Domingos Gomes, Dili – Timor-Leste national police (PNTL) have arrested 46 students at a West Papua independence solidarity protest in Dili, amid accusations the group failed to get permission to hold their demonstration in public.

Aries Sudiono & Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – East Java Police on Wednesday charged Tri Susanti a.k.a. Susi, the woman behind an incident in Surabaya, East Java, on Aug, 17 which saw an angry mob besiege a boarding house occupied by Papuan students, with hate speech.

Nikolas P, Rahmad Nasution, Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands – Tens of activists of the Tanjungpinang-Bintan Student Alliance staged a peaceful rally here on Tuesday to show their solidarity with the Papuan students in Malang, East Java, and urge the government to eliminate all forms of racism against the Papuans.

Biak, Papua – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto and National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian held a dialog with several representatives of Papuan customary communities in Biak Numfor District, Papua Province, on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Papuan students living in a dormitory on Jl. Kalasan in Surabaya, East Java refused to welcome East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Papua Governor Lukas Enembe when the two visited their dorm on Tuesday evening.

Rights groups say an internet blackout in Indonesia's West Papua marks a dangerous violation of free speech protections. The restrictions were imposed by Indonesia earlier this month as protests escalated in response to racism toward Papuans.

Mackenzie Smith reports.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – Almost no one, including Dili Catholic Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo and independence fighter Kay Rale Xanana Gusmao, thought their homeland East Timor could gain independence in such a short time.

Pacific Media Watch – A senior Jakarta Post managing editor has predicted it is possible that West Papua may face a self-determination vote following the Timor-Leste example and this could pave the way for independence.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo is willing to meet Papua and West Papua leaders to discuss their independence referendum demands, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe said.

Referendum calls "were the people's aspiration", Enembe told reporters, after meeting with Joko in Jakarta on Monday.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) urged the Indonesian government to revoke its internet block, specifically the bandwidth throttling imposed in Papua. SAFEnet said that the government's policy has severely limited access to public services and information.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) Executive Director, Anggara, said that his institution is in the midst of taking legal steps against the government's policy upon blocking the internet connection in Papua Province and West Papua, which has lasted since Wednesday, August 21.

Jakarta – Thousands of Papuans staged another series of rallies on Monday (Aug 26) in several towns of Indonesia's easternmost region, after protests that erupted last week over perceived ethnic discrimination provoked some calls for independence.

Jakarta – The Brawijaya Military Command in East Java have suspended five military personnel who are currently under investigation for their alleged involvement in a recent incident of racial abuse targeted at Papuan students in Surabaya.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Five military personnel who were present at the scene when a mob besieged a boarding house occupied by Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on Aug. 17 have been suspended, a military spokesman said on Monday. The incident triggered violent protests in Papua and West Papua last week.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – Brawijaya Military Command (Kodam) head of information Lieutenant Colonel Imam Haryadi announced that five Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) members will face discharge for allegedly participating in the besieging of a Papuan dormitory in Surabaya.

Kate Lamb, Jayapura – Thousands of protesters were expected to take to the streets in six regions of West Papua on Monday, one week after violent demonstrations flared across Indonesia's easternmost provinces, leaving one dead and dozens injured.

Ardila Syakriah and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jakarta/Surabaya – Legal experts have demanded that the police prove that shooting tear gas and arresting 43 Papuan students at a dorm in Surabaya on Aug. 17 without an investigation was "necessary" just because the police suspected there were "certain items" inside the dorm.

Marc Daalder – With concerns over violence in West Papua escalating, New Zealand officials appear reluctant to wade in more significantly – despite the Green Party calling for action.

As Indonesia cracks down on protests in the disputed West Papua territory, the Government has declined to condemn the violence.

Following the government-led internet shutdown in Indonesia's eastern provinces of Papua and West Papua a journalist has been doxxed and harassed online.

Tens of thousands of West Papuans are taking to the streets this week in a 'second wave' of the West Papua Uprising, following mass demonstrations against Indonesian rule last week. Sparked by the racist abuse and arrests of West Papuan students in Surabaya on August 17, rallies have taken place across West Papua on a scale not seen since the Papuan Spring of 1999-2000.

Maddy Eagan – Following days of unrest, the Indonesian government blocked internet access on August 22nd in the provinces of Papua and West Papua (known collectively as West Papua).

Ghina Ghaliya and Fadli, Jakarta and Batam – Fueled by a viral video that appeared to show alleged security personnel using the derogatory slur "monkey" against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, the longstanding racial prejudice against residents of Papua and West Papua boiled over during recent tensions in the two least developed provinces in the country.

Paris (Reporters Without Borders/Pacific Media Watch) – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for an immediate end to a two-day-old internet blackout in West Papua, where Indonesian security forces have been clashing with Papuan pro-independence demonstrators.

The blackout violates the freedom to inform and makes it hard for journalists to work, RSF said.

Febriana Firdaus, Jakarta, Indonesia – Several demonstrators have been injured and dozens detained as Indonesian authorities crack down on separatist protests in the West Papua region, according to witnesses, but the police strongly deny anyone was wounded.

The Papuan People Council has advised all West Papuan students studying in other parts of Indonesia to return home.

