Jayapura – Eleven Mobile Brigade personnel blamed for a recent deadly incident in Manokwari have been handed sanctions.

On Sept. 15, a traffic accident escalated into a brawl in which two civilians were killed.

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Papuans told the US Congress at a hearing on Wednesday of the struggle to have their rights acknowledged by the Indonesian government.

Shaun Tandon, Washington – The United States called Wednesday for Indonesia to move forward on autonomy in its Papua region and insisted it would not overlook human rights as it seeks broader relations with Jakarta.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The United States Congress on Wednesday held an open hearing on Indonesia's alleged military abuses in Papua as well as the harsh economic, health and social condition of its people.

Nivell Rayda, Banjir Ambarita & AFP, Jakarta – The United States on Wednesday urged Indonesia to move forward on autonomy for Papua but warned it would not overlook cases of injustice and human rights violations.

Today there are rallies at US Embassies in West Papua, Jakarta, Melbourne and Perth, reminding US Senators in a Congressional Hearing in Washington of Indonesia's atrocious human rights record in West Papua and the republic's dismal effort to decentralize, demilitarize or democratize.

Ismira Lutfia & Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – The government is being far too harsh in its handling of the low-level insurgency in Papua, a former minister says.

This week the House subcommittee on Asia will hold hearing on West Papua (Wed, September 22, 3 pm, 2172 Rayburn House Office Bldg., broadcast online via WEBCAST link at http://www.hcfa.house.gov/)

Can't come to hearing please take this simple step to support human rights and justice.

A Papuan political prisoner in Jayapura's Abepura prison says ongoing international pressure is essential to force Indonesia to address human rights abuses.

Nivell Rayda & Banjir Ambarita, Jakarta – Human rights groups in West Papua are calling on the national rights commission to investigate last Wednesday's shooting deaths of two civilians by police.

A Papuan political prisoner in Jayapura's Abepura prison says Indonesia's government is afraid of what he might do if he's released.

Filep Karma, who is serving a fifteen-year jail term for treason after he raised a Papuan nationalist flag in 2004, says international pressure on Jakarta over human rights abuses in Papua must be maintained.

Markus Makur, Timika – The Timika church in Mimika, Papua, has voiced its opposition of the province's planned oil palm plantation project, arguing that it would damage the environment and lead to a shortage of sago, the staple food of the Papuan Kamoro indigenous people.

Jakarta – Papua Police are questioning seven Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel in relation with a clash between police and local residents in in the West Papua capital of Manokwari on Wednesday night that killed two people.

"We are questioning Brimob personnel, we are yet to question residents," National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Marwoto Soeto said Friday.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Two people are dead after a traffic accident triggered a riot on Wednesday at a police station in Manokwari, West Papua.

The victims were identified as Naftali Kwan and Septinus Kwan. Naftali was reported to have died from gunshot wound to the leg and Septinus from bruises and injuries.

Timika, Indonesia – Indonesian police opened fire and killed two men and injured a woman as a dispute over a traffic accident spun out of control in the restive province of West Papua, officials said on Thursday.

Banjir Ambarita, Jakarta – The military deployed soldiers across Manokwari, West Papua, on Thursday as thousands of residents stayed on the streets to protest the killing of two men by police a day earlier. A woman was also severely injured in the shooting that followed a dispute over a traffic accident.

Australia West Papua Association, Sydney
PO Box 28, Spit Junction, Sydney, Australia 2088

The Hon Julia Gillard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600

15 September 2010

Dear Prime Minister,

Tom Allard, Jakarta – Detachment 88 has a legitimate role in countering separatism and will remain in Papua, where a long-simmering independence campaign has been running, the unit's commander, Tito Karnavian, has confirmed.

There are questions over the benefits of New Zealand's police training programme in Indonesia's Papua and West Papua provinces.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said his ministry received a proposal to make use of 500,000 hectare areas for the 1.6-million-hectare food and energy estate projects planned in Merauke, Papua.

He said half of the proposed area could be planted directly since it was not in forested areas that have been allocated for other business aims.

Dev Nadkarni – John Otto Ondawame, Vice President of the West Papua National Council for Liberation, was a deeply disappointed man at the end the 41st Pacific Islands Forum summit in Port Vila last month.

There's no sign that Indonesia's government will release any more political prisoners in Papua region despite a large campaign pressing the President on the issue.

At least 45 Papuans are known to be incarcerated in prisons in Papua and West Papua provinces for their involvement in non-violent demonstrations or expressions of opinion.

Indonesia's government has been accused of clamping down on the most prestigious and well-established NGOs operating in the Papua region following its decision to ban another leading agency from working there.

Indonesia's government has been accused of running a campaign to limit global awareness of Papua following its decision to ban another leading international NGO from working there.

Jakarta has refused to renew the agreement under which the Dutch development agency Cordaid has been operating in Papua region for more than three decades.

