CoveragePost
May 15, 2023
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand advocacy group has appealed to the government to heed the call of West Papuan church leaders for Indonesia to withdraw security forces and impose a “humanitarian pause” while negotiating for the release of captive pilot Philip Merhtens. Mehrtens, a 37-year-old New Zealander working for the Indonesian local airline Susi ... <a title="Open letter plea for NZ to back West Papua peaceful hostage plan" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/15/open-letter-plea-for-nz-to-back-west-papua-peaceful-hostage-plan/" aria-label="Read more about Open letter plea for NZ to back West Papua peaceful hostage plan">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 11, 2023
Amnesty International is calling on Indonesia to release West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson Victor Yeimo. Yeimo was sentenced on Friday to eight months in prison for his involvement in an anti-racism protest in Papua in August 2019. In a statement, Amnesty International is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Yeimo and ... <a title="Amnesty calls on Jakarta to free West Papuan activist Victor Yeimo" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/11/amnesty-calls-on-jakarta-to-free-west-papuan-activist-victor-yeimo/" aria-label="Read more about Amnesty calls on Jakarta to free West Papuan activist Victor Yeimo">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 11, 2023
Pacific Media Watch Journalist, author and media academic David Robie has launched an independent news and current affairs website to complement his long-established Asia Pacific Report. While Asia Pacific Report will continue to cover regional affairs, the new website — dubbed Café Pacific, the same name as his blog which is being absorbed into the ... <a title="Journalist David Robie launches new open access Café Pacific website" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/11/journalist-david-robie-launches-new-open-access-cafe-pacific-website/" aria-label="Read more about Journalist David Robie launches new open access Café Pacific website">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 9, 2023
Indonesia has sent 30 tonnes of relief supplies to aid the Vanuatu government’s recovery efforts post three major natural disasters earlier this year. The humanitarian aid has been delivered on a My Indo Airline B737-800 cargo aircraft that departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and landed at Vanuatu’s Bauerfield International Airport today. A representative of the ... <a title="Indonesia sends disaster aid supplies to Vanuatu – warning over West Papua" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/09/indonesia-sends-disaster-aid-supplies-to-vanuatu-warning-over-west-papua/" aria-label="Read more about Indonesia sends disaster aid supplies to Vanuatu – warning over West Papua">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 9, 2023
Jubi News A West Papuan leader, defending himself against treason charges, has denounced “systemic racism” by Indonesian authorities in the Melanesian region in a court hearing. Viktor Yeimo, the international spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), presented his defence statement — pledoi — in a hearing at the Jayapura Class 1A District Court ... <a title="Viktor Yeimo denounces Jakata’s ‘systemic racism’ in Papua in his treason case defence" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/09/viktor-yeimo-denounces-jakatas-systemic-racism-in-papua-in-his-treason-case-defence/" aria-label="Read more about Viktor Yeimo denounces Jakata’s ‘systemic racism’ in Papua in his treason case defence">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 5, 2023
PNG Post-Courier North Fly MP James Donald has ordered Papua New Guinean police to shoot to kill drug and gun runners along the Indonesian border. Donald said this after police in Kiunga had raided Mepu village along the border and arrested and charged three men from Hela for being in possession of 3.4kg of marijuana ... <a title="PNG politician orders police to ‘shoot to kill’ drug runners along border" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/05/05/png-politician-orders-police-to-shoot-to-kill-drug-runners-along-border/" aria-label="Read more about PNG politician orders police to ‘shoot to kill’ drug runners along border">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 29, 2023
By David Robie As part of an Indonesian-backed disinformation and troll campaign against West Papuan pro-independence activists, a Facebook page has emerged making bitter and slanderous attacks on campaigners, Papuan exiles and media people in the Pacific region. Among the targets for this page — dubbed “View Information”, purportedly based in the Vanuatu capital of ... <a title="Vila-based Indonesian ‘troll’ page targets Papuan advocates" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/29/vila-based-indonesian-troll-page-targets-papuan-advocates/" aria-label="Read more about Vila-based Indonesian ‘troll’ page targets Papuan advocates">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 28, 2023
Jubi News in Jayapura Captured pilot Philip Mehrtens has called on the Indonesian government to stop military operations in the Nduga highlands in a bid to rescue him while his West Papuan rebel captors have condemned New Zealand for alleged “collusion” with Jakarta. According to Mehrtens, last weekend the Indonesian military (TNI) dropped bombs on ... <a title="West Papuan rebels condemn NZ for ‘collusion’ with Indonesia, risks to hostage pilot safety" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/28/west-papuan-rebels-condemn-nz-for-collusion-with-indonesia-risks-to-hostage-pilot-safety/" aria-label="Read more about West Papuan rebels condemn NZ for ‘collusion’ with Indonesia, risks to hostage pilot safety">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 26, 2023
RNZ Pacific New Zealand hostage Phillip Mehrtens, who is being held by pro-independence fighters in West Papua, appears well in a newly-released video. It comes as concerns were expressed for the pilot as fighting between Indonesian security forces and his captors, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), intensified last week. New Zealand Prime Minister ... <a title="‘I’m alive, healthy . . . stop the bombs,’ says kidnapped NZ pilot in new West Papua video" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/26/im-alive-healthy-stop-the-bombs-says-kidnapped-nz-pilot-in-new-west-papua-video/" aria-label="Read more about ‘I’m alive, healthy . . . stop the bombs,’ says kidnapped NZ pilot in new West Papua video">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 26, 2023
By Singgih Wiryono in Jakarta An Indonesian human rights researcher has cricitised his government’s failure to negotiate with West Papuan rebels, saying security officials should learn from the 2005 Aceh peace pact. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) research and mobilisation division head, Rozy Brilian, said the Indonesian government had always ... <a title="Jakarta should ‘learn from the Aceh, Philippines experience’ and talk to West Papuan rebels, says researcher" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/26/jakarta-should-learn-from-the-aceh-philippines-experience-and-talk-to-west-papuan-rebels-says-researcher/" aria-label="Read more about Jakarta should ‘learn from the Aceh, Philippines experience’ and talk to West Papuan rebels, says researcher">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 23, 2023
Asia Pacific Report Indonesian security forces have intensified operations in various conflict areas in West Papua, reports Human Rights Monitor. According to information received by the international watchdog, security force members have raided villages and set residential houses on fire. The raids reportedly occurred in conflict hotspots in West Papua, predominantly in the Puncak, Nduga, ... <a title="Indonesian security crackdown in West Papua – ‘traumatising raids, torture’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/23/indonesian-security-crackdown-in-west-papua-traumatising-raids-torture/" aria-label="Read more about Indonesian security crackdown in West Papua – ‘traumatising raids, torture’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 21, 2023
By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist The United Kingdom’s commitments to upholding human rights have come under question this week over the West Papua issue, resulting in a heated exchange between a government representative and five members of the House of Lords. The exchange occurred on Monday after the Minister of State for the United ... <a title="UK minister grilled on West Papua human rights in House of Lords" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2023/04/21/uk-minister-grilled-on-west-papua-human-rights-in-house-of-lords/" aria-label="Read more about UK minister grilled on West Papua human rights in House of Lords">Read more</a>