Jakarta (Agencies) – The body of a New Zealand helicopter pilot shot dead by rebels in Papua has been retrieved, the joint task force of police and soldiers leading the search said Tuesday.
Glen Malcolm Conning, 50, a pilot for PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, was killed Monday after landing in Papua with two Indonesian health workers and two children, all of whom survived.
Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua on Monday killed a helicopter pilot from New Zealand after he landed his aircraft in a remote area, authorities said, adding four other passengers on board were safe.
Responding to the reported death of New Zealand pilot Glen Malcolm Conning, who was allegedly killed in Alama District, Mimika Regency, Central Papua, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, said:
Victor Mambor and Pizaro Gozali Idrus, Jayapura and Jakarta – Rebels in Indonesia's Papua are suspected of killing a New Zealand pilot after he landed a helicopter in a remote part of the province on Monday, Indonesian police said.
Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – The National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB, reported that prolonged rain caused flooding in Dekai District, Yakuhimo Regency, PapuaPegunungan. Head of the Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center of BNPB, Abdul Muhari, said two bridges and two places of worship were damaged. A police station and a health facility were also affected.
Jayapura – The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has strongly criticised a statement by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo who condemned the bomb attack in Tehran, Iran.
They believe that this criticism is only a pretence to attract international sympathy, while violence against the people of Papua continues without end.
Jakarta – A separatist group in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua has agreed to free New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens from more than a year in captivity since kidnapping him, according to an audio message issued by a spokesperson on Saturday.
Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua (AlDP, Democratic Alliance) are releasing their new report, titled "Treason and Political Prisoners in the Land of Papua" on 26th July 2024. This report forms a joint research output with TAPOL, a human rights organisation based in the UK.
Rt Hon Winston Peters
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
25 July 2024
Kia ora Minister Peters,
Pes Yanengga, Jayapura – The All-Papua Student Executive Council (BEM Se-Tanah Papua) Alliance has urged the Papua Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) and the Manokwari Municipal Police (Polresta) to immediately reveal the perpetrator of the shooting of the senior advocate and human rights activist Yan Christian Warinussy.
Jakarta – DPR Speaker Puan Maharani participated in a parliamentary dialogue with countries with Melanesian clumps that are members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) organization. In this dialogue, Puan alluded to the development of Papua which is directly adjacent to Pacific countries.
Andreas Harsono – When the human rights lawyer Yan Christian Warinussy returned home from work on July 17, his 10-year-old son, Mario, begged for ice cream. Warinussy took off his tie, packed his three children and their cousin into the car, and they headed to downtown Manokwari in Indonesia's West Papua province.
Mrs Lamberti Faan, a Papuan human rights defender and internally displaced woman from the Maybrat Regency, Papua Barat Daya Province, and her relatives have been subjected to a series of intimidations following her testimony at the 56th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Jayapura – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to Jayapura, West Papua, on July 23 in the context of the commemoration of Indonesian National Children's Day at the Istora Papua Bangkit sports complex was a form of distain and insult when as many as 62,000 Papuans are still displaced.
Jakarta – A joint search and rescue team is still scrambling to look for a cargo ship carrying equipment to build communication towers that has been missing since last week during its sail in Papua.
Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – Representatives of the Awyu and Moi Sigin indigenous communities submitted a petition supporting the tribes' struggle against palm oil companies to the Supreme Court on Monday, July 22, 2024, from South Papua and Southwest Papua.
Stefan Armbruster, Harlyne Joku and Tria Dianti, Brisbane/Port Moresby/Jakarta – No progress has been made in sending a U.N. human rights mission to Indonesia's Papuan provinces despite the appointment of Fiji and Papua New Guinea's prime ministers to negotiate the visit.
Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was in Jayapura, Papua, on Tuesday to celebrate National Children's Day. The city was chosen as the organizer for this year's event to symbolize that education should touch all children in Indonesia, including those in the remote and outermost regions.
