CoveragePost
January 27, 2026
ANALYSIS: By Laurens Ikinia in Jakarta The logbook of presidential flights in Indonesia reveals an unusual pattern — from the Merdeka Palace to the Land of the Bird of Paradise. By 2023, then President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had set foot in Papua at least 17 times — a record in the republic’s history, surpassing the ... <a title="Jakarta at crossroads – can President Prabowo connect with Papuan hearts?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/27/jakarta-at-crossroads-can-president-prabowo-connect-with-papuan-hearts/" aria-label="Read more about Jakarta at crossroads – can President Prabowo connect with Papuan hearts?">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
January 12, 2026
Indonesia needs a fundamental shift in perspective: seeing Papuans not as a problem to be managed, but as equal partners and full subjects of their own destiny within the Republic, writes Laurens Ikinia. COMMENTARY: By Laurens Ikinia in Jakarta The island of Papua is a land of profound paradox. Beneath its ancient, cathedral-like forests and ... <a title="Papua in the Pacific mirror: A path to recognition and reconciliation" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/12/papua-in-the-pacific-mirror-a-path-to-recognition-and-reconciliation/" aria-label="Read more about Papua in the Pacific mirror: A path to recognition and reconciliation">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
December 1, 2025
As activist groups around the world observe December 1 — flag-raising “independence” day for West Papua today marking when the Morning Star flag was flown in 1961 for the first time — Kristo Langker reports from the Highlands about how the Indonesian military is raising the stakes. SPECIAL REPORT: By Kristo Langker in Kiwirok, West ... <a title="West Papuan liberation fighters risk ‘extermination’ by Indonesia’s high-tech forces" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/12/01/west-papuan-liberation-fighters-risk-extermination-by-indonesias-high-tech-forces/" aria-label="Read more about West Papuan liberation fighters risk ‘extermination’ by Indonesia’s high-tech forces">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
December 1, 2025
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific reporter Four Papuan political prisoners have been sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment on treason charges. But a West Papua independence advocate says Indonesia is using its law to silence opposition. In April this year, letters were delivered to government institutions in Sorong West Papua, asking for peaceful dialogue between Indonesia’s ... <a title="Four Papuan activists jailed on treason charges – NZ advocate says ‘abuse of law’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/12/01/four-papuan-activists-jailed-on-treason-charges-nz-advocate-says-abuse-of-law/" aria-label="Read more about Four Papuan activists jailed on treason charges – NZ advocate says ‘abuse of law’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
November 26, 2025
Asia Pacific Report The global civil society alliance Civicus has called on eight Pacific governments to do more to respect civic freedoms and strengthen institutions to protect these rights. It is especially concerned over the threats to press freedom, the use of laws to criminalise online expression, and failure to establish national human rights institutions ... <a title="Civicus raps 8 Pacific countries for ‘not doing enough’ to protect civic rights, press freedom" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/11/26/civicus-raps-8-pacific-countries-for-not-doing-enough-to-protect-civic-rights-press-freedom/" aria-label="Read more about Civicus raps 8 Pacific countries for ‘not doing enough’ to protect civic rights, press freedom">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
November 20, 2025
While Indonesians worry about President Prabowo Subianto’s undemocratic moves, the failures of his flagship “breakfast” policy, and a faltering economy, Australia enters into another “treaty” of little import. Duncan Graham reports. COMMENTARY: By Duncan Graham Under-reported in the Australian and New Zealand media, Indonesia has been gripped by protests this year, some of them violent. ... <a title="Canberra pandering to Prabowo, while ignoring unrest in West Papua" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/11/20/canberra-pandering-to-prabowo-while-ignoring-unrest-in-west-papua/" aria-label="Read more about Canberra pandering to Prabowo, while ignoring unrest in West Papua">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
October 28, 2025
ANALYSIS: By Ali Mirin When the Pacific Islands Forum concluded in Honiara last month, leaders pledged regional unity under the motto “Iumi Tugeda” — “We are Together”. Eighteen Pacific heads of government reached agreements on climate resilience and nuclear-free oceans. They signed the Pacific Resilience Facility treaty and endorsed Australia’s proposal to jointly host the ... <a title="Blue Pacific’s unfinished business – West Papua and regional integrity" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/10/28/blue-pacifics-unfinished-business-west-papua-and-regional-integrity/" aria-label="Read more about Blue Pacific’s unfinished business – West Papua and regional integrity">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
September 4, 2025
By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific Waves presenter/producer A West Papuan activist says the transfer of four political prisoners by Indonesian authorities is a breach of human rights. In April, the men were arrested on charges of treason after requesting peace talks in the city of Sorong in southwest Papua. They were then transferred to Makassar ... <a title="Prisoner transfer sparks new human rights concerns in West Papua" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/09/04/prisoner-transfer-sparks-new-human-rights-concerns-in-west-papua/" aria-label="Read more about Prisoner transfer sparks new human rights concerns in West Papua">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>
