Melanesian Solidarity National Facilitating Committee for Free West Papua, Papua New Guinea is calling on the Senior Official currently meeting in Suva, Fiji to put West Papua as a separate agenda on the Pacific Islands Forum agenda.

A delegation of Papuan church ministers is flying out to America this week to lobby the United States Congress to investigate Indonesia's legal claim over their province. The US House of Representatives has passed a bill questioning Papua's incorporation into Indonesia.

Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas has joined calls for the UN to hold an independence referendum in West Papua after the Green Party adopted a policy motion condemning the UN-sponsored 'sham' Act of Free Choice which led to West Papua formally joining Indonesia in 1969.

36th Pacific Islands Forum, Papua New Guinea, 25-27 October 2005

Netty Dharma Somba, Jakarta, Jayapura – The ongoing formation of Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) has drawn strong opposition from Papuan tribal leaders and churchmen, who feel disappointed with what they say are the central government's confusing policies in the resource-rich province.

Indonesia's defence minister, Juwono Sudarsono, has denied media reports that Indonesia's National Defence Forces have deployed a large number of military personnel to Papua province.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government promised on Monday to install the members of the much-awaited Papua People's Assembly (MRP) early next month and to refrain from making any strategic decisions on the troubled province pending the establishment of the local body.

A Swiss journalist who witnessed the Abepura incident in 2000 in Indonesia's Papua province says a police commissioner acquitted of charges in connection to the incident was responsible for fatal beatings.

Washington – Thirty-five members of the US Congress have called on Indonesia to lift travel restrictions to West Papua and halt the military buildup in the province where a rebellion has simmered for decades.

Australia West Papua Association (Melbourne) welcomes the National Party's Resolution No. 11 calling on the Liberal Party, its coalition partner in government, to investigate human rights abuses in West Papua. The motion was put to the National Party's national convention today in Canberra by Wendy Duncan, President of the National Party (WA).

The UK-based Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) has denounced last week's ruling by an Indonesian Human Rights Court that ended up acquitting two senior police officers accused of serious human rights violations.

Jakarta – The acquittal of two senior police officers from all charges of gross human rights violations in Abepura, Papua province, drew public condemnation on Friday.

Jayapura – Seventeen activists grouped in the Papuan Solidarity for Abepura group continued their hunger strike on Wednesday as part of the efforts to seek justice for the victims of the Abepura incident.

Today's acquittal of two senior Indonesian police officers, accused of allowing the killing of three Papuan students and the torture of over a hundred others, is a worrying illustration of Indonesia's security forces again being allowed to escape justice.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A group of prominent figures established a forum on Tuesday to increase public participation in the efforts to resolve the problems of Papua, which has been affected by human rights abuses and secessionist sentiment for decades.

Alan Ramsey – Stuart Rees is the director of Sydney University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. On July 29 he emailed Labor's Kevin Rudd about a new 60-page report on the "systematic violence, rape, torture and military corruption" by Indonesian forces in West Papua.

Students and residents claiming to be from the Papua Solidarity for the Abepura Incident staged a protest in Jayapura on Monday, demanding the death penalty for two police officers charged for their roles in human rights abuses four years ago in Abepura.

Tony Hotland and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has warned the government to take all possible measures to block a US Congress bill that questions the status of Papua province, and called for a more effective lobbying effort in the US.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia's military will be looking to reap even more riches from rebellious Papua province now that it has been forced to withdraw thousands of troops from Aceh, observers say.

Jakarta – The Indonesian army will send an additional three battalions of troops to Papua. "The reason being, to provide security on the border," army spokesman Brig-Gen Hotma Ngaraja Panjaitan, told Tempo yesterday.

Nethy Dharma Somba and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has raised her concern over the alleged arrival of troops in the troubled province of Papua, saying that local people are feeling ill at ease.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – After the Helsinki peace deal that brought peace to Aceh, the central government has been urged to focus more on resolving the problems in Papua.

Carmel Budiardjo, London – The historic agreement concluded this week between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been widely welcomed, both in Indonesia and abroad. It was also highlighted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), in his Aug. 16 address to the nation to mark the 60th anniversary of Indonesian Independence Day on Aug. 17.

Tom Allard – The Indonesian military has murdered independence activists, raped women and razed villages in Papua, a report by University of Sydney researchers alleges.

Citing witness accounts and testimony from church groups and other activists, the report, Genocide in West Papua?, has renewed calls for a change in attitude from Australia.

Ivy Susanti, Jakarta – Indonesia expressed displeasure over a report from a group of Australian researchers, who accuse the Indonesian Military (TNI) of committing genocide in Papua, and condemned the study as "baseless".

