West Papua

Indonesia to build Presidential Palace in West Papua

Joko Widodo met with around 60 Papuan leaders on Tuesday in a bid to ease violent protests which have rocked the region for weeks.

The president, also known as Jokowi, said work will start next year on a palace in Jayapura, where the local council's chair has promised to gift 10 acres of land.

Jokowi said it came at the request of Papuan leaders, who also asked for the Special Autonomy Law to be amended and the formation of a National Land Agency.

Indonesia jails Polish tourist who met with Papuan rebels

Jakub Skrzypski was arrested in August after he was accused of plotting to sell arms to the West Papua Liberation Army.

His lawyer, Latifah Anum Siregar, says Mr Skrzypski was sentenced on Thursday to five years imprisonment by judges at Wamena City Court.

His co-defendant, Papuan student Simon Magal, was jailed for four years for allegedly communicating with Mr Skrzypski.

Prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence for both men.

Ms Siregar says she will appeal the decision at a Papuan High Court.

 

Photo by Veronica Koman/Twitter

UNHRC told thousands of Papuans displaced by violence

The claims were part of presentations to the council by the West Papua National Committee, or KNPB, on Wednesday in Geneva.

KNPB spokesperson Victor Yeimo told the council's 40th session that Indonesian military forces in Nduga have violated Papuans' human rights.

"Joint military and police operation started last December in [the] Nduga region, [causing] excessive use of force. More than 2000 people have become IDPs [internally displaced people], houses were burned down and more than 25 civilians were dead."

West Papua group's office shutdown sparks fears

The KNPB said its headquarters in Jayapura and Asmat were shuttered by military and police in December.

On Thursday, committee members in the Southern city of Timika were forced out of their offices by at least 80 officers.

It will now be used as a joint military-police post.

Edo Dogopia, a member of the group based in Timika, said he's afraid other locations in Papua could be targeted as well.

"I am feeling worried because this is our place.

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Scores of West Papuan activists arrested in Jayapura

The KNPB said 104 of its members were taken in to custody after police searched a student dormitory in the Papua provincial capital.

A discussion to mark the tenth anniversary of the pro-independence organisation's inception had been about to take place.

The KNPB said the executive director the United Liberation Movement for West Papua Markus Haluk was also arrested.

     

Indonesian influence in the Pacific grows, despite Papua disquiet

The West Papuan independence movement has significant traction in the region, where it continues to push for its self-determination aspirations to be addressed by the international community.

Considering Papua's political status as non-negotiable, Indonesia has been busy strengthening ties with a number of countries in the three Pacific Islands regions of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia.

NZ govt MP calls for West Papua issue to go to UN

Louisa Wall made the comment at the launch of a new book examining New Zealand's position on West Papua.

In her book See No Evil: New Zealand's betrayal of the people of West Papua, author Maire Leadbeater criticises successive governments for failing to support Papuan rights.

Ms Wall said the book offers telling insights on how Papuans had no say in their homeland's incorporation into Indonesia in the 1960s.

Nearly 300 crocodiles slaughtered in West Papua

The slaughter was in retaliation for a local man thought to have been killed by one animal from the site.

Officials and police said they were not able to stop the attack and may now press charges.

The killing of a protected species is a crime that carries a fine or imprisonment in Indonesia.

The local villager was killed on Friday morning while gathering vegetables on the crocodile farm's breeding sanctuary.

At least 95 killed by security forces in Indonesia's Papua - Amnesty

In a new report, it said forces in the restive eastern region act with near total impunity, with the overwhelming majority of perpetrators never being held accountable.

The report documents 95 deaths in 69 incidents between January 2010 and February this year.

It notes 39 killings were at political events, such as pro-independence marches or soldiers opening fire at raising ceremonies for the West Papuan morning star flag.

Indonesia yet to allow UN Commissioner into Papua

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told a meeting of the Human Rights Council he was concerned the government's invitation to visit Papua had still not been honoured.

In his global update on human rights issues, Mr Al Hussein said he had been invited to visit Papua during his visit to Indonesia in February.

There had been positive engagement by the Indonesian authorities in many other respects, Mr Al Hussein said.