Bambang Hari, Jakarta – An employee at the PT Freeport Indonesia gold-and-copper mine in West Papua, Aser Gobai has refuted information that a PT Freeport worker has been taken hostage by an armed civilian group.

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.

Amilia Rosa and Jewel Topsfield, Timika, Papua – A community leader from one of the villages caught up in a conflict inside Papua's giant mining area has insisted that all villagers are safe.

Jakarta – Authorities in Indonesia's eastern province of Papua are delivering food and aid to villages where security forces say an armed rebel group has blocked residents' movement, as police and military surround the area, a police official said on Sunday.

Free Papua Organisation (OPM) spokesperson Sebby Sambon denies that his group has acted in a criminal manner by taking hundreds of local people hostage and raping them. According to Sebby, reports making such claims are just propaganda aimed at damaging the OPM's struggle.

Jakarta – Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission I Abdul Kharis Almasyhari asserted the hostage of 1,300 citizens conducted by armed criminal groups (KKB) in Kimbely Village and Banti Village, Tembagapura District, Mimika Regency, has injured the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Jakarta – Indonesian security forces in the eastern province of Papua are preparing to storm five villages that they say are being held by an armed rebel group, police officials said on Saturday.

Amilia Rosa and Jewel Topsfield, Timika, Papua – An armed Papuan group has occupied two villages near the massive Grasberg copper-gold mine as tensions escalate in the restive Indonesian province.Police said "armed criminal groups" were terrorising the area used by the mine, which is majority owned by US mining giant Freeport McMoRan.

Aatai John – The ousted Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare defended his strong stance on the plight of the people of West Papua during the motion of no-confidence on Monday which saw him removed from the top political leadership position.

Jakarta – A group of gunmen has been laying siege to 1,300 residents in Banti and Kimbely, two villages in Timika, Papua, near Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine in the past few days, police said on Thursday (09/11).

Fergus Jensen, Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Sam Wanda, Jakarta/Timika, Indonesian – Armed separatists have occupied five villages in Indonesia's Papua province, threatening to disrupt Freeport-McMoRan Inc's giant Grasberg copper mine, which has already been hit this year by labour unrest and a dispute over operating rights.

Jayapura – Mimika District Police Chief Assistance Superintendent Victor Dean Mackbon has denied that residents of the Kimbely and Banti villages are being held hostage by an Armed Criminal Group (KKB).

Paul Gregoire – On September 26, West Papuan leader Benny Wenda presented a petition to the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation (C24) calling for an internationally supervised vote on West Papuan self-determination.

Jakarta – The Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, or IPAC, called out the Indonesian government's "policy miscalculations" on Papua, pointing to its failures in addressing past human rights violations and dysfunctional local elections.

This is despite the current administration's focus on economic development and conflict resolution in the poorest province in Indonesia.

Richard Chauvel – Unless Indonesia addresses the failure of the social integration of Papua into Indonesia, the issue of Papua will end up at the United Nations.

This was the warning given on 28 September to an audience of senior policy makers and academics by Bambang Dharmono, the former head of the Yudhoyono-era Unit for the Accelerated Development of Papua and West Papua (UP4B).

West Papuan refugees in Papua New Guinea are being urged by the country's authorities to register for citizenship.

This week PNG's Immigation and Citizenship Service Authority appealed to all West Papuans living in the Niugini islands region to get in contact.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has deployed two platoons as reinforcements to the police to hunt down armed assailants blamed for a recent series of attacks in the area.

Last week, an exchange of fire with unidentified gunmen on Utikini Bridge in Tembagapura resulted in the death of Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer First. Brig. Berry Pramana Putra.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – Civilians were reportedly on the receiving end of attacks by armed assailants who set kiosks on fire following attacks against security personnel around a mining area operated by PT Freeport Indonesia in Tembagapura, Mimika regency, Papua.

Nabire, Jubi – International Academics for West Papua (IAWP) is a network that was started in 2016 by a group of academics concerned about the ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua, will launch its European region branch this month.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Locked in protracted negotiations with the Indonesian government over the future of its hugely profitable Grasberg mine, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold now faces an unsteady share price and deteriorating security around its Papua-based operations to add to its troubles.

Biak, Papua – The Indonesian Air Force plans to deploy a squadron of fighter jets in the Manuhua Airbase in Biak Numfor district, Papua province, next year after its status has been upgraded to type A from type B.

Reports from Papua province say there have been more shootings aimed at Indonesian security forces in the Mimika area.

Brimob, or mobile brigade, policemen were the target of gunfire on Sunday, days after another spate of shootings in the same area near the Freeport gold and copper mine.

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf "JK" Kalla insists the separatist movement is not accepted in Papua because the region is part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Jakarta – Armed assailants behind the shootings at the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) station at Mile 66 last Sunday in Tembagapura, Mimika Regency, Papua, are members of the separatist group Free Papua Movement (OPM), Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo has said.

Kiki Siregar – Deep in Indonesia's easternmost province, a group of birdwatchers wait in earnest, hoping to glimpse the renowned bird-of-paradise. Once plentiful in Papua's jungles, rampant poaching and deforestation have devastated populations.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government and Freeport McMoran, a parent company of gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia, have not reached an agreement on several issues, including the valuation of the company's shares.

