Human rights advocates in Australia have received reports that last Sunday (29th July), the president of the Baptist churches in West Papua, the Rev Socretez Sofian Yoman, was threatened by Indonesian Police, Brimob (paramiliary police) and Indonesian Military intelligence, outside the Baptist church in Papua's capital, Jayapura. Police approached him outside the church and threatened with a gun at point blank range.

Reverend Yoman has been an outspoken critic of the Indonesian military's human rights abuses in West Papua and the training of pro-Indonesian Military militias. He claims that "Military intelligence has infiltrated the Baptist church and are trying to subvert the work of the church in relation to protecting the Human Rights of the West Papuan people." Institute for Papuan Advocacy press release

In August last year Reverend Yoman visited New Zealand to be the keynote speaker at the Indonesian Human Rights Committee's conference "West Papua: the Hidden Pacific Conflict". Report from Te Waha Nui Online

Following the conference he travelled around New Zealand on a speaking tour. Transcript of Reverend Yoman's Wellington talk 28th August 2006