Associated Press, Sigli – More than 50,000 people rallied in Aceh on Thursday in a massive demonstration of pro-independence fervour, two days after troops opened fire on rock-throwing protesters in Indonesia's troubled province.

The demonstrators are demanding a referendum on whether to remain part of Indonesia or break free, saying Aceh was never part of Indonesia. They have been emboldened by East Timor's decision to secede and angered by new President Abdurrahman Wahid's statement on Monday that now is not the time for such a vote in Aceh.

A Red Cross official said three people were killed and 22 injured Tuesday in Meulaboh, on Aceh's west coast, by soldiers when pro-independence supporters began torching government buildings.

Hundreds of trucks, vans and motorbikes – packed with people carrying broken-off palm branches to shield themselves from the scorching sun – drove on Thursday through Sigli, a town of 20,000 people 110 kilometres east of the provincial capital Banda Aceh.

They banged drums and chanted, "Referendum, freedom, independent state, Allah Akbar (God is great)" as huge banners fluttered in the strong freeze with the single word "Merdeka" (freedom).

Indonesian soldiers looked on sullenly as the noisy procession snaked past their headquarters. In contrast, local policemen waved back at the demonstrators and held up the clenched-fist symbol of the resistance movement.

The rally, organised by a coalition of pro-independence groups, is designed to further increase political pressure on new President Abdurrahman Wahid, who in the past has promised to support popular demands for an East Timor-style referendum in Aceh.

Since his inauguration two weeks ago, Mr Wahid has appeared to backtrack on those promises, saying instead that the decade-long conflict in the province could be resolved by giving it wide-ranging autonomy instead of independence.