Jakarta – Indigenous peoples from the Awyu tribe in South Papua and the Moi Sigin tribe from Southwest Papua along with environmental activists handed over a petition of support for the Awyu and Moi tribes containing 253,823 signatures to the Supreme Court (MA) on Monday June 22.
Gusty da Costa Journalist – Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid asks the Indonesian government and the Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to investigate the death of three civilians in Karutabe village, Mulia District, Puncak Jaya Regency, Central Papua, on July 16, 2024.
Pes Yanengga, Jayapura – Leaders of the Papuan Baptist Church and the Tolikara Student Association have slammed a statement by the Cenderawasih XVII regional military commander (Pangdam) on the fatal shooting of three civilians by the 753 AVT Infantry Battalion Task Force in Pepera Village, Mulia district, Puncak Jaya regency on Tuesday July 16.
A brutal killing of three Papuan civilians in Puncak Jaya reveals that occupied West Papua is a ticking time bomb under Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto, claims the leader of an advocacy group.
And United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Benny Wenda says the Melanesian region risks becoming "another East Timor".
On the night of 16 July 2024, the Indonesian military tragically shot dead Mr Tonda Wanimbo, head of Kalome Village in Mepogolok District, Mr Pemerintah Murib, head of Dokkome Village, and Mr Dominus Enumbi, a recent graduate from Cenderawasih University, in the Mulia District, Puncak Jaya Regency.
Jakarta – A number of organisations that make up the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform have condemned the shooting of senior Papuan advocate and human rights activists Yan Christian Warinussy.
Responding to the shooting of Yan Christian Warinussy, a senior lawyer and human rights defender in the province of West Papua, Amnesty International Indonesia's executive director Usman Hamid said:
A National Strategic Project (PSN) Teluk Bintuni Regency, Papua Barat Province, has sparked concerns over the potential violation of indigenous land rights. The project, handled by Genting Oil Kasuri Pte. Ltd, is accused of failing to implement Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) principles with the affected Sumuri indigenous community.
The "Permanent Peoples' Tribunal on State and Environmental Violence in West Papua" took place last month at Queen Mary University of London.
A panel of tribunal experts heard evidence from numerous international NGOs and local civil society organisations as well as testimonies from individuals who have witnessed human rights violations and environmental destruction.
The Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) congratulations the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) leaders for calling on France to allow a joint United Nations-MSG mission to its colony of Kanaky (New Caledonia) to assess the political situation and propose solutions for the ongoing crisis.
Sevianto Pakiding, Timika, Papua – News of the killings of three suspected rebels during a security operation triggered chaos in Puncak Jaya regency, Papua, on Wednesday, as a mob burned military and police vehicles.
A resident named Peni described the situation as a "dead town" after rioters vandalized vehicles belonging to the local military command.
Jakarta – A number of organisations that are part of the Papua Human Rights and Law Enforcement Coalition have condemned the shooting of senior advocate and human rights activist Yan Christian Warinussy in Manokwari, West Papua, on Wednesday afternoon, July 17.
Steve Rushton – Indigenous people in West Papua face systematic murder and destruction of their lands. They were colonised by Indonesia in the 1960s. West Papua is the western part of the island of New Guinea – home to the world's third largest rainforest.
Jakarta – Security forces in Papua reported that a civilian turbine engine aircraft was shot by members of an armed criminal group upon landing at the Sinak Airport in Puncak regency, Central Papua, on Monday.
Members of the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) have been accused of intimidating journalists while covering activities in Jalan Bubara, Klaligi Village, Sorong City, on 9 July 2024.
Pes Yanengga, Jayapura – Papuan students have called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to immediately withdraw TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police) troops from Puncak regency, Central Papua Province. According to the students, the presence of non-organic troops has triggered an increase in violence against civilians.
