Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has pledged to hold an inquiry into the deaths of five Papuan civilians at the hands of the country’s military.

Widodo, who was in the province to attend Christmas festivities, said the incident in Paniai earlier this month was deplorable.

“I want this case to be solved immediately so it won’t ever happen again in the future,” the president said.

"By forming a fact-finding team, we hope to obtain valid information [about what actually happened], as well as find the root of the problems.”

“I want my visit to Papua to be useful, I want to listen to the people’s voices, and I’m willing to open dialogue for a better Papua,” he said.

Joko said the government needed to listen to Papuans in order to solve the long-running conflict in the restive region.

Threatened budget cuts by the Australian government has left indigenous Aboriginal communities facing the prospect of being shut down and displaced, a move that has been condemned by Amnesty International.

Around 150 Aboriginal communities in Western Australia are under threat after authorities warned they may not be able to afford to supply power, water or road services to the remote populations. Arguments over whether the federal or state government should be paying for similar services in Southern Australia leaves a further 60 communities facing the threat of closure.

Tammy Solonec of Amnesty International Australia compared the situation to that of when white settlers forced the Aboriginal people from their land after a court ruled that the indigenous people must be paid a minimum wage.

“The pastoralists couldn’t afford to pay the basic wage and many indigenous people were uprooted from their land,” said Solonec. “This was a disaster for communities and has led to a lot of the dysfunction — alcohol and drug abuse — that affects communities today.”

Commenting on the prospect of communities being displaced, Solonec went on to say,
“Forcing aboriginal people to move from their communities is a form of cultural genocide”.