Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's fledgling civilian Government has come under renewed pressure from separatists in the far-flung province of Papua as a military crackdown reignites tensions in the staunchly Muslim province of Aceh.

Five hundred people meeting in the Papuan capital of Jayapura voted at the weekend to reject a controversial United Nations-supervised 1969 referendum under which the territory was incorporated into Indonesia.

The vote effectively rejects Indonesia's sovereignty of Papua, which was formerly known as Irian Jaya, but local leaders have told Indonesian journalists their struggle for independence would be fought peacefully.

A new year's eve visit to Jayapura by the Indonesian President, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, was welcomed by Papuan activists who see themselves as closer to Melanesians of the South Pacific than people in other parts of Indonesia, especially the Javanese.

The Indonesian armed forces have reacted brutally to past attempts to raise the Morning Star flag of the West Papuan freedom movement, including slaughtering dozens of people on the island of Biak in July 1998.

Mr Wahid agreed to change the name of the province to appease separatists. But the 59-year-old President has bluntly rejected any suggestion of independence for the province, which has some of the world's largest copper and gold mines.

A communique released by students and community leaders attending what they called the first Papuan Congress demanded independence for the territory because of what it called 38 years of neglect by the government in Jakarta.

The communique questioned the legitimacy of the referendum which saw Papua transferred from the Dutch to the Indonesian Government through the UN. "Only 0.8 percent of the 80,000 eligible voters took part in the so-called popular consultation," it said.

A spokesman for local leaders, Mr Tom Beanal, said the communique would be sent to the UN and the governments of Indonesia, the Netherlands and the United States. No mention was made of Australia, where successive governments have supported Indonesia's rule. The four-day congress agreed to set-up a Papuan presidium council that would meet in April.

At the other end of the Indonesian archipelago, in Aceh, heavily armed police and soldiers have resumed a crackdown on separatists, sweeping through villages and attacking suspected separatists.

The crackdown appears to be in defiance of Mr Wahid, who has refused repeated requests from the military for his government to declare martial law.