The ongoing bloodshed in West Papua indicates long-standing, fundamental problems that have remained unresolved, says Dr Neles Tebay, a Catholic priest, who teaches at the Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology in Abepura, Papua. He says that in order to identify and settle these deep-seated problems and prevent acts of violence from recurring, a Read more
A West Papuan Franciscan, Br Budi Hernawan, who used to head the Catholic Church’s office of Justice and Peace in Jayapura says Jakarta and the international community must take a different approach to the troubled region. Last week police violently broke up a Congress of indigenous leaders in Jayapura with unconfirmed reports of at least seven deaths and many Read more
The leader of Papua’s Baptist church says about one-thousand representatives of Papua’s 250 tribes were gathered at Cenderawasih University for the third West Papua National Congress. On Wednesday, the Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman says the university was surrounded by about two-and-a-half thousand Indonesian security personnel, both hidden and in cars. “Round the congress is police Read more