Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – Papua and Mimika have been categorized as two among 171 regions participating in the 2018 regional elections that are most prone to security disruptions.

Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – The United States has disclosed documents on Papua independence struggle. The documents say that Papuans asked for U.S. funding and armed them to fight Indonesian military in mid-1960.

The documents also recorded Papuan grievances about clashes with Indonesian security forces. Papuan nationalists have caught the attention of the United Nations (UN).

Jayapura, Jubi – Commemorates the Bloody Paniai tragedy on December 8, 2014, four students and youth organizations: Papuan Youth and Student Movement (GEMPAR), Student Independent Forum (FIM), West Papua Student and Youth Solidarity (Sonamappa) and Papuan Student Alliance (AMP), staged a silent action by walking from Perumnas III Waena to Imbi Jayapura City, on Friday (December 8),in Jayapura.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Prominent Papuans pleaded for the U.S. to give them money and arms in the mid-1960s to fight Indonesia's colonization of their vast remote territory, according to recently declassified American files that show the birth of an independence struggle that endures half a century later.

David Sobolim, Jayapura – Scores of students from Solidarity Against Forgetting the Student Shootings Case in Paniai Regency have held a march from the Waena hosing estate to the Imbi Park in Jayapura, West Papua.

During the action they handed out leaflets containing demands for a full investigation in the bloody Paniai shootings which occurred three years ago on December 8, 2014.

Roshni Kapur – The province of West Papua continues to be shrouded in secrecy from the rest of the world.

As International Human Rights Day approaches (10 December), The Indonesian Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu called for West Papuan delegates who attended the ULMWP Summit in Port Vila to be arrested on their return to West Papua.

A New Zealand parliament select committee has heard there is currently no pathway for West Papua to be put on the UN decolonisation list.

The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee was today briefed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about West Papua, following an earlier hearing in June.

The Jakarta Post reported two Ilyushin-76 strategic airlifters brought 81 personnel to Frans Kaisiepo Airport in Biak regency.

A Biak Airport spokesperson Putukade Wempy said the military personnel, who would be in Biak until Saturday, would only be in Biak.

The paper reported that two Tupolev TU-95 bombers were also coming, taking total personnel to 110.

The new head of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, Benny Wenda, says the organisation's agenda will not change.

Mr Wenda has replaced Octo Mote, its former secretary-general, at the head of the premier organisation pursuing Papuan independence from Indonesia.

Indonesia's Minister of Defence has called for members of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua to be arrested when they return to the country.

The pro-independence organisation has just concluded a summit in Vanuatu, where the UK-based activist Benny Wenda was elected its new chairman.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua has condemned an Indonesian government call for its members to be arrested.

The pro-independence Movement has just concluded a summit in Vanuatu, where the UK-based activist Benny Wenda was elected its new chairman.

Mavuku Tokona – A win for the 'little guys' was marked on the notch of the West Papuan belt as they rallied for a peaceful protest last Friday on the streets, and joined by the young and old advocators of an independent West Papua.

Jakarta – On Friday (01/12), dozens of demonstrators gathered in Central Jakarta to demand West Papuan independence from Indonesia.

Marchers brought posters and sang traditional West Papuan songs in defiance what the demonstrators see as a foreign occupation of the territory.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua has elected the exiled independence leader Benny Wenda as its new leader.

Mr Wenda effectively replaces Octo Mote who was the general-secretary of the Movement, which is West Papuans' premier organisation for advancing independence from Indonesia.

Hans Arnold Kapisa, Jakarta – The Domberai chapter of the Papuan Customary Council (DAP) in Manokwari held the celebration of the Papua nation's anniversary on Friday, December 1, 2017. The event was attended by youths, college students, and elderly people.

The West Papuan Morning Star flag of independence – banned in Indonesia – has been raised on an official local government flagpole in Auckland's Aotea Square as solidarity protests have been held around the Pacific.

Vanuatu's Prime Minister Charlot Salwai will hand over the title to a plot of land with a building on it to the leaders of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua this afternoon.

Demonstrations have been held around the Pacific to mark the anniversary of West Papua's declaration of independence when the Morning Star flag was first raised.

It's 56 years since the Papua nationalist flag was first officially flown in the former Dutch New Guinea, shortly before Indonesia took control of the territory. The Morning Star was subsequently banned.

Fred Osifelo – Solomon Islands Solidarity for West Papua joined other groups in the Pacific and around the globe today in raising the West Papuan flag and advocating for the freedom of people in the Indonesian region.

Representative of the solidarity group in Solomon Islands Lily Chekana said people raise the West Papuan flag, the Morning Star, on this day every year.

Dhio Faiz, Jakarta – A demonstration held in Jakarta this morning by hundreds of students and youths from the Papua Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) has ended peacefully.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) gathered on Jl. Pangeran Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on Friday December 1.

Ramadhan, Winna Wijaya, Jakarta – On December 1 several groups held protest actions commemorating the declaration of West Papua's independence and the anniversary of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

Bobby Anderson – Since August, numerous civilians and security staff have been killed or wounded in the Tembagapura area in Indonesian Papua, host of Freeport McMoRan's vast Grasberg mining complex.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua says Solomon Islands' support for its cause remains firm despite a change in leadership.

The Movement's secretary general Octo Mote last week travelled to Honiara to meet `the new Solomons prime minister Rick Hou.

