An estimated 5,000 Papuans, including members of the pro-independence National Committee for West Papua, activists and university students as well as seminarians, staged a rally calling for independence in Jayapura, Papua province, on April 13. Peaceful demonstrations supporting Papuan independence were held in several parts on the predominantly Christian Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Read more
Indonesia must seriously address human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings in Papua, say the Pacific churches. The Pacific Conference of Churches General Secretary, Reverend Francois Pihaatae, says Papuans are being killed and tortured merely because they want self-determination, a right guaranteed by the United Nations of which Indonesia is a member. He said 500,000 Papuans Read more
Mass arrests are reported to have been carried out in West Papua on the anniversary of Indonesia’s annexation of the province. In the provincial capital, Jayapura, 30 people were arrested at a rally against Indonesian rule. A person who was at the rally, Rosa, says there was a heavy security presence in the city, and as soon Read more
Human rights groups in Indonesia’s Papua province, and the Baptist Church in Jayapura say Melanesian children are still being removed from their families, and sent to Islamic schools in Jakarta. According to a six-month Good Weekend investigation children, possibly in their thousands, have been enticed away over the past decade or more with the promise of a free education.In Read more
The Central Body for the Fellowship of Baptist Churches has expressed alarm at the conduct of Indonesian security forces in Papua, according to a press release dated 01 November. Examples of crimes by the Indonesian security forces include: The bombing of the parliament Jayawijaya building on 1 September 2012 by OTK (Orang Tak Dikenal) the throwing Read more