1) Australia silent about deportation of Papuan asylum seekers

1) Australia silent about deportation of Papuan asylum seekers

2) Vanuatu calls for UN probe of Papua abuses

3) Sorong court to hold Labora's  first trial

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http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/223172/australia-silent-about-deportation-of-papuan-asylum-seekers

1) Australia silent about deportation of Papuan asylum seekers

Updated at 8:16 am today

The Australian government has so far declined all comment about last week's deportation of seven asylum seekers from Indonesia's Papua province who Canberra flew to the Papua New Guinea capital.

The seven arrived in Queensland and claimed to be persecuted by the Indonesian security forces for their links to activists highlighting ongoing human rights abuses in Papua.

The group was reportedly denied access to a lawyer before being flown to Port Moresby, with refugee advocates fearing the seven may be returned to Indonesia.

Under a new policy adopted in July, Australia sends asylum seekers arriving by boat to its detention centres on PNG's Manus Island or Nauru for processing and possible resettlement anywhere but Australia.

In 2006, Australia angered Jakarta when it granted protection visas to 43 Papuans who had arrived in Queensland.

Australia's new border protection regime is likely to be key topic during the new Australian prime minister Tony Abbott's visit to Jakarta, which begins today.

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http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/223171/vanuatu-calls-for-un-probe-of-papua-abuses

2) Vanuatu calls for UN probe of Papua abuses

Updated at 6:46 am today

Vanuatu's Prime Minister has used his address at the United Nations General Assembly to urge the UN to appoint a special representative to probe alleged human rights abuses in Indonesia's Papua region.

Moana Carcasses said that West Papuans have been consistently denied any sort of recognition by the UN for 50 years.

Comparing Papua to the UN's preoccupation with the conflict in Syria, Mr Carcasses questioned how the world body can ignore what he says are hundreds of thousands of West Papuans who have been brutally beaten and murdered.

The Prime Minister has also reiterated Vanuatu's longstanding support for the de-colonisation process in the Pacific.

He congratulated the UN on adding French Polynesia to its decolonisation list, adding that self-determination is an inalienable right for all peoples.

Mr Carcasses told the assembly that West Papuans must be granted this right, and urged the UN to revisit the process it sanctioned in the 1960s under which the former Dutch New Guinea was incorporated into Indonesia.

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/09/28/sorong-court-hold-laboras-first-trial.html

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Sat, September 28 2013, 8:04 PM

3) Sorong court to hold Labora's  first trial

A Raja Empat resort police officer who has been accused of engaging in illegal logging, money laundering and fuel smuggling faces initial trial on Oct. 3 at the Sorong District Court in Papua, says an official.

“The first session is the indictment hearing,” Attorney General's Office (AGO) spokesman Setia Untung Arimuladi said on Saturday as quoted by tempo.co, referring to the case of Chief Brig. Labora Sitorus.

The National Police named Labora a suspect on May 18 after the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) spotted suspicious financial transactions in his bank account totaling Rp 1.5 trillion (US$130 million), which were not in keeping with Labora’s role as a police officer.

He faces multiple charges and if found guilty could be imprisoned for more than 10 years. (hrl/dic)