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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Following riots and demonstrations in Papua and West Papua, the internet has been blocked in Indonesia's eastern most provinces since Wednesday, August 21.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A catalogue of racist taunts aimed at a group of students have sparked violent protests in Indonesia's eastern region of Papua.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Andita Rahma, Jakarta – The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) assessed that the government has violated the public constitutional rights by temporarily blocking the access to the internet in Papua and West Papua.

Even, the United Nations Human Rights Council condemned such a practice as a disruptive act against access to online information.

Seto Wardhana, Jakarta – A string of protests condemning the recent racial abuse against Papuan students has spread nationwide, with Thursday seeing hundreds of Papuans and activists staging an anti-racism rally in Central Jakarta.

Jakarta – Mimika Police in Papua have named 34 people suspects for rioting in the town of Timika, where rallies protesting racism and violence against Papuan students escalated into extreme unrest on Wednesday.Police officers arrested on Wednesday morning 13 people who had allegedly blocked roads and forcefully demanded several repair shops to hand over car tires, which were later

Kate Lamb in Jakarta, and Ben Doherty – Indonesia has deployed more than 1,000 security personnel to West Papua and cut internet access, amid days of violent demonstrations in what activists say are the largest protests to occur in the region in years.

Noval Dhwinuari Antony, Jakarta – Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko believes that there is an armed group and political axis that is exploiting the issue of racism to ferment riots in Papua. The Free Papua Movement (OPM) is one of them.

Iqbal Tawakal Lazuardi, Jakarta – Papuan students in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung feel hurt and angry after being given two boxes of alcohol by a police officer.

"It's the same as demeaning our dignity. We immediately took it to the protest action and returned it to police", said Miles C Jikwa, the student who received the alcohol.

Islami Adisubrata, Jayawijaya – The shooting over some construction workers of PT Istaka Karya in Yigi, Nduga Regency on 2 December 2018 has still left a scarce in the heart of local people. They are now still living with physical and mental injuries.

Jakarta – The Morning Star flag was flown by more than 100 Papuan protesters from the Student Alliance Against Racism, Capitalism, Colonialism and Militarism during a rally in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Thursday August 22.

The small flag was flown as demonstrators were dancing and singing a song with lyrics demanding Papuan independence.

Tasha Wibawa – Indonesian police say they have regained control of West Papua after sending close to 1,000 extra officers to the restive province.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Papua and West Papua in the past few days, torching tyres and government buildings as well as damaging an airport in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.

Jakarta – The outbreak of violent protests in West Papua and Papua provinces over racial abuse against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on Monday should give this nation an impetus to revisit its yearning for the realization of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, or NKRI.

Camellia Webb-Gannon – Last weekend, the Indonesian police took 43 West Papuan students into custody for allegedly disrespecting the Indonesian flag during an independence day celebration (an allegation the students deny).