Indonesia's foreign minister says it is the right of Pacific Island countries to raise issues about West Papua in international fora.

According to Antara news agency, Retno Marsudi said Indonesia also had the right to explain.

This comes after last month's fiery response by Indonesia to speeches by some Pacific governments at the United Nations General Assembly.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua says it hopes New Zealand's new prime minister will take up the issue of Papuan self-determination.

The Movement's Secretary-General, Octo Mote, has written a congratulation letter to Jacinda Ardern on forming New Zealand's new government.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – Papua has received an additional 400 Mobile Brigade personnel to secure its two regencies, Intan Jaya and Tolikara, as security incidents related to the elections of regional heads held simultaneously in 11 regencies and municipalities across the province on Feb.15 continue.Two hundred Brimob personnel from the South Sulawesi Police will be deployed to Inta

An academic says recent violence near Papua's Grasberg gold mine could be connected to plans to divest half of the American-owned operation to Indonesian entities.

One police officer was killed and two others were injured while hunting for gunmen who shot at mine workers on Saturday.

An indigenous community in Indonesia's Papua region claim a house in the village of Utikini was razed to the ground by Indonesian Military Police.

Community leaders said, last Saturday, police came to the village and set fire to the house, which was destroyed, along with livestock.

The leaders, Tambua Wakerkwa and Yulianus Tabuni, said their people were now living in fear.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – First. Brig. Berry Pramana Putra, a member of the National Police's Mobile Brigade stationed in Timika, Papua was killed in an exchange of fire with unidentified gunmen on Utikini bridge, Tembagapura, Mimika regency on Sunday.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-177-2017

Dear Friends,

The islands of Raja Ampat are set to be Indonesia's next tourism hotspot – but locals fear the government is failing both them and the environment in its development push.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura, Papua – Unidentified perpetrators shot at two vehicles in a gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) mining area in Tembagapura, Mimika, Papua, on Saturday.

The driver of one of the vehicles, M. Jamil Lampung, 49, sustained injuries from broken glass.

Jakarta – Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US mining giant Feeport-McMoRan, has confirmed that a shooting incident occurred near its mining site in Papua on Saturday (21/10), a company official said. No fatalities were reported.

Tensions remain high in Tolikara in West Papua's Highlands amid ongoing election-related unrest.

Tolikara is one of a number of regencies in Indonesia's Papua province that have conducted local-level elections this month. Discord between supporters of various Tolikara candidates repeatedly boiled over into rioting or fighting in recent weeks.

Prima Wirayani and Viriya P. Singgih, Jakarta – The government has extended the deadline for United States-based mining giant Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) to meet its divestment obligation to the first quarter of 2019 – three months longer than the previous time limit – following a longer-than-expected negotiation between both parties.

Zara Amelia and Adam Prireza, Jakarta – Six people were injured with several windows damaged following a violent riot that attacked the Home Affairs Ministry Headquarters on Wednesday, October 11. Instigators of the riot were a group of people from Papua that originally planned to stage a protest.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have arrested 15 people for their alleged involvement in a protest that turned violent initiated by the Tolikara Red-and-White Squad outside the Home Ministry in Gambir, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday afternoon.

Protesters reportedly threw rocks at the building, causing damage to facilities and vehicles.

Jakarta – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has said that the negotiations between the government and gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia are now focusing on efforts to increase state revenue and investment certainty for the company.

Zely Ariane, Jayapura – A petition claimed to represent the wishes of Papuan people on a referendum on West Papua's future has been debated since last week among Papuan people and commentators, the government of Indonesia and the United Nations.

Fergus Jensen, Jakarta – Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for faster progress to wrap up a deal with Freeport-McMoRan Inc on rights to the giant Grasberg copper mine, which the U.S. firm owns, officials said on Friday.

A series of concerts around the globe to assist the persecuted people of West Papua is being held on Saturday with the Coronation Hotel in West Ipswich playing its part.

Danaella Wivell – The plight of West Papua to gain independence from Indonesia is spreading to Cairns.

The Indonesian province, about 250km north of Australia, was handed from the Dutch to the Indonesians in 1969. About 500,000 West Papuans have died at the hands of soldiers since then.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is very disappointed at the Indonesian government's irresponsible denial of human rights violations in Papua and West Papua province.

The opposition SODELPA party in Fiji says it's disappointed by the United Nations decision to reject a petition from the people of West Papua calling for an act of self determination.

An international law specialist says it's not a question of if but when West Papuans will be granted a genuine act of self-determination.

The United Nations is being urged to review the process which transferred sovereignty over Papua from the Dutch to Indonesia in the 1960s.

Indonesia has disputed the veracity of a West Papuan petition to the United Nations seeking self-determination.

The Papuan pro-independence leader Benny Wenda emerged in New York last week on the margins of the UN General Assembly, announcing he was delivering the petition.

John McBeth, Jakarta – As much as it will spark development in one of Indonesia's most remote regions, Papuan leaders are growing increasingly concerned over the social impact of the new Trans-Papua Highway that will open highland tribal areas for the first time.