dodik Widjanarko says TNI AD soldiers in Papua have committed acts of violence, including burning bodies to erase traces of their killing.

Jakarta – Military Police have named nine soldiers suspects in a case pertaining to the killing of two Hitadipa villagers in Intan Jaya regency, Papua.

The soldiers are suspected of torturing two civilians identified as Luther Zanambani and Apinus Zanambani to death and burning their bodies to hide their crime, Military Police commander Let. Gen. Dodik Widjanarko said.

Laurens Ikinia – As late South African President Nelson Mandela said: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe also believes this.

Jakarta – The family of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani, who was shot dead in Hitadipa district, Intan Jaya regency, Papua, on September 19, are asking that the case be tried in a human rights court. They oppose having the trial being taken to a military tribunal.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military on Wednesday (Dec 23) named nine soldiers as suspects in the killing in April of two civilians in the country's Papua region, as part of a state probe into violence this year in an area beset by separatist conflict.

Ariel Bogle and Albert Zhang – On Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, a network of accounts is targeting the West Papua independence movement with memes and messages designed to shape international and domestic narratives about the separatist movement.

The Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) and the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) again launched actions in several parts of the country on December 19. This time the actions took up the theme, "Trikora: The Start of Indonesia's Colonisation of the West Papua Nation".

Jakarta

Jakarta – Residents of Tambrauw regency in West Papua province are opposing the establishment of the Tambrauw 1810 District Military Command (Kodim) which was officially inaugurated on Monday December 14.

Charles Maniani, Manokwari – Mobile Brigade (Brimob) paramilitary police, national police intelligence officers (intel) and the army's special forces (Kopassus) stormed the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) offices in the Almasuh area of Merauke regency, Papua, during a raid on Sunday December 13.

Richard C. Paddock, Bangkok – It has been 59 years since separatists in the Indonesian territory of West Papua raised their red, white and blue flag and declared independence. The region has been in conflict ever since.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A major sawmill operation linked to widespread deforestation and corruption in Indonesia has had its legality certification revoked by the licensing authority over allegations of a forged permit, meaning it will not be allowed to export any wood products.

Arya Kiet – Coinciding with International Human Rights Day today, December 10, 147 Catholic priests in Papua have called for an end to violence in Papua and have requested that bishops give more serious attention to the issue for the sake of the safety of religious community members in Indonesia's eastern-most provinces.

Johnny Blades – Catholic priests in West Papua have appealed for reconciliation and dialogue to address ongoing armed violence in their region.

A statement has been issued by 147 priests from across the Indonesian-administered provinces of West Papua and Papua.

Nicholas Ryan Aditya, Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) researcher Arif Nur Fikri has reported the group's findings on human rights violations throughout 2020. Kontras found 40 incidents of human rights violations in Papua between January and November 2020.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The General Election Commission (KPU) reported problems in distributing the logistics of the 2020 Regional Election in several regions of Papua, particularly in Yalimo, Yahukimo, and Pegunungan Bintang.

Budi Sutrisno, Jakarta – The shooting of Papuan Pastor Yeremia Zanambani is not an independent incident but part of the most recent and most significant shift in the trend of conflicts in Intan Jaya regency since its establishment in 2008, a report has said.

Introduction

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – An area of natural forest the size of 1,500 football fields has been cleared since January in an oil palm concession in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua by a company that ultimately supplies major traders and global brands.

Jakarta – Indonesia has lodged a formal protest with Britain after a UK-based separatist leader announced an interim government-in-exile for the restive Papua province.

Mineral-rich Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province, has been dealing for decades with a low-level separatist insurgency, as well as poverty and communal tensions.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – Chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Benny Wenda, requested President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to end the martial law status in West Papua.

"The President must end martial law period in West Papua and discuss the issue," Benny said in a written statement on Friday, December 4, 2020.

Jakarta – The fissure in relations between the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM) and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) began to sharpen in 2017.

Jakarta – The Presidential Staff Office says it regrets the raising of the Morning Star flag – which is identified with Papuan independence – at the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday December 1.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo asked the government through the Foreign Affairs Minister to summon the British Ambassador over the declaration of the West Papua provisional government by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) leader Benny Wenda.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda, said he is ready to discuss with President Joko Jokowi Widodo over Papua and West Papua issues. Benny recently declared himself as the interim president of the provisional government of West Papua.

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi has summoned the British Ambassador in Jakarta, Owen Jenkins, regarding the declaration of an independent Papua on 1stDecember 2020 that was echoed by the Chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda.

Jakarta – On December 1, United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Chairperson Benny Wenda declared Papuan independence. He did not make the declaration on Papuan soil but rather through a press release on the ULMWP's official website.

Jakarta – Environmental organisation Greenpeace says that corporations in the palm oil sector have begun to venture into forests in Papua in concert with diminishing land availability in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

Following the announcement of the Provisional Government of West Papua on Tuesday, the new interim President, Benny Wenda, has said he is ready to sit down with President Jowoki and discuss a solution to the conflict, amidst massive controversy in Indonesia regarding the announcement.

Imam B, Rahmad Nasution, Jakarta – Responding to the recent developments in Papua and West Papua, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), Azis Syamsuddin, has urged the government, military, and police to maintain state authority and safety in the region.

Indonesia has been urged by the United Nations to engage with West Papuans in an inclusive dialogue to address long-standing grievances.

The UN Human Rights Office says it is disturbed by escalating violence and increased arrests of people for simply exercising their basic rights in the Indonesia-ruled Papua region.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry on Wednesday confirmed that a group of trespassers had entered the Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne, Australia, to hoist the Free Papua Movement (OPM) morning star (Bintang Kejora) flag.

This incident was captured in the consulate general's CCTV footage that was shared by Twitter user @Tbuch2.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) on Wednesday has officially considered the declaration of West Papua's provisional government by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as a form of provocation and propaganda.

Imam Budilaksono/Suharto, Jakarta – Deputy House Speaker Azis Syamsuddin urged Indonesia's government to act sternly and promptly against the claim of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) that declared a West Papua provisional government on Dec 1.

Abdu F, Rahmad Nasution, Jakarta – Hikmahanto Juwana, professor of international law at the University of Indonesia, has urged the Indonesian government to ignore Papuan separatist leader Benny Wenda's maneuvers, including his declaration of a so-called "interim government" in West Papua.

Surabaya – Protesters from the Papua Student Alliance (AMP) held a demonstration commemorating the declaration of West Papuan independence at the Negara Grahadi building in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on Tuesday December 1.

Pacific Media Watch – West Papuan leaders have begun forming a "provisional government" in defiance of a crackdown by Indonesian security forces and have pledged that the Melanesian region will establish the world's first "green state".