Rick Hou replaced Manasseh Sogavare after a vote of no-confidence, although Mr Sogavare is now deputy prime minister.

Members of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua are converging on Vanuatu's capital for their first major summit since the body's inception.

The Movement is to use the Port Vila summit to evaluate its first three years, establish by-laws, elect executive members and discuss future strategy.

Jayapura, Jubi – People's Union Front (FPR) requested for PT Freeport in Tembagapura, Timika to be closed. The request is to restore the rights and sovereignty of the people of Papua and prevent prolonged humanitarian conflict in the land of Papua.

Len Garae – An expected total of 50 West Papuan Leaders from West Papua and beyond and supporters of the Vanuatu Free West Papua Association, are going to take part in a walk from Saralana Park to the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs Nakamal this morning, to launch the first West Papua Leaders' Summit after the first Committee was elected in 2014.

Thousands of West Papuans have demonstrated in Jayapura, calling for the closure of the massive Freeport gold mine in Mimika regency.

They're also demanding Indonesian security forces withdraw from the area around the mine where a standoff continues with the West Papua National Liberation Army, or TPN.

Wilda Asmarini, Jakarta – The Ministry of State Owned-Enterprises, tipped to oversee an acquisition of a majority stake in the local unit of Freeport-McMoRan, has "no clear structure" yet for the deal, an official said on Friday (24/11).

Makassar, Jubi – A member of Papua Regional Representative Council (DPD-RI) from Papua, Yanes Murib, accused TNI and Police of making public deceived of the situation in Tembagapura, Timika to all Indonesian people.

Pacific Media Watch – The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has condemned a brutal attack against journalist Saldi Hermanto in Timika, Papua, and called for a campaign of letter protests.

Hermanto was attacked by the police after he criticised on Facebook the police handling of security at an entertainment show he attended.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-199-2017

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Antara, Jakarta – British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik has expressed support to Papua Province to remain within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Anton Hermansyah, Puncak Jaya Mulia – Security concerns following the election riots in Tolikara regency, Papua, are hampering deliveries to mountainous areas in the province, the such as Puncak Jaya and Wamena regencies, the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) minister said on Monday.

Rinaldy Sofwan, Jakarta – Philosopher and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Noam Chomsky and a group of international academics are calling on the Indonesian government to withdraw all troops from West Papua following allegations of human rights violations against civilians by security forces in the province.

Jewel Topsfield and Amilia Rosa – The truth is, no one knows. Even the bare facts surrounding his disappearance are murky. According to police in the Indonesian province of Papua, Beanal was shot in the head in the jungle.

Timika, Indonesia – U.S. miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc is evacuating spouses and children of workers from its giant Indonesian copper mine after a string of shootings in the area raised security concerns, company sources said.

Jeffrey Hutton – Oktovianus Warnares gathered with five other men outside a government building on the picturesque island of Biak, just off the coast of the Indonesian province of Papua.

Tembagapura, Indonesia – Indonesian police said they helped evacuate more than 340 people Friday from villages in easternmost Papua after security forces apparently gained the upper hand in a standoff with separatists. It was unclear if there were any casualties.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta – A joint team comprising Indonesian Military and National Police personnel Friday gained control of Banti and Kimbeli, two villages in Tembagapura district in Mimika regency, Papua, that were reportedly occupied by armed separatists for the past three weeks.

Sam Wanda, Fergus Jensen, Jakarta/Timika – Indonesia on Friday began evacuating villages that authorities said had been occupied by armed separatists after a string of shootings near the giant Grasberg copper mine operated by Freeport McMoRan Inc in the eastern province of Papua.

The West Papua National Liberation Army, or TPN, has told villagers in Mimika regency their conflict is not with them but with Indonesian security forces.

West Papuans have long expressed frustration about the environmental destruction caused by the Freeport mine operations in Mimika regency.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Unidentified gunmen fired at a patrol car owned by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) in Tembagapura, Mimika regency, Papua, on Tuesday morning, injuring one employee.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – A member of the Papua Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob), Brig. Firman, was shot and killed by unidentified assailants in Tembagapura, Papua, on Wednesday.

"Two police officers were shot in a shoot out with a group of armed people," Papua Police spokesman Comr. AM Kamal said on Wednesday.

Lalu Rahadian, Jakarta – Vertical and horizontal conflicts in Papua province will not be resolved until the Indonesian government provides the Papuan people with an opportunity to determine their future through an international forum.

Sam Wanda, Timika – The Indonesian unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc closed the main access road to its giant copper mine in the eastern province of Papua on Tuesday for the second time in three days after another shooting incident.

Royson Willie – A West Papuan leader in Vanuatu, Mr Andy Ayamiseba, has publicly on his facebook called for armed resistance in West Papua with pictures of armed West Papuans.

His call, made on Sunday, coincidentally comes on the heels of the stand off between West Papuan freedom fighters and Indonesian forces.

Jayapura – The Papua provincial government has explicitly refuted a statement by the Papua regional police chief that residents have been taken hostage by an Armed Criminal Group (KKB) in the villages of Banti and Kimbely near the PT Freeport Indonesia mine in Tembagapura district, Mimika regency.

Fergus Jensen, Jakarta – The Indonesian unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc has reopened the main supply route to its huge copper mine in Papua, the company said on Monday, after the road was closed on Sunday following a shooting incident in the area.