Benny Wenda, the head of the Free West Papua Movement, has succeeded in having his name removed from an Interpol wanted list. He had had been issued with a red notice and was at risk of arrest and extradition. The Indonesian authorities say they wanted him to stand trial for murder and arson, offences he denies. But Read more
The Bishop of Jayapura, Leo Laba Ladjar OFM thinks that the Papuan people should hold a dialogue between themselves before entering into dialogue with Indonesia. He acknowledged that this dialogue would be quite difficult. He was speaking during a meeting of all Catholic clerics with representatives of the police force to build a partnership for security and Read more
The World Council of Churches General Secretary the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit was in West Papua (Tanah Papua) from 17 to 20 June as part of his ten-day visit to Indonesia. Tveit said the focus of his visit was to listen and support the church in its efforts of being church in a difficult situation. Read more
Reports of arrests continue to come out of Papua as a police crackdown intensifies. The Jayapura Police chief announced last Monday that his forces had detained three people responsible for “spreading fear and terror” in the province. The three — Jefry Wandikwo, Zakius Saplay and Calvin Wenda — allegedly acted in conjunction with slain independence Read more
The chairman of the Baptist Churches of Papua, Sofyan Yoman, is visiting the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, lobbying foreign embassies to help generate international intervention in Papua. “The Indonesian government and the West Papua representative should come to the negotiation table to talk peacefully,” he said. Pastor Socratez has suggested that a neutral “referee” mediate the Read more
A violent rampage by Indonesian soldiers in the town of Wamena in Papua province has sent thousands of residents fleeing to the bush. At least one person is confirmed to have been killed and several seriously injured by the soldiers from the Baliem Valley-based Battalion 756. An Indonesian military spokesman denied anybody had died and Read more
A number of violent incidents that have occurred in West Papua recently have not been investigated by the Indonesian authorities. The chairman of the Alliance of Baptist Churches in Papua, Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yomanis, says this leaves the impression that the Indonesian government is simply not interested and has reinforced Papuan nationalism. “The Papuan people Read more
Members of regional parliaments are increasingly alarmed at the continuing violence in the Indonesian Papuan provinces and at the seeming inability of the Indonesian Government to administer these territories without a large military presence. The refusal of permission for journalists and many aid workers to enter the provinces is a growing cause of concern. On Read more
The World Council of Churches has expressed concern at the escalation of violence in Indonesia’s Tanah Papua area [West Papua], urging the authorities to stop the killings of civilians at the hands of armed forces. It has issued a statement at its meeting which was held in Geneva , Switzerland, 14-17 February 2012 highlighting what Read more
This Labor Conference
1. Expresses its continuing concern over violent incidents in the Papuan provinces;
2. Welcomes the Indonesian President’s announcement of 9 November 2011 that his government is willing to conduct a dialogue with Papuan Leaders;
3. Calls on the Australian Government to monitor closely the situation in the Papuan provinces including progress on the President’s dialogue process, and for the Australia Embassy to maintain its program of periodic visits;
4. Supports increased access to the Papuan provinces by the media and human rights organizations;
5. Calls for those responsible for human rights violations and for the killings and violence to be tried;
6. Calls for the release of any person arrested solely for the peaceful expression of their political views; and
7. Asks for an independent progress report on the situation in the Papuan provinces to be provided to the next Federal Conference.
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