Jayapura – Zakarias Talaty, the sole judge at the Jayapura District Court, has rejected a pretrial motion on behalf of senior Papuan journalist Victor Mambor against an Order to Stop Investigation (SP3) issued by the North Jayapura Sectoral Police (Polsek) on the grounds that the SP3 was legitimate due to the lack of witnesses who saw the bomb attack on Mambor's home in March 2023.
On 30 June 2024, military members allegedly arrested Mr Atinus Kum (see photo on top), a member of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), in the Intan Jaya Regency, Papua Tengah Province. According to the information received, Mr Kum was unarmed and on the way to the town to buy some necessities. The military members reportedly tortured and executed Mr Kum.
Makassar – Police have admitted to seizing Free Papua Organisation (OPM) flags from a Papua student dormitory in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
"We have conducted a seizure of Morning Star flags at the dormitory", said Makassar Metropolitan District Police Chief (Kapolrestabes) Senior Commissioner Mokhamad Ngajib when sought for confirmation on Friday July 5.
The 6th July marks 26 years since the Biak Massacre when the Indonesian security forces massacred scores of people in Biak, West Papua. The victims, included women and children who had gathered for a peaceful rally. They were killed at the base of a water tower flying the Morning Star flag.
On 14 June 2024, Mr Pilemon Gobai, 42, was unlawfully killed, and Mr Melkias Yatipai,47, a tribal leader, sustained a bullet injury on the left heel as security force members raided the area around the Odiyai Village.
Hengky Yeimo, Nabire – A number of Papuan pro-independence organisations commemorated the 53rd anniversary of the proclamation of West Papuan independence at several locations inside and outside of Papua on Monday July 1.
From information gathered by Jubi.id, commemorations were held in at least six different locations, from morning through to the evening.
The Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self Determination and Liberation, as one of the movements endorsing the Permanent Peoples Tribunal Session on Environmental Destruction and State Repression in West Papua on June 27 to 29, welcomes the success of the recently concluded Tribunal.
Tempo.Co, Jakarta – Papua is a province known as the land of gold with its natural riches containing beautiful fauna. The word Papua comes from Malay, this word represents the original native physique where people have curly hair.
Responding to the final statement of Permanent Peoples' Tribunal on Papua in London, Amnesty International Indonesia's executive director Usman Hamid said:
"The final statement truly mirrors the deteriorating developments in Papua. Their historic findings signal the depth of the human rights violations and environmental destruction in the region.
The Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (BPN) and the government of Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua (Papua Barat Daya) Province, are being urged to review the permits and impose strict sanctions on PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera (IKSJ) following recent trespassing on customary land.
Jayapura – Papuan journalists held a solidarity action to support the struggle by senior Papuan journalist Victor Mambor who is seeking justice over a terror bomb attack near his home on March 23, 2023. This solidarity was shown during a pretrial hearing at the Jayapura Class 1A District Court in Papua on Friday June 28.
Long-standing tensions in Timika have escalated, resulting in the significant destruction of local community plantations. The conflict began in 2017 and has reached alarming levels in 2024 with repeated incidents of violence, destruction, and threats. The person behind these actions is an individual known by the initials YG.
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The Indonesian government's plan to transform Merauke town, South Papua (Papua Selatan) Province, into a major centre for sugarcane plantations and bioethanol production has sparked significant controversy and legal disputes.
Elisa Sekenyap, Jayapura – The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), which has observer status at Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), says it was not informed of a visit by two MSG officials who came to Jayapura, Papua, last week.
Stefan Armbruster, Victor Mambor and BenarNews staff – An unheralded visit to Indonesia's Papuan provinces by a leading Pacific diplomat has drawn criticism for undermining a push for a United Nations human rights mission to the region where pro-independence insurgents have fought Indonesian rule for decades.
The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal (PPT), established in 1979 on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Peoples' Rights, and in compliance with its Statute, has opened a procedure to investigate the environmental impacts of development in West Papua and the human rights violations linked to those practices.