2) Open Letter: A call to honour regional commitments to West Papua
3) Winston Peters: Solomon Islands to blame for any Pacific Islands Forum disharmony
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1) Papua National Human Rights Commission Investigates Civilian Shooting Case in Sorong City
Author : Gamaliel M. Kaliele Editor : Angela Flassy
Last updated: September 5, 2025 9:50 pm
Sorong, Jubi – The Papua Representative Office of the National Commission on Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia (Komnas HAM RI) has expressed its commitment to thoroughly investigating the shooting of a civilian, Maikel Welerubun, which occurred on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Sorong City.
The Head of the Papua Representative Office of Komnas HAM RI, Frita Ramandey, stated that her investigative team has been in Sorong City for the past few days to gather facts on the ground.
"We came not only to hear the story, but to ensure that this shooting case is investigated transparently," Frits told the media on Friday (September 5, 2025).
According to Frits, the Komnas HAM team has taken several investigative steps, including meeting with victim Maikel Welerubun at Sele Be Solu Regional Hospital, meeting with the medical team, and visiting the shooting scene.
"Yesterday, we met directly with the victim, Maikel Welerubun, and the doctor treating him at Sele Be Solu Regional Hospital in Sorong. From there, we obtained very important medical information," he emphasized.
Frits explained that the team discovered a sharp foreign object lodged inside the victim's body. Doctors even performed major surgery to remove the object along with several of the victim's organs.
"The doctor explained that surgery had been performed to remove the foreign object. The object entered at high speed, causing serious lacerations to the victim's organs, including the spleen and part of the intestine, which had to be removed," Frits explained.
He added that these medical facts strengthen the suspicion that Maikel's shooting was not a trivial incident. "These are no ordinary wounds. There are strong indications that the victim was hit by a sharp object at high speed that penetrated his body," he said.
In addition to examining the victim's medical condition, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) also conducted a crime scene investigation (TKP) and reconstruction at the shooting location. From there, the team was able to identify the positions of security forces, both the National Police (Polri) and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), at the time of the incident.
"We have gone to the field, conducted a reconstruction, and collected a number of pieces of evidence, including CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) footage from the area. All of this will be used as analysis material for the Komnas HAM investigation," Frits explained.
He emphasized that police officers were also being questioned. "We have questioned the Sorong City Police Chief, Senior Commissioner Amry Siahaan, and his staff to determine their involvement and role in this case," he said.
However, Frits highlighted the TNI's reticence. He stated that the involvement of TNI personnel at the scene cannot be ignored. "We hope that Korem 181/PVT will be transparent. Facts on the ground show that TNI personnel were present at the scene. If the TNI remains silent, we will automatically record this as a negative stance in our investigative report," he stressed.
He added that this investigation is not only in the interests of Komnas HAM, but also the interests of the community and the victims. "We want to ensure that there are no more civilian casualties due to the use of armed force by state officials. The state must be held accountable," he said.
Frits also emphasized that all these findings will be included in the official Komnas HAM report, and we will release the results of the investigation to the public. If there is no explanation from the TNI, it will be a red flag for their institution," he said.
According to him, the shooting of civilians like Maikel Welerubun is not just an ordinary criminal case, but a serious violation of human rights. "Every human life must be respected. This shooting not only harmed the victims, but also violated human rights principles," said Frits Ramandey.(*)
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2) Open Letter: A call to honour regional commitments to West Papua
For nearly two decades, Pacific communiqués have acknowledged concerns in West Papua. With the 2025 PIF Leaders’ Meeting approaching, West Papuan and Pacific CSOs are urging leaders and CROP agencies to match words with action. The open letter highlights an escalating humanitarian and human-rights crisis—with widespread intimidation, service disruptions, and displacement now exceeding 100,000 people—and frames this not as a distant issue but a Pacific responsibility consistent with our “Blue Pacific” vision.
It sets out three practical recommendations:
(1) Independent scrutiny. Re-issue a time-bound invitation for an OHCHR visit; proceed with a PIF fact-finding mission that reports to the 2026 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting; and, alongside it, enable a civil-society-led “People’s Mission” so West Papuan voices are credibly heard.
(2) Needs-based humanitarian response. Activate neutral mechanisms to deliver assistance and protection to displaced communities and support those seeking refuge in PNG—resourcing and safeguarding local responders.
(3) Mediation and IHL. Use regional good offices and multi-track, women-led mediation capacities to encourage a monitored ceasefire and full respect for civilian protections under the Geneva Conventions, with unimpeded humanitarian access.
Read and download the full letter here.
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3) Winston Peters: Solomon Islands to blame for any Pacific Islands Forum disharmony
7:42 am today
Pacific Waves pacificwaves@rnz.co.nz
New Zealand Foreign Minister says Pacific Islands Forum members may have opted to hold this week's leaders' meeting in another country if they had known the Solomon Islands was banning outside partners.
The annual meeting, shceduled to begin in Honiara on Monday, comes at a time of increased tension among members due to the ban on external partners of the PIF.
Winston Peters has spoken out repeatedly about "outsiders" influencing the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele to implement it.
This week, he doubled down on his previous comments and told Pacific Waves that the host nation was to blame for any disharmony in the Forum.
"The blame lies squarely with the decision by the Solomon Islands government, who knew that over the years and decades, we've invited dialogue partners to come along because it expands our capacity, and… for the first time… they've said they don't want to invite anyone," he said.
"Had we known that, the question is whether we'd be having it in Honiara next week, or in some other country where we can get dialogue partners to be interested. We need their help.”
Peters also stopped short of identifying which nations or leaders he believed were influencing the Solomon Islands and Manele.
"I don't want to point to specific countries because it gets into a slanging match of no value to the Pacific Forum outcomes."
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr has also weighed in on the issue. When news emerged that Taiwan's access to the leaders' summit may be withdrawn, he suggested Solomon Islands consider giving up its position as host.
Following confirmation all partners would be banned - including the US and China - Whipps Jnr said he supported the move.
In a separate interview, Manele rejected Peters' comments and said the partner ban was consistent with what was decided at last year's leaders' summit in Tonga regarding the official partners' meeting, which is traditionally held after the big leaders' meeting.
"[It is] not actually our decision to defer the post-Forum dialogue partners meeting. It is based on a decision made by leaders in Tonga last year that says that the new, enhanced mechanism for post-Forum dialogue should be ready before the Honiara leaders Forum meeting.
"Unfortunately, that new mechanism is not ready. So on that basis, my government, in consultation with the Forum Secretariat, has decided to defer the Forum dialogue segment of this year's Forum leaders' meeting."
Manele also said speculation that non-forum countries would have representatives in Honiara despite the ban was untrue.
Massey University associate professor Anna Powles believed countries with diplomatic missions in Solomon Islands like China, Japan, the UK and the US would be holding meetings on the sidelines of the official programme.
Manele said he did not expect any partners' to be holding meetings over the week.
"We hope that they do respect the decision that we have made."
Manele also said all Pacific leaders were due to attend this week, apart from Sāmoa which would be represented by at the senior official-level because it had just finished its general elections.
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