The West Papua Advocacy Team says ordinary Papuans stand to lose considerable benefits after another leading NGO was banned from working in Indonesia's easternmost region.

Jakarta has refused to renew the agreement under which the Dutch development agency Cordaid has been operating in Papua for over three decades.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-128-2010

Dear friends,

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The incumbent head of Boven Digoel district in Papua is leading the early vote count in his bid for re-election, despite being detained in a Jakarta cell on charges of embezzling Rp 49 billion ($5.4 million) from the district budget.

Activists have described the need for dialogue between the central government and Papuans as "urgent" and "critical" if Jakarta hopes to save the country's easternmost provinces from potential conflict, stemming from horizontal inequality, and disintegration.

Maire Leadbeater – New Zealand's diplomacy with respect to Indonesian-controlled West Papua, especially in light of its aid to the Indonesian military and to the police in West Papua, has worrying aspects. The Indonesian military is not yet accountable to the civilian authority, and both the police and the military in West Papua have a grievous record of human rights violations.

The two sentiments that define the political impasse in Papua are frustration on the part of many Papuans that "special autonomy" has meant so little, and exasperation on the part of many Indonesian government officials that Papuans are not satisfied with what they have been given.

Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – The government must rethink its relationship with Papua as soon as possible if it wants to avoid further civil violence and more adamant calls for independence, activists and social scientists have said.

In the past decade, the combined population of Papua and West Papua has grown 64 percent, making them the provinces with the fastest population growth in Indonesia.

An Australia-based Papua specialist says it remains to be seen whether an increase in state funding for Indonesia's Papua region will have any benefit for indigenous people.

Indonesia's President has announced a 63 per cent increase of special autonomy and regional funds allocated to Papua, West Papua and Aceh for 2011.

The New Zealand Police says that its community police training-the-trainers in Indonesia's Papua region is making a positive impact.

New Zealand Police is the first foreign force to be invited into Papua and West Papua provinces to undertake this mode of practical training. This follows an Indonesian decree that community policing must be adopted by its force.

Jayapura – Local church leaders have called for an independent investigation of a series of church shootings in Puncak Jaya, Papua, that started in 2004.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President
Republic of Indonesia
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta Pusat 10110 Indonesia
Via Fax, E-mail

August 16, 2010

Dear President Yudhoyono:

Jason Tedjasukmana – Rising tensions in Papua have Indonesian authorities worried about possible international intervention in the nation's easternmost province, reports the head of a government-funded study on how to solve the simmering conflict in the restive territory.

Jakarta – A legislator has called on the government to be more serious in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Indonesian province of Papua.

Yorris Raweyai made the remark in response to reports that 144 servicemen of the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Command had tested positive for the condition.

The death of a local journalist has increased concerns about a giant food estate launched today in Merauke, Southeastern Papua by Indonesia's Minister of Agriculture.

Daniel Flitton – Indonesian officials have tried to put a stop to a public lecture in Melbourne tonight to discuss the troubled province of West Papua.

Arti Ekawati, Indonesia – Indonesia on Wednesday launched a giant project to create a $5 billion agricultural estate spanning three districts in Papua.

The Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate program is the latest attempt by the government to gain self-sufficiency in food production, with a longer-term goal of someday becoming a food-exporting nation.

The Indonesian government has banned a Dutch funding agency, for allegedly supporting Papuan separatists and running a commercial enterprise.

The Jakarta Post reports there are concerns that this sets a bad precedent for the future of NGOs in Papua.

Banyan – Slowly but surely, Papua is emerging as a serious international problem for the otherwise well-liked Indonesian administration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today congratulated U.S. Congress members for their letter to Indonesian president, Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urging him to work for the "immediate and unconditional" release of West Papuan political prisoners Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Papua Police were urged Friday to take serious action to solve several fatal shootings, with the latest incident took place in Puncak Jaya regency on Wednesday and killed a civilian.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Indonesia still opens its door to NGOs that want to operate in Papua, as long as they benefit the people without involvement in politics and commercial activities, an official says.

Farouk Arnaz & Banjir Ambarita, Papua – The National Police have denied allegations that officers disemboweled a Papuan detainee with a bayonet and taunted him, saying his injuries were caused by a gunshot wound sustained during a firefight.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Security in Puncak Jaya, Papua, continues to deteriorate with the latest incident on Wednesday resulting in the death of a civilian.

Atril Wahidin was reportedly shot in the head at 6:30 p.m. local time. He died instantly.

Dina Indrasafitri, Jakarta – Flexible policy implementation in the field is required to handle tension in Papua, a natural resources-rich province plagued by decades of separatist movement, a former minister says.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang confirmed Thursday the video showing a prisoner lying in a jungle with his abdomen sliced open allegedly by a bayonet was intentionally made.