AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): The topic of discussion today on 95bFM's Southern Cross programme was on the state of media freedom in West Papua.
Coinciding with World Press Freedom Day on Sunday, there has recently been an international call for a much greater freedom of the press in West Papua.
Pacific Media Watch's Alistar Kata said there is "no access at all" for international journalists to report in the region and only some reporters were gaining entrance through tourist visas.
But there has been an influx of support against the human rights' abuses of Indonesian authorities on social media sites, which Kata said leaders and politicians around the region were "noticing".
"They feel obliged to speak up about it, so we are seeing the tides changing to where there is support from neighbouring countries," she said.
The most recent support for the Indonesian territory has come from Papua New Guinea's (PNG) prime minister Peter O'Neill encouraging other Melanesian countries to speak out about the "oppression" of the Papuan people.
Listen to Alistar Kata on Southern Cross - May 3
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