P R E S S R E L E A S E
Nov. 9, 2009

Eni F. H. Faleomavaega
Chairman
The Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment

CHAIRMEN FALEOMAVAEGA AND PAYNE CALL ON
INDONESIAN PRESIDENT TO ESTABLISH DIALOGUE WITH
WEST PAPUA LEADERS

The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment,

West Papua Report September 2009

Source: West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT)

This is the 64th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm. Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com.

West Papua Report August 2009

Source: West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT)

This is the 63rd in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm. Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com.

Impunity at the Freeport Gold & Copper Mine: Will Indonesian Security Forces Get Away with It Again?

West Papua Advocacy Team Statement
Source: WPAT

Contact: Edmund McWilliams, West Papua Advocacy Team, +1.575.648.2078 (English)
Eben Kirksey, Ph.D., University of California, +1.831.600.5937 (English or Bahasa Indonesia)

July 23, 2009 - Amidst an ongoing shooting spree at the Freeport McMoRan mining concession in Timika, West Papua, four people have died, including an Australian Freeport employee. Six separate ambushes have taken place since shootings began on July 11.

A race to find scapegoats appears underway. Indonesian authorities have arrested as many as 20 individuals. Trusted sources informed the West Papua Advocacy Team that these detainees have been interrogated without the presence of their lawyers and at least one, an elderly man, was beaten by security personnel. Even after these recent detentions, a convoy of 12 Freeport busses again came under attack by gunmen on Wednesday, 22 July.

 
From www.etan.org/news

SBY Implicated in Cover Up of Ambush Murder of U.S. Citizens

1 July, 2009 - Previously secret U.S. State Department documents implicate the President of Indonesia in a probable cover-up in an ambush in West Papua. The documents show Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is running for reelection on July 8, maneuvering behind the scenes to manage the investigation into the August 2002 murder of three teachers—one Indonesian and two U.S. citizens.

West Papuans recently announced a foundational consensus on their legal defence and right to declare national sovereignty, thereby asserting their fundamental human rights and ancestral ownership of land. (The consensus has global significance in that West Papua remains on a scale similar to the Amazon in terms of what is being lost - diversity of local species and tribal societies, and the amount of oxygen produced by the "lungs of Asia".)

AUSTRALIA WEST PAPUA ASSOCIATION (VIC)
Thursday 9 April 2009 For immediate release

The Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) Victoria is calling on the
Australian Government to make an urgent diplomatic representation to
its Indonesian counterpart over escalating violence in the lead up to
the general elections taking place today.

Members of Melbourne’s West Papuan community and supporters will hand
out flyers and speak with members of the public at Flinders Street
Station this afternoon before travelling to the Indonesian Consulate

Human Rights Report 8 April 2009: Human Rights in West Papua deteriorates with shootings, arrests and orchestrated violence reported in Nabire

The human rights situation in West Papua continues to deteriorate before Indonesia’ General Election tomorrow. Local people have been shot and critically injured in a operation reportedly organised by Indonesian security forces against West Papuan demonstrators in Nabire on the 6 April 2009.

A trying two months in Manokwari

The latest major earthquake to hit Indonesia's West Papua region highlights the plight faced by people who struggle to cope with the compounded effects of man-made and natural disasters.

A series of powerful earthquakes struck Manokwari, West Papua, on Sunday, January 4th, killing four people and injuring dozens more. Hundreds of buildings were damaged, leaving countless people homeless. The runway of Manokwari's Rendai Airport was split in two while two prominent three-story hotels in the town centre, the Mutiara and Kalidingin, collapsed.