West Papua

About 500 people were reported to have been arrested for participating in the demonstrations.

Police in the Papua provincial capital Jayapura confirmed they had charged two Papuans for inciting treason against the state, and provoking other demonstrators to commit treason.

Now, reports from Indonesia indicate that four more people have been charged under the rebellion law after demonstrating in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province.

A treason charge could lead to a jail term of up to 15 years.

RNZ reports the Hercules C130 plane had taken off from the city of Timika before crashing near its destination of Wamena.

Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency says the crash site on Lisuwa mountain was been found and the bodies of the victims were being brought back to Wamena.

Indonesia has a patchy air safety record and President Joko Widodo promised a review of the country's ageing air force fleet last year after a military transport plane crashed, killing more than 100 people.

The main aim of the exhibition is to raise awareness of the West Papuan peoples wish for independence and right to self-determination.

Sungi reaffirmed the government’s stand at the 33rd Joint Border Committee between PNG and Indonesia recently in Port Moresby.

He further added that the government and does not condone, tolerate or recognise any illegal activities carried out against the unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Indonesia's Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has urged Australia to pass on a message to Pacific Island governments to not interfere in Indonesian domestic affairs.

In media comments in the past week, he pressed Canberra to rebuke Pacific states, in particular Solomon Islands, for raising Papua in global forums and inviting Papuans to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The Solomons' envoy on West Papua, Rex Horoi, said his government won't respond to what is effectively a media statement.

'At the Intersection: Pacific Climate Change and Resource Exploitation in West Papua' runs for two days, hosted by Western Sydney University and the University of Sydney's West Papua Project.

The keynote speaker is Vanuatu's Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Ralph Regenvanu. Others attending include climate change scientists and West Papuan analysts.

The conference has been organised by Dr Cammi Webb-Gannon from Western Sydney University who said climate change and pernicious resource extraction in West Papua had a deep connection.

Vanuatu's Daily Post reported Prime Minister Sogavare reportedly saying Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia's FLNKS movement would admit West Papua at the next MSG Leaders’ Summit in Vanuatu, even if Papua New Guinea and Fiji stay away.

The postponed MSG leaders’ summit will be held in December.

West Papua is a province in Indonesia that shares the common land border with Papua New Guinea.

This follows the attendance of the PNG delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister, Rimbink Pato, to the United Nations General Assembly meeting where several Pacific Island nations raised the West Papua issue.

Minister Pato responded, during a media conference today, saying that PNG’s position has been clear as announced during various regional meetings.

“We have a very strong relationship with government and people of Indonesia, we have a whole range of agreements and treaties that govern our relationship,” said Pato.

RNZ reports the accusation during the UN General Assembly came after leaders from six Pacific countries - Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Nauru, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu - expressed concern about human rights abuses in Papua.

Calls for Papuan self-determination rights to be respected were also made by some of the leaders during this 71st session of the general assembly debate.

"Human rights violations in West Papua and the pursuit for self-determination of West Papua are two sides of the same coin," said the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare.

Band manager and founder of West Papua group Black Brothers Band, Andy Ayamiseba urges PNG musicians to always commit to their music and learn to sacrifice their time.

Black Brothers is an eclectic band that was the most popular musical group in PNG during the 1980s.

The band is known for hit songs back in the 1980s including Apuse, Permata Hatiku, Hari Kiamat, Terjalin Kembali, kerongcong kenangan, Anita and Wan Pela Meri.