Harassment of Papuan students in Javanese cities on and Indonesian's independence day anniversary last week has sparked widespread protests in Papua.

Jakarta (Bloomberg) – Indonesia's government extended the suspension of mobile-data services in Papua and West Papua provinces after riots broke out in the region, the country's cabinet secretariat said, citing the Communications and Information Ministry.

Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – West Papua journalist Victor Mambor claims he has faced intimidation and harassment for reporting on the internet blackout sanctioned by the government amid escalating protests in Papua and West Papua.

Gemma Holliani Cahya and Ardila Syakriah, Jakarta – Papua is widely known for its poor telephone and internet network, and coupled with challenging geographical terrain, it is a difficult region for gathering and verifying information.

Papua New Guinea's Port Moresby Governor Powes Parkop has strongly called on the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo not to take Papuans for granted.

Farouk Arnaz & Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Police have charged 10 people with damaging public facilities in Timika in Papua and Manokwari in West Papua during violent demonstrations on Monday triggered by acts of racism against Papuan students in Semarang, Malang and Surabaya last weekend.

Ahmad Faiz Ibnu Sani, Jakarta – Papuan students across the country have allegedly experienced 33 human rights violations since 2018, according to Director of Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Jakarta chapter Arif Maulana.

Kristianto Galuwo, Papua – Thousands of students from the Faculty of Social and Political Science of the University of Cenderawasih closed the university's gate, the only access to its Waena Campus in Perumnas 3, Heram Sub-district of Jayapura Municipality.

David Robie – Indonesia's harsh policies towards West Papua ought to be scrapped. Whatever happened to the brief window of enlightenment ushered in by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in 2015 with promises of a more "open door" policy towards foreign journalists and human rights groups?

Jakarta – Rights group and journalists slammed the Indonesian government's move to block internet access in its easternmost region of Papua on Friday, saying it made reporting events there difficult after violent protests during which buildings were torched.

Jakarta – Indonesian police shot dead a member of a Papuan separatist group on Friday during an exchange of fire, a spokesman said, after violent demonstrations this week in other places in the eastern region over perceived ethnic discrimination.

Senator the Hon Marise Payne
Minister for Foreign Affairs
PO Box 6100
Senate, Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

23 August 2019

Dear Foreign Minister,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Australia West Papua Association in Sydney concerning the increasing tension in West Papua.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Viral videos of soldiers and security officers racially abusing Papuan students have triggered a fresh wave of violence and revived calls for independence in Indonesia's restive east.

Adi Marsiela, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has asked National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian to investigate acts of racism allegedly perpetrated against Papuan students last week, which sparked several days of unrest in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.

Iqbal Tawakal Lazuardi, Jakarta – West Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Trunoyudo announced that the policeman who gave liquor to a group of Papua university students in Bandung was under the scrutiny of the police's internal affairs division (Propam).

The policeman in question, a commissioner, has undergone extensive investigation since Thursday night, August 22.

The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) has condemned what it calls institutional racism against West Papuans in Indonesia.

It has spoken out amid widespread protests in Papua region after an incident in Surabaya last week when Papuan students were harassed by a mob and later arrested.

Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Thousands of people protested the internet blocking policy implemented by Communication and Informatics Ministry in Papua and West Papua. They demanded Minister Rudiantara reopen the network access by signing an online petition with a hashtag #NyalakanLagi or #KeepItOn on Change.org.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – Chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia, Abdul Manan, condemned the internet block applied in Papua and West Papua by the government starting on Wednesday, August 21, 2019. He claimed that the policy disturbed Papuan citizens from receiving and delivering information.

Michael Andrew – The Indonesian media is contributing to resentment and racism toward Papuans, according to a human rights researcher and former journalist.

Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch Jakarta told Pacific Media Watch many Indonesian journalists either view Papuans as enemy "separatists" or deviants and their reporting tends to convey these stereotypes.

Along with thousands of Indonesians who have taken part in protests throughout the country this week condemning mistreatment and racial abuse against Papuan citizens, dozens of college students in Bali took to the streets of Renon in Denpasar yesterday to demand justice and an end to discrimination against Papuans.

Helen Davidson, and Kate Lamb in Jakarta – Indonesia's president, Joko Widodo, has said West Papua "has returned to normal" after clashes with police, a claim dismissed by independence protesters who said mass rallies were likely to continue.

Antara & Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Police exchanged fire with a group of gunmen at the Jibama market in Wamena in Papua's Jayawijaya district on Friday morning. One of the gunmen was killed during the skirmish.

The local police officers were patrolling the market when the gunmen opened fire at them.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – Indonesia's resource-rich Papua region has seen a string of riots in several of its big cities this week, the biggest such outbreaks of violence in the country in years.

Ika Karlina Idris – The Indonesian government has blocked internet access as they deployed security forces to its easternmost provinces following days of violent protests there. Papuans took to the streets following arrests and racist treatments of Papuan students over the weekend in East Java.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) urges Communication and Informatics Ministry (Kominfo) to immediately lift the internet blocking policy as it has been applied since Wednesday night, August 21, in Papua and West Papua Province.

Fikri Arigi, Jakarta – Brawijaya Military Command (Kodam) V is examining its six personnel who are suspected to have thrown racist remarks against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on Saturday, August 17.