The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) reports...

There have been a number of demonstrations in West Papua in the last two weeks with demonstrators protesting the failed autonomy package.

13 were arrested in Manokwari for carrying the West Papuan flag and although two were released, 11 are still in custody. There is concern for their
safety.

Also church leaders have been intimidated at a church conference by police and military personal in the highlands of West Papua.

URGENT MEDIA ALERT

WEST PAPUAN PEOPLE CONTINUE RALLIES OUTSIDE JAYAPURA PARLIAMENT TO KEEP PRESSURE FOR REFERENDUM

FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST
Thursday March 6 1530 AEST
JAYAPURA, WEST PAPUA, MARCH 6
Unswayed by threats, previous police brutality and their release from prison yesterday, Youth and Students of West Papua have joined today with detainees to keeping up the pressure on the Indonesian Government in demanding a Referendum for the future of West Papua. Eighty students braved BRIMOB to hold a peaceful rally on the steps of the Papuan People’s Assembly in Jayapura.

20 years in Prison for Pollycarpus

Press Release, January 25th 2008

This afternoon, the Supreme Court sentenced Pollycarpus to 20 years in prison because for his culpability in Munir’s murder. This decision (No. 109/PK/PID/2007) was made by five judges without a dissenting opinion. Bagir Manan was chairman and the other members of the bench consisted of Djoko Sarwoko, Haripin Tumpa, Djoko Sarwoko, Parman Suparman, and Paulus E. Lotulung.

THE UNTOLD STORY: FOOTAGE FROM THE PAPUAN RAINFOREST

EIA Press Release: 28 November 2007

Unique films are launched today showing the impact of forest exploitation upon the people of Papua, Indonesia.

Important New Collection of Papuan Papers Announced from University of Oxford Refugee Studies Centre (RSC)>

Former Indonesia airline chief on trial over murder of activist

Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent
Wednesday October 10, 2007
Guardian (UK)

The former president of Indonesia's state-owned airline Garuda went on trial yesterday accused of conspiracy to murder a political activist who died three years ago. Indra Setiawan is accused, along with a senior Garuda staff member, Rohainil Aini, of aiding the main suspect in the murder of Munir Thalib, who died after being poisoned with arsenic on an international flight.

Mr Thalib, 38, a human rights lawyer who was an outspoken critic of the military's tactics in quelling dissent in East Timor, Aceh and Papua, died on board a Garuda flight bound for Amsterdam in 2004. A Garuda pilot, Polycarpus Priyanto, was convicted of the murder in 2005 and jailed for 14 years, but the sentence was quashed by the supreme court last year because of a lack of witnesses and evidence.

Leaders of Pacific Island countries, including Australia and New Zealand, should devote special attention to the plight of West Papuan human rights defenders at the annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga says TAPOL, the UK-based NGO that promotes human rights, peace and democracy in Indonesia.

The level of intimidation against human rights defenders, political activists and religious leaders by Indonesian military and intelligence personnel has increased markedly since a visit to West Papua in June 2007 by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, says TAPOL in an open briefing to the Forum leaders.

1) Amnesty International: Urgent Action

AI Index: ASA 21/009/2007 03 August 2007

UA 199/07 Fear for safety

INDONESIA Socrates Yoman (m), Head of the Baptist Churches (Papua)
Noahk Nawipa (m), Kingmi church leader
Benny Giay (m), Kingmi church leader

Benny Giay, Noahk Nawipa and Socrates Yoman, all Christian church leaders in Papua province, have reportedly been threatened. Amnesty International believes that the lives of the three men could be in danger.

Around midnight on 29 July, two men reportedly came to the home of Pastor
Benny Giav, a leader of the Kingmi church (the Papuan branch of the Gospel

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEAL

28 June 2007 [For context, see UN human rights expert remains "deeply concerned", or the related UN Press Release.]

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UA-209-2007: INDONESIA: Human rights activists from West Papua targeted following meetings with UN Human Rights Defenders Special Representative
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The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received credible information of ongoing attacks, intimidation, surveillance and threats, including death threats, against human rights defenders from West Papua that occurred in mid-June 2007, following their meeting with Ms. Hina Jilani, the UN Special Representative to the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders.

Indonesia: Remove indicted colonel from West Papua
Crimes against humanity suspect a threat to Papuans

28 June 2007 – The presence in Papua of a senior Indonesian army officer indicted on crimes against humanity charges in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) endangers human rights defenders and political activists and is a sign of the Indonesian government’s lack of commitment to justice and accountability a coalition of Indonesian and international human rights organisations said today.

In an open letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, the organisations called for Col. Burhanuddin Siagian, commander of the Jayapura sub-regional military command (Korem 172) in Papua, to be withdrawn immediately and suspended from active duty. They urged the Indonesian government to review all evidence against Col. Siagian and other high-level East Timor suspects to determine whether proceedings should be commenced and to extradite to East Timor those indicted by Dili’s Special Panel for Serious Crimes.