Jakarta – Indonesian police fired warning shots and tear gas yesterday to break up a student demonstration in Pekanbaru during a visit by President Abdurrahman Wahid to the city in the Sumatran province of Riau.

The shots and tear gas were fired as the students attempted to break through the police security cordon around the governor's office, the Antara news agency said.

Mr Abdurrahman was in a meeting with local leaders at the governor's office in Pekanbaru, about 800 km north-west of Jakarta, when hundreds of students rallied nearby and demanded that police allow them to meet him. The students' demands to meet the President were rejected. Antara did not say what the students were protesting about or wanted to discuss.

But when the students surged forward, security forces responded with teargas canisters and warning shots. The protesters then dispersed in panic, but there were no reports of any serious injuries or arrests.

Mr Abdurrahman was in Pekanbaru for a meeting in the city's main mosque and another with local officials.

Demands for greater autonomy for Riau, rich in forestry and natural resources, are mounting along with calls for the region to manage its own riches. Other regions have also called for the formation of a separate state.

Indonesia has faced calls for independence from the resource- rich provinces of Riau, Aceh and Irian Jaya since last year when East Timor voted in a United Nations-sponsored referendum to break away from Jakarta's rule.