The Indonesian military has been blamed for systematic violence, including rape, arson and torture, in the province of West Papua, according to a new report by Australian researchers.

The Australian Democrats have criticised the federal government for ignoring the human rights abuses to avoid upsetting Indonesia.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – At least 10,000 Papuans stormed into the office of the Papua provincial legislative council in Jayapura on Friday, demanding the government to review its Special Autonomy Law.

Hon Alexander Downer MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

11 August 2005

Dear Mr. Downer,

I am writing to you concerning the increasing tension in West Papua.

Jakarta – Controversy over the issue of special autonomy for Papua has shifted to allegations of the misuse of Rp 5.6 trillion (US$577.3 million) in the government's autonomy fund allocated for the region.

Washington – As a peace deal nears in a 29-year war in Aceh, US lawmakers are seeking support for an independence movement in another Indonesian province: West Papua, also the site of a long-simmering rebellion.

The Secretary of State
The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Dear Madam Secretary:

The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Human Rights Center wishes to call to your attention the accelerating deterioration of the human and civil rights environment in West Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – United Nations and rudimentary SOS flags were unfurled during a ceremony commemorating International Indigenous Day on Tuesday morning in Jayapura.

Tiarma Siboro and ID Nugroho, Jakarta/Surabaya – Top members of the Papuan Tribal Council (DAP) met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Friday and asked the government to immediately hold a significant review of its special autonomy policy in the province, otherwise the campaign for independence of the resource-rich province would become stronger.

August 15th, 2005 may possibly – hopefully – be recorded as a day of peace in Indonesian history books. Two days ahead of the 60th anniversary of Indonesia's independence, the government is going to sign a peace accord with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The bloody conflict in Indonesia's westernmost province that has lasted for more than 30 years may thus soon be past.

Fred Dove (Presenter): In the far corner of South East Asia the island of New Guinea is divided into West Papua and Papua New Guinea. While the latter is independent, West Papua, a former Dutch colony, has been officially part of Indonesia since the so-called Act of Free Choice referendum in 1969.

Jakarta – A United States Congressman assured Indonesia on Thursday of his country's support for the territorial integrity of this country, which has been plagued by secessionist movements for decades.

The Right Hon Jack Straw MP
Foreign Secretary
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1

Dear Mr Straw,

I wish to draw your attention to the grave situation in West Papua and the many reports we have been receiving recently of growing tension there.

Jakarta – Foreign countries still recognise Papua as part of Indonesia, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda in response to the US Lower House's recent bill questioning the validity of the 1969 referendum in Papua, in which Papua locals voted unanimously to join Indonesia.

Jakarta – In an apparent attempt to calm the public, the government says it will refrain from paying too much attention to a move to question Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan leaders reacted cautiously on Monday to the bill recently approved by the US House of Representatives, stressing that Papua is legally part of Indonesia but urging the government to renew its commitment to implementing special autonomy status there.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives plans to send a four-member delegation to the US to lobby congress in an attempt to block passage of a bill that raises questions about the status of Papua.

Neles Tebay, Rome – The government is beginning to pay the price for its reluctance to honor its commitment to fully implement Law No. 21/2001 on special autonomy for Papua. And if the government does not take measures to prevent more damage from its blunders in Papua, it will face more international pressure about the country's easternmost province.

Jakarta – The government should be more serious in handling problems in Papua following foreign intervention like the support given by an American senator for Papuan freedom.

Jakarta – The Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) will soon send a protest letter to the US administration through its embassy here against the US Congress adopting a bill questioning the status of Papua.

Jakarta – The US State Department announced on Friday that Washington would not support any effort that would allow Papua to gain independence from Indonesia.

"With respect to Papua, the US reiterates its firm support for the territorial integrity of Indonesia. The US does not support or condone any efforts to promote the secession of Papua from the Republic of Indonesia.

Jakarta/Shenzen, China – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned the US not to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs after the US House of Representatives recently approved a bill that questions the status of Papua.

London and Washington, D.C. – The relationship between mining company Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold and the Indonesian military – controversial since the unexplained killings of three teachers working for the company in 2002 – comes under renewed scrutiny today in a report by Global Witness.

Kitty Holland – The human rights violations inflicted on the people of West Papua are the same as those suffered by the people of East Timor, an activist from the western Pacific island has said.

The United States Congress is to vote on a bill which could see the US Government ordered to monitor the human rights situation in the Indonesian province of West Papua. The House International Relations Committee has passed the State Department Authorisation Act for the next financial year.

Three arrested Papuans told "If you take action against Indonesia, Indonesia will kill you."

Introduction