CoveragePost
February 17, 2026
RNZ Pacific The Indonesian government has dismissed a claim that its military has been bombing villages in West Papua. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) claims a makeshift refugee camp in Puncak regency was bombed, and that many villagers have been displaced. ULMWP president Benny Wenda said the Air Force had “relentlessly attacked ... <a title="Confusion over West Papua bombing, displacement claims" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/17/confusion-over-west-papua-bombing-displacement-claims/" aria-label="Read more about Confusion over West Papua bombing, displacement claims">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 13, 2026
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan advocacy group has condemned Indonesia over taking up the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying it was “totally unfit” and the choice “makes a mockery” of the office. Indonesia was the sole candidate for the Asia-Pacific bloc at the council (HRC), which also includes China, Japan ... <a title="Indonesia accused of being ‘unfit’ for UN rights council presidency" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/13/indonesia-accused-of-being-unfit-for-un-rights-council-presidency/" aria-label="Read more about Indonesia accused of being ‘unfit’ for UN rights council presidency">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
October 23, 2025
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) claims more than a dozen civilians have been killed in the Papuan highlands, including three men who were allegedly tortured and a woman who was allegedly raped. However, the Indonesian government claims the accusations “baseless”. ULMWP president Benny Wenda said 15 ... <a title="ULMWP alleges 15 civilians killed in West Papua military operation" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/10/23/ulmwp-alleges-15-civilians-killed-in-west-papua-military-operation/" aria-label="Read more about ULMWP alleges 15 civilians killed in West Papua military operation">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
October 16, 2025
Asia Pacific Report Indonesian military forces have again bombed Kiwirok, the site of a massacre in 2021 that killed more than 300 West Papuan civilians, amid worsening violence, alleges a Papuan advocacy group. “While President Prabowo talks about promoting peace in the Middle East, his military is trying to wipe out West Papua,” said United ... <a title="Wenda accuses Indonesian troops of bombarding village in Star mountains" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/10/16/wenda-accuses-indonesian-troops-of-bombarding-village-in-star-mountains/" aria-label="Read more about Wenda accuses Indonesian troops of bombarding village in Star mountains">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
August 29, 2025
A West Papuan independence advocate has accused Indonesia of “continuing to murder children” while escalating its military operations across the Melanesian region. United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny Wenda says West Papua faces two connected crimes — ecocide and genocide. Two schoolchildren were killed by the occupying military in the build ... <a title="Wenda accuses Indonesia of killing West Papuans for ‘independence’ day" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/08/29/wenda-accuses-indonesia-of-killing-west-papuans-for-independence-day/" aria-label="Read more about Wenda accuses Indonesia of killing West Papuans for ‘independence’ day">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 22, 2025
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist A West Papua independence leader says escalating violence is forcing indigenous Papuans to flee their ancestral lands. It comes as the Indonesian military claims 18 members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) were killed in an hour-long operation in Intan Jaya on May 14. In a statement, ... <a title="Indonesian military operations spark concerns over displaced indigenous Papuans" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/05/22/indonesian-military-operations-spark-concerns-over-displaced-indigenous-papuans/" aria-label="Read more about Indonesian military operations spark concerns over displaced indigenous Papuans">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 12, 2025
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist The escalation of violence in West Papua is on par with some of the most intense times of conflict over the past six decades, a human rights researcher says. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) claims that Indonesia killed at least one civilian and severely injured another ... <a title="‘Fighting more frequent now’ – researcher warns of escalating West Papua conflict" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/05/12/fighting-more-frequent-now-researcher-warns-of-escalating-west-papua-conflict/" aria-label="Read more about ‘Fighting more frequent now’ – researcher warns of escalating West Papua conflict">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
March 19, 2025
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan liberation advocacy group has condemned the arrest of 12 activists by Indonesian police and demanded their immediate release. The West Papuan activists from the West Papua People’s Liberation Movement (GR-PWP) were arrested for handing out pamphlets supporting the new “Boycott Indonesia” campaign. The GR-PWP activists were arrested in Sentani ... <a title="West Papua liberation group demands Indonesia releases 12 arrested activists" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/03/19/west-papua-liberation-group-demands-indonesia-releases-12-arrested-activists/" aria-label="Read more about West Papua liberation group demands Indonesia releases 12 arrested activists">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 31, 2025
Pacific Media Watch A West Papuan advocacy group is calling for an urgent international inquiry into allegations that Indonesian security forces have used the chemical weapon white phosphorus against West Papuans for a second time. The allegations were made in the new documentary, Frontier War, by Paradise Broadcasting. In the film, West Papuan civilians give ... <a title="Wenda calls for international inquiry into film claim that Indonesia is using chemical weapons in West Papua" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/01/31/wenda-calls-for-international-inquiry-into-film-claim-that-indonesia-is-using-chemical-weapons-in-west-papua/" aria-label="Read more about Wenda calls for international inquiry into film claim that Indonesia is using chemical weapons in West Papua">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 6, 2025
COMMENTARY: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report With the door now shut on 2024, many will heave a sigh of relief and hope for better things this year. Decolonisation issues involving the future of Kanaky New Caledonia and West Papua – and also in the Middle East with controversial United Nations votes by ... <a title="Five Pacific region geopolitical ‘betrayals’ in 2024" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/01/06/five-pacific-region-geopolitical-betrayals-in-2024/" aria-label="Read more about Five Pacific region geopolitical ‘betrayals’ in 2024">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 6, 2025
SPECIAL REPORT: By Paul Gregoire United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) provisional government interim president Benny Wenda has warned that since Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto took office in October, he has been proven right in having remarked, after the politician’s last February election, that his coming marks the return of “the ghost of Suharto” ... <a title="‘Ghost of Suharto’ marks Prabowo’s new phase in West Papua occupation" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/01/06/ghost-of-suharto-marks-prabowos-new-phase-in-west-papua-occupation/" aria-label="Read more about ‘Ghost of Suharto’ marks Prabowo’s new phase in West Papua occupation">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
December 3, 2024
Asia Pacific Report An exiled West Papuan leader has called for unity among his people in the face of a renewed “colonial grip” of Indonesia’s new president. President Prabowo Subianto, who took office last month, “is a deep concern for all West Papuans”, said Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP). ... <a title="Wenda calls for West Papuan unity in the face of Jakarta’s renewed ‘colonial grip’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2024/12/03/wenda-calls-for-west-papuan-unity-in-the-face-of-jakartas-renewed-colonial-grip/" aria-label="Read more about Wenda calls for West Papuan unity in the face of Jakarta’s renewed ‘colonial grip’">Read more</a>
