CoveragePost
July 7, 2025
Pacific Media Watch West Papuan independence advocate Octovianus Mote was in Aotearoa New Zealand late last year seeking support for independence for West Papua, which has been ruled by Indonesia for more than six decades. Mote is vice-president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) and was hosted in New Zealand by the ... <a title="Legends of a Nuclear-Free and Independent Pacific – Octo Mote" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/07/07/legends-of-a-nuclear-free-and-independent-pacific-octo-mote/" aria-label="Read more about Legends of a Nuclear-Free and Independent Pacific – Octo Mote">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 1, 2025
Asia Pacific Report The NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji (NGOCHR) has called on Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka as the new chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to “uphold justice, stability and security” for Kanaky New Caledonia and West Papua. In a statement today after last week’s MSG leaders’ summit in Suva, the ... <a title="Fiji human rights coalition challenges Rabuka over decolonisation ‘unfinished business’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/07/01/fiji-human-rights-coalition-challenges-rabuka-over-decolonisation-unfinished-business/" aria-label="Read more about Fiji human rights coalition challenges Rabuka over decolonisation ‘unfinished business’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 26, 2025
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan independence movement leader has warned the Melanesian Spearhead Group after its 23rd leaders summit in Suva, Fiji, to not give in to a “neocolonial trade in betrayal and abandonment” over West Papua. While endorsing and acknowledging the “unconditional support” of Melanesian people to the West Papuan cause for decolonisation, ... <a title="‘Don’t surrender’ to Indonesian pressure over West Papua, Bomanak warns MSG" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/26/dont-surrender-to-indonesian-pressure-over-west-papua-bomanak-warns-msg/" aria-label="Read more about ‘Don’t surrender’ to Indonesian pressure over West Papua, Bomanak warns MSG">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 25, 2025
Asia Pacific Report A Fiji-based advocacy group has condemned the participation of Indonesia in the Melanesian Spearhead Group which is meeting in Suva this week, saying it is a “profound disgrace” that the Indonesian Embassy continues to “operate freely” within the the MSG Secretariat. “This presence blatantly undermines the core principles of justice and solidarity ... <a title="Fiji advocacy group slams Indonesian role in MSG as a ‘disgrace’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/25/fiji-advocacy-group-slams-indonesian-role-in-msg-as-a-disgrace/" aria-label="Read more about Fiji advocacy group slams Indonesian role in MSG as a ‘disgrace’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 23, 2025
By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent Two international organisations are leading a call for the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to elevate the membership status of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) at their upcoming summit in Honiara in September. The collective, led by International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) and International Lawyers ... <a title="Pro-independence advocates urge MSG to elevate West Papua membership" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/23/pro-independence-advocates-urge-msg-to-elevate-west-papua-membership/" aria-label="Read more about Pro-independence advocates urge MSG to elevate West Papua membership">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 11, 2025
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Further reports of civilian casualties are coming out of West Papua, while clashes between Indonesia’s military and the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement continue. One of the most recent military operations took place in the early morning of May 14 in Sugapa District, Intan Jaya in Central ... <a title="More deaths reported out of Sugapa in West Papua clashes with military" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/11/more-deaths-reported-out-of-sugapa-in-west-papua-clashes-with-military/" aria-label="Read more about More deaths reported out of Sugapa in West Papua clashes with military">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 3, 2025
By Scholar Kassas in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea minister has raised concerns about “serious issues” at the PNG-Indonesia border due to a lack of proper security checkpoints. Culture and Tourism Minister Belden Namah, who is also the member for the border electorate Vanimo-Green, voiced these concerns while supporting a new Biosecurity for Plants ... <a title="PNG’s Namah calls for tighter bio controls, patrols on Indonesian border" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/03/pngs-namah-calls-for-tighter-bio-controls-patrols-on-indonesian-border/" aria-label="Read more about PNG’s Namah calls for tighter bio controls, patrols on Indonesian border">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 3, 2025
Asia Pacific Report An escalation in fighting between Indonesian security forces and Papuan pro-independence fighters in West Papua has seriously threatened the security of the largely indigenous population, says Human Rights Watch in a new report. The human rights watchdog warned that all parties to the conflict are obligated to abide by international humanitarian law, ... <a title="Human Rights Watch warns renewed fighting threatens West Papua civilians" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/06/03/human-rights-watch-warns-renewed-fighting-threatens-west-papua-civilians/" aria-label="Read more about Human Rights Watch warns renewed fighting threatens West Papua civilians">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 17, 2025
By Anish Chand in Suva Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Fiji’s coalition government are “detached from the values that Fijians hold dear”, says the NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji (NGOCHR). The rights coalition has expressed deep concern over Rabuka’s ongoing engagements with Indonesia. “History will judge how we respond as Fijians to this ... <a title="Fiji rights coalition slams ‘betrayal’ of West Papua for Indonesian benefits" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/05/17/fiji-rights-coalition-slams-betrayal-of-west-papua-for-indonesian-benefits/" aria-label="Read more about Fiji rights coalition slams ‘betrayal’ of West Papua for Indonesian benefits">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 13, 2025
Asia Pacific Report An Australian solidarity group for West Papuan self-determination has called on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to raise the human rights crisis in the Melanesian region with the Indonesian president this week. Albanese is visiting Indonesia for two days from tomorrow. AWPA has written a letter to Albanese making the appeal for ... <a title="AWPA calls on Albanese to raise West Papuan human rights with Prabowo" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/05/13/awpa-calls-on-albanese-to-raise-west-papuan-human-rights-with-prabowo/" aria-label="Read more about AWPA calls on Albanese to raise West Papuan human rights with Prabowo">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>
